The Tennessee softball team celebrated as the confetti rained down at Bogle Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Lady Vols hoisted the SEC tournament championship trophy while proudly wearing their championship hats and T-shirts.
Yet, Tennessee made sure of one point: They may have swept the SEC regular-season and tournament titles for the first time in program history, but their ambitions are bigger.
“It was part of our goal,” senior center fielder Kiki Milloy says. “Two-thirds of our goal. Now let’s go get the national championship.”
The final leg of that journey begins Friday.
Tennessee (44-8) is a No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Championships and will be hosting a regional for the 18th consecutive season. Should the Lady Vols advance, they would remain at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium to host the Super Regional.
The Lady Vols are trying to reach the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2015 and eighth time overall. They have never won a national title.
For the regional, Tennessee will be hosting Indiana, Louisville and Northern Kentucky in a double-elimination format Friday-Sunday.
The Lady Vols open against Northern Kentucky Friday at 5:30 p.m. Indiana will play Louisville in the earlier game at 3 p.m. Friday’s winners will meet Saturday at 1 p.m. ET and the losers will square off at 3:30. The regional concludes Sunday, with a game scheduled for 2 p.m. and an if-necessary game for 4:30.
Tennessee is one of just two programs to host regionals every season since the NCAA switched to a regional and super regional format in 2005.
But hosting hasn’t always assured Tennessee of advancing. The Lady Vols have suffered their share of disappointments in the last few seasons at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
Last year, Tennessee was upset by Oregon State in regional play. In 2021, it was JMU that upset Tennessee during its Cinderella run to the Women’s College World Series.
But the Lady Vols have a strong conviction that this year can be different. They have developed into a cohesive unit that is able to withstand adversity.
“They believe in each other,” says Tennessee head coach Karen Weekly, who was named the SEC Coach of the Year last week. “It has become a player-led team. On good teams, the coaches lead. On great teams, the players lead.”
Vets, newcomers make difference
Tennessee made it a priority in the offseason to increase its depth in the circle and throughout the lineup.
The additions of senior transfer Payton Gottshall and SEC Freshman of the Year Karlyn Pickens to the pitching staff have provided ace Ashley Rogers with more support.
Rogers, who has struggled with injuries the past few seasons, hasn’t been required to shoulder as much of the load this year and has returned to her All-American form.
The graduate senior enters the NCAA tournament 16-1 with a 0.70 ERA, which ranks third in the nation. She has 160 strikeouts and 36 walks in 119.1 innings pitched. In comparison, Rogers pitched 173.1 innings in 2019 and 217.1 in 2021, the last full seasons she was healthy.
Milloy has been the catalyst of the Lady Vols in every way. She leads the nation with a single-season program record 23 home runs while batting .421 and slugging .966. Milloy, who was named MVP of the SEC tournament, has 52 RBI and an SEC-leading 34 steals in 35 attempts.
“Kiki inspires belief in everybody,” Weekly says. “Kiki is a winner. She always believes that she is going to win and we are going to win. She just spreads that to everybody.”
In an era when NIL money and a more liberal transfer portal have lured some players away, Milloy has remained loyal to Rocky Top.
“A lot of people jump when they think the grass is greener somewhere else, and that is not Kiki Milloy,” Weekly says. “That is why she is such a special human being and she is going to be such a great success whatever she does in life.”
The increased depth of UT’s lineup was perhaps best on display in the SEC tournament. In the semifinal against Alabama, Katie Taylor, who is batting .232 with 13 RBI, hit just her third home run of the season. The two-run shot gave Tennessee a 7-4 lead in an eventual 7-6 win.
In the championship game against South Carolina, Jamison Brockenbrough, who is batting .260 with 15 RBI, drove in the game-winning runs with a two-run single in the 3-1 victory.
Tennessee has accomplished a lot already this season. The first SEC regular-season title since 2007. The first SEC tournament title since 2011. The first time winning both in the same season.
But the crown jewel of softball still awaits.
The Lady Vols want to earn a coveted trip back to Oklahoma City for a chance to win the program’s first national title.
As Rocky Top rang out in Bogle Park, Milloy left no doubt she wouldn’t mind having it play in USA Hall of Fame Stadium during the first week of June.
“Let the other SEC teams be sick of it,” Milloy says. “I love hearing it.”