Gayler ready to cultivate her future at UT-Martin
A memorable senior year for Heritage’s Carmen Gayler added another significant chapter on Wednesday when the Generals’ slugger signed a letter of intent to play college softball.
The 2020 Region 6-AAAA Player of the Year, GACA All-State first teamer, Georgia Dugout Club Class AAAA Co-Player of the Year and the Catoosa County Co-Player will be heading a few hours west to play for the Skyhawks of Tennessee-Martin, a member of the NCAA Division I Ohio Valley Conference.
“It means that (now) I can just keep working hard on my game,” Gayler said after a signing ceremony at the high school. “I can relax now, knowing I have a place to go.”
Gayler, who began her playing days as a member of the Bratz at age four, said she first learned about the college through her travel softball coach, Steve Rogers of Force Elite.
“He connected me with (UTM) Coach (Brian) Dunn and (Dunn) was just as welcoming as all get-out. He was just wonderful,” Gayler recalled. “And then Coach (Tanner) Moore knew (UTM assistant) Coach (Chelsea) Farmer and she was wonderful as well. Their team seems like a family and that’s something that I want to be a part of.”
Arguably the Generals’ top slugger over the past three seasons, Gayler had a career-high .458 average this past season to go with 41 runs scored and 58 RBIs, both also career-highs. She tied her career-best with seven round-trippers, while her RBI total was the highest in Georgia in all classifications.
The three-time All-Region, two-time
Region Player of the Year and twotime first team All-State first baseman batted nearly .450 over the past three seasons and ended her career with 15 home runs and 136 career RBIs, while helping the program win four straight region championships and the last three Class AAAA state championships.
She will leave while holding seven Heritage records, including career walks, slugging percentage and RBIs, and single-season marks for walks, doubles, slugging percentage and RBIs.
“I feel like I can do (at UTM) exactly what I did here, which is hit the ball, be their power source and drive in runs,” she added.
Moore said Gayler is ready to play at the next level and recalled an at-bat in the state playoffs this past fall against
Bainbridge flamethrower Lexie Delbrey, a future University of Florida pitcher with a fastball between 68 and 70 miles per hour, as proof of Gayler’s confidence.
“Carmen turned on a pitch and put it in the right-centerfield gap for a double,” said the former Heritage head coach. “At that speed, it’s tough to make an in-game adjustment, but she was able to do that. I think she knows her game plays at the next level. Really, from her standpoint, it’s about confidence and now that she has it, I think she’s going to
do awesome at (Tennessee) Martin.”
He also called TennesseeMartin an “unbelievable fit” for his former player.
“A lot of athletes, especially teenage ones, may not really know what they want to do, but Carmen knows she wants to study agriculture and she knows she wants to play softball,” he explained. “I think a lot of times colleges recruit the athlete, but in this case, the athlete recruited the college and that was really cool to see.”
Megan Crawford, who coached Gayler for four years as an assistant with the Generals before taking over as head coach of the program after the season, said the Skyhawks are getting one of the best people
she’s ever met.
“Carmen works hard and that was mentioned multiple times today (during the ceremony) by people that know her in different aspects around the community and at school,” she said. “She works hard in everything she does and she’s going to give you 100 percent. She’s just an all-around great person and I know that will continue in her academic career, as well as her softball career.”
Gayler, who has been greatly involved with her school’s FFA club and greenhouse over the last four years, added that UTM’s agricultural program was another big reason she chose the school and that she wants to pursue a goal of becoming an agricultural teacher.