Ellis and Wyckoff Lead Utah Talons to AUSL Championship

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.  – Arkansas softball alums Bri Ellis and Kailey Wyckoff and the Utah Talons won the 2026 AUSL Championship Series with a 6-1 win over the Chicago Bandits on Sunday afternoon at Davis Diamond in College Station, Texas.

Utah swept Chicago in the best-of-three series by taking the opening game on Saturday, 2-1, in addition to Sunday’s triumph. It was the Talons’ second consecutive AUSL title after having previously defeated the Bandits in 2025 in the inaugural championship series in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Talons finished the 2026 season with an 18-9 overall record.

In game two on Sunday afternoon, Ellis blasted a 254-foot home run over the scoreboard in left field to lead off the top of the fifth inning and give Utah a five-run lead on the way to the Talons’ title-clinching win. It marked Ellis’ seventh professional home run, which put her in a tie with Nicole Schroeder (7) for the second-most by an Arkansas player during their professional career. Danielle Gibson’s 12 professional home runs are the most all-time by a former Razorback.

Ellis earned AUSL Comeback Player of the Year honors after an impressive 2026 regular season campaign. 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 also 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 played an integral role in the Talons’ path to the Championship Series. 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.

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