University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Mackenzie Puckett
March 08, 2022 | Softball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Mackenzie Puckett knows that Cairo, Ga., is known for producing legendary Georgia Bulldogs. The fifth-year softball senior likes that about her small hometown of about 10,000 people.
There's football's Bill Stanfill, the 1968 Outland Trophy winner, who was inducted into the Circle of Honor in 2000. There's women's basketball legend Teresa Edwards, a four-time Olympian who was in the inaugural Circle of Honor class in 1996. Most recently there's pitcher Emerson Hancock, who was the sixth overall pick in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.
During a recent Quick Chat, Puckett, who began her collegiate career at Florida State, talked about home, her first home run, growing up at the ballpark, and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: How aware are you of the legendary Bulldogs from Cairo and do you feel pressure to follow in their footsteps?
Puckett: I'm very aware of several of the athletes from Cairo that have come to Georgia and gone on to perform at higher levels. I'm not worried about living up to their level or people's expectations, I just want to go out there and do my best and perform the best that I can.
Frierson: Do you remember your first collegiate home run?
Puckett: I do. My first home run was here (in 2020); I can in as a pinch-hitter and I just remember telling myself, all right, you're going to get a hit here. I didn't care where the ball went, I just wanted to get a hit. It just happened to be a home run and I remember being so excited.
It was a great moment.
Frierson: Did you know the moment that bat struck ball that something good was happening?
Puckett: It's been a couple of years so I don't remember if I knew or not. It definitely felt as good as I thought it would. I still have the ball and I still have the bat.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Puckett: That would be Chick-fil-A. It's kind of a problem [laughs]. I usually get the 12-count chicken nuggets with the Chick-fil-A sauce and sweet tea.
Frierson: What do you do on Sundays, drive by lamenting the fact that they're not open?
Puckett: We usually get Zaxby's [laughs].
Frierson: When did you start playing softball and when did you realize that you have a future in the sport?
Puckett: Both of me parents were athletes, my dad played college baseball and my mom's a P.E. teacher now, so they started coaching when I was 3 years old. That meant that I could play a year early because you weren't supposed to start until you were 4, but if your parents were coaches then you could start earlier.
I started playing tee-ball at 3 and when I was 5, that's when I started playing softball. I spent most of my life at the ballpark, living on nachos and slushies or whatever. I started playing travel ball when I was 11 or 12, and that's when I was like, I want to do this in college.
Frierson: What do you remember about those early days? I can't imagine swinging a bat at a tee when I was 3 years old.
Puckett: I was pretty athletic when I was a kid, and I do remember running the bases backwards sometimes, going to third base instead of first. I also remember building sand castles in the infield. I just remember having fun out there and just playing.
Frierson: Having spent a lifetime around the ballpark, do you think about coaching one day?
Puckett: I think about it every once in a while. Right now, the plan is to go into physical therapy, but coaching is still an option on the table that I'm considering.
Frierson: Who is the funniest person on the team?
Puckett: That might have to be Maddie Kerpics. She's a goofball — that's the only way to explain her. It's great having teammates to keep it light and fun, to take the tension off every once in a while. You're not always going to have a good day so it's nice to have people around to cheer you up and make you feel good.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Staff Writer
Mackenzie Puckett knows that Cairo, Ga., is known for producing legendary Georgia Bulldogs. The fifth-year softball senior likes that about her small hometown of about 10,000 people.
There's football's Bill Stanfill, the 1968 Outland Trophy winner, who was inducted into the Circle of Honor in 2000. There's women's basketball legend Teresa Edwards, a four-time Olympian who was in the inaugural Circle of Honor class in 1996. Most recently there's pitcher Emerson Hancock, who was the sixth overall pick in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.
During a recent Quick Chat, Puckett, who began her collegiate career at Florida State, talked about home, her first home run, growing up at the ballpark, and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: How aware are you of the legendary Bulldogs from Cairo and do you feel pressure to follow in their footsteps?
Puckett: I'm very aware of several of the athletes from Cairo that have come to Georgia and gone on to perform at higher levels. I'm not worried about living up to their level or people's expectations, I just want to go out there and do my best and perform the best that I can.
Frierson: Do you remember your first collegiate home run?
Puckett: I do. My first home run was here (in 2020); I can in as a pinch-hitter and I just remember telling myself, all right, you're going to get a hit here. I didn't care where the ball went, I just wanted to get a hit. It just happened to be a home run and I remember being so excited.
It was a great moment.
Frierson: Did you know the moment that bat struck ball that something good was happening?
Puckett: It's been a couple of years so I don't remember if I knew or not. It definitely felt as good as I thought it would. I still have the ball and I still have the bat.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Puckett: That would be Chick-fil-A. It's kind of a problem [laughs]. I usually get the 12-count chicken nuggets with the Chick-fil-A sauce and sweet tea.
Frierson: What do you do on Sundays, drive by lamenting the fact that they're not open?
Puckett: We usually get Zaxby's [laughs].
Frierson: When did you start playing softball and when did you realize that you have a future in the sport?
Puckett: Both of me parents were athletes, my dad played college baseball and my mom's a P.E. teacher now, so they started coaching when I was 3 years old. That meant that I could play a year early because you weren't supposed to start until you were 4, but if your parents were coaches then you could start earlier.
I started playing tee-ball at 3 and when I was 5, that's when I started playing softball. I spent most of my life at the ballpark, living on nachos and slushies or whatever. I started playing travel ball when I was 11 or 12, and that's when I was like, I want to do this in college.
Frierson: What do you remember about those early days? I can't imagine swinging a bat at a tee when I was 3 years old.
Puckett: I was pretty athletic when I was a kid, and I do remember running the bases backwards sometimes, going to third base instead of first. I also remember building sand castles in the infield. I just remember having fun out there and just playing.
Frierson: Having spent a lifetime around the ballpark, do you think about coaching one day?
Puckett: I think about it every once in a while. Right now, the plan is to go into physical therapy, but coaching is still an option on the table that I'm considering.
Frierson: Who is the funniest person on the team?
Puckett: That might have to be Maddie Kerpics. She's a goofball — that's the only way to explain her. It's great having teammates to keep it light and fun, to take the tension off every once in a while. You're not always going to have a good day so it's nice to have people around to cheer you up and make you feel good.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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