FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas softball alums Bri Ellis and Kailey Wyckoff and the Utah Talons have clinched their spot in the AUSL Championship series after defeating the Chicago Bandits, 3-1, in their final game of the regular season on Sunday night.
The Razorback duo has helped lead the Talons to a 16-9 regular season record, tied for the league lead with Chicago. Utah owns the head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of its three-game sweep of the Bandits earlier this season and clinched the No. 1 seed, which grants Utah an automatic berth to College Station, Texas, for the best-of-three Championship Series. The Talons will play the winner of a play-in game between the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds on Thursday, July 23. The Bandits have secured the No. 2 seed but the No. 3 seed is up for grabs between the Oklahoma City Spark and Portland Cascade. It will be determined on the final game of the regular season on Monday. If the Spark defeats the Blaze, they will earn the three seed while the Cascade advances with a Spark loss. Ellis and Wyckoff will begin their quest to lead the Talons to their second consecutive AUSL title on Saturday, July 25, in the opening game of the AUSL Championship Series at Noon on ABC. Game two will be on Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN, while the if-necessary winner-take-all game three is slated for Monday, July 27, at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.
Ellis has been outstanding during her second season in the league. The 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year finished the regular season with a .353 batting average while collecting 18 hits, four doubles, a triple, five home runs, 13 RBI, eight walks and eight runs scored. She ranks among the top 10 in numerous AUSL statistical categories, including batting average (7th, .353), on-base percentage (6th, .450), slugging percentage (6th, .765) and home runs (T-8th, 5). The Houston, Texas, product has collected five multi-hit games and four multi-RBI games this season. Defensively, she has posted a .975 fielding percentage with 75 putouts and three assists in 80 chances.
Wyckoff has been one of the league’s biggest contributors from the reserve pool this season. The Katy, Texas product started her season playing with the Florida Breeze of the PSL before being selected out of the reserve pool by the Utah Talons on June 14. Since then, Wyckoff has appeared in 20 games while making 18 starts for Utah. She has posted a .328 on-base percentage with 12 hits, three doubles, eight RBI, six walks, three runs scored and a stolen base while also being hit by a pitch twice. Wyckoff has registered three multi-hit games and a three-RBI game this season. Wyckoff is one of the most versatile players in the AUSL defensively, having appeared in games at catcher, first base, center field and designated player this season.
Arkansas is coming off a historic 47-13 campaign, which featured the Razorbacks’ first trip to the Women’s College World Series in program history. The 2026 Arkansas squad’s 47 victories were the second-most in program history, while the Razorbacks’ 26 run-rule wins were a program record. At Bogle Park, Arkansas posted a 29-3 record, which marked the second-most wins and second-best winning percentage since the stadium opened in 2009, trailing only 31 wins in 2022 and a .931 winning percentage during a 27-2 campaign in 2018.
For schedule updates and other news, go to ArkansasRazorbacks.com, or follow @RazorbackSB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
– ArkansasRazorbacks.com || On X @ArkRazorbacks || Facebook.com/ArkansasRazorbacks –
