In reviewing the 2026 AUSL season there was one clear #1 pitcher, and that was Montana Fouts.
Let’s start with a little background on Fouts. She was born in Charleston, West Virginia, but moved to Kentucky at age 10. She played her high school ball at East Carter High School in Grayson, Kentucky. While in high school she was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in softball for 2016, 2017, and 2018 and still holds many state pitching records. She also committed to Alabama in 2014 as freshman in high school.
At Alabama she was a star pitcher and led the Crimson Tide to the NCAA post season tournament in each of her 5 years at the school including 3 trips to the Womens College World Series.
After college she was drafted in the 9th round, 35th overall by the Utah Talons in the AUSL inaugural draft.
In her AUSL rookie hear she had a great season and led the Talons to the AUSL’s first championship in 2025, but she was not the best pitcher in the league. But that all changed in 2026, where she led the AUSL in wins, innings pitched, strike outs, and complete games, while ranking #3 in ERA and opponents batting average (for pitchers with more than 10 innings pitched).
Her closest competition this season was actually her teammate Georgina Corrick, but Corrick had only half the wins of Fouts, and did not have close to the same strike outs or innings pitched numbers.
All in all an amazing season for Montana Fouts, who, as we all know, capped off her amazing 2026 season by leading the Talons to their second straight AUSL championship, and the consensus choice for the AUSL’s 2026 pitcher of the year.
