July 15, 2025 • 13 mins
Utah Softball coach Amy Hogue joins Brice and Bianucci to discuss AUSL in Utah, why this league will "stick," and more!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The head coach at the University of Utah softball program,
(00:02):
Amy Hogue joins us, Amy, how are things going. Appreciate
your time this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Things are great. I'm excited that everyone's talking about all
of this, especially you. Also, I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Yeah, this is really exciting. I, for one, love softball.
I call Utah Valley University Softball games on ESPN Plus,
so I'm kind of involved in that as well. Grew
up in a softball family. My sister plays and now
coaches as well, so it's kind of personal to me
and I love the game of softball. So I want
to start here. How important is this for the University
(00:33):
of Utah softball program and softball in general for our
community here in Utah.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Well, just like you, I love that anyone that gets
an opportunity to see our game just loves it, so
it really kind of sells itself. I think that having
the community come out big time for our most recent runs.
When we went to the World Series in twenty three
and hosted regionals and supers found out that our community
(01:02):
hadn't seen enough softball because they just came out and
droves and haven't stopped coming. So the timing is really great,
and as we all know, if you just get people
here and they see Salt Lake City, they're going to
love it. So it's already been a big event. There's
already been the teams are already here, and the hype
is already going. I'm pretty excited about it now.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Correct me if I'm wrong. But at one point in
your softball career you also played briefly a little stint
of professional softball with the WPF Storm and the Durham Dragons.
How has professional softball changed from that point to now
what we see with the AUSL.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Well, it's funny because we actually talked about the things
that were the same the other night when the team
flew in and I got to chat with a few
of them about some of the things that they're doing
the same. Obviously, there's a lot more visibility nowadays, but
the people that started WPF and I and the people
(02:00):
that are running this now are just true, diehard softball people.
And to have people like Kim Ingh, who was the
commissioner of this league come in and take it over
finally gives it a chance to do the things that
we know this sports should do. On the professional level,
So before we had people that loved it but didn't
(02:21):
necessarily have the background as well in the business side
of things and the connections like she does to Major
League Baseball to get what we need with sponsorship so
that it can thrive. And I believe it's Scott the
best job it's ever had. You know, back in the
day when we did it, it was also small, you know,
it just only a few teams and we played in
(02:41):
Minor League Baseball stadiums and it was a lot of
fun and a great experience for us. But this is
going to take off and this is here to stay.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
You mentioned the connection with Major League Baseball, and I
saw recently a news piece talking about how Major League
Baseball had bought Steak in AUSL and they're going to
help try to promote it and do different things that.
Do you know any of the specifics or how important
that is for AUSL in terms of just being able
to get it out there and having the MLB on
its side.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yeah, I don't know the specifics. Luckily, there's other people
that are a lot smarter than me. They're figuring all
that out. It just got announced not that long ago,
but I do know it is the key piece to
get this league stabilized. They're going to add two more
teams next year. They're going to pick home sites for
these teams rather than what they're doing this year with
(03:30):
all the traveling around all the different cities, and I
believe Salt Lake City has a really good chance to
become a home site. So I think coming out this
week can really help our chances. If we can fill
that place and show that we're a good host, hopefully
we'll be in the running for one of the six
home fites.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Amy Hoague is with us here on Bryce and ba
Newcham one of three point nine to ninety eight point
three ESPN The Fan. I'm looking at this list of
names and it's like an all star cast of names
that are involved with this league. We're talking about Jenny Finch,
Jessica Mendoza, Kat Osterman, Natasha Wattley. What does it say
to have all of these big names of USA Softball
(04:10):
and former greats in the game, to be part of
this league and to be able to help support it
as well.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
It's exactly why this time is when it's going to stick.
You know, We've had a lot of runs at it
with the professional leagues and it's because of names like
that all coming together in this one league to make
it happen. And you know, it's been fun to have
the young athletes mingle with some of the older athletes,
(04:37):
even myself last night, I have the Talents team over
to my house and the Blazes coming tonight and just
being amongst that superstar talent. And then think that the
likes of you know, Lisa Fernandez and Jenny Finch and
all the others that you just named plus more are
(04:59):
heading it up. It's like the most perfect storm of
talent and wisdom and experience in the older athletes that
are now running this league. It's exactly what we need
to have this takeoff. So it's fun. There's a lot
of excitement in our sport and it continues to grow
all the time.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
How do you feel about the state of softball in
terms of the youth game here in the state of
Utah And if the AUSL decides to make Salt Lake
City a home site, what does that mean for young
girls that love to play softball and can learn maybe
from some of these players and have those players to
look up to and an opportunity like a goal to
look at to be able to achieve playing professional softball.
