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Karlyn Pickens no-hitter: Tennessee fans erupt at Spring Game as news breaks

Danby: Daniel Hager04/11/26DanielHagerOn3

Tennessee pitcher Karlyn Pickens tossed her fourth career no-hitter Saturday in the Volunteers’ 5-0 shutout of Kentucky. She has now tossed a no-no in every season of her four-year career with the program.

The news of Pickens’ no-hitter was then relayed to the massive crowd at Saturday’s football Spring Game inside Neyland Stadium. In an extremely cool video, Tennessee fans erupted as news broke.

Pickens threw 99 pitches across seven innings to cement the no-no. In that frame, she struck out 12 batters and walked just one. She improved her season win-loss record to 11-4, and lowered her ERA to 1.24.

With the win, No. 10 Tennessee improved to 34-6 (10-6) on the season. The Volunteers are seeking a second-consecutive trip to the Women’s College World Series, and their third in the past four seasons under 22nd year head coach Karen Weekly.

Saturday’s Spring Game marks the sixth of the Josh Heupel era at Tennessee. The Volunteers are looking to bounce back from this year from a rough end to the 2025 season, in which they lost three of their final five games.

Karlyn Pickens received AUSL Golden Ticket earlier this week

Earlier this week, Pickens earned a Golden Ticket from the AUSL. Pickens was the fifth player to receive the honor in 2026. She will now see her softball career continue once the playing days in Knoxville are up. A huge honor for Pickens.

As mentioned, Pickens joins four other current college softball players as a Golden Ticket recipient. Two come from the SEC, as Texas recently double-dipped with Reese Atwood and Leighann Goode. Star Texas Tech pitcher NiJarre Canady got the ball rolling back on March 27. Arizona catcher Sydney Stewart was the most recent prior to Pickens.

Pickens had a previous relationship with the AUSL. Back in February, the two announced an NIL partnership. Finding a way to bridge the gap between college softball and the AUSL was the main goal.

The AUSL Golden Ticket is a fun way for college players to learn that they will be drafted. This is the second year of the tradition after the league began play in 2025.

“Over the next several weeks, Athletes Unlimited Softball League Golden Tickets will be presented to college softball players at programs across the country,” the AUSL website says. “These Golden Tickets — delivered by softball legends, AUSL ambassadors, or league leadership in front of teammates, coaches, and family members — signify that the athlete has been drafted to AUSL.”

Monday, May 4, 2026, is when the AUSL college draft is scheduled to take place. ESPN2 will have the broadcast. Pickens and the other four players will find out which teams they have been selected to.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this article.