University of Tennessee Athletics
2023 Softball Roster | SEC Champions (x2) | College World Series
Roster
Gottshall, Payton
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballC/OF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballINF/OF
/ SoftballP
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballP
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballP
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballOF/1B
/ SoftballP
/ SoftballP
/ SoftballINF/C
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballC/3B
/ SoftballP
/ SoftballOF/INF
/ Softball
Jersey Number 33
Payton Gottshall
- Position:
- Pitcher
- Class:
- Senior
- Height:
- 5-9
- B/T:
- R/R
- Hometown:
- Massillon, Ohio
- High School:
- Perry High School
Bio
CAREER HIGHS
- Innings Pitched: 14.0 vs. Buffalo (4/9/22)
- Strikeouts: 23 vs. Buffalo (4/9/22)
- Batters Faced: 57 vs. Buffalo (4/9/22)
- Perfect Game: 3 last vs. Akron (4/24/22)
CAREER HONORS
- 2024 NFCA First Team All-American
- 2024 D1Softball Second Team All-American
- 2024 Softball America Second Team All-American
- 2024 All-SEC First Team
- 2024 CSC Academic All-District
- SEC Pitcher of the Week (3/26/24)
- 2022-23 SEC First-Year Honor Roll
- 2022 MAC Pitcher of the Year
- 2022 All-MAC First Team
- 2022 MAC All-Tournament Team
- 2022 NFCA All-Mideast Region Second Team
- 2022 Academic All-MAC Team
- 11-time MAC Pitcher of the Week
- MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week (April 27, 2022)
- 2021 MAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year
- 2021 All-MAC First Team
- 2021 Academic All-MAC Team
- Wilson/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 16, 2021)
- Tiger Classic MVP (Feb. 21-23, 2020)
2024 - GRADUATE
- Formed one-half of the nation's top pitching duo with teammate Karlyn Pickens
- Went 20-5 with a 1.37 ERA in her final collegiate season
- Appeared in 35 games - making 20 starts - as a graduate pitcher for the Lady Vols
- Threw eight complete games with three shutouts in 2024, while holding opposing hitters to a .180 batting average
- Notched 164 strikeouts over 147.2 innings of work
- Tossed two innings in relief against Alabama in Super Regionals, striking out two and earning her third save of the season (5/24)
- Pitched all five innings in the victory against Virginia in the NCAA Regionals (5/18) while allowing no hits, no earned runs and no walks
- Came in relief and secured her 19th victory of the season, pitching three innings while only conceding two hits and fanning four batters (5/2)
- Came up with a complete-game shutout against Alabama (4/26), totaling four strikeouts, three hits and two walks
- Tossed four shutout innings with two hits, one walk and three strikeouts en route to her 17th win (4/23)
- Took home a 3-0 win over LSU after 6.2 innings of work, striking out three and allowing no walks (4/19)
- Struck out seven in a complete game for a 6-1 Lady Vols win over Mississippi State (4/13)
- Came in at the top of the sixth and secured her 13th win of the season, retiring Georgia's final six batters in order with three coming by way of strikeouts (4/7)
- Notched seven strikeouts with no walks but ultimately suffered the loss during the second game of the Georgia series (4/6)
- Tossed her fifth complete game of the season, fanning seven, walking four and scattering three hits en route to her first shutout on the year (3/25)
- Notched her 1,000th career strikeout as she shut the door on a 6-0 Lady Vol victory, fanning nine batters for her 10th win of the season (3/21)
- Started in the circle during the second game in the Missouri series (3/16), scattering three hits, allowing two runs and striking out 10 to pick up her ninth win of the season
- Got the start in the circle and tossed four innings, scattering two hits, walking one and striking out five – earning her sixth victory (3/8)
- Pitched a complete game against Longwood (3/3), registering eight strikeouts on four hits, with zero walks.
