If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready. Add Karlyn Pickens and her mother, Rebecca Pickens, to that list.

When the family took a vacation in July, a traveling softball team saw Tennessee’s ace pitcher after they arrived at the beach house.

Her mother posted on social media: “When you’re on vacay and a travel softball team spots Karlyn Pickens, you whip out some autographed photos and make their day!!” The post has more than 55,000 views.

Pickens, who will play her final season of college softball in the 2026 spring season, also hosted camps in July in Tennessee and Florida. One attendee arrived for camp in full uniform.

As Rebecca Pickens wrote on her social post hashtag, be a role model.

Karlyn Pickens had an All-American junior season to help lead the Lady Vols to the Women’s College World Series. She set the record for the fastest pitch ever in women’s softball at 78.2 mph and then broke it at 79.4 mph. Can she get to 80 mph as a senior? Time will tell.

TENNIS

Tennessee Coach Alison Ojeda earned a contract extension through 2030 after another stellar season at the helm of Lady Vols tennis.

“The future of our women’s tennis program has never been brighter, and that speaks to the outstanding leadership of Alison,” University of Tennessee Vice Chancellor/ Director of Athletics Danny White said. “We are excited to see her continue to lead the program for many years to come here on Rocky Top!”

Alison Ojeda

Over the past three seasons, Tennessee reached three Super Regional appearances, two Elite Eight berths and one Final Four trip. The program also has posted a perfect Graduation Success Rate each year of her tenure since she was hired in 2016.

“The University of Tennessee has been and always will be my dream job,” said Ojeda, who also played tennis for the Lady Vols. “I learned from so many amazing people while I was a student-athlete here, all of whom taught me how to strive for excellence in a respectful, competitive, passionate and energetic way.

“As a coach, I feel incredibly fortunate to continue to be able to learn from so many peers in our athletic department. I’m so grateful for the opportunities I’m constantly surrounded by on Rocky Top. In addition, I’m very excited for the future of Lady Vols tennis and I’m incredibly appreciative to Danny White and Chancellor Plowman for their continued belief in our program. We have an amazing group of young women who give their all for Tennessee every day and it’s a privilege to be their coach.”

While Ojeda was a player, she got to know the late Pat Summitt, who also helped recruit her. Ojeda’s respect was such that she named her first child Summitt. Her daughter turned 3 last April.

BASKETBALL

Tennessee will open the 2025-26 regular season with a trip to Greensboro to play NC State on Nov. 4. Tickets go on sale today, Aug. 1, at 10 a.m. by clicking HERE for anyone who wants to make a trip or resides in the North Carolina area. The “Battle in the Boro” will be at First Horizon Coliseum.

Game day will be a Tuesday with an odd tip time of 4 p.m. Since it would be the regular season opener date for other teams, presumably multiple TV games will be scheduled with morning, afternoon and evening tipoffs. But this seems like a matchup that deserves a later start time. One early poll has the Lady Vols ranked No. 7 and NC State ranked No. 9. In this case, two teams – and their fans – got a bad draw.

It also is becoming more prevalent. Multiple regular season games last season, though not Tennessee, had weekday start times of late morning or early afternoon. It fills live spots and since television rights are big business, the schools take what’s assigned. The ability of fans to be there seems to be a non-factor in the decision, and that isn’t going to change.

For Tennessee fans wanting to watch the season opener in November, plan ahead.

Recruiting for the class of 2026 is in full swing – an overall story can be read HERE – and one of the best players in the country will visit the weekend of Sept. 12-14. Oliviyah “Big Oh” Edwards, a 6-3 forward from Tacoma, Washington, dunks with ease and is ranked No. 2 and No. 4 overall by two recruiting services and No. 1 at her position.

Her visit coincides with the Vols hosting Georgia at Neyland Stadium, so Edwards will have a game day campus experience. The Lady Vol coaches have several 2026 recruits as primary targets, so Edwards could have some company that weekend.

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 will be released in 2026.