Belmont softballpitcher Maya Johnson was selected third overall May 4 in theAthletes Unlimited Softball Leaguecollege draft by the expansion Oklahoma City Spark.
Johnson was named a 2025All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and D1 Softball after leading Belmont to the Missouri Valley Conference championship and a victory in the NCAA Tournament.
In the 2026 regular season, the Columbia Station, Ohio, native was 25-2 with 344 strikeouts. She leads the nation with a 0.72 ERA.
Johnson has faced three Power Four teams in 2026 and held them to one earned run in 20 innings.
Belmont (37-11, 21-5 MVC) is the No. 1 seed in the double-elimination conference tournament, which begins May 6 at Southern Illinois. Johnson ranks among the national leaders in virtually every statistical category, including strikeouts, strikeout-to-walk ratio, shutouts and complete games.
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Johnson spent her first season at Pittsburgh before transferring to Belmont in 2023.
The AUSL is in its second season. In addition to Oklahoma City, the league includes the Carolina Blaze, Chicago Bandits, Portland Cascade, Texas Volts, and Utah Talons.
The 2026 AUSL season starts on June 9.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean:Belmont pitcher Maya Johnson in AUSL pro league draft, taken No. 3