- Came in relief for 2.1 innings, striking out three against Brown (3/2)
- Faced 16 batters in 3.2 innings pitched against UCLA, striking out four and walking none (2/25)
- Tossed her second complete game of the season against Oregon State (2/24), striking out nine of 24 batters, walking none and allowing just one run on four hits
- Cruised through the game's first two frames against Cal State Fullerton (2/23), striking out the first five batters she faced
- Pitched six innings against Stanford (2/16), allowing one run on two hits and 4 strikeouts with three walks
- Recorded win No. 2 of the year against Baylor (2/9), with six strikeouts on four hits allowed through 4.1 innings of play
- Opened the season by tossing four scoreless innings, holding UTA to a pair of hits and striking out seven as she picked up win No. 1 on the year (2/8)
2023 - SENIOR
- Went 16-2 in 2023 with a team-leading 29 appearances to go along with 19 starts - also recorded a team-best three saves
- Finished the year with a 1.65 ERA over 110 innings pitched, notching 130 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .161 batting average
- Tossed five complete games and recorded three shutouts
- Recorded a save in UT's win over Alabama to open the WCWS (6/1)
- Pitched a complete-game shutout during Tennessee's series clinching win over Texas (5/27) to advance to the WCWS (5/27)
- Threw her fourth career no-hitter—her second as a Lady Vol—in Tennessee's 12-0 win over Northern Kentucky to open the NCAA Knoxville Regional (5/19); she fanned nine and walked two to improve to 14-1 on the year.
- Tossed five innings against South Carolina in the SEC Tournament Final (5/13), fanning two batters in UT's 3-1 victory
- Pitched 3.1 shutout innings against South Carolina (5/7)
- Earned her second save of the season against South Carolina (5/6), pitching two shutout frames
- Tossed the final six innings in the series finale against Florida (4/24), fanning five batters in UT's 10-6 win
- Struck out the final five batters in UT's 7-3 win over Kennesaw State (4/18)
- Threw a complete-game one-hitter and struck out seven batters in UT's 15-1 run-rule win over Kentucky (4/16)
- Pitched three innings and fanned four to help threw a combined no-hitter in UT's 11-0 win over Mercer (4/6)
- In four innings of work, recorded seven strikeouts in UT's 10-2 win over ETSU (3/28)
- Recorded 10 strikeouts in seven innings of work in Tennessee's 8-2 win over Ole Miss (3/11)
- Struck out a season-high 12 batters in Tennessee's 7-1 win over Belmont (3/5)
- Threw four shutout innings, surrendering only one hit and striking out six in Tennessee's 9-0 win over Jacksonville State (3/4)
- Allowed only one hit over six innings of work and struck out 11 batters in UT's 9-0 over USF (2/24)
- In 6.1 innings of work, she struck out eight batters to help Tennessee win 5-1 against Liberty (2/18)
- Pitched three perfect innings in her Lady Vol debut against Howard and recorded six strikeouts in UT's 21-1 victory (2/10)
2022 - JUNIOR (AT BOWLING GREEN)
- Named the 2022 MAC Pitcher of the Year
- 2022 All-MAC First Team
- 2022 MAC All-Tournament Team
- 2022 NFCA All-Mideast Region Second Team
- 2022 Academic All-MAC Team
- Seven-time MAC Pitcher of the Week
- MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week (April 27, 2022)
- Ranked second in the country in strikeouts (374)
- Ranked second in the country in innings pitched (253.1)
- Struck out 12 batters against Miami (OH) (5/12)
- Threw nine innings and struck out 11 against Ball State (4/29)
- Threw the third perfect game of her career, striking out seven of the 15 batters she faced in five innings against Akron (4/24)
- Registered 13 strikeouts against Akron (4/23)
- Recorded 12 strikeouts in six innings of work against Miami (OH) (4/20)
- Recorded a no-hitter, striking out nine batters against Buffalo (4/10)
- Pitched a career-high 14 innings and also recorded a career-best 23 strikeouts against Buffalo (4/9)
- Struck out 15 batters in a two-hit performance against Toledo (4/2)
- Notched 11 strikeouts against Pitt (3/13)
