‘There’s nobody better’: Inside the mentality that shapes Mizzou closer Taylor Pannell’s success

Out of the bullpen steps the nation’s saves leader. Loudspeakers in the stadium come alive as the chorus of “Welcome to the Jungle” reverberates through the grandstands. Fans applaud in anticipation; teammates cheer; opponents prepare.

But in Taylor Pannell’s mind, there is only silence — a peaceful-like tranquility that embodies the Missouri softball sophomore’s journey to becoming an elite college closer.

“I find a way to get out there, and I tune everything out,” Pannell said. “I just find this inner silence, and I’m so focused on what I am out there to do.”

The hyper-focused mentality is not a mindset forged overnight, rather it is a frame of mind strengthened through a desire to be the best she can. Each night of the season, Pannell reflects on excerpts from a pair of books — “Mind Gym” and “The Champion’s Mind” — to uphold her walls of mental fortitude.

“Those are mental toughness books,” Taylor’s father, Tim Pannell, said. “They work on the mental side of things, and she just has (it) in her head when she steps out there, there’s nobody better, nobody bigger, and she will beat anybody walking.”

The closer-like mentality is already paying dividends for Missouri’s rising star. Taylor Pannell set the single-season and career saves records at Missouri last week at the SEC Tournament. Ahead of the NCAA Tournament, which begins at 4:30 p.m. Friday for the Tigers, Pannell is one save shy of tying the NCAA D-I all-time single-season saves mark, held by former Florida Gulf Coast Taylor Bauman and former Canisius closer Mallory Aldred at 15.

“Mentally, I just read a lot of books … just to sharpen the mental side of the game,” Taylor Pannell said. “I think that is part of the reason I’m so good in those (save) situations.”

The concentrated, deliberate approach has guided Taylor Pannell to 20 career saves, the fourth-most career saves in Southeastern Conference history, despite the fact she has just two seasons as Missouri’s bona fide closer under her belt. A similar output next season would put the left-hander in line to eclipse former Mississippi State closer Kellie Wilkerson’s 32 career saves to jump atop the SEC career saves leaderboard.

In terms of this season, though, Taylor Pannell sports a 3-1 record with a 0.97 earned run average, 29 strikeouts and a nation-best 14 saves. A knockout changeup coupled with a fastball and curve form an efficient repertoire that leaves opposing hitters befuddled.

The changeup, in particular, stands out as her favorite pitch due to its ability to dive and curve depending on her arm movement. It’s a pitch unique to Taylor Pannell, and it all comes down to her command of it.

“It’s that arm acceleration at the end of the pitch,” former MU first baseman Sam Honeycutt, who has helped to coach Pannell in the past, said. “She comes through and just drives her arm up so fast, so to the hitter, it really looks like something hard coming in. It’s just that, that deception that sell to the hitter ... they can’t pick it up. I think she’s just really committed to selling it and she’s gained a lot of control with it too.”

As a left-hander, Taylor Pannell also credits former Missouri and Oklahoma star lefty Paige Lowary for transforming her into the pitcher she is today. The current Missouri sophomore met Lowary in a camp and thought to herself, ‘that was someone I always wanted to be like.’

Taylor Pannell is doing heck of an impression, as she already surpassed Lowary’s career saves total (18). Unlike Lowary, though, the sophomore is seeing a majority of her time in high-leverage save situations — a role that isn’t one that she would have originally imagined.

“Before, she was just like every other pitcher. She was a starting pitcher on a high school and on a (club) team,” Tim Pannell said. “The lights get bright in the seventh ... so you’ve got to figure out how to not let the walls cave in on you, and she will do anything possible to build them bigger and stronger where they will not fall into her. She’ll bust through them.”

Words into action

Even from a young age, Taylor Pannell seemed destined for success.

A daughter of undefeated state champion high school wrestler in Tim Pannell and a successful multi-sport prep athlete in Shannan Pannell, the future Missouri Tiger inherited the desire to compete and quickly fell in love with softball.

“She first got into softball, I believe it was probably 8-and-under,” Tim Pannell said. “The next year, of course, they asked all of the kids who want to pitch. All of them wanted to, (and) some stuck, some didn’t. It stuck with (Taylor).”

Armed with a desire to showcase her talent, Taylor Pannell left a mark at a pair of destinations that ultimately played roles in her journey to Missouri — Aces Fastpitch and Lee’s Summit West.

It was with the Aces that Taylor Pannell competed alongside fellow Missouri sophomore Cierra Harrison and gained national exposure, as she earned offers from Western Illinois and South Dakota State, among others.

