The honors keep rolling in for Tennessee softball. Just days before taking part in the 2026 Women’s College World Series as one of the final eight teams remaining, Lady Vols star pitchers Karlyn Pickens and Sage Mardjetko were both named First-Team All-Americans by D1Softball.
For Pickens, this is her fourth All-American honor from D1Softball in her career. She has been named a Freshman All-American and has now earned three consecutive First-Team All-American nods.
In her senior season, Pickens has posted a 1.53 ERA with 180 strikeouts in 31 appearances. Her ERA ranks fifth in the SEC, and her strikeout total is sixth. Her hits allowed per seven innings is at 3.39, which is second nationally.
Most recently, Pickens pitched a complete game in game one of the Knoxville Super Regional to cap off a tremendous career inside Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
“I’ve never coached an athlete like her,” Tennessee head coach Karen Weekly said after the game. “Just unbelievable the way she always wants the ball, wants the responsibility… She wants that responsibility, and she’s going to own it. And you couldn’t ask for more from somebody in the circle.”
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Marjdetko is in the midst of a career year in the circle. The junior is in her second year with the Lady Vols after transferring in from South Carolina. In her first year with All-American status, Mardjetko owns a 1.12 ERA and a 14-2 record in 28 appearances. This includes a career-high 165 strikeouts over the course of 119 innings and a conference-best ERA of 1.07 in SEC play.
Her most recent time pitching was in relief during game two of the Knoxville Super Regional. She allowed just one run as she helped the Lady Vols advance to WCWS.
“Absolutely incredible,” Weekly said after the game. “Just keeping them off balance… Erin (Nuwer) starting off, and then Sage coming in, they just kept mixing speeds and how she kept mixing her locations, and you could see it was getting hard for them to sit on anything and settle into anything.”
Next, the team will open the WCWS against Texas on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET, airing on ESPN.