- Threw a complete-game two-hitter, notching 15 strikeouts against Lipscomb (3/11)
- Threw the second perfect game of her career, striking out every batter she face in five innings (15) against Green Bay (3/5)
- Opened the season allowing only two hits and striking out 14 against Western Illinois (2/11)
2021 - SOPHOMORE (AT BOWLING GREEN)
- Selected to All-MAC First Team
- Named to Academic All-MAC Team
- Pitched in 33 games, starting in 29, with a 1.87 ERA
- Ranked sixth in nationally in strikeouts (282)
- Notched eight strikeouts against Northern Illinois (5/7)
- Recorded 12 strikeouts against Western Michigan while only allowing three hits (5/4)
- Totaled 12 strikeouts against Miami (OH) (4/30)
- Had 10 strikeouts in nine innings of work against Toledo (4/20)
- Allowed two hits in an outing that included 11 strikeouts against Ohio (4/18)
- Struck out 11 batters against Saint Francis (3/6)
- Struck out 14 batters as she threw a complete-game one-hitter against Valparaiso (3/5)
- Recorded 14 strikeouts against Indiana State (2/27)
- Notched 14 strikeouts in seven innings of work against Radford (2/21)
- Totaled 13 strikeouts against Stony Brook (2/20)
- In eight innings of work, allowed only two hits while striking out 16 batters against Winthrop (2/19)
- Struck out 15 batters in the third game of the series against Cleveland State (2/13)
- Pitched her first of three perfect games in her career against Cleveland State, striking out 16 of the 21 batters she faced
- Opened the season with a complete-game one-hitter, striking out 20 batters against Cleveland State (2/12)
2020 - FRESHMAN (AT BOWLING GREEN)
- Ranked among the top-three pitchers in the MAC in no fewer than six categories
- Pitched in 16 of BGSU's 17 games, making 11 starts
- Was 11-5 with a 1.93 ERA and an opponent batting average of just .182
- Struck out 128 in 87 innings of work
- Led the entire league in wins and ranked second in strikeouts, strikeouts per seven innings (10.30) and fewest hits allowed per seven innings (4.51)
- Finished third in the conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.46) and ERA
- Had 11 strikeouts against Army (3/7)
- Struck out 13 batters against Tennessee (3/1)
- Allowed two hits on eight strikeouts against Creighton (2/23)
- Struck out eight batters against Rider (2/22)
- Threw a complete-game one-hitter against Western Kentucky (2/16)
- Struck out nine batters against Chattanooga (2/15)
- Had a stellar debut to her career, striking out 17 and throwing a complete-game one-hitter against Tennessee Tech in the season opener (2/14)
HIGH SCHOOL/TRAVEL BALL
- Helped the Panthers to three Federal League championships
- An All-Ohio First-Team selection as both a junior and a senior
- The Federal League Player of the Year in each of her last two seasons
- Had an ERA of just 0.61 and 111 strikeouts in 80 1/3 innings pitched as a sophomore, earning all-league second-team honors
- A First-Team All-Federal League honoree in each of the next two years, and also was named to the All-Northeast District and Canton Repository All-Stark County first teams in both of those seasons
- As a junior, had an ERA of just 0.84 and 188 K's in 116 innings pitched, and batted .346 with six homers and 21 RBI
- Allowed just four runs in seven state tournament games that spring, pitching the Panthers to the Division I state title
- As a senior, had a 1.06 ERA and struck out 211 batters in 119 innings
- At the plate, hit a school record .586 with seven homers and 33 RBI
- Led the Federal League in ERA, strikeouts, batting average and RBI in that senior season
- The Panthers posted a district runner-up finish in 2016, and won sectional, district and regional titles en route to the state championship in 2018
PERSONAL
- Daughter of Mike and Holly Gottshall
- Has an older brother, Josh
- Favorite athlete is Baker Mayfield
- Lists her parents as her biggest influences
SB | Tennessee Postgame vs. Nebraska (5.25.25)
Sunday, May 25
SB | Tennessee Postgame vs. Nebraska (5.24.25)
Saturday, May 24
SB | Tennessee Postgame vs. Nebraska (5.23.25)
Friday, May 23
SB | Tennessee Postgame vs. Ohio State (5.18.25)
Sunday, May 18
