Littlefield senior softball player, Taryn Golden, signed her Letter of Intent on Wednesday to continue her softball and academic career at Seward County Community College in Kansas.
Golden signed her letter during a small ceremony in the Littlefield High School Library surrounded by family, friends, coaches and teammates.
Golden talked about being inked on paper, saying, “It is definitely a weight lifted off of my shoulders to know where I’m going next and having a more set future is very calming.”
The senior talked about what the recruiting process was like for her, saying, “I just used FieldLevel and talked to several coaches and found my best fit and the best fit for my family as well.”
Golden said that it was on and off between her freshman and junior years when she decided that she wanted to continue her softball career at the next level.
“Going into my senior year, Coach Logan had talked to a couple of people for me and that’s when I decided that I wanted to continue playing softball at the college level,” she said.
Golden talked about what impressed her about Seward over other schools saying, “The thing that stuck out to me about Seward over other schools is that they are wanting to improve in everything that they are doing. Also, it just felt like a good fit for my family; I’m a big family person.”
Golden was a four-year varsity player for the Lady Cat softball program, starting at catcher for the Lady Cats during her senior season.
She capped off her senior season earning the District 3-3A Offensive MVP Award. Last season, as a junior, Golden earned first team All-District honors as a third baseman and during her sophomore campaign she earned second team All-District Utility Player.
The senior talked about how her time as a lady cat and her coaches at LHS have prepared her to play college softball, saying, “They gave me the mindset that I could do it and have supported me in everything that I have done. They gave me the mindset that I could go on and could continue playing. The love and support from everyone here really helped me.”
Golden explained that her favorite memory as a Lady Cat would have to be all the funny and hilarious things they did during her junior year. “That was such a great team,” she stated. “We would always go and hang out after practice every day and it was just a great family environment and it really made me love softball then.”
Lastly, she talked about the support she has received from her family throughout her career, saying, “They have taken me to all of my practices, they’ve been to every single one of my games and just told me again and again that I could do it even when I doubted myself. They knew when I didn’t know.”
Golden will be joining a Lady Saints team that went 26-23 overall and 19-13 in conference play for the 2024 season.
Golden is being recruited to the Lady Saints as a utility player and will be in the pre-nursing program.
Taryn’s dad Cory Golden talked about his daughter signing her LOI, saying, “I couldn’t be more proud of her hard work and effort. This has been 100% her, we told her if you want to play that is up to you, if you don’t want to play we’re happy with that, if you just want to make sure you can play and then decide to do something else, we support you. But to see her achieve something she’s had a goal of for so long and is actually going to get there, is amazing to see.”
Taryn’s mom, Charissa Golden, echoed that sentiment, saying, “She had a goal and has worked hard to get there. To see it come to life is exciting.”