#StateToTheShow: Davidson-Smith Opens Third Athletes Unlimited Season Friday
July 25, 2024 | Softball
ROSEMONT, Ill. – Mississippi State legend Mia Davidson-Smith is back stateside and set to open her third Athletes Unlimited Championship season on Friday. Last week, she won a silver medal with Team USA at the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup in Italy, and she has spent the first half of the year playing professionally in the Japan Diamond League.
The former Bulldog catcher has finished 20th and 21st in her previous two championship seasons with the league, but she took home a bronze medal in the 2023 AUX season. Last year's championship season saw her post a career-high 1,298 points while earning her first captaincy midway through the year. Her stat points alone ranked seventh in the league last year, but her teams went just 8-7 leaving her on the short end of win points.
In 2023, Davidson-Smith ranked second in the league in home runs (4), third in RBIs (10) and fourth in slugging percentage (.553). She reached base in every game and set AU single-season (10) and career (14) records for hit-by-pitches.
Davidson-Smith will open the campaign as a member of Team Alexander (Gold) after she was the No. 5 overall pick in Monday night's draft. Team Alexander opens the season Friday, July 26 at 8:30 p.m. CT against Team Romero (Purple) on ESPN2. On Saturday, Davidson-Smith's squad will play Team Svekis (Blue) at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN+, and on Sunday they are set to meet Team Denham (Orange) at 3:30 p.m. on Bally Sports regional networks. Joining her in Rosemont this summer will be MSU player development fellow Alyssa Loza, who is serving as a batting practice pitcher in her first year with Athletes Unlimited.
Athletes Unlimited is a professional softball league without traditional teams. Instead, 60 athletes remain in Rosemont, Illinois, for the duration of the season and are drafted to one of four new teams each week. Following the final game of each week, the top four athletes will be named captains for the next week's draft.
Each team will play three games per week over the five-week season. All but one of the league's games 30 are slated to be broadcast on ESPN platforms of the Bally Sports Regional networks throughout the summer.
Captains are selected by virtue of a unique individual scoring system that mimics most fantasy league scoring systems. Players earn or lose points as individuals based on their statistics along with an additional 10 points for every inning their team wins and 50 points for every game their team wins. Additionally, 60 points are available to the athlete who finishes first in MVP voting by the players following each game. The second- and third-place vote-getters receive 40 and 20 points, respectively.
Points also translate to dollars at the end of the season, and each athlete has chosen a charity to receive a donation equal to 50 percent of their season. In the first of two changes for Davidson-Smith this year, she will compete for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The second change is a return to normal as Davidson-Smith will now wear her familiar No. 33 jersey after wearing No. 46 in her first two years with the league.
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
The former Bulldog catcher has finished 20th and 21st in her previous two championship seasons with the league, but she took home a bronze medal in the 2023 AUX season. Last year's championship season saw her post a career-high 1,298 points while earning her first captaincy midway through the year. Her stat points alone ranked seventh in the league last year, but her teams went just 8-7 leaving her on the short end of win points.
In 2023, Davidson-Smith ranked second in the league in home runs (4), third in RBIs (10) and fourth in slugging percentage (.553). She reached base in every game and set AU single-season (10) and career (14) records for hit-by-pitches.
Davidson-Smith will open the campaign as a member of Team Alexander (Gold) after she was the No. 5 overall pick in Monday night's draft. Team Alexander opens the season Friday, July 26 at 8:30 p.m. CT against Team Romero (Purple) on ESPN2. On Saturday, Davidson-Smith's squad will play Team Svekis (Blue) at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN+, and on Sunday they are set to meet Team Denham (Orange) at 3:30 p.m. on Bally Sports regional networks. Joining her in Rosemont this summer will be MSU player development fellow Alyssa Loza, who is serving as a batting practice pitcher in her first year with Athletes Unlimited.
Athletes Unlimited is a professional softball league without traditional teams. Instead, 60 athletes remain in Rosemont, Illinois, for the duration of the season and are drafted to one of four new teams each week. Following the final game of each week, the top four athletes will be named captains for the next week's draft.
Each team will play three games per week over the five-week season. All but one of the league's games 30 are slated to be broadcast on ESPN platforms of the Bally Sports Regional networks throughout the summer.
Captains are selected by virtue of a unique individual scoring system that mimics most fantasy league scoring systems. Players earn or lose points as individuals based on their statistics along with an additional 10 points for every inning their team wins and 50 points for every game their team wins. Additionally, 60 points are available to the athlete who finishes first in MVP voting by the players following each game. The second- and third-place vote-getters receive 40 and 20 points, respectively.
Points also translate to dollars at the end of the season, and each athlete has chosen a charity to receive a donation equal to 50 percent of their season. In the first of two changes for Davidson-Smith this year, she will compete for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The second change is a return to normal as Davidson-Smith will now wear her familiar No. 33 jersey after wearing No. 46 in her first two years with the league.
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
SOFTBALL | Postgame Press Conference vs. Washington
Saturday, May 17
SOFTBALL | Postgame Press Conference vs. Texas Tech
Saturday, May 17
SOFTBALL | Raelin Chaffin ESPN2 Postgame Interview
Saturday, May 17
SOFTBALL | Postgame Press Conference vs. Washington
Friday, May 16