2025 WOMEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

May 30, 2025

Tim Walton

Kendra Falby

Korbe Otis

Reagan Walsh

Florida Gators

Postgame Press Conference

Tennessee 11, Florida 3

THE MODERATOR: We'll start with an opening statement from Coach Walton. If you have an opening statement, feel free.

TIM WALTON: Yeah, just want to congratulate my six seniors. Obviously the three that are up here have meant a lot to our program, but just everybody behind the scenes, the hard work that we put in.

To our fans, obviously, to get a chance to watch these guys play ball, that's probably the most sad part about this season for me coming to an end is just the relationships that we've built. Really just super happy and proud of the job, the development, the personal development, the player development that these guys have had in our program.

So not a ton to really say other than thanks. Thanks to these guys for all they've done for Gator Nation and their hard work and sacrifice. And these two here next to me played four years for us. Reagan's been committed for a long time. Kendra has been committed for a long time. Korbe is a newcomer who just collected a ton of awards along the way.

Just really thankful for all of our seniors and their leadership. And good season. Today was a terrible day, but still a good season for the Gators. Just really proud of the obstacles we overcame. And lost, but yet we still won in my mind, just how much we came together and how much fun we had along the way.

Q. All three of you guys being seniors, not the way you guys ended, but what's going through your mind now with two of you being here three times and then, Korbe, you being here back-to-back years?

REAGAN WALSH: I'm just so proud of this group. We fought so hard. We worked so hard every single day before getting here. (Crying). Sorry.

KORBE OTIS: I'm just thankful. I'm thankful to be a part of Gator Nation. I'm thankful to have played two years and then two seasons of the World Series. That's what 8-year-old Korbe dreamed of doing. So I'm really excited to have done that.

KENDRA FALBY: Trying to figure out if I can get more eligibility. I think I might sleep in this jersey forever.

REAGAN WALSH: We're stealing them.

KENDRA FALBY: Being a Florida Gator has been the best decision of my life. And if I could do it over again, I would do it again and again and again.

Coach Walton took a girl who was lost and didn't really know who she was and turned her into someone who is going to be able to achieve anything. And I don't even know if I have words to say how proud and thankful I am to have you in my corner.

And my parents always said come into a program and make it better than where you found it. And I just hope that the people that I have been able to come across that I left a legacy that will be remembered forever. And not only on the softball field but the people I have met through it all will be people who will be in my corner forever.

Me and Reagan are the only two left who have been here for four years. And I'm just so happy to have her and things that she's done along the way.

And Korbe, Dr. Otis, is literally going to be doing heart surgery on everybody... like, I'm just so thankful to be a Gator and have my career here because a lot of people can't say they did that.

Q. And Reagan and Korbe, you guys, last at-bat, not the way you wanted, but both you guys hit home runs. To end like that, talk about how special that is here in OKC.

KORBE OTIS: Obviously it doesn't feel great given the outcome, but like I said, that was 8-year-old Korbe's dream, is to give her dad a home run ball. So I got to do that.

REAGAN WALSH: Yeah, I wasn't going to go down without a fight. That was my mindset the whole entire at-bat, not knowing if it was going to be my last or not, but I was going to fight. And like Korbe said, this is something we dreamed of since we were little kids. And being able to give our parents home run balls is something really special.

Q. Kendra, do you have one enduring memory or image of something that may have happened the last four years? I'm sure you have multiple ones, but is there one that maybe sticks out more than any other?

KENDRA FALBY: Coach Walton coming out in a blowup suit for Halloween. Because I love Halloween. We took it to another level, and he came out in a big alien -- like an alien riding cowboy or something crazy.

But that shows how much fun we had. It's softball, but it was so much more than that. We came on the field every day and had so much fun. Had so much fun on the bus. We would shake the bus. Like who -- what coach lets their players shake the bus before a game? Coach Walton. I don't know. If you're not a Florida Gator, you need to be one because this place is just amazing.

REAGAN WALSH: Thank you. Go Gators forever.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Walton.

