The Chicago Bandits have added Mississippi State pitching coach Taryne Mowatt-McKinney to their coaching staff for the summer, the team announced Tuesday.
Mowatt-McKinney will continue her role at Mississippi State while spending her summer in Chicago. She has served as the Bulldogs’ pitching coach for the past three seasons.
The former Arizona softball star has a notable resume, including four appearances in the Women’s College World Series as a player and four as a coach. She recently completed her eighth WCWS appearance overall.
During her tenure in Starkville, Mowatt-McKinney has helped develop the Bulldog pitching staff, which has thrown 69 complete games—more than double the total from the three seasons before her arrival. Pitchers under her guidance have earned 10 weekly honors, surpassing the achievements of the previous eight seasons combined.
She has played a key role in preparing former Bulldogs for professional careers, including Raelin Chaffin, Peja Goold, and Aspen Wesley. Wesley posted career-best results in her only year under Mowatt-McKinney before signing with the Texas Monarchs. Chaffin was drafted in the third round of the 2025 AUSL draft and contributed to the team’s 2025 championship.
Goold, another of Mowatt-McKinney’s pupils, became a Second Team All-American and a Golden Ticket recipient in 2026. The duo of Goold and Chaffin recorded the first 15-win pitching pair for State since 2008 and the first to reach 150 innings and strikeouts since 2014.
A former first-round pick in the 2008 NPF draft, Mowatt-McKinney has played for six professional teams, including a season in the Netherlands with the Den Bosch Gryphons. She was also part of the inaugural Bandits team at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, which remains the franchise’s home field.
After her summer stint with the Bandits, she will return to Mississippi State to continue coaching the Bulldogs’ bullpen as they aim for a return to the Women’s College World Series in 2027.
