RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
If it seems like we’ve had a lot of Tennessee Vols recruiting news for the Class of 2022 recently, it’s because the SEC program will sign a sizable class of nine talented seniors next month!
For example, earlier this week we heard from Taylor Pannell, the talented infielder from Illinois, who shared her thoughts about her last year of high school and club softball coming up this next year.
And last week, we told the story of Australian pitcher Charlie Orsini and how she committed to the Vols without having ever been to the school’s campus.
Today, we hear from flame-throwing pitcher Karlyn Pickens from North Buncombe High in Weaverille, North Carolina and a member of Tony Genovese’s Carolina Elite 18U team.
Karlyn was a 1st Team Extra Inning Softball High School All-American this year after she went 12-1 with a 0.41 ERA and had more than two strikeouts per inning (207 K’s in 85 innings0 and just gave up 12 hits all season.
A dangerous two-way player who also batted .519 and drew an eye-opening 23 intentional walks, the then junior was the Extra Inning Softball National Player of the Week for April 27, 2021 after throwing a perfect game, going 4-for-5 at the plate and getting seven intentional walks in three games. She was also clocked at 72 mph in one of the games!
Karlyn graciously agreed to recap last weekend’s official campus visit so you get an idea of what it’s like to be on campus as a top softball recruit… here’s her report!
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Day 1: Friday, October 8, 2021
I arrived in Knoxville with my Mom and Dad on Friday morning at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium to meet up with Head Coach Karen Weekly and her coaching staff of Megan Rhodes Smith, Chris Malveaux, Kate Malveaux and Ralph Weekly (advisor) plus Melissa Brown, the Operations Manage,r and Hunter King, the Video Coordinator.
I was looking forward to seeing my recruiting class together on campus!
The list of recruits includes:
- me
- Camryn Sarvis
- Brylee Mesusan
- Taylor Pannell
- Jenna Mosley
- Jamison Brockenbrough
- Amanda Ahlin
- Destiny Rodriguez
- Charli Orsini (not present, lives in Australia!)
We had a full itinerary for the day beginning at 11am. The coaches had vans ready for us and we drove to our first stop which was The Academic Student Life Center.
We met with Denise Jilka, the Academic Counselor for Softball, and she gave us a clear picture of expectations for a student-athlete at Tennessee and all of the academic support provided by the University.
Key takeaway here: they want everyone to be successful and achieve their academic goals.
We continued on the campus tour to Stokely Hall—Ralph Weekly was driving our van which was fun!—and we met up with some of the current softball players who were living in the athletic dorms.
The players gave us the tour of the dorm rooms and it was so exciting seeing each room and how it was decorated!
Next stop was the Carmichael Strength and Conditioning Facility and we met with Strength Coach Dan Wirth. He walked us through a typical training day and explained how each athlete receives a nutrition and workout plan.
Good news: there are recovery and on-the-go snacks available for every athlete at all times!
One of the most exciting moments of the visit was getting to try on the uniforms! This was such a surreal moment but made everything a reality seeing each other in Orange! We each had our own photo session and then we had some fun group shots too!
After all the photo shoot fun we headed over to Smokey’s Grille which is the fueling station for all student-athletes.
All I can say is, you won’t go hungry at Tennessee!
After a few more stops we headed back to Sherri Parker Lee Stadium for a late lunch and a break before we settled in for Tennessee softball vs Lee University. It was great seeing the Lady Vols in action and get a win!
We finished off the Evening with a catered meal and then went back to the Hilton in downtown Knoxville to rest for Day 2!
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Day 2: Saturday, October 9, 2021
Saturday began back at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium with a catered breakfast and Football Game Day Fun!
We shuttled to campus to enjoy the traditional Vol game day festivities and watched the Vol Walk as the players exited the team buses to the stadium.
We then went to Vol Village and watched the cheerleaders, the spirit teams and visited tents with vendors giving away fun trinkets. The band marched in through the sea of orange fans playing “Rocky Top” which got everyone pumped to cheer on the Vols!
Each recruit had a player host and my host was Ryleigh White. It was fun talking with her and finding out about her journey to Tennessee!
We had pregame sideline passes and spent time on the sidelines taking photos and watching the football warmups. Our player hosts took us to our front row seats in the student section and our parents went with coaches to front row seats in the home side end zone.
It was so amazing getting a close-up experience of Vol football and a big win as Tennessee beat South Carolina 45-20!
It was also great hearing the band play Rocky Top every time we scored!!
After the big win, we shuttled back to the softball stadium and, from there, we went to our hotel and relaxed before dinner.
Coach Weekly had reservations at Ye Olde Steakhouse in Knoxville. It was a wonderful meal and it was a great time for parents to mingle as well!
After dinner our player hosts took us to a Haunted House and Coach Weekly had a curfew set to bring us back to the hotel. It was so much fun talking and bonding with current players.
After the weekend with my future coaches and teammates, I’m super excited to call Tennessee my home.
One of the most important things I took back with me from this visit was the feeling of family. Coach Karen and her staff made us all feel like Rocky Top was “Home Sweet Home!” and that we’ll all be Vols for life!
And one thing was for sure: “Rocky Top, you’ll always be, home sweet home to me!” was definitely on repeat in my head on the way home from my official visit this weekend!
— Karlyn Pickens, Class of 2022
*****
Final note… a fun fact I learned about Tennessee’s famous checkerboard endzones.
The oldest and most known building on campus, Ayres Hall, is tall and can be seen from almost anywhere on campus, especially from the football field.
In the early days, even before Neyland Stadium was built, atop of Ayres Hall you could find a subtle checkerboard design. With a then-clear view of Ayres Hall from the football field, it was General Robert Neyland (head coach from 1926-1952) who began the checkerboard craze!
Neyland would say things like “Don’t stop until time runs out or you reach the checkerboard, and once you get there… get there again!” Or, “Charge the Checkerboard!”
The checkerboard end zones were introduced when Doug Dickey became head coach in 1964. They were painted over after a few years and then introduced again in 1989 and have been there ever since!
