The awards continue to pile in for some of Tennessee softball’s stars.
Karlyn Pickens and Taylor Pannell were named NFCA All-Americans in Oklahoma City on Wednesday. Pickens earned a first-team honor while Pannell is a member of the second team. It’s the third straight year that the Lady Vols have had an All-American selection, with multiple honorees each year.
Pickens is the second Tennessee pitcher to earn multiple NFCA All-American First Team selections, and the first since Monica Abbott won four consecutive first-team honors between 2004 and 2007. Additionally, Pickens earned an All-American First Team bid from all three major softball sites — D1 Softball, Softball America and NFCA — for the second year in a row.
Pannell is the first Lady Vol to earn an NFCA All-America Second-Team selection as a position player since Kiki Milloy earned the honor in 2021. It is Pannell’s first NFCA postseason award.
The SEC Pitcher of the Year, Pickens, put together a record-breaking junior campaign. Across 204 innings pitched, Pickens holds a 1.00 ERA with 280 strikeouts and 58 walks.
Tennessee’s third baseman, Pannell, racked up 52 starts with a team-leading .391 batting average. In addition to NFCA honors, Pannell earned a Softball America First-Team All-America and a D1 Softball Second-Team All-America designation. Pannell also earned an All-SEC First Team bid.
Pickens holds the record for the fastest pitch in softball history at 79.4 mph, a pitch that Nebraska star Jordy Bahl fouled off in the 2025 Knoxville Super Regional. Pickens broke the record that she set earlier in the season against Arkansas with a 78.2 mph pitch in March.
“I think the beauty of Karlyn is how mentally tough she is,” head coach Karen Weekly said. “But it’s because she’s so honest and self-aware and accountable, and she’s just going to problem-solve. She’s not going to get lost in dwelling on anything — drama, emotion. She just wants to go out there and figure it out and get better tomorrow.”
In the postseason so far, Pickens has vaulted the Lady Vols to their ninth Women’s College World Series appearance. She has pitched in all six postseason matches and has recorded three complete games. Pickens has allowed six earned runs across 29.2 innings, striking out 49 batters.
Pannell has seen a share of struggles. She is 2-for-17 in the postseason with one RBI and has gone two games without a hit in the postseason.
The mark now rises to 23 NFCA All-Americans for Tennessee softball and 45 total NFCA All-America selections.
