Mizzou Softball's Taylor Pannell Enters Transfer Portal

As the only SEC team not in the NCAA Tournament, Mizzou softball wasn't exactly having a joyous week.

Then, the week got a little worse. Per D1 Softball's Justin McLeod on X, Taylor Pannell has entered the transfer portal. The Lee's Summit, MO native will have one year of eligibility remaining.

In her three seasons with the Tigers, she established herself as one of the top closers in the nation. Following a promising freshman campaign in which she recorded six saves, Pannell took her game to another level in 2024. By season's end, she'd tied the NCAA record for saves in a single season with 15. That included a clutch performance in Super Regional, where she sealed a 3-1 win over Duke to force a decisive Game 3, although Mizzou would fall 4-3.

This past season, Pannell more than doubled the amount of innings she pitched. However, she took a statistical step back: her ERA jumped from 1.21 in 2024 to 3.33 this season. Like Cierra Harrison and Marissa McCann, Pannell also struggled keeping the ball in the yard, allowing nine home runs after giving up just one in 2024. While allowing home runs becomes more likely the more a pitcher plays, Pannell's home runs per batters faced increased (.027 compared to .007).

Even so, Pannell was a reliable arm for MU in her first three collegiate seasons, one that the Tigers will sorely miss. She shined at the end of the regular season, clinching a pair of wins against Georgia with dominant late-game performances. Not only did she retire the Bulldogs in order both times, she struck out four of the six batters she faced.

Elsewhere on the pitching staff, Harrison has one year of eligibility left, while McCann has two. Natalie Touchet will also be a junior; she's the only player besides Pannell who recorded a save last season (she had two). With Jayci Kruse exhausting her eligibility, Courtney Donahue is the only other player from last season's team who could return for the 2026 season. The transfer from Des Moines Area Community College pitched sparingly in the spring, making just six appearances.