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Career Honors & Awards
- USA Softball Player of the Year Watch List (1 of 50 in 2012)
- USA Softball Player of the Year Finalist (1 of 25 in 2011)
- NFCA All-America Third Team (2011)
- NFCA All-Midwest Region First Team (2011)
- All-Big 12 Second Team (2011)
- Big 12 Player of the Week (Feb. 22, 2011)
- Invited to try out for U.S. Junior National Team (2010)
- NCAA Record Holder for Consecutive Games with a Home Run (6 in 2011)
- Nebraska Record Holder for Runs Scored in a Game (4)
- Nebraska Record Holder for Walks in a Season (40 in 2012)
- Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2012)
Career Capsule
Taylor Edwards enters her third season as Nebraska’s starting catcher this spring, having started 93 games at the position among her 108 career starts. The only All-America catcher in school history, Edwards has established herself as one of the nation’s best at her position. She was a finalist for the USA Softball Player-of-the-Year Award in 2011, in addition to taking home third-team NFCA All-America honors. Although Edwards’ numbers dipped her sophomore season, the junior needs only three home runs and 10 RBIs to crack Nebraska’s all-time top 10 in each category. She also ranks fourth in school history with a .603 career slugging percentage and seventh with 77 career walks.
Edwards has spent most of her career batting third or fourth in the Husker lineup. She has been counted on to drive in runs, and Edwards has produced stellar results in that role, driving in 105 runs in only 110 career games. Edwards also hits for power, slugging 23 home runs in her first two seasons, including an NCAA-record six straight games with a home run during her freshman season. Edwards’ power and clutch hitting have made her a feared hitter, as she has walked 77 times over the past two seasons, including tying the school record with 40 walks last season. The walks have helped Edwards post an impressive .463 career on-base percentage.
Sophomore Season [2012]
Edwards started 53 games in her sophomore season, including 45 behind home plate, seven as the designated player and one at third base. Edwards batted .269 in 2012 with 12 doubles, five home runs, 38 RBIs and 40 walks. The 12 doubles were a career high and ranked third on the team, while she was second in on-base percentage and tied for second in RBIs.
Edwards’ numbers dipped as a sophomore in part because teams were less willing to pitch to her, as she tied NU’s single-season record by drawing 40 walks in 2012. Her mark tied the previous record set by first-team All-American Ali Viola in 1998 and fellow first-team All-American Jennifer Lizama in 1999. Edwards matched the production of the first-team All-America duo in four fewer games and 13 fewer plate appearances than Lizama and seven fewer games and 21 fewer plate appearances than Viola. Edwards drew at least one walk in 29 of her 53 games, including 11 games where she walked twice. Overall, Edwards ranked third in the Big Ten in walks and 30th nationally in walks per game.
One year after setting a then-Big 12 Conference record for RBIs by a freshman, Edwards continued to drive in runs as a sophomore, producing 12 multi-RBI games in 2012, including tying her career high with four RBIs against Colorado State on Feb. 17. The 38 RBIs she produced increased her career total to 105 RBIs in only 110 career games. In 2012, Edwards joined Viola as the only Huskers to record 100 career RBIs prior to their junior season. Edwards was at her best in RBI situations as a sophomore, batting .313 with runners in scoring position and ranking second on the team with 17 two-out RBIs and five game-winning RBIs.
Edwards tied a school record in the opening weekend of the season when she scored four times in Nebraska’s 11-10 upset of eighth-ranked Arizona in the second game of the year. Despite fewer games and fewer plate appearances, Edwards matched her 2011 total with 37 runs scored in 2012. She also produced 11 multi-hit games, including nine in the season’s first 14 games, when she proved why she was one of 50 players nationally selected to the USA Softball Player-of-the-Year watch list. Edwards batted .426 in 16 February games, and she was hitting .346 at the start of Nebraska’s Big Ten season in late March.
In Big Ten play, Edwards drew 25 walks in only 23 games. She averaged one walk for every 3.3 plate appearances, while posting a .439 on-base percentage and a 5-to-1 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Edwards’ 25 walks in conference-only games ranked second among all Big Ten players.
Freshman Season [2011]
Edwards was arguably the nation’s top catcher and best freshman position player in 2011. She batted .356 on the season with 18 home runs, 67 RBIs, 37 walks, a .738 slugging percentage and a .483 on-base percentage. Edwards started 50 games at catcher and made her other five starts as the designated player. The third-team All-American became the first Husker catcher to earn All-America accolades after producing a record-breaking freshman season. She established an NCAA record by homering in six consecutive games in February and finished among the national leaders in RBIs (7th) and home runs (13th). Edwards ranked among the top 10 freshmen nationally in home runs (1st), RBIs (1st), walks (5th), slugging percentage (7th) and on-base percentage (10th).
Edwards was the nation’s only freshman to be named one of 25 finalists for the USA Softball Player-of-the-Year award. She was also one of only two catchers named a player-of-the-year finalist, along with Oklahoma’s second-team All-American Jessica Shults.
Edwards’ season left an impression on the Husker record book. She ranked second in school history in home runs, third in RBIs, fifth in slugging percentage and walks and seventh in total bases despite playing only 55 games. Edwards set the Nebraska freshman record for home runs and walks, while posting the second-most RBIs, second-best slugging percentage and third-highest batting average. Her 67 RBIs were a Big 12 freshman record, while Edwards joined three-time All-American Ali Viola as the only Huskers to hit 15 home runs and have 50 RBIs in the same season, regardless of class.
