Tennessee softball ace Karlyn Pickens receives AUSL golden ticket from Jennie Finch

· Yahoo Sports

Karlyn Pickens came up for air from the sea of teammates flooding her with hugs on the field, looking up into the stands at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.

Visit h-doctor.club for more information.

The senior pitcher immediately found her parents, Rebecca and Phillip, and her boyfriend, Jack, and she blew them a kiss, sharing the once-in-a-lifetime moment with everyone she loved.

The reigning back-to-back SEC Pitcher of the Year had already pitched Tennessee softball to a 3-1 win in the series opener against South Carolina on April 2. Then Pickens was surprised with her golden ticket from the Athletes Unlimited Softball League in front of a packed home crowd, marking her as one of the draftees for this upcoming season of the budding professional league.

Pickens was surrounded by her teammates as the AUSL video played on the scoreboard, already receiving hugs as they figured out what was happening.

"Being able to look up at my parents up there, even my boyfriend – he's actually going overseas in two weeks to play basketball, so for him to come and see this moment, it was really special," Pickens said. "Surrounded with our amazing fanbase, my teammates, coaches, everyone here, I couldn't have asked for a better moment."

Pickens was the first athlete to be signed to an NIL partnership with AUSL in February. Her golden ticket was presented to her by softball legend Jennie Finch, who Pickens grew up idolizing. Pickens called it "surreal and special" to see the icon meet her in the circle.

When Finch, who won the 2001 national championship with Arizona, saw the clip AUSL posted of Pickens talking about growing up watching Finch, who she hadn't met yet, she messaged Pickens on Instagram. Finch told her she was killing it, and to keep doing great things – like setting the record for fastest softball pitch ever recorded twice last season.

"This moment already is amazing and magical, but then being able to witness how Karlyn has impacted the game and what she's done for the game, to be here today and get to meet her and present her with the golden ticket was everything," said Finch, a two-time Olympic medalist. "When the opportunity came, it's like, I want to be the one to go. I'll be there. How special will that be? I need to meet her anyway."

Finch has already witnessed Pickens' impact on the sport through her daughter, who's a huge fan of Pickens, along with all her teammates.

Finch loves Pickens' composure in the circle paired with her fierce competitiveness.

"All eyes are on her when she's in the circle," Finch said. "There's just that, no doubt about it, she's going right at that hitter. She believes in herself. Her confidence exudes throughout the playing field. It's so much fun to see the ball in her hand and see her mow down hitters."

Tennessee coach Karen Weekly had to keep the golden ticket a secret to surprise Pickens. Weekly took the charge seriously, not telling the other coaches, or even her husband Ralph, who was co-head coach with Weekly until he retired in 2021.

It was neat for Weekly to watch the moment unfold and see the reaction on not just Pickens' face, but her teammates, who have "so much love for her."

"Karlyn is such a special one, because she's old school," Weekly said. "Karlyn is loyal. Karlyn is humble. Karlyn is everything you want an athlete to be, and then there's a ton of talent to go with it."

Getting Finch involved in handing out golden tickets and bridging the gap between college and pro softball fans speaks to the AUSL and what it wants to become, Weekly said.

There have been attempts for many years to get women's professional softball established, but it hasn't quite gotten there, and Weekly believes AUSL is doing it "the right way."

"Bringing this kind of publicity to the game and to the professional aspect of the game, they're making it a big deal," Weekly said. "And tonight was a real big deal."

Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: [email protected]; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social‬. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Karlyn Pickens receives AUSL golden ticket after Tennessee softball win

Read full story at source