Ellis selected as no. 2 overall pick of draft

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas senior first baseman Bri Ellis was selected as the No. 2 overall pick by the Talons in the first round of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League College Draft on Saturday night.
Ellis, who was recently named a Top 25 Finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award, has put together one of the greatest regular seasons at the plate in NCAA history. The Houston, Texas, product is batting .487 with 55 hits, eight doubles, 25 homers, 68 RBI, 138 total bases and 56 walks while posting a nation-leading 1.221 slugging percentage and .659 on-base percentage. The right-handed slugger owns a 1.88 OPS, which is on pace to be the best nationally since the statistic was first tracked in 2016.
She currently is tied for the Arkansas program record in homers (25) while ranking first in batting average (.487) and on-base percentage (.659), second in RBI (68) and third in total bases (138), walks (56) and runs scored (59).
Sam Landry of Oklahoma was the first overall selection of the draft by the Volts. Ellis followed as the second pick while Emma Lumley (Blaze) and Cori McMillian (Bandits), both of Virginia Tech, rounded out the first round.
Launching this June, the Athletes Unlimited Softball League will feature four teams playing a 24-game season across 10 major cities in the United States.

The Talons will open the season on Saturday, June 7, in Rosemont, Ill., against the Bandits. Ellis and the Talons will face the Blaze and current Razorback assistant and two-time All-American Danielle Gibson Whorton on Saturday, June 14, in Chattanooga, Tenn.
In addition to the 24-game season, the league will also hold the AUSL All-Star Cup, a four-week season where 60 players will compete for points using Athletes Unlimited’s unique scoring format. Players can earn points for their individual and team performances, fighting for a spot on top of a leaderboard. The format of the AUSL All-Star Cup, previously known as Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball, has existed since 2020.
Ellis became the third player drafted in the AUSL, joining current Razorback assistant Danielle Gibson Whorton in 2022 and Chenise Delce in 2023. Ellis will also be teammates with current Arkansas graduate assistant and former Utah star Mariah Lopez.
Arkansas (38-11, 14-10 SEC) will be back in action next week in the SEC Tournament in Athens, Ga. The Razorbacks await their seeding and opponent contingent upon the conclusion of tonight’s games around the league.