On the conference level, Edwards led the Big 12 in RBIs and ranked second in home runs, third in total bases, sixth in walks, slugging percentage and on-base percentage and ninth in batting average. For her efforts, she joined Shults as a second-team All-Big 12 selection at the catcher position.
Edwards produced an RBI in 35 of her 55 games, including 22 multi-RBI games, while driving in the game-winning run in 14 of Nebraska’s 41 victories. She twice produced a streak of seven consecutive games with an RBI, tying the school record and becoming the only Husker to reach the mark twice in a career, let alone the same season. She reached the 30-, 40-, 50- and 60-RBI marks faster than any other hitter in NU history and hit 10 home runs faster than any other Husker. As her RBI total would suggest, Edwards was a clutch performer. She batted .524 with 10 home runs and 57 RBIs in only 63 at bats with runners in scoring position on the season. Edwards was even better with runners in scoring position and two outs, going 15-for-23 (.652) in those situations with two home runs and 25 RBIs.
Edwards also added 14 multi-hit games and found her way on base in 46 of Nebraska’s 55 games. She produced a career-best 11-game hitting streak early in the season, while also reaching base safely in 28 consecutive games in February and March. She excelled against top competition, batting .318 with a .636 slugging percentage and .467 on-base percentage in Nebraska’s nine games against top-10 opponents. Edwards added a double, two home runs, seven walks and six RBIs in those nine contests.
Defensively, Edwards committed only three errors in 439 chances behind the plate. She threw out more than 30 percent of would-be base stealers and added two pickoffs.
Before Nebraska
Edwards had an outstanding career at Vista Murrieta High School. She was one of only two players nationally selected to participate in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 Under Armour All-American Softball Games, which are annually limited to 30 of the top high school players in the country. Edwards also earned first-team All-America honors from EA Sports in 2009 when she was named the nation’s top junior. In 2010, Edwards was one of 44 players to earn an invitation to try out for the 2010 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team.
Edwards was selected as the 2009 California State Junior of the Year and was named a first-team all-state selection regardless of class or school size. She repeated as a first-team all-state selection in 2010 when she was one of six finalists for California Ms. Softball, in addition to being named an All-American by MaxPreps.com. Edwards also earned a spot on the CalHiSports.com all-state underclass team, reserved for non-seniors, in each of her first three seasons. She was a second-team selection as a freshman and earned first-team honors in both her sophomore and junior seasons.
In her prep career, Edwards boasted a .520 career average with 38 home runs, 30 doubles and 135 RBIs. She tied the Inland-area record with her 38 home runs, while boasting a .977 career slugging percentage and an on-base percentage better than .610.
As a senior, Edwards finished with a .452 average, nine homers and 28 RBIs. Teams pitched around her, as Edwards walked 29 times - including 13 straight at one point - to average a free pass every three plate appearances. For her efforts, she earned a spot on the Los Angeles Times’ all-star softball team for the second straight season.
In 2009, Edwards put up incredible numbers at the plate. She batted .571 with nine doubles, 15 home runs and 45 RBIs in only 32 games. She struck out just twice on the season and drew 20 walks to post a .649 on-base percentage that complemented a 1.209 slugging percentage. According to MaxPreps.com, Edwards led all California juniors with her 15 home runs, while ranking third in RBIs and fifth in slugging percentage.
Edwards also posted terrific numbers in 2008 when she was one of only four sophomores named to the 30-player all-underclass first team. She batted .544 with a .602 on-base percentage and a .900 slugging percentage after hitting 12 doubles and slugging six home runs. She also produced 40 RBIs in only 30 games.
As a freshman, Edwards batted .500 with seven homers, four doubles and one triple. She added 22 RBIs in 28 games while posting a .522 on-base percentage and an .841 slugging percentage. Edwards was selected for the CalHiSports.com underclass all-state second team, as she and her sister Tatum were among the only three freshmen selected to the first or second team.
Edwards played her travel ball for Marty Tyson and the Corona Angels. Coached by the father of Husker outfielder Tori Tyson, the Angels posted a runner-up finish at ASA Gold Nationals in 2008, to go with two more runner-up finishes at the 12- and 14-and-under national championships (2007) and a third-place finish at the 2007 14-and-under national tournament. For her efforts, Edwards and her sister, Tatum, were both selected to attend the 2007 adidas Futures Top 100 camp, which is an invitation-only event designed for the top high school softball prospects in the nation.
Personal
Taylor Brianne Edwards was born on April 26, 1992, in Fountain Valley, Calif. The daughter of Brian and Denise Edwards, Taylor has one brother, Tyler (26), a twin sister Tatum (20) who is also a junior for the Huskers, and a sister Tristen (14). Taylor is a sociology major.
|
Year
|
Avg.
|
GP-GS
|
AB
|
R
|
H
|
2B
|
3B
|
HR
|
RBI
|
BB
|
SO
|
OB%
|
SLG%
|
SB-ATT
|
FLD%
|
|
2011
|
.356
|
55-55
|
160
|
37
|
57
|
7
|
0
|
18
|
67
|
37
|
27
|
.483
|
.738
|
2-2
|
.993
|
|
2012
|
.269
|
55-53
|
145
|
37
|
39
|
12
|
0
|
5
|
38
|
40
|
17
|
.443
|
.455
|
1-1
|
.975
|
|
Total
|
.315
|
110-108
|
305
|
74
|
96
|
19
|
0
|
23
|
105
|
77
|
44
|
.463
|
.603
|
3-3
|
.984
|
|
