Tennessee softball ace Karlyn Pickens receives AUSL golden ticket from Jennie Finch

Karlyn Pickens came up for air from the sea of teammates flooding her with hugs on the field, looking up into the stands at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. The senior pitcher immediately found her parents, Rebecca and Phillip, and her boyfriend, Jack, and she blew them a kiss, sharing the once-in-a-lifetime moment with everyone she loved. The reigning back-to-back SEC Pitcher of the Year had already pitched Tennessee softball to a 3-1 win in the series opener against South Carolina on April 2.

Then Pickens was surprised with her golden ticket from the Athletes Unlimited Softball League in front of a packed home crowd, marking her as one of the draftees for this upcoming season of the budding professional league . Pickens was surrounded by her teammates as the AUSL video played on the scoreboard, already receiving hugs as they figured out what was happening. "Being able to look up at my parents up there, even my boyfriend – he's actually going overseas in two weeks to play basketball, so for him to come and see this moment, it was really special," Pickens said.

"Surrounded with our amazing fanbase, my teammates, coaches, everyone here, I couldn't have asked for a better moment. " Pickens was the first athlete to be signed to an NIL partnership with AUSL in February. Her golden ticket was presented to her by softball legend Jennie Finch, who Pickens grew up idolizing.

Pickens called it "surreal and special" to see the icon meet her in the circle. Tennessee senior ace Karlyn Pickens receives her golden ticket, which mean she has been drafted to the AUSL Very cool moment to have this in front of a packed home crowd after Pickens pitched Tennessee to a 3-1 win tonight pic. twitter.