Sam Taylor is about to start her eighth - and final - season playing softball for a coaching member of the Reed family.
The senior center fielder for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga goes into Friday's 2016 start in the National Training Center Tournament at Clermont, Fla., with a bunch of championships already, and the Mocs have been voted the favorites to win the Southern Conference again under coach Frank Reed.
Taylor doesn't disagree.
"I'm very excited about this season - one, because we've got so many returners, especially with a lot of experience; and two, we've got newcomers who are so talented," she said recently. "I'm looking forward to how we come together."
Taylor was part of two Georgia state-runner-up teams and then two state champions under coach Dana Reed Mull at Gordon Lee High School, and she has two Southern Conference tournament titles and NCAA regional appearances along with a regular-season championship in her three previous seasons with the Mocs.
"It's been a good daddy-daughter combination for me," Taylor said with a laugh, noting that she wanted to play for UTC even as a 10-year-old attending Mocs games at Jim Frost Stadium.
And this may be the best UTC team of their four years together, senior catcher Anyssa Robles said, acknowledging also that the conference has improved since she arrived.
"We have depth at every position - two or three (players) that are good," Robles proclaimed. "Everyone is really strong."
That depth is a blessing but could be something of a curse, Reed said, admitting that he still hasn't decided on a first-game lineup.
"It's a good thing to have, but you always have to be aware of team chemistry," he explained. "If you've got players, especially upperclassmen, who think they should be getting more playing time, it can cause problems. Hopefully we'll get a lot of people playing time this weekend."
UTC opens at 11 a.m. Friday against Morgan State and also faces Liberty on the tournament's first day. The Mocs play Bethune-Cookman and Akron on Saturday and Bethune-Cookman again Sunday.
Senior second baseman Criket Blanco was a preseason first-team All-SoCon choice with Sam Taylor, senior shortstop Alyssa Taylor and sophomore pitcher Cori Jennings second-team picks. Catcher Robles was the most outstanding player in the 2015 SoCon tournament, and the fifth senior, reserve outfielder Amanda Ross, had a good fall and could play a lot if she's getting on base.
"There's not a lot of difference defensively in our players," Reed said. "Offense probably will end up deciding who stays in the lineup."
Jennings made the SoCon all-freshman team after the 2015 season, when she went 14-6 with a 2.96 earned run average, but she wasn't expected to be the pitching leader of this year's team. That was Katie Henderson, a senior who is not medically able to continue.
Knocked out of the 2015 rotation with an injury, Henderson had surgery in the summer to remove a nerve and a rib and was looking "phenomenal" in the fall, according to Reed, before her issues returned.
"I feel good about our pitching, but I would have felt fantastic with Katie Henderson still out there," the coach said Wednesday. "Her (ball) movement in the early fall was the best it's ever been."
Another sophomore pitcher with big-game experience is Kailey Palazzolo, and Jordan Fortel is a 6-foot freshman from Greeneville, Tenn. Both of them also play outfield.
"Jordan's a very strong pitcher. She has a lot of great movement," Robles said of the newcomer. "And she has that look of a powerhouse pitcher."
Robles also is impressed with freshman catcher Amanda Beltran, a 6-footer from California who just arrived in January after taking care of a core-class requirement.
"She's very good. I'm real excited to have her on the team," said Robles, who started all 50 games last year. "She has a great arm, and her swing looks real good in practice."
The team has six freshmen in all. Middle infielder J.J. Hamill from Gordon Lee and utility player Ashley Conner from Northwest Whitfield are other sophomores, and first baseman Jesslyn Stockard from Heritage High and versatile Katy Richardson from Girls Preparatory School and Chattanooga State are juniors with proven college ability.
Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.