“Taylor was always one of those kids (who) just loves the game, loves to pitch,” Honeycutt said. “At first, I think it took her a while to kind of hone in her control on the ball, but you could tell she’s always had a lot of talent.”

Taylor Pannell unlocked that talent with the Titans, molding herself into one of the state’s top pitchers. The growth started to take shape early in her prep career and reached a peak as she finished it, a shift that her father noticed right away.

“It took her a little bit on the field, probably until her sophomore year in high school to really start showing who she was,” Tim Pannell said. “Then, in her senior season, her team won the state championship ... and that kind of put things going the right way.”

In her senior season, the southpaw earned first-team all-state honors with a 21-5 record and 180 strikeouts in 157 innings.

To cap the impressive campaign, Taylor Pannell played a key role in Lee Summit West’s first-ever softball state championship. The lefty started the Titans’ 6-5 title game victory over Francis Howell Central and helped to spark a five-run comeback with a triple.

Courtesy of Tim Pannell

The championship run provided a cherry on top for Taylor Pannell, who committed to in-state Missouri earlier that season. An opportunity to represent her in-state school meant everything to a 5-foot-5 left-hander who had something to prove and a place to do it at.

“It’s her dream come true,” Tim Pannell, said. “She’d go through fire for every one of them (teammates and coaches) ... It’s just everything to her, just putting the Tigers’ uniform across her chest.”

The motivation behind the success

Hidden behind all of the fire, intensity and celebration that surrounds a Taylor Pannell save is the catalyst for those emotions — a desire to prove doubters wrong.

The 5-foot-5 southpaw encountered uncertainty about her potential at the collegiate level, whether it be because of her size, talent or potential. However, the Missouri standout has channeled that skepticism into triumph, both at an individual and team level.

“She was told ‘You’re not big enough. You’re not good enough,’” Tim Pannell said. “Her biggest drive is I’m going to go out there, and I’m gonna prove everybody wrong, and my team is gonna win.”

“I play with a chip on my shoulder,” Taylor Pannell said. “I just remember when I was younger, a lot of people didn’t think I was good enough to play college softball, especially in the SEC. ... I go out there with that mentality like I’m proving everybody wrong. I don’t care who we play, like we’re getting this game over. I’m going to do my job, and I’ll support my team in whatever way.”

Taylor Pannell’s commitment to the team started Day 1 upon her stepping foot on campus, if you ask Missouri coach Larissa Anderson. The then-freshman’s willingness to inherit the closer role so early in her career emphasized the type of competitor she is.

“She’s embraced that role since Day 1 stepping here on campus, and she loves it,” Anderson said April 16. “She loves coming out with hands; she wants the game on the line. She wants the crowd; she wants the energy, (and) she wants to finish it.

“That’s a tough mentality.”

Guided by that gutsy mindset, Taylor Pannell captured eight saves against Southeastern Conference opponents this season. Many of the teams that overlooked her amidst the era that was recruiting during the pandemic are starting to learn firsthand what they missed out on in the gritty Lee’s Summit native.

But the team that bet on Taylor Pannell is reaping the benefits, riding the sophomore’s late-game flair to heights they haven’t reached in years. Much like the MSHSAA championship that the former Titans ace captured, she is stepping up when it matters most.

In three appearances during the SEC Tournament in Auburn, Alabama, last week, Taylor Pannell recorded a win and two saves while allowing zero hits in 3¹⁄₃ scoreless innings. Across her past 10 appearances, the closer has pitched to a 0.55 ERA with just five hits, nine strikeouts and four walks.

“I said to (former Missouri pitcher Jordan Weber) the other night that I think Taylor’s really having fun with the game now,” Honeycutt said. “That is exciting to see, all (her) hard work paying off.”

The hard work and determination displayed by Taylor Pannell this season are similar qualities shared by her teammates this season at Missouri, which is hungry for its first Women’s College World Series appearance since 2011 and seventh overall.

“Of course she would like to have the NCAA record,” Tim Pannell said. “(But) her ultimate dream is for the Tigers to end up in Oklahoma City.”

Luckily for the sophomore, she could do herself and her team a favor in the coming week-plus to help make a pair of dreams come true.

The Tigers open play in their own Columbia Regional against Omaha at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Mizzou Softball Stadium. The regional, which includes Washington and Indiana as well, guarantees Missouri at least two games in the double-elimination format.

That also means Taylor Pannell will have at least two chances at history, and an opportunity to rediscover the inner silence that has made her so dominant this season.

“I talked to Coach (Anderson) our last midweek game,” Taylor Pannell said. “I was like ‘I’m going to go break the record, like I want to do it.’ I was like ‘I’m gonna get it done this year,’ so hopefully I can.”