(05:42):
What do you feel how do you feel the state
of youth softball is right now in the state of
Utah and how can improve?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, well, I always think it can improve, right, I
think more opportunities to see the women doing things that you,
as a young kid want to do one day. You've
got to see it to dream it sometimes, and you know,
I never even saw a college softball game until I
played in one. I think that's pretty rare these days.
It's left and right everywhere you see it's on TV.
(06:11):
But hosting a team and having the opportunity to interact
with youth obviously is the first thing I'm going to
do as soon as they pick us and try to
connect the two because I think that our state needs
to grow in the sport of softball. I think that
all states need to. But all the places that have
(06:32):
a winter town, you know, playing a spring type of
sport makes it a little bit more difficult because we're
not playing a year round like some of the others.
So if we can have a host team here, then
we're going to run a ton of events and allow
the interaction there to happen. So we can have some
faces for these little girls to dream of being one day. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Absolutely, I one thousand percent agreed, And I want to
shift over to your team there at the University of Utah.
The one thing that I'm most curious to get your
your thoughts on is how different is it playing in
the Big Twelve with these teams that you see week
in and week out versus what it was like in
the Pac twelve days. And what's the biggest difference in
stylistic play between the two conferences that you noticed.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
You know, what's interesting is I didn't think it would
be that different, and it really was not only different
in playing in the conference compared to the pack, but
also recruiting in some of those areas because now we've
kind of expanded our footprint to include a little bit
more of you know, the Midwest and a lot of
Texas and and we have some kids coming in from Missouri,
(07:40):
and I think that side of the country grows. These
athletes a little bigger, and they swing a little harder
and do a lot more of the doubles, troubles home
runs kind of a style of game, whereas the Pac
twelve was a little more defensive speed you know, run
and hit type of uh style of play, so it
(08:02):
was kind of fun. You know, my team shifted as well.
We had quite a new team last year, and we
actually had quite a few more of the long ball
style of hitters rather than speed players that we had
graduated with our World Series team. So we yeah, we're
acclimating to what the game is asking us to do.
There's a whole lot more power in our game, so
(08:24):
power and speed is the best combo. But yeah, it
seemed like the Big twelve was a little more home
run or nothing, kind of a kind of a deal.
Texas Tech was the only one that I felt like had,
you know, a straight balance, and they're the ones that
made it right up there to the end. So it's
pretty exciting to trade conferences and see our game grow
(08:44):
and see what everyone else in the country is doing
a little differently. So it's all a fun game to
watch either way, no matter what style you're playing.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
I'm also curious to get your thoughts on how college
athletics in general has changed as you've been a coach,
because you've you're headed into your night eighteenth year. They're
at the University of Utah, so you've seen a lot
of different eras of college athletics. Now we're in the
transfer portal, name image and like this, even revenue sharing
coming up. Any details that you know of in the
(09:12):
terms of softball and revenue sharing that you could give
us there. And then also just what's it been like
trying to recruit the transfer portal versus girls coming out
of juco and high school.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, that's a lot of topics right there. I can
talk for hours on all of that. The changes have
been many since I played and since I became a
head coach at this level nineteen years ago. We've traded
conferences a lot. The style of the game that we
just talked about has changed a lot. The game is
the same though, and these athletes coming out of high school,
(09:46):
you know, starting their adult team, right, those types of
things have not changed. We still want to teach them
the same types of things coming out and that includes,
you know, how to negotiate money that you believe is
on the table to earn. And those are skill sets
that whether you're entering into a career, you know, write
(10:10):
out of college, or whether you're negotiating your anil deals
or even the revshair stuff that's now coming out. I
get to be a part of helping young women know
how to have a voice or use their voice. They
all have a voice, use their voice, and know what
they're worth and go and get it. So I'm appreciating
(10:33):
it a ton. You know, the things that these women
are able to have that maybe I didn't have a
chance to have is the greatest thing to witness. That's
my favorite part is to see the game grow enough
that the fan support is there, the community is behind us,
our school is behind us. The ability now to give
(10:58):
more than the twelve minimum scholarships that's blown up to
twenty five. I mean those changes alone with that now
being the max rather than twelve. I mean that was
just over the last year. So it's exciting times. And
really it's about opportunities for young women and I get
(11:19):
to be a part of their you know, the chance
to mentor them as they're just hitting the ground as adults.
