Tennessee is the first school in SEC history to have the SEC Pitcher of the Year in both baseball and softball twice, according to Tennessee Stats & Info on X.
Tennessee junior Karlyn Pickens earned her second-straight SEC Pitcher of the Year honor back on May 9, while UT ace Liam Doyle took home the SEC Pitcher of the Year award on Monday afternoon.
This is the fourth time in SEC history that a program has taken home the top individual pitching award in both baseball and softball, with Arkansas doing so in 2021 and Florida in 2018. Tennessee is the first program in SEC history to do it twice.
UT’s first time achieving the accomplishment was in 2005 when UT softball pitcher Monica Abbott and UT baseball pitcher Luke Hochevar took home the awards.
Karlyn Pickens (@Vol_Softball) & Liam Doyle (@Vol_Baseball) earned @SEC Pitcher of the Year honors, making Tennessee the first school in league history with both winners in the same year twice
2025 – Tennessee
2021 – Arkansas
2018 – Florida
2005 – Tennessee (Abbott, Hochevar) pic.twitter.com/n5LNIJo8Xo— Tennessee Stats & Info (@Vol_Stats) May 20, 2025
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Pickens, a 6-foot-1 right-hander from Weaverville, N.C., has been terrific for the Lady Vols this season as Tennessee looks to capture a spot in the Women’s College World Series this weekend in the Knoxville Super Regional.
In 37 appearances this season, Pickens has a truly blistering ERA of 0.90 and a 22-8 record. She has 20 complete games this season with 252 strikeouts and 24 earned runs in 186.1 innings on the mound.
Tennessee (43-14) will host Nebraska (42-13) in a best-of-three series starting Friday night in Knoxville’s Sherri Parker Lee Stadium at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Doyle, meanwhile, has made an immediate impact during his first season on Rocky Top after transferring from Ole Miss. The 6-foot-2 left-hander from Derry, N.H., has been strong for Tennessee this season as the Vols’ Friday night ace.
In 15 appearances and 14 starts this season, Doyle has posted a 2.72 ERA with nine wins to just three losses. In 79.1 innings on the mound this season, Doyle has punched out 137 batters while only allowing 25 walks and 24 earned runs.
Knoxville residents are hoping for another chance to see Doyle pitch in Lindsey Nelson Stadium, though. After a streak of losing series this season, Tennessee isn’t currently projected to host a regional series on campus this year. That could change with a monster run in the SEC Tournament this week, but it’ll take something special to put the Vols back in the race. Doyle will certainly be part of that attempt as the Vols’ top pitcher.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for live, on-site coverage of the Vols’ SEC Tournament run this week in Hoover, AL.
