Throwback Thursday: SEC Newcomer of the Week Taylor Pleasants… Remembering Her 2019 Extra Elite 100 Days & Her International Play in Japan & With Team USA!

LSU softball freshman Taylor Pleasants was named the Southeastern Conference Newcomer of the week after hitting .444 last weekend to lead LSU to a series win over No. 14 Kentucky.

Taylor had four hits and five RBIs and in Sunday’s doubleheader sweep over the Wildcats, she hit a home run in each game and also drew four walks on the weekend.

This season, the Houston native is hitting .316 with 43 hits and a team-high 42 RBIs and 10 home runs. Pleasants is in the Top 15 of the league in SEC games in batting average, slugging percentage, hits, RBI and home runs.

It doesn’t get any easier for Taylor and her Bengals teammates as they return home—for the first time in about a month—to face Top 10-ranked Arkansas this weekend with all three games to be televised nationally, the first one on ESPNU and the other two being on the SEC Network.

We go back with Taylor several years when she was starring as a Top 10 ranked player in the 2019 Extra Elite 100.

In our Top 10 that also included Kelley Lynch (now at Washington), Lexi Kilfoyl (Alabama), Maya Brady (UCLA), Julia Cottrill (Florida), Kinzie Hansen (Oklahoma), Alyssa Garcia (UCLA) and current LSU teammate Ciara Briggs, Taylor was also noteworthy for all that she could do.

I can remember being in at the Triple Crown/USA Nationals in Reno, Nevada many years ago when she was one of the shining starts at the event. Taylor hit a home run in one game and also made a diving catch in the outfield while playing for the Texas Bombers organization in front of major college coaches from schools such as Oklahoma, Florida and LSU.

*** Scroll down to read more Taylor’s impressive accomplishments including playing internationally for USA Softball and for her club team, which traveled to Japan three years ago!

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