Tennessee pitcher Karlyn Pickens owns fastest softball pitches ever thrown

Tennessee softball pitcher Karlyn Pickens is the undisputed flamethrower in history heading into the Women's College World Series.
Pickens owns the three fastest pitches ever recorded in a softball game, tossing each during the Lady Vols' 2025 season.
Advertisement
On Feb. 21, Pickens threw a fastball against Oregon that hit 77 mph. That tied the record for the fastest pitch in softball history, set by former Tennessee star Monica Abbott in 2012 during a National Pro Fastpitch game.
On March 25, Pickens took sole possession of the record by tossing a pitch 78.2 mph against Arkansas. But that mark didn't last long.
On May 24, Pickens threw a pitch 79.4 mph against Nebraska in the NCAA super regional.
But Pickens, the two-time SEC Pitcher of the Year, doesn't just throw heat. Her poise and control helped post a 23-9 record, 1.03 earned run average and 270 strikeouts in 197 innings. She leads the Lady Vols into their ninth appearance in the Women's College World Series.
Advertisement
No. 7 seed Tennessee (45-15) faces No. 2 seed Oklahoma (50-7) to open the WCWS on May 29 (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) in Oklahoma City.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee ace Karlyn Pickens owns fastest softball pitches ever thrown

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Yahoo

37 minutes ago

• Yahoo

ULM drops women's tennis amid athletic department financial constraints

MONROE, La. (AP) — The women's tennis program at Louisiana-Monroe has been disbanded because of financial constraints at the university's athletic department. Athletic director John Hartwell announced this week that the decision stemmed from 'increased operational and infrastructure costs' and will help ULM athletics 'to continue progress towards balancing its budget' while maintaining an NCAA-required minimum of 16 Division I sports. Advertisement Under the recently approved NCAA antitrust settlement, scholarship caps will be replaced by roster limits and schools will be able to fund every roster spot with a scholarship. Hartwell said as women's tennis players graduate or transfer, scholarship funds that had been dedicated to them will be redirected to other remaining women's sports teams. ULM spokesman Martin Radosevic the administration also 'worked with a Title IX consultant to ensure we maintained Title IX compliance during this process.' Title IX prohibits discrimination based on gender. For practical purposes, it requires universities to fund athletic scholarships in a way that is proportionate to the number of men and women participating on their varsity sports teams. While the number of women's athletic scholarships funded by ULM won't change, its athletic department will save on other expenses that had gone toward the tennis program — from coaches' salaries to travel, equipment and facility costs. Advertisement Radosevic said the athletic department expects savings of about $250,000. 'Discontinuing a sport is never an easy decision, nor one that we take lightly,' Hartwell said. 'We know this is tough for our student-athletes and our coaches, who have poured so much into our tennis program." Hartwell said ULM will honor the scholarships of those who want to complete their degrees without transferring elsewhere. He said his administration also will help those tennis players who want to continue to compete to pursue opportunities at other schools. 'We will prioritize as smooth a transition as possible for our student-athletes,' Hartwell said. ___ AP tennis: The Associated Press

San Francisco Chronicle​

37 minutes ago

• San Francisco Chronicle​

ULM drops women's tennis amid athletic department financial constraints

MONROE, La. (AP) — The women's tennis program at Louisiana-Monroe has been disbanded because of financial constraints at the university's athletic department. Athletic director John Hartwell announced this week that the decision stemmed from 'increased operational and infrastructure costs' and will help ULM athletics 'to continue progress towards balancing its budget' while maintaining an NCAA-required minimum of 16 Division I sports. Under the recently approved NCAA antitrust settlement, scholarship caps will be replaced by roster limits and schools will be able to fund every roster spot with a scholarship. Hartwell said as women's tennis players graduate or transfer, scholarship funds that had been dedicated to them will be redirected to other remaining women's sports teams. ULM spokesman Martin Radosevic the administration also 'worked with a Title IX consultant to ensure we maintained Title IX compliance during this process.' Title IX prohibits discrimination based on gender. For practical purposes, it requires universities to fund athletic scholarships in a way that is proportionate to the number of men and women participating on their varsity sports teams. While the number of women's athletic scholarships funded by ULM won't change, its athletic department will save on other expenses that had gone toward the tennis program — from coaches' salaries to travel, equipment and facility costs. Radosevic said the athletic department expects savings of about $250,000. 'Discontinuing a sport is never an easy decision, nor one that we take lightly,' Hartwell said. 'We know this is tough for our student-athletes and our coaches, who have poured so much into our tennis program." Hartwell said ULM will honor the scholarships of those who want to complete their degrees without transferring elsewhere. He said his administration also will help those tennis players who want to continue to compete to pursue opportunities at other schools. 'We will prioritize as smooth a transition as possible for our student-athletes,' Hartwell said. ___

USA Today

2 hours ago

• USA Today

Notre Dame added its second 2026 recruit of the day as safety Joey O'Brien committed

It has been a huge week for Notre Dame football recruiting, as they added offensive tackle Grayson McKeogh, cornerback Khary Adams and now safety Joey O'Brien to its 2026 class. The Irish beat out Clemson, Oregon, and Penn State for the O'Brien's verbal, putting the class at No. 19 players. The addition of the 6-foot, 3-inch and 185-pounder continues Notre Dame's hot streak, one that got started last weekend with each one of this week's commitments making their official visits. The future for the Irish secondary is extremely bright, as O'Brien, Adams, and safety Ayden Pouncey are all considered some of the best players in the country. It shouldn't come as a surprise that Notre Dame was able to land each one of these prospects, as they've recently sent multiple defensive backs to the NFL. This could very well end up being head coach Marcus Freeman's best effort on the recruiting trail, as there is still room to add more than a few top players, along with already having one of the country's best collection of commitments. This class should be another piece of the puzzle to keep Notre Dame among the top teams in all of college football.