And it's my favorite part of the job and the
thing that I take the most part in that I
think I do well.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
The final thing that I want to ask you about,
I mentioned the connection for us here at ESPN the
fan with Utah Valley University and being the home of
the Wolverines. We are close with our good friend Cody Thompson,
the head coach at Utah Valley, and he was a
volunteer on staff there at the University of Utah for
a while, was a pitching coach, helped out in that realm.
Now is the Team USA pitching coach. He's done a
(11:52):
lot of great stuff and put together a good team.
What are some of your favorite memories working with Cody
Thompson on staff there, and then what do you think
about the job that he's done so far at Utah Valley.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Oh, I love it. I just talked to Cody yesterday
and I'll see him tomorrow. He is one of my
favorite people on the planet. I worked with him for
a whole lot of years. I was happy for him,
sad for me to see him go. And there is
a point in most coaches lives where they make a
decision if they want to run the show, and he
(12:24):
was plenty ready and to see him take off and
do what he's done over there has been really exciting.
He just hired one of my former players, Hailey Denning,
so she is now his assistant coach. So yeah, there's
plenty of youths throughout the valley, and those are two
that I love over there wearing green now. I saw
them out recruiting a couple of weeks ago in Colorado.
(12:44):
It was Hailey's first day on the job. And they're
out there work and that's what it takes. So you
got two good ones there for sure.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
That's good stuff. Amy, Thank you so much for your
time this morning. A great conversation and we appreciate you
jumping on with us.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Thanks. We hope to see at the games.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Absolutely, we'll be there on Thursday, so it'll be uh,
it'll be exciting. We appreciate you again.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Awesome, thanks go ute.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Once again, we will be live Donkey Family Stadium for
the Athletes Unlimited Softball League this coming Thursday, July the seventeenth,
The head coach at the University of Utah softball program,
(00:02):
Amy Hogue joins us, Amy, how are things going. Appreciate
your time this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Things are great. I'm excited that everyone's talking about all
of this, especially you. Also, I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Yeah, this is really exciting. I, for one, love softball.
I call Utah Valley University Softball games on ESPN Plus,
so I'm kind of involved in that as well. Grew
up in a softball family. My sister plays and now
coaches as well, so it's kind of personal to me
and I love the game of softball. So I want
to start here. How important is this for the University
(00:33):
of Utah softball program and softball in general for our
community here in Utah.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Well, just like you, I love that anyone that gets
an opportunity to see our game just loves it, so
it really kind of sells itself. I think that having
the community come out big time for our most recent runs.
When we went to the World Series in twenty three
and hosted regionals and supers found out that our community
(01:02):
hadn't seen enough softball because they just came out and
droves and haven't stopped coming. So the timing is really great,
and as we all know, if you just get people
here and they see Salt Lake City, they're going to
love it. So it's already been a big event. There's
already been the teams are already here, and the hype
is already going. I'm pretty excited about it now.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Correct me if I'm wrong. But at one point in
your softball career you also played briefly a little stint
of professional softball with the WPF Storm and the Durham Dragons.
How has professional softball changed from that point to now
what we see with the AUSL.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Well, it's funny because we actually talked about the things
that were the same the other night when the team
flew in and I got to chat with a few
of them about some of the things that they're doing
the same. Obviously, there's a lot more visibility nowadays, but
the people that started WPF and I and the people
(02:00):
that are running this now are just true, diehard softball people.
And to have people like Kim Ingh, who was the
commissioner of this league come in and take it over
finally gives it a chance to do the things that
we know this sports should do. On the professional level,
So before we had people that loved it but didn't
(02:21):
necessarily have the background as well in the business side
of things and the connections like she does to Major
League Baseball to get what we need with sponsorship so
that it can thrive. And I believe it's Scott the
best job it's ever had. You know, back in the
day when we did it, it was also small, you know,
it just only a few teams and we played in
(02:41):
Minor League Baseball stadiums and it was a lot of
fun and a great experience for us. But this is
going to take off and this is here to stay.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
You mentioned the connection with Major League Baseball, and I
saw recently a news piece talking about how Major League
Baseball had bought Steak in AUSL and they're going to
help try to promote it and do different things that.
