A senior superstar, an emerging ace and a season-long surprise each received honors for their quality play this season for the Big Orange.
Karlyn Pickens, Sage Mardjetko and Alannah Leach were each named First Team All-SEC on Friday for Tennessee.
It was the third time Pickens had received first-team honors, and it was the fourth time in her career she had received an All-SEC nod. The native of Weaverville, North Carolina, posted a 13-7 record with a 1.52 ERA in 115.1 innings pitched across 28 games. Further, she recorded five saves and racked up 157 strikeouts.
Despite missing time due to injury, Pickens posted a sub-two ERA for the third consecutive year and headlined a dominant Tennessee pitching staff that posted the best team ERA in conference play at 1.33. Further, the righty was also named to the All-SEC Defensive Team with a fielding percentage of .971.
Joining the senior was breakout star Sage Mardjetko, who received first-time recognition for the first time in her career. While the junior righty had a solid year in 2025, she was dealing with a hip injury that led to offseason surgery. In response, Mardjetko posted career-bests in ERA (0.96), strikeouts (150) and complete games (7). Further, she sits second in the nation in individual ERA, trailing only Belmont’s Maya Johnson.
Mardjetko played a pivotal role in the Tennessee pitching staff, frequently taking the ball as the series opener, while Pickens followed. Her season highlight remains the one-hit shutout she tossed against Alabama the night after a 12-0 run-rule loss, and that victory turned the momentum in a key conference series win late in the season.
In addition to the All-SEC nod, Mardjetko was honored prior to Tennessee’s conference tournament bout with Ole Miss as the SEC softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Alongside the two stars from the circle, a breakout player received honors for a career-season – Leach was named First-Team All-SEC for the first time in her career.
After beginning the season as a platoon player who saw inconsistent playing time, she burst onto the scene in SEC play and became a permanent fixture in the Lady Vols’ starting lineup. The junior from The Woodlands, Texas, posted career-highs with 12 home runs, 23 RBIs, a .330 batting average and a .718 slugging percentage.
Each of the three played pivotal roles in pushing Tennessee to its program-best 26-game win streak to open the season and overall record of 42-10. Those three figure to play an important part in the Lady Vols’ NCAA tournament run, which is set to begin Friday, May 15.
