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Rebel Girls expands on AUSL partnership to reach Gen Alpha softball fans

March 5, 2025
Today, Rebel Girls (RG) — an empowerment brand geared toward young girls — expanded on its existing partnership with Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL), the pro women’s softball league beginning in June. RG hopes to connect tweens with the game by developing and distributing softball content through its new Rebel Girls Sport vertical.
Sports BusinessSoftball
Rebel Girls expands on AUSL partnership to reach Gen Alpha softball fansRebel Girls expands on AUSL partnership to reach Gen Alpha softball fans
Source: Rebel Girls

The GIST: Today, Rebel Girls (RG) — an empowerment brand geared toward young girls — expanded on its existing partnership with Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL), the pro women’s softball league beginning in June. RG hopes to connect tweens with the game by developing and distributing softball content through its new Rebel Girls Sport vertical.

  • RG’s deepened focus on volleyball and softball through its respective partnerships with LOVB and AUSL highlights how youth-centric brands are looking to bridge the pipeline between these popular youth sports and their new pro arms. Dare to be different.

The details: RG will develop a new digital series showcasing AUSL highlights and athletes, which will be hosted by two young girls — similar to its existing LOVB show, which heavily impacted the brand’s engagement. Since the LOVB series’ debut in 2025, RG’s YouTube sports content has garnered 5x longer average watch time than non-sport content so far this year.

  • AUSL stars will also feature in other RG content and the brand will receive ad inventory during AUSL’s broadcasts on ESPN.
  • In addition to its media offerings, RG is the exclusive on-deck circle sponsor of the league and will help create two theme nights during the inaugural season. RG also has plans to activate around AUSL’s Opening Weekend and Pro Cup tournaments.

The why: Softball’s popularity is skyrocketing from both a participation and viewership perspective. Right now, approximately 1.5M girls in the U.S. play softball, and RG cited historic attendance and viewership at the 2024 NCAA Women’s College World Series as a noteworthy metric driving this partnership.

Zooming out: RG isn’t the only youth-focused media outlet looking to highlight softball — Disney’s first-ever Pixar series also focuses on the sport. Both companies’ involvement illustrates how Gen Alpha naturally blends sports and entertainment consumption, so there’s opportunity to connect with them early on as their love of the game takes them to pro league fandom.

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