The Force is Robust with this One: Portland Cascade choose Brown in AUSL Draft

TEMPE – Less than a month in the past, Sun Devil Softball’s Kenzie Brown was introduced with an AUSL ‘Golden Ticket,’ signaling the Lake City, Ill., native had been drafted into the league. The solely query remaining was which staff chosen the Big 12 Conference’s chief in strikeouts.

The reply was revealed at 4:40 p.m. MST on Monday, May 4, when the Portland Cascade used its third-round choose on Brown. Brown was the third of 4 picks by the group through the hour-long draft broadcasted in entrance of a nation-wide viewers on ESPN2. She will be a part of UCLA’s Megan Grant, Arizona’s Sydney Stewart and Florida’s Kenleigh Cahalan on the league’s latest enlargement staff.

Brown turns into Arizona State softball’s first choice into knowledgeable softball league since Yannira Acuña was the tenth of 14 athletes drafted into Athletes Unlimited – a ladies’s skilled sports activities group that laid the inspiration for as we speak’s AUSL – on Monday, May 9, 2023.

“I simply really feel actually fortunate to be drafted. My staff is stacked, so I’m simply trying ahead to enjoying with everybody, “Brown stated. “I believe we’ve a extremely wonderful pitching employees. I’m excited to see how my pitches work on the subsequent stage and what I want to enhance on. I’m at all times trying to get higher, so I’m excited to see how I can get higher on the subsequent stage, particularly with all of the proficient pitchers on my staff.

“I think it just shows how ASU has given me all the tools my teammates and I needed to be successful at this level. Tonight goes to show how everyone’s hard work has paid off.”

Over the course of her Sun Devil profession, Brown has been a three-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Week, a consensus All-American, All-Big 12 First Team choice and a CSC Academic All-District honoree. She’s posted over 20 profession double-digit strikeout performances, together with a 13-strikeouting outing towards Oklahoma in Tempe on Opening Night of the 2026 common season.

“I believe she’s going to transition fantastically to the professional stage,” said Sun Devil Softball head coach Megan Bartlett. “The actuality is to be actually dominate on the skilled stage in our sport; it’s a must to have all of the tips. You have to have the ability to go up, go down, east west, off-speed pitch. Kenzie has a plus rise ball, a superb drop ball, two off-speed pitches, then – in fact – she will be able to find east and west.

So, the fact is regardless of the process is and nonetheless she must miss a barrel, she has a pitch that can discover a manner to do this. I’m actually excited to observe her on the subsequent stage, actually.” 

After the AUSL was made up of 4 groups – the Blaze, Bandits, Volts and Talons – through the league’s inaugural season in 2025, the Oklahoma City Spark, which was based in 2022 and launched in 2023, joined the AUSL for the 2026 season – after competing within the Women’s Professional Fastpitch (WPF) – in November 2025.

Two months later, Portland was revealed because the host metropolis for the league’s newest enlargement staff: the Cascade. The addition of the Cascade introduced the league to 6 groups.

“Portland has shown up and supported women’s sports on a large scale. Just to be quite simple, showing up. It’s in their culture. Their fiber,” stated AUSL Commission Kim Ng on the time.

The Portland Cascade will play residence video games at Hillsboro Ballpark, previously Ron Tonkin Field.

UP NEXT

Brown and her teammates will now journey to Oklahoma City, Okla., the place the sixth-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils (38-16) will tackle the third-seeded Arizona Wildcats (35-15) within the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Softball Tournament introduced by Allstate at 5:30 p.m. MST on Thursday, May 7.

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