Karlyn Pickens will forever go down as one of the best pitchers in University of Tennessee history. The Lady Vol for Life finished with a 1.53 ERA and a .167 opponents batting average, and accumulated 71 career wins with 824 strikeouts across 650.1 innings.
Through all the accolades and her 79.4 miles per hour pitch, what most people spoke of was that she was the hardest worker on the team and an even better teammate.
“Having that person as our senior anchor of the staff last year, it just trickles down so well,” Lady Vols associate head coach Megan Rhodes Smith said in a previous interview. “People always say, when your superstar is your hardest worker, your team’s in a great spot. I would say the same thing when your superstar is humble, when your superstar is always showing up to get better. She’s trusting the decisions made, and it’s not all about her, so I think it’s easier for other people to be the same.”
For Weekly, who guided Pickens through four seasons at Tennessee, none of it was a surprise.
“I think Karlyn is really good at knowing what she needs and really good at being able to communicate that, and she’s an outstanding teammate,” Weekly said in an exclusive interview. “So I’m sure those Blaze players are just ecstatic at being able to play with and behind Karlyn. But I’m just so proud to watch her independence and her maturity and how she’s conducting herself as a pro, and I would have expected nothing less after watching how she managed herself four years here.”
Pickens, always thinking of being a teammate first, spoke during the Knoxville Super Regional of the closeness and fun the team had.
“When you see teams really just playing for each other the most, even us, this is the most fun I think that we’ve had in a long time,” Pickens said. “Just going out there and knowing that we’re playing for the girls to our left and our right.”
It didn’t take long for those in the Carolina Blaze realm to realize that either. Blaze GM Dana Sorensen vetted Pickens before making up her mind to take her with the No. 1 overall pick in the AUSL Collegiate Draft. She couldn’t find any reason not to.
“Not a single person I’ve ever talked to has said anything other than she is a fantastic teammate who just wants to win, and is 100 percent team first, which is hard to do when you’re the most talked about, hardest throwing pitcher we’ve ever seen,” Sorensen said in a preseason press conference.
What has always struck me about Pickens is, whether the game was good or less than that, she kept her joy. Given the competitor she is, you would never really know if something was bothering her. That says as much about her character and mindset as anything.
Moments after her final game in a Tennessee uniform, Pickens reflected on everything the program had given her.
“It’s given me a platform to play the sport I love with the people I love and do so with just so much joy and fun. I’ve soaked in and loved every single moment of it, and I’m very excited that my playing days aren’t over, but it’s definitely the end of a chapter. It sucks that I won’t get to put on this uniform again, but I’m just so grateful for all the experience I’ve had,” she said.
On Sunday, Tennessee Athletics will feature a 35-minute special on its YouTube page, “For the Joy of the Game: The Karlyn Pickens Story.” You can see it at 6 p.m. EDT.