Do you know any of the specifics or how important
that is for AUSL in terms of just being able
to get it out there and having the MLB on
its side.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yeah, I don't know the specifics. Luckily, there's other people
that are a lot smarter than me. They're figuring all
that out. It just got announced not that long ago,
but I do know it is the key piece to
get this league stabilized. They're going to add two more
teams next year. They're going to pick home sites for
these teams rather than what they're doing this year with
(03:30):
all the traveling around all the different cities, and I
believe Salt Lake City has a really good chance to
become a home site. So I think coming out this
week can really help our chances. If we can fill
that place and show that we're a good host, hopefully
we'll be in the running for one of the six
home fites.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Amy Hoague is with us here on Bryce and ba
Newcham one of three point nine to ninety eight point
three ESPN The Fan. I'm looking at this list of
names and it's like an all star cast of names
that are involved with this league. We're talking about Jenny Finch,
Jessica Mendoza, Kat Osterman, Natasha Wattley. What does it say
to have all of these big names of USA Softball
(04:10):
and former greats in the game, to be part of
this league and to be able to help support it
as well.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
It's exactly why this time is when it's going to stick.
You know, We've had a lot of runs at it
with the professional leagues and it's because of names like
that all coming together in this one league to make
it happen. And you know, it's been fun to have
the young athletes mingle with some of the older athletes,
(04:37):
even myself last night, I have the Talents team over
to my house and the Blazes coming tonight and just
being amongst that superstar talent. And then think that the
likes of you know, Lisa Fernandez and Jenny Finch and
all the others that you just named plus more are
(04:59):
heading it up. It's like the most perfect storm of
talent and wisdom and experience in the older athletes that
are now running this league. It's exactly what we need
to have this takeoff. So it's fun. There's a lot
of excitement in our sport and it continues to grow
all the time.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
How do you feel about the state of softball in
terms of the youth game here in the state of
Utah And if the AUSL decides to make Salt Lake
City a home site, what does that mean for young
girls that love to play softball and can learn maybe
from some of these players and have those players to
look up to and an opportunity like a goal to
look at to be able to achieve playing professional softball.
(05:42):
What do you feel how do you feel the state
of youth softball is right now in the state of
Utah and how can improve?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, well, I always think it can improve, right, I
think more opportunities to see the women doing things that you,
as a young kid want to do one day. You've
got to see it to dream it sometimes, and you know,
I never even saw a college softball game until I
played in one. I think that's pretty rare these days.
It's left and right everywhere you see it's on TV.
(06:11):
But hosting a team and having the opportunity to interact
with youth obviously is the first thing I'm going to
do as soon as they pick us and try to
connect the two because I think that our state needs
to grow in the sport of softball. I think that
all states need to. But all the places that have
(06:32):
a winter town, you know, playing a spring type of
sport makes it a little bit more difficult because we're
not playing a year round like some of the others.
So if we can have a host team here, then
we're going to run a ton of events and allow
the interaction there to happen. So we can have some
faces for these little girls to dream of being one day. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Absolutely, I one thousand percent agreed, And I want to
shift over to your team there at the University of Utah.
The one thing that I'm most curious to get your
your thoughts on is how different is it playing in
the Big Twelve with these teams that you see week
in and week out versus what it was like in
the Pac twelve days. And what's the biggest difference in
stylistic play between the two conferences that you noticed.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
You know, what's interesting is I didn't think it would
be that different, and it really was not only different
in playing in the conference compared to the pack, but
also recruiting in some of those areas because now we've
kind of expanded our footprint to include a little bit
more of you know, the Midwest and a lot of
Texas and and we have some kids coming in from Missouri,
(07:40):
and I think that side of the country grows. These
athletes a little bigger, and they swing a little harder
and do a lot more of the doubles, troubles home
runs kind of a style of game, whereas the Pac
twelve was a little more defensive speed you know, run
and hit type of uh style of play, so it
(08:02):
was kind of fun. You know, my team shifted as well.
