Professional Softball League Expands, Adds 3 New Teams

After a successful first year combining five previously independent softball teams from around the country into one league, the Professional Softball League (PSL) is expanding further in 2027. 

The league’s inaugural season featured the Atlanta Smoke, Florida Breeze, Florida Vibe, Kansas City Diamonds, and the New York Rise. The Breeze and Rise will not return in 2027, but the Smoke, Vibe, and Diamonds will return. Three teams now join: the Birmingham Irons, St. Louis Gateway Gold, and the Knoxville Miracle. 

2027 PSL Teams 

• Atlanta Smoke 
• Florida Vibe 
• Kansas City Diamonds
• Birmingham Irons 
• St. Louis Gateway Gold 
• Knoxville Miracle

The 2027 season is set to be a 40-game schedule, with the PSL Championship to follow at the end of the summer. Each team will have the freedom to build its own identity and fan base while creating community partnerships. The PSL will support each team through media, marketing, and league operations. 

Additionally, Community Sports Partners will join the PSL as a strategic ownership and operating partner, working alongside team owners and league leadership. The partnership will bring additional resources, professional sports experience, and infrastructure to support the league’s continued growth. 

“Owning the Kansas City Monarchs and seeing the Diamonds play in our stadium gave me a front-row seat to the community impact of professional softball,” Quint Studer, chairman and CEO of Community Sports Partners, told SportsTravel Magazine. “The energy on the field and in the stands was electric. CSP exists to make people and places, and therefore communities, better. The PSL investment supports this mission. We are grateful to all of the team owners for the opportunity to be part of something this special.”

While the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) has created an opportunity for some of the best professional softball players to compete, the PSL wants to open the door for every athlete post-college. PSL’s mission statement, found on its website, states that the goal of the league is to build teams that matter in their markets, create opportunities around the game, give fans and young athletes access to local heroes, and strengthen the connection between professional softball and the people and places that support it.

“I was fortunate to experience playing at the highest level in St. Louis and have seen the opportunities the game can create,” Kyle McClellan, the founder of the St. Louis Gateway Gold, told SportsTravel Magazine. “I want female athletes to have that same opportunity to play in front of an incredible fan base, pursue a professional career, grow the game, and inspire the next generation. Helping build the Gateway Gold in St. Louis and the PSL is a chance to be part of making that future real.”

While no schedule or broadcast information is available for the 2027 season yet, 2026 games were broadcast exclusively on All Women’s Sports Network (AWSN), with games on major platforms like Amazon Prime, Pluto TV, and DirecTV. 

The Atlanta Smoke is the reigning national champion of the PSL, having captured its fourth straight championship (three with the now-fallen Women’s Professional Fastpitch (WPS) league from 2023 to 2025).