Former Alabama pitcher Montana Fouts will start her professional career next month in Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball AUX.

“I am thrilled to make my professional debut with Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball and compete against the best players in the world,” Fouts said in a release from Athletes Unlimited, which announced on Friday that it had signed the former Crimson Tide All-American. “AU has a really unique model, and I’ve heard great things about the player experience. I’m looking forward to an intense competition as well as the opportunity to once again pitch in front of the entire world on ESPN.”

Being played for the third time in 2024, the AUX Softball competition is scheduled for June 10 through June 25 at Wilkins Stadium in Wichita.

The event will feature 42 players in an 18-game schedule. Players are not assigned to a particular team. For each of the three series, the four players who earned the most points, based on team and individual performance, the previous week will draft new teams.

A four-time All-American selection by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association – first team in 2021 and 2023 and second team in 2019 and 2022 — at Alabama, Fouts posted a 100-32 record with a 1.66 earned-run average in 160 games. In 852.2 innings, Fouts struck out 1,181 with the Crimson Tide.

The NFCA Pitcher of the Year in 2021, Fouts threw a no-hitter against UCLA in the Women’s College World Series that season.

In 2023, Fouts became the first Alabama player to win the Honda Sport Award for softball.

Fouts is ready to pitch again after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament during her final season at Alabama.

Fouts sustained the injury on May 11, 2023, during an SEC tournament game against Arkansas. She still returned to pitch in four of the Crimson Tide’s nine NCAA tournament games as Alabama reached the Women’s College World Series for the 14th time.

While the AUX Softball roster is not complete, it already includes former Mortimer Jordan High School and Alabama standout Haylie McCleney.

Athletes Unlimited also stages a softball league that debuted in 2020. This year’s season starts on July 26 and runs through Aug. 25, with games played at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Ill. It follows a weekly-draft format among the top four players from the previous week.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.