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Here’s our TLI for Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022:
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EXTRA ELITE SPOTLIGHT: TAYLOR JOHNS
Uncommitted MIF/UT Taylor Johns, #5 in the 2026 Extra Elite 100, recently talked to Extra Inning Softball about Athletics Mercado 08-Tidd, strength and speed, Alliance Nationals, Texas Bombers Exposure, OC Batbusters-Stith, business, looking for a family environment, Matthew Johns, J Cole, “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” and hair and makeup.
EXTRA ELITE SPOTLIGHT Q&A
Name: Taylor Johns
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
High School: Palo Verde High
Club Team: Athletics Mercado 08-Tidd
Graduation Year: 2026
Height: 5-foot-7
Position: MIF/UT
Nickname: Tay or T
Twitter: @TaylorJohns2026
Honors: PGF All-Tournament team (2019); PGF national champions (2019); two-time USA Softball All-American; USA All-American Region 10 national champion (2021); Outstanding Academic Achievement (middle school); and #5 in the 2026 Extra Elite 100.
Travel Ball Fall Stats: .397 AVG, 31 hits, .705 SLG, .447 OBP, 26 runs, 22 RBIs, 3 HRs, 3 triples, 9 doubles and 7 SBs.
Tell us about your travel team/organization and how you became involved with them? I joined Athletics Mercado-Tidd with last year’s 2025 team and loved it. This team and organization fit me like a glove. I love the environment, the girls I get to play with, but especially the coaches and the culture Athletics Mercado teaches. My batting coach, Jeff Lehr, had been encouraging me to look further into the organization for the past few years. I have never been happier and am so excited to see where playing with this organization can take me!
Do you have any suggestions for training methods or apps and why? Some things I find have helped me throughout the years is really focusing on my strength and speed. I have been working out more, lifting and conditioning as I do hitting and fielding and working on my physical game. I also really like visualization before games or a tough practice. If I can imagine myself succeeding, then I will succeed. If I can think about what I will get out of this practice, I will get better. The only apps I use are for stretching to help with flexibility and mobility. I use GoWod; this is an app my trainer set me up with so I can stretch every day, which is useful for everything.
Can you tell us about your experience at Alliance Nationals this summer? This summer at Alliance Nationals, my team, Athletics Mercado 2025-Tidd , placed second. We were undefeated through the tournament and had high expectations of ourselves winning the national championship. We won the first game of the championship series, but lost the next two. I had a pretty bumpy tournament with hits here and there, but nothing super great. I wasn’t playing defense yet because I was still coming back from an arm injury. My biggest role that tournament was being the best teammate I could be. Even though that wasn’t how we wanted our last tournament together to end, we had a great week and it just fueled us all.
What was your favorite fall tournament/event and why? My favorite fall tournament was the Texas Bombers (Exposure). I really enjoyed this showcase because we got to play a variety of different, talented teams we had never seen before and playing in a different environment (Texas cold). This tournament challenged us and I think we all grew and became better as a whole from it.
Which player/team was your toughest opponent and why? A team that I think was one of our toughest opponents was (OC) Batbusters-Stith. We played them a lot, every game between us was a battle. Both teams wanted to win just as bad. In the end, it just came down to who had the better day. It was always the best pitchers against the best lineup and I really enjoyed the high-intensity environment that was created every time we played each other.
What areas are you interested in future occupations and why? As of right now, I am really interested in pursuing business. I want to study business during my undergraduate years and explore what kind of business I may want to own eventually. I’m pretty good with hair, so owning a few salons may be in my future.
What are you looking for in a future college? I am looking for a family environment with personable coaches and girls that I can really bond with past softball. I really want a college town and somewhere I’d feel comfortable living. I’ve been a straight-A student since I started school, so an environment that is academically challenging yet balanced with softball is important.
Who is your sports hero and why? My sports hero is my dad (Matthew Johns). He played D1 baseball at University of Nevada as a lefty outfielder. He was supposed to attend a junior college in Texas, but a week before he was supposed to leave, he got offered from UNR. He teaches me to always work hard because you never know who’s watching and how many opportunities you’ll really get. He pushes me to be the best version of myself every day.
What’s the best hype song and why? I would say the best hype song is “No Role Modelz” by J Cole. I know every single word to the song and something about it just boosts my energy through the roof.
What’s your favorite TV show to binge and why? My favorite TV show to binge is “Keeping Up With The Kardashians.” It’s just so interesting and there’s always something new with them. It’s very entertaining and so funny to watch.
Do you have a secret talent/skill? A secret talent of mine is that I am really good at doing hair and makeup. My friends have me do their hair and makeup all the time, sometimes even give them a haircut. I love doing makeup, which is funny since I rarely wear it.
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