Mosley set for senior year with UT Southern
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Alyssa Mosley had a habit at Warren County of showing up when the games mattered most.
When the Lady Pioneers made sectional runs in each of her final two seasons, Mosley was on a heater at the plate, hitting over .500 in both postseasons. And if the ball was near her, like when she skied to snag a liner in a pivotal game at Coffee County, she could make the play. Perhaps the highlight of her high school career was turning a double play that helped Warren County win a district championship.
In those moments, pressure never seemed to bother Mosley. If anything, it brought out the best in her.
Three years later, not much has changed.
The uniform is different and the stage is much bigger, but Mosley continues to do what she has always done: show up for her team when she is needed most. And in college, that means being ready at a moment’s notice.
The path hasn't always been easy at the University of Tennessee Southern. Like many athletes who leave high school after starring for years, Mosley arrived in Pulaski expecting to compete. What she quickly learned was everybody else had been a star too.
Getting on the field wasn't going to be handed to her.
"Over the last two years, battling to get into that lineup was tough," said Mosley. "I am competing against my teammates, who all want a starting position as well, but I needed to find a way to show my coaches why I should be in that position."
Mosley didn't find her role by demanding one - She earned it. Whether it was through practice, preparation or simply being ready when her number was called, the former Lady Pioneer made herself somebody the Firehawks could trust.
To Mosley, that trust became more important than any individual accomplishment.
The player who once anchored Warren County's infield has spent the last three years moving all over the diamond. She played shortstop as a freshman, bounced between shortstop, second base and right field as a sophomore and primarily patrolled right field as a junior while still preparing for work in the infield.
Wherever the coaching staff needed her, Mosley went.
"Overall, I have been a utility," said Mosley. "I go wherever my coach needs me to be, and I perform the best I can."
That mindset has helped Mosley appear in 62 games and make 48 starts during her collegiate career. She owns a .280 career batting average and a .410 on-base percentage, but numbers only tell part of the story.
In fact, if you ask Mosley about her final season, statistics are hardly mentioned at all. Her goals are much bigger - and all team-oriented.
"The hopes for next year with UT Southern are to win a Conference Championship and go to the NAIA World Series," said Mosley.
The Firehawks have reached the NAIA Opening Round in each of the last two seasons, only to fall short of advancing to Columbus. Mosley hopes her final opportunity will be different.
And when the time comes, she wants to leave the game the same way she has played it - No focused on home runs or personal glory, but keeping everything about the team and a passion for suiting up everyday.
"While batting.400 with 20 home runs is great, that's not why I play the game," said Mosley. “I want to go out still loving the game and having learned so much that I can hopefully teach other girls about the sport that has been my whole life.”
That’s not to say Mosley hasn’t had some highlights in college worthy of remembering. One of the best hits of her career came of the Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year in the conference - a hurler who rarely gave up anything to offenses. Against Mosley, it was different. The former Lady Pioneer ripped a double with her team down 2-0, giving the Firehawks a spark.
But overall, Mosley’s quick to put any spotlight back on the team. When asked about highlights, she said, “My sophomore year - (it was) getting the bid for the opening round. At the time, we were told we were done for the season, but ended up having to go back to Pulaski of the Selection Show and ended up going to Missouri.”
All about team - that’s Mosley’s mantra. And that perspective was shaped long before she arrived at UT Southern.
Mosley credits Morgan Frye Hicks, Cody Crouch and Gooby Martin - her high school coaches - for helping prepare her for college athletics, each providing a different lesson she still carries today. Hicks taught her the importance of focus, Crouch helped prepare her physically for the demands of a long season and Martin stressed understanding the game while never losing sight of why she loved it in the first place.
That final lesson may have proven the most valuable.
"In college, that gets lost a lot of the time because it feels like a job most of the time," said Mosley. "Remembering why you are playing makes the experience so much better."
It's also the advice she now gives to younger athletes with dreams of playing at the next level, saying she’d tell anybody wanting to following her her footsteps that, “You play because you love it and want to be a part of something greater.”
Be a teammate first is also important to the rising senior on the Firehawks.
“Another piece of advice (I’d give) is not to come in automatically thinking that you are going to start. A player’s role is important regardless of whether they are on the bench, only play defense, only play offense or play both. Your role is to support your team no matter what you are doing, so be excited for that, and if you want a different role, work for it. Prove why you should have it,” said Mosley.
Show up. Do your job and help your team win. It’s what Mosley did at Warren County and what she’s hopeful to do for the Firehawks one final time in 2027.
And if all works out, a trip to Columbus can be her swan song to the game she’s spent her whole life playing.
