Photo courtesy of Kennedy Cowden
Kennedy Cowden Feels Right at Home with Decision to Attend Kentucky
Kentucky softball signee Kennedy Cowden understands what it takes to play softball in the SEC.
A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Cowden grew up cheering for the Tennessee Volunteers, but will trade in her Tennessee orange to wear Kentucky blue the next four years. She committed to Kentucky during her sophomore season at Powell High School and signed as a member of the 2018 recruiting class.
“Since I grew up in Knoxville, I can’t help but be a Vol at heart,” said Cowden. “I have absolutely loved living here and being a Tennessee fan. Tennessee football games have always been my weakness.”
Cowden grew up attending games at Neyland Stadium and cheering on the Vols, but staying home for college was not involved in the plans for her future.
“I love my Vols, but even though I am a hardcore Tennessee fan, I never actually wanted to attend Tennessee. I always knew that I would move away for college. I just wasn’t sure where.”
Cowden admits that before she committed to Kentucky, she really didn’t know much about the program. Since then, things have changed and she can’t get enough of Big Blue Nation.
“I didn’t follow the program like I do now, obviously. Things are different now. I want to keep up with their every move. I have even started following some other sports at Kentucky as well. It might take me a while to be all in at their football games, but I’ll come around.”
The path from Knoxville to Lexington is a straight shot up Interstate 75, but Cowden’s route had multiple turns and bumps along the way. Two bizarre injuries during her freshman and sophomore seasons forced her out of action for a significant amount of time.
During her freshman season she tore three ligaments in her foot when she awkwardly landed on home plate. As a sophomore, she tore ligaments across her collarbone while sliding into second base. Despite the injury, she continued to play but it was costly.
Cowden’s collarbone injury turned into thoracic outlet syndrome, which is a result of compressed nerves or blood vessels in the upper chest and neck. As a result, she suffered nerve damage in her left shoulder. The injury forced her to undergo surgery at a hospital in St. Louis, where she spent a week.
“It has been quite difficult getting it strong again. What gets me at this moment is my arms inconsistency. One day I could go to practice and my arm feel great, and my throws are strong and on point, but then the next day it might be really tight and gives me a lot of trouble.”
Cowden knows that her arm will continue to get stronger and it was strong enough to lead Powell High School to a state title this season. As a senior, she posted a .397 batting average to go along with 44 RBI and 62 runs scored. Her strong senior season led to her being named All-State as well as a top three finish for the Knox News Sports award.
Even though she grew up cheering for another team in the SEC and suffered multiple injuries along the way, Cowden feels right at home with her decision to attend the University of Kentucky.
“It just felt like a place that I could call home one day. Sure, I wanted to be apart of such a growing and thriving softball program, and yes it was a dream of mine to play SEC ball as well, but the campus and school just felt like a place where I could really see myself thriving as well.”
Despite battles with injuries, Cowden used them to become a stronger athlete and person. Failure has been there every step of the way since her first injury. As much as she loves to succeed, she’s even learned to love the failure.
“Failure does not sit well with me. I hate to lose, and I hate to let people down. But I have grown a lot just in this past year. I have failed a lot in this sport, especially after my surgery. I couldn’t stop failing. I wanted to give up a lot and I wasn’t sure if I could ever be the same player I was before. It was all in my head. I’m learning to love the failure because it makes the success so much greater.”
Not only did Cowden find comfort in choosing Kentucky because it was the best overall fit for her, but she also knows head coach Rachel Lawson cares about her success on and off the field.
“Coach Lawson is awesome. She cares a lot about this program and making it better every day. I can’t wait to play for her. We actually had a pretty long phone call last fall about failure and how to handle and react to it. I was going through a rough patch and she was there to listen. She spoke on how she believed in me and wouldn’t have recruited me if she didn’t.”
Cowden held offers from Furman and Mississippi College when she committed to Kentucky and she was receiving interest from other Division I programs before her commitment. After growing up cheering for another team in the SEC, she decided to be a member of the Big Blue Nation.
“There were other big Division I schools showing a lot of interest in me at the time, but were waiting until the summer to offer. But about two weeks after I got offered from Kentucky, I decided that I didn’t need to look anymore; Kentucky was where I wanted to be.”
