'This is where I wanna be': Why Taylor Tuck stuck with Oklahoma State softball amid injuries, battles
Scott WrightOklahoman
STILLWATER — After finishing off the sweep of Oregon in the Stillwater Super Regional last Friday, four Oklahoma State players gathered on the field of Cowgirl Stadium for a special photo.
Chyenne Factor, Kiley Naomi, Kelly Maxwell and Taylor Tuck were all part of the 2019 Cowgirl recruiting class, cornerstone players in helping coach Kenny Gajewski’s program reach the Women’s College World Series for the fourth straight time.
And all four players will be in key roles as the sixth-seeded Cowgirls begin their pursuit of a national championship, opening the WCWS with a 6 p.m. Thursday contest against third-seeded Florida State at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.
Factor and Naomi have been staples in the lineup, at center field and shortstop respectively, since arriving. Maxwell redshirted in 2019, but became a front-line starting pitcher the next fall.
Tuck, however, had to fight a tougher road to regular playing time at catcher.
The Stillwater High School product dealt with injuries early in her career. Then she battled for playing time against incoming transfers like Reagan Wright and Julia Cottrill.
Still, neither the level of Tuck’s challenges nor the value of her contributions can be solely measured in box scores. And eventually, her persistence gave her talent the chance to shine.
“A Stillwater kid who took less scholarship to come here,” Gajewski said. “Pretty cool. Fought her way through. Probably had thoughts of, if she doesn’t have parents like she has, probably thinking about transferring each year as we keep bringing in kids.
“She kept working and kept doing her stuff. In the end, it’s what this is all about. It’s the kind of stuff we can recruit to and talk about for a long time.”
Tuck appeared in 15 games and had four at-bats as a freshman, then never saw the field as a sophomore in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
After that year came the only time the Tuck family ever discussed the possibility of transferring away from her hometown program.
“I straight up asked her,” said her father, Kenny Tuck. “‘Are you sure this is where you wanna be? There are plenty of other places.’
“She looked me dead in the eyes and goes, ‘No, this is where I wanna be.’”
The brief conversation ended with a call to action from father to daughter.
“Well, time to go work harder,” Kenny Tuck told her.
And Taylor spent the last three years executing that mission.
She earned 12 starts and hit her only career home run in 2021, then 26 starts, including several in the postseason, last year.
And this season, she has been behind the plate to start 42 of the Cowgirls’ 60 games, including every game of the postseason.
Batting .277 for the season, Taylor is 10-for-25 (.400) in May. She has five of her 14 runs batted in during that span. And she continues to play strong defense behind the plate.
For the year, she has allowed just two passed balls and has thrown out seven would-be base-stealers.
Hard work has never scared Taylor Tuck, even if it would push Kenny’s physical limits. She began catching when she was 12, playing for her father on the Tulsa Elite travel team.
For the first couple of years, to get extra practice, Taylor would put on her gear and Kenny would throw balls at her so she could work on her pitch-blocking skills. By the time Taylor was 14, Kenny’s arm was no longer up to the task.
“I couldn’t throw ‘em good enough,” Kenny said. “I’d stand about halfway from the circle and hit balls and have her block ‘em.”
It’s been quite a journey for the Tuck family, watching Taylor fight for her opportunities to eventually become a regular starter on one of the country’s top teams.
She played her last game at Cowgirl Stadium last Friday, going 1-for-3 and dropping down a perfect sacrifice bunt to help set up a six-run fifth inning that put the game away. But seeing the nearly 1,400 fans packed in that day was a sign of just how far the program has come, not only since she moved to Stillwater 15 years ago, but since she became a Cowgirl in 2019 — something her efforts have helped build.
“When I moved here in third grade, my parents brought me to a game,” Taylor said. “It was free and there were probably, like, 20 fans. So it’s really cool over the past 15 years that I’ve been here to see the growth that we’ve had. Now, we can’t even fit everybody here. It’s awesome that we have a community around us that wants to support us.”
And being nearby to watch his daughter’s career blossom, Kenny Tuck couldn’t have imagined a better situation. A few years ago, he was among the group of people that began watching games from the backs of trucks parked beyond the left field wall of Cowgirl Stadium, where the decks have been built to accommodate the immense growth of the fanbase.
“It’s been a rollercoaster, but wouldn’t change it for anything in the world,” he said. “The lessons Taylor has learned about life, softball, it’s been amazing.
“It’s beyond gratifying. We’re fortunate enough that we got to experience all of this with her, at least most of it.”
That means the Tucks will be making routine trips south on Interstate 35 to Hall of Fame Stadium to see the culmination of Taylor’s Cowgirl career.
“We’ll be at everything that goes on down there,” Kenny said. “We’re just trying to soak it all in and enjoy every last minute of it.
“We’re just beyond proud of her. As a parent and a coach, you tell kids if you work hard, good things happen. For her to experience this and the lessons she’s gotten out of this in softball and life, we can’t be more proud of her.”
Thursday's WCWS games
At USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium (all games on ESPN):Game 1: Alabama vs. Tennessee, 11 a.m.
Game 2: Oklahoma vs. Stanford, 1:30 p.m.
Game 3: Oklahoma State vs. Florida State, 6 p.m.
Game 4: Washington vs. Utah, 8:30 p.m.
