Gopher Glory: The Thrilling World of University of Minnesota Athletics

–  Gopher Senior Catcher Taylor Krapf has been acknowledged on the Softball America Preseason Top 100 list, securing the No. 81 position.

Taylor is a Senior Biology major from Oviedo, Fla. In 2024, she garnered several postseason honors including NFCA Great Lakes All-Region Second Team, All-Big Ten First Team, CSC Third Team Academic All-American, CSC Academic All-District, and Academic All-Big Ten. Throughout the 2024 season, the Gophers participated in 53 games, in which Krapf started all of them. She concluded her Junior year with a .311 batting average, 58 RBI, and 70 runs scored. Taylor also hit 11 home runs, one of which was a walk-off three-run homer that secured a victory over Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament last season, and she achieved the second highest slugging percentage for Minnesota at .602.

Taylor aims to persist as a fundamental player of the Gopher Softball team, both offensively and defensively. With a .326 batting average and a .985 fielding percentage during her tenure with the Gophers, she set personal bests in doubles and RBI in 2024, earning her a spot on the first team All-Big Ten roster for the second year in a row after being selected in her Sophomore year.

The Gopher Softball team will commence their season on Friday, Feb. 7 against Utah. This game is part of the Kajikawa Classic taking place in Tempe, Ariz. Throughout their time in Arizona, Minnesota will face Utah twice along with California, Miami (OH), and Arizona State.