Ever wanted to play catch with Lady Vols softball players? That opportunity for any age is available in Knoxville in June.

Current Tennessee players Bella Faw, twins Alannah and Gabby Leach and Elsa Morrison and former Lady Vol Rylie West will be at Dick’s House of Sport at West Town Mall on Monday, June 29, from 6-7:30 p.m. as a fundraiser for the Lady Vols Boost-Her Club. A $75 ticket can be purchased HERE and also includes a meal from HardWood BBQ, various games, batting cage instruction – bring a bat for free regripping if you have one – autographs, photos and giveaways.

In 1979, the late Pat Summitt helped create the Lady Vols Boost-Her Club, which was shuttered when the men’s and women’s athletics departments merged in 2012 – also the final year Summitt coached the Lady Vols basketball team.

The club returned in 2022 for all Lady Vols sports through the efforts of founder Terri Holder and her supporters and restores the connection between players and fans and the opportunity for experiences, such as playing catch. Various memberships are available HERE for anyone who wants to join.

Since the season ended for Tennessee in the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series, coach Karen Weekly has been busy adding and elevating staff members. Megan Rhodes Smith, a former Lady Vols pitcher who has been on the staff for six seasons as the pitching coach, has been promoted to associate head coach.

“Megan is most deserving of this promotion,” Weekly said. “In just six seasons, she has made an incredible impact on our program and specifically our pitching staff. She is passionate about developing young women into courageous leaders. Our overall success is due in large part to the way she invests in each of our student-athletes as people first.”

Weekly elevated former Lady Vol Aubrey Leach-Gartner – the older sister of Alannah and Gabby – from director of player development after two years to assistant coach. Leach-Gartner also spent three seasons as a graduate assistant while earning a law degree at Tennessee.

“Aubrey is one of the brightest young minds in the game,” Weekly said. “We are blessed that she chose to make Tennessee her home in 2016 as a freshman in our Lady Vol program. It has been such a joy to watch her career progress from college player to professional player and now a college coach. Our young women have benefited greatly from her expertise and mentorship through the years, and our student-athletes are ecstatic about continuing to work with Aubrey.”

Coach Karen Weekly and Elsa Morrison celebrate a home run. (Tennessee Athletics)

Weekly had two assistant coach position to fill after husband-wife duo Craig Snider and Stephanie Sanders departed to take the helm of The Knoxville Miracle, a new team that is under development and will become part of the Professional Softball League.

The other assistant coach position was filled by Ehren Earleywine, who was hired June 9 as associate head coach to oversee the offense, which needs a jolt for the Lady Vols to seize that first national title. Earleywine held the same position in 2026 for Texas, which won a championship this season.

So far, just three Tennessee players have entered the portal. Outfielder Saviya Morgan selected South Carolina, and pitcher Kailey Plumlee chose Alabama. Both players were in a packed pipeline at their positions. Infielder Ella Dodge, who was in a crowded infield, also entered the portal and hasn’t announced her destination yet.

The portal closes June 22 and while undergraduate players don’t have to decide by then, they must be in the portal to avoid a sit-out year. Graduate transfers, as always, have immediate eligibility.

Pitcher Sage Mardjetko already has announced that she will return to her third and final season at Tennessee after playing one year at South Carolina. Mardjetko will be reunited with teammate Karley Shelton, a second baseman who transferred from South Carolina and committed this week to play her final college season in orange.

In 2026, Shelton hit .345 with 40 RBI, 16 doubles, one triple and seven home runs and has been a fixture in the Gamecocks’ lineup by starting all 121 games in the last two seasons.

A talented freshman class of five – it’s ranked No. 5 in the country and includes local and state talent – also is headed to campus with infielder Halle Bailey, who is from Rockford and played at Alcoa High School; lefty pitcher Maggie Krause of Brazil, Indiana; infielder/outfielder Amani Mcfield of Rialto, California; pitcher/utility player Bailee Shelton, who is from Ramer, Tennessee, and played at McNairy Central High School; and catcher/infielder Avary Stockwell, who is from Mount Juliet, Tennessee, and played at Green Hill High School.

If everyone else stays, the Lady Vols are loaded at the pitcher position and have talent across the infield and outfield.

PAT THE PLAY

As written HERE in last week’s column, PAT the play by Lisa Soland has returned to the stage, and tickets are still available HERE. The play runs through Sunday, June 28 at The Jenny Boyd Theatre on Tennessee’s campus, and tickets for the Wednesday, June 25, show are half-price for that performance. It’s a poignant and inspiring play about Pat Summitt, who died 10 years ago on June 28, 2016.

Maria M. Cornelius, a senior writer/editor at MoxCar Marketing + Communications since 2013, started her journalism career at the Knoxville News Sentinel and began writing about the Lady Vols in 1998. In 2016, she published her first book, “The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt,” through The University of Tennessee Press and a 10th anniversary edition was released June 16, 2026.