15d ago other sports Edit

Tennessee softball secures consecutive outright SEC regular season titles

Tennessee's Zaida Puni (11) and McKenna Gibson (24) greets Kiki Milloy (9) at home base after Milloy hit a home run during a SEC softball game between Tennessee and South Carolina at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, May 6, 2023. (Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Ryan Sylvia • VolReport

Assistant Managing Editor

Born in Knoxville, Tenn. and a graduate of the University of Tennesee, Knoxville. Covering football, basketball, baseball and recruiting for VolReport.

With No. 3 Tennessee softball's win over Kentucky on Friday night and No. 10 Texas A&M's loss to Florida, the Lady Vols have secured the outright SEC Regular Season Championship for the second straight season.

This is the program's third regular season conference title after previously winning in both 2007 and 2023. Tennessee parlayed this into its third conference tournament championship a year ago.

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Tennessee is 39-9 overall on the season and 18-5 in SEC play. With one game remaining, it has locked up the top seed in the SEC Tournament and is in position to be a top-eight seeded team in the NCAA Tournament giving it the right to host a Regional and Super Regional in Knoxville.

This would be the Lady Vols' 20th-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament in years it was held. They have made eight Women's College World Series appearances as one of the last eight teams standing. This included last season.

Tennessee has never won the National Championship in softball but has been the runner-up twice in both 2007 and 2013.

Heading into Friday, the Lady Vols are led at the plate by Kiki Milloy. Considered one of the best players in the country, Milloy is hitting .362 at the plate with a .471 on-base percentage. She has hit the most home runs in program history through a career and is at 10 on the 2024 season.

In the circle, both Payton Gottshall and Karlyn Pickens have dominated. Gottshall has a 1.00 ERA and Pickens owns a 1.17. These are the No. 5 and 7 best marks in the country. As a staff, an ERA of 1.31 is the second-best.

The SEC Tournament begins on Tuesday, May 7, but the Lady Vols won't take the field until the quarterfinals begin on May 9. Then, the NCAA Tournament will kick-off on May 16. The bracket is revealed on May 12 during a selection show on ESPN2 beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

*updated to reflect Texas A&M's loss giving Tennessee sole possession of the title*

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