Kentucky softball commit Taylor Hess loves silencing the crowd
MAPLE LAKE, Minn. (BVM) – When Taylor Hess steps onto the mound, she doesn’t want silence. In fact, the Maple Lake ace hopes that there will be plenty of noise, with most of it coming from the opposing team’s fans.
“It’s my favorite when you play people and you get people in the stands chanting the overrated chant,” Hess said. “Then you get the opportunity to go up there and strike their team out. That’s one of my favorites; it gives me an edge and helps me play with a chip on my shoulder.”
The University of Kentucky softball commit has gotten very good at silencing the crowd and she needs to be because the noise is coming. That is what happens when you’re an SEC softball commit as well as one of the top softball players in the Class of 2022.
Hess embraces the byproduct of her success and uses it for motivation. Last season as a junior for the Irish, Hess had a 0.61 ERA with 249 strikeouts and a .449 batting average. She also kept opposing fans silent most of the time with five no-hitters, 18 shutouts and three perfect games.
Her success earned her first team all-state and first team all-conference selections along with a trip to the MSHSL softball state tournament with Maple Lake. Hess’ dominant season came right after her verbal commitment to the University of Kentucky in September of 2020, giving her the perfect chance to prove to everyone why the Wildcats wanted her.
“For me I was always proving people wrong,” Hess said. “It seemed to me that people would always tell me that it’s not realistic for me to play at that level or you’re never going to make it and for me, it was always proving those people wrong to show them that I could do it.”
However, there were those that did believe in Hess and helped on her journey to SEC softball.
“I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by the best support staff to help me get there,” Hess said.
Hess’ first pitching coach, Mike Smith, would always tell her that he was going to watch her on TV one day. This was when Hess was in fifth and sixth grade, but Smith saw the potential. While working with Smith, she also got to observe Smith’s daughter, Sydney, who was a star pitcher herself and would end up playing softball for LSU and the University of Minnesota.
Working with Mike and watching Sydney made her fall in love with the game of softball and gave her a goal to work towards. She wanted to be like Sydney and play softball at the highest level.
“I would follow Sydney and I would always say to myself, ‘I want to be like her and I want to play at the highest level,’ and around this area it’s not really common to do that,” Hess said. “It seems out of the norm. It’s been this goal that I’ve had for a very long time”
Along with the Smiths, her family was right there as she worked towards her dream. Her parents made sure she never gave up on her dream by supporting her through the tough times, driving her to practice and going on trips to club tournaments during the summer. Her father has spent countless hours working with Hess and is also her high school coach. Hess’ two brothers have made sacrifices so that she can go with her parents to tournaments around the country.
“I’m so incredibly lucky for all four of them,” Hess said.
Their support and Hess’ determination to accomplish her dream began to pay dividends right away. In 2019 as a freshman for the Irish, she made first team all-state. That same year she won a PGF National Championship with her club team. College coaches took notice and Hess began the recruiting process.
“The recruiting process was very different for me just because of covid and everything so we couldn’t take visits,” Hess said. “We basically went off of zoom calls and phone calls and them sending us pictures.”
On one particular day, she had 15 phone calls with different coaches, with Kentucky Wildcat head coach Rachel Lawson being the last phone call. The two talked for over an hour. When the conversation finally ended, Hess was sold on being a Wildcat.
“Immediately after that phone call I knew this is who I want to play for and I just instantly fell in love with it,” Hess said.
She verbally committed as a junior and then made it official last November when she signed a national letter of intent.
“It was so rewarding,” Hess said. “It makes you feel really good inside. It reminds you that everything you did, every sacrifice you made, it was totally worth it.”
Hess is now a part of a Kentucky Wildcats recruiting class that is ranked in the top 30 nationally. She will also join a team that was ranked nationally throughout the season and has Women’s College World Series aspirations. It will be a huge challenge, but Hess is up for it.
“I’m so ready and I’m ready to be put in that environment with all those amazing coaches and athletes,” Hess said. “It’s just starting to hit me that this is actually going to happen. I feel like when I committed my junior year I was like, ‘Yeah this is what I’m going to do in my distant future,’ but now it’s actually here and I couldn’t be more ready for it.”