Taylor Edwards

Personal: Edwards grew up playing softball alongside her twin sister, Tatum, who served as a facilitator for the 2022 Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball AUX and Championship Seasons. The two played together at Nebraska and later spent three seasons as teammates in the National Pro Fastpitch league with the Pennsylvania Rebellion and Chicago Bandits. Their younger sister, Tristen, also played softball at Nebraska from 2017 to 2021. Edwards majored in sociology at Nebraska. Her hobbies include fishing, spending time outdoors, visiting breweries, and being with her family. She also enjoys watching music videos and considers herself a huge animal lover. She has four cats named Kody, Pretty, Sox, and Zeus. Her dream job is to become a professional angler or live off the land. Edwards lists her father, Brian, as someone who has made a significant difference in her life, and she models her game after softball legend Stacey Nuveman Deniz. She considers her parents, Brian and Denise, to be her idols for their selflessness, love, and ability to live each day with gratitude. Edwards wears No. 12 in honor of her father, who wore the same number during his playing career. Her walk-up songs are “I’m Gonna Be” by Post Malone and “It’s All Coming Back” by Celine Dion. Her proudest accomplishment is having her jersey number retired at Nebraska.

2024 Championship Season: Edwards registered a 17th-place finish in the final leaderboard after accumulating 1,338 points, including 1,050 win points. She ranked second in the league with three Defensive MVP awards. Edwards compiled a 10-5 game record, starting in 13 of 14 contests. She tallied six hits in 38 at-bats, including two doubles and a home run. Edwards drove in six runs and drew five walks. She earned MVP 1 honors and a season-high 240 leaderboard points after posting a 2-for-4 performance with a double and a home run against Team Wallace in the Week Two opener. Edwards earned Defensive MVP honors while appearing in her 100th career game against Team Lorenz on August 11. She also secured Defensive MVP accolades against Team Faraimo and Team Palacios during Week Four. Edwards posted 100 or more leaderboard points in six consecutive games from August 12-24.

2024 AUX Season: Edwards claimed 13th place in the final league standings after earning 1,060 leaderboard points, which included 730 win points and 210 stat points. She tied for seventh in the league with 480 inning win points. As a team captain, Edwards compiled a 2-2 record. She registered five games with 100 or more leaderboard points, including a pair of 150-point efforts. Edwards started in all 12 games, recording seven hits, including two doubles and three home runs. She drove in 11 runs while scoring three times. Edwards opened the season with an MVP 1 effort against Team Leach, securing a season-high 210 leaderboard points with a grand slam. She also secured an MVP 2 notice following a 2-for-4 outing against Team Warren on June 13, and had two hits against Team Alo on June 16. Edwards received the Defensive MVP award against Team Alo on June 19.

2023 Championship Season: Edwards compiled 972 leaderboard points, which included 720 win points and 192 stat points, during the fourth Championship Season. She started in 13 out of 14 games and had an impressive .282 batting average with three runs batted in. Edwards tied with Danielle Gibson for the league lead with five doubles. She also had a four-game hitting streak from August 6-13 and posted three multi-hit games. Edwards was named MVP 3 on July 31 after collecting two hits, including a double, against Team Mulipola. She also received the MVP 2 distinction to begin Week Five by driving in the eventual game-winning run with a double in the fifth inning against Team Davidson. Additionally, Edwards posted four games with 100 or more leaderboard points.

2023 AUX Season: Edwards secured 17th place on the final leaderboard with a total of 838 points. This included 550 win points, 228 stat points, and 60 MVP points. She was awarded the Game MVP title twice, with one on June 15 in a 7-6 loss against Team Zerkle, and another on June 12 in a 9-7 loss against the same team. Throughout the season, Edwards started in 8 out of 10 games. She had a batting average of .276, hitting three home runs and driving in eight runs. She also scored seven runs and drew six walks. One of her standout performances was on June 15 against Team Zerkle, where she went 2-for-4 with four runs batted in and a home run. She also hit a home run in consecutive games against Team Mulipola and Team Zerkle on June 12.

