Karlyn Pickens (born January 9, 2004) is an American

college softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. College softball is normally played by women at the Intercollegiate level, whereas college baseball is nor ...

pitcher for

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. She holds the NCAA softball record for fastest pitch ever thrown at .

High school career

Pickens attended North Buncombe High School in

Weaverville, North Carolina Weaverville is a town in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,567 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Asheville metropolitan area. History Chartered in 1875 and named for Michael Montraville Weaver who gave t ...

where she was a three-sport athlete, playing softball, basketball and volleyball. During the 2021 season, in her junior year, she posted a 12–1 record with a 0.41

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), with 207 strikeouts, and allowed only 12 hits and 21 walks in 85 innings. Following the season she was named North Carolina Gatorade Softball Player of the Year. She was ranked as the No. 2 pitcher and No. 5 overall player for the class of 2022 by Extra Inning Softball. On November 11, 2021, she signed her

national letter of intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...

to play college softball at

College career

As a freshman during the 2023 season, Pickens appeared in 28 games, with 16 starts, and posted a 9–7 record and two saves, with a 3.05 ERA and 99 strikeouts in innings. Following the season she was named SEC Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore during the 2024 season, she appeared in 38 games, with 27 starts, and posted a 22–7 record and one save, with a 1.12 ERA, 225 strikeouts, 15 complete games and 12 shutouts in innings. Following the season she was named SEC Pitcher of the Year and a top-ten finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. As a junior during the 2025 season, she appeared in 37 games, with 27 starts, and posted a 22–8 record and three saves, with a 0.90 ERA and 252 strikeouts in innings. On March 24, 2025, in a game against

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, she set the record for the fastest pitch ever thrown in NCAA softball history at , surpassing the previous record of set by

Monica Abbott Monica Cecilia Abbott (born July 28, 1985) is a retired American professional softball player. Abbott was an All-American pitcher for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in college before starting a professional career in the NPF and in the Japan S ...

in 2012. On May 24, 2025, during the Super Regionals of the

2025 NCAA Division I softball tournament The 2025 NCAA Division I softball tournament was held from May 16 through June 6, 2025, as the final part of the 2025 NCAA Division I softball season. The tournament ended with the 2025 Women's College World Series at Devon Park (stadium), Devon ...

against

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, she set a new fastest pitch record at . During conference play she posted an 11–4 with a 1.13 ERA, 113 strikeouts, ten complete games and three shutouts in 93 innings. Following the season she was named SEC Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive year. She became the fifth pitcher in SEC history to win the award in consecutive seasons, and the seventh in conference history to win the award multiple times. She was also named Softball America Pitcher of the Year, and a top-ten finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.

Personal life

Pickens was born to Phillip and Rebecca Pickens, and has two older brothers, Kolton and Rayce.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pickens, Karlyn Living people 2004 births Softball players from North Carolina People from Weaverville, North Carolina Tennessee Lady Volunteers softball players 21st-century American sportswomen