Mowatt (Ole Miss Athletics)
Taryne Mowatt is coming back at Arizona.
With assistant coach Stacy Iveson taking on a new administrative role — which we told you about two weeks ago — head coach Mike Candrea was looking for a new pitching coach.
One choice made complete sense.
Hire Mowatt.
Mowatt is part of Arizona’s pitching legacy, including her indefatigable national title-winning performance in 2007, when she pitched eight games in seven days, throwing 1,035 pitches, winning five elimination games, including two in the championship series against Tennessee.
The Mowatt Miracle.
But that was a decade ago — the most recent of Arizona’s eight national titles — and only means so much. What Mowatt has done recently, in the past two years as the pitching coach at Ole Miss, landed her the job at her alma mater.
She joins former teammate Caitlin Lowe as assistants for Mike Candrea.
“After a search, it was a foregone conclusion that Taryne Mowatt was very qualified and ready to come back and lead the pitchers,” Candrea said in a statement. “I think she’ll bring great energy and passion for the program and a face that the kids we’re recruiting can still relate to. With Taryne and Caitlin, who both played here, I think we’ve got something really special.”
Iveson is a former UA player, too, and she served two stints as a Wildcats assistant coach
“Stacy came to me and wanted to move into more of an administrative role,” Candrea said.
“She wanted to help this team more than on the field, especially in recruiting. This gives her a chance to spend a little more time with her son, which is good. She did an evaluation of the needs of our program and I thought it was big of her to see the big picture. I’m very excited that she’ll still be a part of this.”
At Ole Miss, Mowatt took over a pitching a staff that posted a 4.30 ERA in 2015. She lowered that ERA to 3.26 in 2016 and then to 2.10 in 2017, when the Rebels played host to an NCAA regional for the first time before losing at UCLA in a Super Regional.
The Ole Miss staff won the NFCA Division I Regional Coaching Staff of the Year award.
Mowatt also was an assistant coach at California Baptist for three seasons.
“Taryne is a fierce competitor,” Candrea said.
“She pitched with a chip on her shoulder. She’s the type of coach that will develop our pitchers to be the same competitive athlete that she was.
“She has a great vision on what needs to be done, now it’s about getting the kids to buy in to the approach that it takes to get things done. I’m thrilled to have her. She’s a hard worker and has matured a lot since I had her as a player. She’s got a passion for coaching.”
For the 2018 season, Mowatt will be working with junior Taylor McQuillin, stepping into the ace role with the graduation of Danielle O’Toole. Freshman Hannah Bowen seems slated to be No. 2, with Purdue transfer Gina Snyder and freshman Taylor Gilmore being other options.
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