Taylor Pannell set to join SEC softball powerhouse Tennessee
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (BVM) – Taylor Pannell is a special player on the softball field. It’s something known throughout her home state of Illinois, and it’s also known across the nation, as Pannell is ranked as the No. 4 player in the Class of 2022 by Extra Inning Softball.
Very honored and Thankful to be ranked 4th in the country. Thank you @ExtraInningSB. @GAImpact00Lewis @Vol_Softball pic.twitter.com/mfit7m8sjk
— Taylor Pannell (@taylor__pannell) October 23, 2021
“I really appreciate everything and all the honors,” Pannell said. “But I like to just play like any other girl … It motivates me, because I always want to try and get better. I’m still not there yet, I always see room to improve. But it’s just an honor being able to be recognized for all the hard work, and it just feels good that other people think highly of me.”
With Pannell long being on the national radar, she has been sought after by many of the top college softball programs in the nation over the last several years. Pannell’s initial recruiting process began back in middle school, and in eighth grade, she decided to verbally commit to Auburn.
“I was thinking Northwestern, Michigan, more like Midwest schools,” Pannell said. “And then Auburn came into the mix. That’s where I felt my best place was.”
Despite the verbal commitment to become a Tiger, Pannell started realizing her younger self may have made a declaration too soon as she got into high school. As a result, she would eventually decommit from Auburn and re-open her recruiting process.
“I decided that that was no longer the place for me,” Pannell added. “I was kind of young when I made that decision.”
The softball standout had no shortage of interest when she became available yet again. Primarily, she was talking to Pac-12 and SEC schools. Although Arkansas was a close second, ultimately, she found a new home in the SEC with Tennessee.
I am proud to say that I have decided to verbally commit to the University of Tennessee to further my academic and athletic career🧡 I want to thank my family and my coaches for getting me where I am today! GO VOLS 🤍 @Vol_Softball @MojoFisher04 pic.twitter.com/oyL6IJ4bdI
— Taylor Pannell (@taylor__pannell) September 7, 2020
“The second go around, I feel like it was easier,” Pannell said. “I was able to visit Arizona, Oklahoma, and I was even able to visit Tennessee before Covid hit. When I came in the second go around, I was dead set on Tennessee because I already visited there. That place just felt like home … Tennessee’s environment, facilities and the program itself just really sold me. It felt like the best place for me to have my college experience.”
Tennessee seems to be the right fit to continue what has already been a brilliant softball career for the infielder. Over the last decade, Pannell has evolved as a hitter, flashing speed and power similar to one of her most recent role models, Tennessee outfielder Kiki Milloy.
Other role models throughout Pannell’s life have included her parents, Brandon and Stephanie, both former athletes themselves who initially introduced their daughter to softball.
“My parents played a huge part in this,” Taylor said. “Without them, I wouldn’t be in this situation. They risk and sacrifice so much to get me places for travel, and just to be able to play the sport.”
Taylor’s younger sister, Addison, has also taken up softball, allowing Taylor to become a role model just as her parents had for her. She’s shown her younger sister some of her favorite parts of the sport, including the competitiveness, team aspect and constant ability to perfect something new.
Over the years, Taylor has displayed her passion for the game and her elite talent on the travel circuit. After playing for Beverly Bandits in middle school, the infielder has since gone on to compete with Tennessee Mojo Fisher, and most recently, Georgia Impact.
In 2019, Taylor helped lead her 14U Mojo Fisher squad to a Premier Girls Fastpitch National Championship.
“My freshman year I made the move to Fisher, which is more competitive and around the country,” Taylor said. “That team was really special to me … They recruit some of the best kids across the country just to win that national championship. We succeeded with that, so that was pretty cool to be a part of that.
“This past year, I joined Impact. It was a different surrounding and different set of coaches I was able to learn from. That just helped me become more prepared for college.”
Also further preparing her for the bigger stages she will see in the future was getting to compete in the inaugural Premier Girls Fastpitch Futures All-American game last year, a nationally televised event featuring 21 of the best Class of 2022 softball players in the country.
“It was really cool just to be able to be a part of that,” Taylor mentioned. “It was a really different environment … It was really cool just to meet a lot of talented girls in my age division and just to be able to play at that high level.”
As much as she has done on the national stage, Taylor has also shined locally at Rock Island High School. In her freshman season, she came in a bit nervous playing alongside girls several years older than her and for a program coming off an IHSA Class 4A state championship.
However, she was taken in by the upperclassmen on Rock Island’s squad, creating a relaxed and fun year for the infielder. By the time the season was all said and done, she had put up some impressive first-year numbers, including eight home runs, 30 RBIs, 47 runs and 29 steals while batting .453.
Prepared to build on those numbers and become more of a leader in her sophomore season, Taylor and her teammates were getting ready for a game when they learned the 2020 spring season would be canceled. It brought about plenty of heartbreak, but it also had Rock Island even more motivated by the time they took the field once again in 2021.
“That season was just really special,” Taylor said about her junior campaign. “At that point, we were not fully in school, and the only time I could actually see my friends and hangout with my friends was at softball practice. We would just take that all in and look forward to practice each and every day.”
Happy to have an opportunity to be back on the field, Taylor took full advantage, belting a state-leading 17 home runs, scoring 61 runs, stealing 39 bases and batting over .570.
She followed that up with similar numbers in her senior season. Despite a tough start to the campaign by her standards, Taylor still hit .550 during league play as the Western Big 6 Conference MVP. Although Rock Island fell short of its state title goal despite a late rally in its final postseason game, it still capped an impressive high school career for Taylor.
“Since I had such a good season last year, I feel like I started off putting a lot of pressure on myself to succeed,” Taylor said. “I had a hard time adjusting at that point, because I felt like I had to do everything myself. But later in the season when I had more success, I just learned to let my team have my back … At that point, we were having more success as a team.
“I’m really proud of this season. I know the senior class, we left the program better than we found it when we came in.”
Now, it is time for Taylor to do the same at Tennessee. Her elite softball talent could take her to new heights in the future. But for now, she remains focused on finding a way to make an impact for the Vols right off the bat.
“I hope that I’m able to make a difference right away,” Taylor said. “It’s going to be hard as a freshman, but I hope I get in there and start off really high. I have to work hard everyday to better myself as a person and a player, but I’m just really excited to get down to Tennessee.”
