Canada's Victoria Hayward, Athletes Unlimited aim for sustainable pro softball ahead of Olympic return

Canadian softball veteran Victoria Hayward has competed through four Olympic cycles — yet she's only played in one.

And so as softball returns for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, the 33-year-old Toronto native is still taking a big-picture view. The sport has only been on the Olympic program once since 2008, when the Tokyo Olympics included it for the 2020 Games, where Hayward competed.

"I think the mission to grow our sport has to be bigger than just doing it for that world stage," said Hayward, who joined the national team as a 16-year-old in 2009 but had to watch the 2012, 2016 and 2024 Olympics from afar.

Hayward's mission continues Saturday when she will suit up for opening day of the newest Athletes Unlimited Softball League season. The competition first began in 2020 with a fantasy-style, athlete-centred format — now, it's back for its first go-round as a more traditional, team-focused pro league.

"Our goal is to have women be professional softball players and that requires more games, that requires that traditional model and so we're creeping closer and closer toward that and that's something we're definitely really proud of as a league," Hayward said.

Hayward was part of the original group of players who competed at a field in Rosemont, Ill., in 2020 in an attempt to drum up interest for their sport ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

Since its inception, Athletes Unlimited has expanded to include volleyball and basketball, with both adopting the player-first scoring format.

Now, softball has become the first to branch out into the more traditional model, featuring four teams playing 24 games each across 10 cities. Hayward was drafted to a team called the Talons.

Former Miami Marlins general manager and longtime MLB