It’s been a busy year for Karlyn Pickens. She finished her career at the University of Tennessee and threw 148 innings in 34 games with 17 starts during the 2026 season. She then added 60.1 innings in 15 games with 10 starts in her rookie season with the Carolina Blaze.
Then, between the AUSL regular season and the All-Star Cup, she pitched for the U.S. Women’s National Team and won gold at the USA Softball International Cup. Saturday night, Pickens took the ball in relief in her first-ever All-Star Cup action. She turned in 3.1 scoreless innings, picked up MVP 2 honors and 190 total points to finish the night near the top with Sami Williams on the All-Star Cup leaderboard.
The All-Star Cup is a different experience from regular season ball. So, how did Pickens like competing in this setting, and what were her initial thoughts?
“It’s been really cool getting to play with a lot of new faces and some girls that I’ve been playing games [against], so finally getting to play with them has been really exciting,” Pickens told Southeastern Softball Wire. “I’d also say it’s a little more of a relaxed, fun environment, not the same pressures and stresses that a regular season has, so that’s been a cool change of pace, but also still super competitive and just really fun.”
Rachel Garcia has competed in Athletes Unlimited since 2022. She is a true veteran of the game and one of the best players in the world, and competes for the U.S. Women’s National Team. When she drafted Pickens for the opening series, it showed the trust she has in Pickens.
“Honestly, it was really just an honor getting to work with her, even the week prior with the USA,” Pickens said. “I never really got to work with her, so getting to pick her brain and become a little closer there was really exciting. Rachel is literally one of the goats of softball. Everyone knows her name, everyone knows the legacy that she’s left, and it’s really cool for her to pick me to be a part of her team and to help her get some wins.”
Helping Team Garcia win was exactly what Pickens did, and Garcia showed great trust in her team to complete the task. After pitching 2.1 innings, Garcia handed the ball to Sam Landry, who completed 1.1 innings before Pickens took it the rest of the way. I asked Pickens about the plan, and she had just joked with Landry about it.
“It was really exciting,” Pickens said. “I was joking with Sam Landry after the game. I was like, you put us three out there, it’s kind of like a good luck, you don’t even need a plan. It’s just some really great pitchers. You have an amazing staff, and to see how well we complemented each other tonight, I think it just shows that Rachel knew what she was doing when she picked us all, and it was really cool to see all that play out tonight.”
Even after great pitching for the three-arm attack, they couldn’t have done it without the defense behind them. Team Garcia finished the night with no errors. The defense looked like they had been playing together for a while.
“It’s crucial, like you said, just the chemistry. It’s a certain amount of trust that comes when you know your defense is behind you and has full trust in me,” Pickens said. “Me knowing that I can get a ground ball and we’re gonna turn those double plays. We had some stellar plays tonight in really crucial moments where my defense had my back. It makes my job a whole lot easier knowing that it’s a whole lot of space that they’re going to cover to get those outs.”
For a pitcher who has already packed a college finale, a pro rookie season, and a gold medal into one year, the All-Star Cup debut was one more box checked. And with 190 points and a scoreless night behind her, Pickens is off to the kind of start she was hoping for.