2022 Championship Season: Edwards was a member of the All-Defensive Team and earned 924 leaderboard points, including 254 stat points. She started all 15 games and ended the season with a .277 batting average, two home runs, and 13 runs batted in. Edwards hit a home run in back-to-back games to end Week Two and had three multi-hit performances. She hit safely in six consecutive games from August 6-19, went 2-for-4 with a home run and four runs batted in against Team Jaquish on August 6, closed Week Two with two hits and three RBI against Team Mulipola, posted a double and three runs batted in against Team Chidester on August 13, and ended Week Three with a pair of hits against Team Mulipola.

2022 AUX Season: Edwards finished 14th in the league standings with 1,042 leaderboard points. She was a starter in all 12 games, hitting .244 with 10 hits, including four extra-base hits. Edwards tied for the league lead with three home runs while driving in six runs. She closed the season with a five-game hitting streak, including a two-hit performance against Team O’Toole on June 23 and hit a three-run home run with two outs in the seventh inning against Team Ocasio on June 13. 

2021 Championship Season: Edwards earned 764 leaderboard points. She hit .194 with seven hits in 36 at-bats over 13 games, including 12 starts, and tied for ninth in the league with three doubles.

2020 Championship Season: Edwards accumulated 1,150 points and finished in 26th place on the leaderboard. She batted .295 with 13 hits in 44 at-bats while starting all 15 games. Edwards tied for fifth in the league with three doubles and drew six walks to finish tied for sixth among all players. She was one of 11 players to register a sacrifice fly.

International Experience: Edwards helped Team USA win gold medals at the WBSC World Championship and USA Softball International Cup events in 2018. She had an impressive performance during the USA Softball International Cup, hitting .286 with a home run and five runs batted in. Additionally, Edwards served as a replacement player for Team USA during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.  

Other Professional Experience: Edwards was selected as the No. 8 overall pick in the 2014 NPF Draft by the Pennsylvania Rebellion. She played four NPF seasons, tallying 27 home runs and 110 runs batted in over 170 games. In her rookie season, she hit .241 with three home runs and 13 runs batted in over 32 games. In the following two years, she played for the Chicago Bandits and appeared in 90 games. Her best NPF season was in 2016 when she hit 10 home runs and 34 RBI in 43 games while hitting an impressive .353. Edwards closed her NPF career in 2017 with the Scrap Yard Dawgs, where she authored a .243 batting average with five home runs and 34 runs batted in over a career-best 48 games. She also played two seasons for Scrap Yard Fastpitch, an independent team in Conroe, Texas, and was a member of the "This Is Us Softball" team in the summer of 2020. Additionally, Edwards spent two seasons overseas in the Japanese Professional League with Team Denso-Bright Pegasus. 

At Nebraska: Edwards was a four-year starter from 2011-14 who finished her career with 17 program records and held a pair of NCAA marks at the end of her career. She boasted a .327 career batting average with 54 home runs and 202 runs batted in and hit over .300 in three of her four seasons, including a .356 mark as a freshman in 2011. Edwards also fashioned a .987 career fielding percentage and was the first catcher in program history to earn NFCA All-America honors. She received Third-Team All-America distinction as a freshman in 2011 before elevating to First-Team All-America during her senior season. Edwards was honored as Diamond Sports/NFCA Division I Catcher of the Year in 2014, becoming the first Nebraska player to win the award. She was a two-time First-Team All-Big Ten honoree and closed her career as the school’s all-time leader in home runs (54), grand slams (4), walks (150), and times being hit by a pitch (39). Edwards also held three single-season school records and four single-game marks. She finished second in program history in runs batted in (202) while her 177 runs scored and 423 total bases stand third on the Huskers’ career annals. Edwards set an NCAA record by hitting a home run in six consecutive games from February 13-20, 2011. She also blasted two grand slams in the same game during the 2013 season to establish the national single-game mark. Edwards joined Ali Viola as the only players in Nebraska history to register more than 150 career hits, runs scored, and runs batted in. She was the only Husker to record multiple seasons with 15 or more home runs and joined her twin sister, Tatum, as the third and fourth players in program history to post three seasons with 10 or more home runs. Edwards was a member of the 2013 Women’s College World Series All-Tournament Team and was a finalist for the 2011 USA Softball Player of the Year award.