If Lillian Hammond is unable to realize her dream job as a forensic psychologist, perhaps she should consider becoming a soothsayer or palm-reader. She’s already shown a knack for seeing into her own future.

Hammond is a 2005 graduate of GPS and currently on track to graduate this spring from the University of Tennessee where she has played softball the last three years.

Susan Crownover coached Hammond in high school and her first recollection is that of a long-and-bushy-haired seventh-grade pitcher and shortstop. Even then Hammond had the foresight to see that acclimating to a new position could help her pursue a career in softball. She was eventually chosen a second-team outfielder on the Times Free Press Best of Preps all-city team as a sophomore before voted first-team the next two years.

During that time she also came under the watchful eye of UT co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly. Hammond often flashed five-tool skills back then as she patrolled center field for GPS while also producing six home runs among 37 extra-base hits with 69 runs scored and 54 RBIs. Between school seasons she kept her talent refined by playing with a local select team, the Yankettes, which is now the Fury organization where four current GPS players and future Lady Volunteers — younger sister Whitney Hammond included — are members.

“We found Lilly the summer after her junior year in high school,” Karen Weekly said. “We had seen her some as a junior, but we saw her quite a bit that summer. We thought we saw real athleticism. She’s blessed with speed. She’s also got good size to go with that speed. There was a lot of raw potential there.”

The Weeklys were more interested in Hammond’s speed than her power. Plans were to convert her into a left-handed slap-hitter. Again with her progressive thinking, Hammond was prepared and she’s gone on to become a .362 career hitter at Tennessee with 96 runs scored and a 45-of-48 success ratio on stolen bases.

“This day and age a lot of kids feel they have a specialty, and tend to not want to change things,” Crownover said. “Lillian wanted to play at the highest level. She had volleyball offers at smaller schools, but she saw a bigger opportunity in softball. Then in order to do this thing, she felt like she had to make that change.”

UT has a 174-36 record since Hammond joined the team. Her first two seasons came to an end at the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City with the Lady Vols ending up third in 2006 and runner-up in ’07.

“You go there thinking you know what it’s going to be like because you’ve seen it on TV, but it’s something completely different,” Hammond said. “It’s really humbling, with all the fans, all the great players.”

Practice began Wednesday for Hammond’s final season where she’ll be the projected starter in left field.

“I’ve been thinking about that lately, but it’s not really a reality yet,” Hammond said. “It’s lurking in the background.”

Hammond said she thinks this year’s team is capable of winning its way back to the WCWS, despite several freshmen having to fulfill key roles. Either way she plans on “living it up,” again using her forethought to predict that autograph seekers and photo opportunities with fans will become scarce once her softball career is over.

Hammond is seeking a third consecutive first-team selection on ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-America Softball Team on her way out. Afterward she can devote her time to examining the minds of accused criminals — or crystal balls.

“Lillian can do anything,” Weekly said. “She’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever been around. She’s a 4.0 student in college with one semester to go. That’s remarkable for any college student, but especially one dealing with the grind of being a Division I athlete in a top-ranked program.”