Taylor Shumaker
{{short description|American softball player (born 2006)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name = Taylor Shumaker
|image =
|image_size =
|caption =
|team = Florida Gators
|number = 21
|position = Outfielder
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|2006|3|16}}
|birth_place = Fullerton, California, U.S.
|debutleague =
|debutdate =
|debutyear =
|debutteam =
|teams =
- Florida (2025–present)
|highlights =
- NFCA National Freshman of the Year (2025)
- Softball America Freshman of the Year (2025)
- All-SEC First team (2025)
}}
Taylor Shumaker (born March 16, 2006) is an American college softball player for Florida. As a freshman in 2025, she was named NFCA National Freshman of the Year.
High school career
Shumaker attended Esperanza High School in Anaheim, California. On November 8, 2023, she committed to play college softball at Florida.{{cite web|url=https://floridagators.com/news/2023/11/8/softball-inks-five-on-signing-day.aspx |title=Softball Inks Five on Signing Day |website=floridagators.com |date=November 8, 2023 |access-date=May 20, 2025}}
College career
As a freshman during the 2025 season, Shumaker started all 60 games and hit .387 with 74 hits, 70 runs, 17 doubles, 21 home runs and 83 RBIs.{{cite web|url=https://floridagators.com/sports/softball/roster/taylor-shumaker/17193 |title=Taylor Shumaker |website=floridagators.com |access-date=May 20, 2025}} On February 8, 2025, she went 2-for-2 with two home runs against No. 22 Michigan. becoming the first Florida freshman since 2008 to hit two home runs in the regular season against a ranked opponent. She finished the weekend series with nine hits, including two doubles and five home runs, 11 runs scored and 11 RBIs, and was subsequently named the SEC Freshman of the Week.{{cite web|url=https://www.secsports.com/news/2025/02/sec-softball-players-of-the-week-feb-10 |title=SEC Softball Players of the Week: Feb. 10 |website=secsports.com |date=February 10, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://www.gainesville.com/story/sports/college/sec/2025/02/13/taylor-shumaker-florida-softball-2025-ncaa-season-tim-walton-mia-williams-jocelyn-erickson-korbe-uf/78403339007/ |title=Florida softball off to 8-0 start behind freshman Taylor Shumaker's superstar start |newspaper=The Gainesville Sun |first=Noah |last=Ram |date=February 13, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025}} She set Florida freshman records for RBIs, doubles, home runs, and runs scored. During the regional of the 2025 NCAA Division I softball tournament, she went 4-for-7, with three home runs, seven RBIs, and six runs scored. She recorded her 21st home run of the season, surpassing Brittany Shutte's record for the most home runs by a freshman in program history.{{cite web|url=https://www.alligator.org/article/2025/05/gators-steamroll-through-gainesville-regional-advance-to-super-regionals |title=Gators steamroll through Gainesville Regional, advance to Super Regionals |newspaper=The Gainesville Sun |first=Kevin |last=Brockway |date=May 17, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://www.gainesville.com/story/sports/college/softball/2025/05/17/three-takeaways-from-florida-softball-win-over-fau-at-gainesville-regionals/83656021007/ |title=Four home runs power Florida softball to win over FAU at NCAA Gainesville Regionals |website=alligator.org |first=Max |last=Bernstein |date=May 20, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025}} Following an outstanding season she was named the Softball America Freshman of the Year and NFCA National Freshman of the Year.{{cite web|url=https://www.si.com/onsi/softball/college/florida-s-taylor-shumaker-named-softball-america-s-freshman-of-the-year |title=Florida's Taylor Shumaker Named Softball America's Freshman of the Year |website=SI.com |first=Sarah |last=Person |date=May 20, 2025 |access-date=May 20, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nfca.org/divnews/ncaa1/di-freshman-of-the-year-taylor-shumaker-2025 |title=Florida's Shumaker voted 2025 NFCA Division I Freshman of the Year |website=nfca.org |date=May 27, 2025 |access-date=May 27, 2025}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
{{NFCA National Freshman of the Year}}
{{Softball America Freshman of the Year}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shumaker, Taylor}}
Category:Florida Gators softball players
Category:Softball players from California
Category:Sportspeople from Fullerton, California
Category:21st-century American sportswomen
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