Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Mowatt-McKinney Joins Bandits Coaching Staff For Summer Season
June 02, 2026 | Softball
STARKVILLE – The AUSL's Chicago Bandits will add Mississippi State pitching coach Taryne Mowatt-McKinney to their coaching staff, the team announced Tuesday. Mowatt-McKinney will remain on staff with the Bulldogs but will spend her summer in Chicago.
Mowatt-McKinney is well-known in the softball community. She has spent the last three years as the pitching coach at Mississippi State, and formerly spent time on staff at Arizona and in-state rival, Ole Miss. She recently completed her eighth trip to the Women's College World Series, reaching the pinnacle of the college game four times as a player and four times as a coach.
The former Arizona ace has been a difference maker for the State pitching staff in her three years in Starkville. Under her leadership, Bulldog pitchers have thrown 69 complete games, which is more than double what the team had done across the three seasons prior to her arrival.
Individually, pitchers under Mowatt-McKinney have earned 10 national and conference weekly honors, which is more than the Bulldogs had seen in eight seasons from 2016-23. From the moment she arrived in Starkville, she has been developing the Bulldog bullpen to reach its full potential, graduating a senior pitcher into the professional ranks every year.
Mowatt-McKinney played a vital part in developing former Bulldogs Peja Goold, Raelin Chaffin and Aspen Wesley, in preparation for their professional careers. In just one year, Wesley saw career best results before being signed by the Texas Monarchs. Mowatt-McKinney recruited Raelin Chaffin to Starkville, and the transfer found success early. Chaffin received a golden ticket in the 2025 AUSL draft and was drafted to the Talons in the third round. Chaffin would help the team win the 2025 AUSL championship.
This year, she repeated her work with Chaffin by drawing Goold to Starkville where she elevated her into a Second Team All-American and a 2026 AUSL Golden Ticket recipient. Goold was part of State's first pitching duo to each record 15 wins since 2008 and the first duo to tally 150.0 or more innings and 150-plus strikeouts since 2014.
A former Bandit herself, Mowatt-McKinney was a first-round pick in the 2008 NPF draft, and has played for six professional teams, including a season abroad with the Den Bosch Gryphons in Holland. She was a member of the inaugural Bandits team that opened Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, which still serves as the franchise's home.
She will return to Mississippi State after the Bandits summer season concludes to continue guiding the Bulldog bullpen as State seeks to return to the Women's College World Series in 2027.
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Mowatt-McKinney is well-known in the softball community. She has spent the last three years as the pitching coach at Mississippi State, and formerly spent time on staff at Arizona and in-state rival, Ole Miss. She recently completed her eighth trip to the Women's College World Series, reaching the pinnacle of the college game four times as a player and four times as a coach.
The former Arizona ace has been a difference maker for the State pitching staff in her three years in Starkville. Under her leadership, Bulldog pitchers have thrown 69 complete games, which is more than double what the team had done across the three seasons prior to her arrival.
Individually, pitchers under Mowatt-McKinney have earned 10 national and conference weekly honors, which is more than the Bulldogs had seen in eight seasons from 2016-23. From the moment she arrived in Starkville, she has been developing the Bulldog bullpen to reach its full potential, graduating a senior pitcher into the professional ranks every year.
Mowatt-McKinney played a vital part in developing former Bulldogs Peja Goold, Raelin Chaffin and Aspen Wesley, in preparation for their professional careers. In just one year, Wesley saw career best results before being signed by the Texas Monarchs. Mowatt-McKinney recruited Raelin Chaffin to Starkville, and the transfer found success early. Chaffin received a golden ticket in the 2025 AUSL draft and was drafted to the Talons in the third round. Chaffin would help the team win the 2025 AUSL championship.
This year, she repeated her work with Chaffin by drawing Goold to Starkville where she elevated her into a Second Team All-American and a 2026 AUSL Golden Ticket recipient. Goold was part of State's first pitching duo to each record 15 wins since 2008 and the first duo to tally 150.0 or more innings and 150-plus strikeouts since 2014.
A former Bandit herself, Mowatt-McKinney was a first-round pick in the 2008 NPF draft, and has played for six professional teams, including a season abroad with the Den Bosch Gryphons in Holland. She was a member of the inaugural Bandits team that opened Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, which still serves as the franchise's home.
She will return to Mississippi State after the Bandits summer season concludes to continue guiding the Bulldog bullpen as State seeks to return to the Women's College World Series in 2027.
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
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