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Taylor Davison’s nose was gushing blood during the 2020 Top Gun Super Select Invitational in Kansas City. Yet she remained focused on snaring the next pitch.

Moments earlier, Davison collided with first baseman Abby Arend while the two chased a foul ball. Arend’s elbow hit Davison in the face and left her with blood bursting out from her nose. Rather than exiting the game, Davison put her mask back on and positioned herself behind the plate.

“I didn’t even know,” Davison said of the nosebleed. “I just know I was looking into the dugout for the sign. I just wanted to keep going. It was just my nose. It wasn’t a huge deal.”

Davison’s on-field tenacity helped her become the No. 20 ranked catcher in the 2023 recruiting class, according to Extra Inning Softball. Prior to committing to Syracuse in 2022, she had a steller high school career at Richmond-Burton Community High School (IL). In her senior year, Davison led the Kishwaukee River Conference in home runs (13) and was second in slugging (1.092). Now, she enters 2024 at the summit of SU’s freshman class.

Davison picked up baseball early on as softball “wasn’t huge” in her hometown of Spring Grove, Illinois. Later, she followed her friends and joined Wasco Diamond, a travel softball team, which sparked her interest in the sport.

“(At that time) I realized you could go to college for (softball) and people are playing pro,” Davison said. “It just gives women better opportunities to succeed in athletics.”

Richmond-Burston head coach Tyler Stanton utilized her at catcher, but she played nearly every position during her travel career — which gave her a broad scope of knowledge from behind the plate.

Stanton met Davison when she was his student in middle school. He said it was clear from the get-go that Davison had a plan for her future.

“Taylor has been determined to play softball at a high level,” Stanton said. “She spent countless hours in the cage, working with instructors, or finding time on her own to get better.”

As a junior, Davison had a .474 batting average with 32 RBIs in comparison to her .316 batting average and 13 RBIs as a sophomore. In the field, Davison threw out 22 runners attempting to steal.

Davison’s strong performance continued her senior season, though the recruiting process proved difficult for her. She planned visits across the country and built up her social media profile with game highlights and training videos. Stanton said Davison “understood that it was more than her play on the field that would allow her to move up the recruitment ladder.”

Cindy Zhang | Digital Design Director

Davison also believed social media was crucial for recruiting during the COVID-19 pandemic as coaches were unable to scout in person.

“Over 2020 (and) 2021, people mainly communicate through you posting your game highlights and stuff on Twitter… I would post that stuff myself to see my improvements over time and be able to go back and reflect on that,” Davison said.

During a visit to Michigan State in 2021, Davison met then-Spartans head coach Jacquie Joseph. A month later, she announced her commitment to Spartans on social media. But Joseph retired at the end of the 2022 season, and Davison immediately reopened her recruitment.

“I was pretty young, and I had to take a step back and see what just happened and just allow myself to have other opportunities,” Davison said. “It’s not the end of the world.”

Davison worked with College Bound Jocks, a softball recruiting company, sending emails with profiles and videos to programs across the country. Syracuse showed interest, and Davison opted to visit SU’s campus in 2022. There, she fell in love with the team due to its culture and atmosphere — along with a chance to work with head coach Shannon Doepking, a former catcher at Tennessee from 2005-08.

“(Being coached by Doepking) made me super excited because I’m going to overtime, keep getting information about how to become a better leader, how to become a better catcher and a better person. And I think that’s extremely important in softball,” Davison said.

Now, ahead of her first season with Syracuse, Davison brings a mature mentality to a young squad that’s still searching for its core of the future.

“I’m just trying to take everything in and I’m trying to see how great I can get here and how much I can help our team out,” Davison said. “I can’t wait to see what this team does.”

Published on February 6, 2024 at 11:47 pm