Taryne Mowatt-McKinney

Biography

Taryne Mowatt-McKinney, a former All-American pitcher and the 2007 Women’s College World Series Most Valuable Player, was hired as Mississippi State’s pitching coach on June 30, 2023. In just two seasons, her impact has been immediate. Bulldog pitchers have thrown 44 complete games under her watch after totaling just 28 in the three seasons prior to her hiring. Mowatt-McKinney has coached State pitchers to four national weekly honors. Prior to her arrival, MSU had seen just one pitcher bring home a national weekly honor in 2013. She has coached players to three SEC Pitcher of the Week awards in her short tenure, which is as many as the Bulldogs had won in the eight years prior to her arrival. Mowatt-McKinney has guided a pair of State pitchers to the professional ranks in Aspen Wesley (2024) and Raelin Chaffin (2025). Chaffin went on to win the inaugural AUSL Championship with the Talons in the summer of 2025. Chaffin was the anchor of the State staff in 2025, winning her first seven games in the Maroon and White, including two complete-game victories over top-25 teams. In the program's modern era (since 1997), no pitcher - freshman or transfer - has won more consecutive appearances (7) or gone longer without allowing an earned run (25.0 IP) to begin their tenure as a Bulldog. The streak was also tied for the 10th-longest win streak in MSU history. Chaffin would end the year as the fifth Bulldog pitcher to post a 200-strikeout season, and her 23 wins ranked fourth in school h