We had quite a new team last year, and we
actually had quite a few more of the long ball
style of hitters rather than speed players that we had
graduated with our World Series team. So we yeah, we're
acclimating to what the game is asking us to do.
There's a whole lot more power in our game, so
(08:24):
power and speed is the best combo. But yeah, it
seemed like the Big twelve was a little more home
run or nothing, kind of a kind of a deal.
Texas Tech was the only one that I felt like had,
you know, a straight balance, and they're the ones that
made it right up there to the end. So it's
pretty exciting to trade conferences and see our game grow
(08:44):
and see what everyone else in the country is doing
a little differently. So it's all a fun game to
watch either way, no matter what style you're playing.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
I'm also curious to get your thoughts on how college
athletics in general has changed as you've been a coach,
because you've you're headed into your night eighteenth year. They're
at the University of Utah, so you've seen a lot
of different eras of college athletics. Now we're in the
transfer portal, name image and like this, even revenue sharing
coming up. Any details that you know of in the
(09:12):
terms of softball and revenue sharing that you could give
us there. And then also just what's it been like
trying to recruit the transfer portal versus girls coming out
of juco and high school.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, that's a lot of topics right there. I can
talk for hours on all of that. The changes have
been many since I played and since I became a
head coach at this level nineteen years ago. We've traded
conferences a lot. The style of the game that we
just talked about has changed a lot. The game is
the same though, and these athletes coming out of high school,
(09:46):
you know, starting their adult team, right, those types of
things have not changed. We still want to teach them
the same types of things coming out and that includes,
you know, how to negotiate money that you believe is
on the table to earn. And those are skill sets
that whether you're entering into a career, you know, write
(10:10):
out of college, or whether you're negotiating your anil deals
or even the revshair stuff that's now coming out. I
get to be a part of helping young women know
how to have a voice or use their voice. They
all have a voice, use their voice, and know what
they're worth and go and get it. So I'm appreciating
(10:33):
it a ton. You know, the things that these women
are able to have that maybe I didn't have a
chance to have is the greatest thing to witness. That's
my favorite part is to see the game grow enough
that the fan support is there, the community is behind us,
our school is behind us. The ability now to give
(10:58):
more than the twelve minimum scholarships that's blown up to
twenty five. I mean those changes alone with that now
being the max rather than twelve. I mean that was
just over the last year. So it's exciting times. And
really it's about opportunities for young women and I get
(11:19):
to be a part of their you know, the chance
to mentor them as they're just hitting the ground as adults.
And it's my favorite part of the job and the
thing that I take the most part in that I
think I do well.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
The final thing that I want to ask you about,
I mentioned the connection for us here at ESPN the
fan with Utah Valley University and being the home of
the Wolverines. We are close with our good friend Cody Thompson,
the head coach at Utah Valley, and he was a
volunteer on staff there at the University of Utah for
a while, was a pitching coach, helped out in that realm.
Now is the Team USA pitching coach. He's done a
(11:52):
lot of great stuff and put together a good team.
What are some of your favorite memories working with Cody
Thompson on staff there, and then what do you think
about the job that he's done so far at Utah Valley.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Oh, I love it. I just talked to Cody yesterday
and I'll see him tomorrow. He is one of my
favorite people on the planet. I worked with him for
a whole lot of years. I was happy for him,
sad for me to see him go. And there is
a point in most coaches lives where they make a
decision if they want to run the show, and he
(12:24):
was plenty ready and to see him take off and
do what he's done over there has been really exciting.
He just hired one of my former players, Hailey Denning,
so she is now his assistant coach. So yeah, there's
plenty of youths throughout the valley, and those are two
that I love over there wearing green now. I saw
them out recruiting a couple of weeks ago in Colorado.
(12:44):
It was Hailey's first day on the job. And they're
out there work and that's what it takes. So you
got two good ones there for sure.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
That's good stuff. Amy, Thank you so much for your
time this morning. A great conversation and we appreciate you
jumping on with us.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Thanks. We hope to see at the games.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Absolutely, we'll be there on Thursday, so it'll be uh,
it'll be exciting. We appreciate you again.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Awesome, thanks go ute.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Once again, we will be live Donkey Family Stadium for
the Athletes Unlimited Softball League this coming Thursday, July the seventeenth,
Popular Podcasts
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!