Q. I just have to ask first, the decision to start Kara, what was the reason for that decision?

TIM WALTON: We have been fighting a blister with Keagan for a while. So just came apart yesterday. Came apart, actually, on Saturday against Georgia in the game. So we've been fighting that for a little bit.

Felt like it was our best chance to give. Kara was going to go one time through, same thing we had at Oklahoma, get nine outs and then bridge the gap. Maybe let Keagan throw at the end.

But just trying to give that -- ultimately, she could have pitched today, and being good or not good, we don't know what that would have been. But got a long road to go, and you blow her out in the first inning of this game, and then what? I know we're done now, but the decision was really to just try to go as much as we can with everyone else given the circumstances.

Q. And on that note, with Keagan, still, you said it was Saturday, so what can you say now that she went through all of Sunday against Georgia, all of yesterday, went the distance both times in that game?

TIM WALTON: Yeah, I give -- we spent a long time in the locker room sharing our thankfulness, but thankful for Kaitlyn Towers, our trainer. Our medical staff do a great job of getting our athletes what they need.

And, again, no excuses. Keagan would have started today just like yesterday, but given the circumstances, in the loser's bracket. If this is a winner's bracket again today, Keagan's pitching.

It just didn't make sense to throw her out there and try to go through however many games in a row, give her a chance to get that thing -- when you pop a blister and the skin comes off, it's a little tougher. So putting a little bit of -- I don't even want to call it second skin on there.

She's been dealing with it for a long time. Actually, I said Saturday, it was Friday against Georgia late in the game. That's where the rise ball was a little flatter on Saturday.

We're not making excuses, it just is what it is.

Q. Coach, obviously your players care so much about the program. Did they care too much? Did you sense any pressing from your offense here this week?

TIM WALTON: No, I didn't. I think the two starts, pitchers that we faced, both have "All" in front of their name. They're both All-American.

Yeah, we didn't swing the bat very well, but I think a little bit has to do with the pitchers that we faced. The rest of the game, you're down 7-0 versus tied in the seventh inning, so probably a different swing pattern.

No, I didn't think they were pressing too much. We just weren't good enough. We just didn't swing the bat well enough this weekend, or whatever day it is, to win. But I don't think they were pressing. They didn't show that to me that they were nervous or pressing at all.

Q. Tim, I know you go through this every year, but, candidly, how hard is it to keep it together when these girls get up here and say the kind of stuff, and the emotions that must be going through your mind after being around them so much?

TIM WALTON: Yeah, and obviously I'm going to be able to give Brooke Banard and Rylee Holtorf and Kara Hammock their due as well, being seniors. But it's hard. It's never easy. But listening to Kendra, obviously, and Reagan, Korbe's just one-of-one, the uniqueness about her ability to play ball but also carry herself the way she can and speak. She's amazing.

They're all amazing. I said that yesterday. I'm one of the luckier guys in the world getting to coach athletes like this. And for Kendra to say what she said about me, but not only -- forget about me, our program and all the things. All of our support staff and amenities that our athletes have.

For them to feel at the end of their career fully grateful for everything. We gotta talk about Tony Meacham, our academic advisor, and all the things that he does. Mike Childs, our nutritionist.

It's a very special place, Florida. It's a very unique environment where any athlete that walks through the doors, whether you play softball or you play football, you're going to be treated like the best athlete in the entire country until you graduate, and then you're going to be a Gator for life. And that's what these guys are.

I'm really proud of the opportunity that I've had, and I've grown a lot coaching some of these guys. I've had to learn to dress up on Halloween because it makes your center fielder happy, okay? I'll do it. (Laughter.) Let them shake the -- we had to tell our bus driver one time, Hey, don't get to close to the curb. You're going to get a curb check here in a minute. And he's like, What? (Demonstrating) There it is.

I've grown a lot. I'll be honest with you, the athletes -- a lot of coaches say it's a different time and all this stuff. And it is, but you still have to grow as a person, as a coach. I think I'm growing.

And obviously I love these guys on the stage and the players in the locker room. I feel bad for them, and I take full -- to Eric's question, I take full responsibility for our team not being -- didn't show better at the College World Series.

We had a tough regional, a tough super regional to get here, and we went business as usual. We did everything the same as we always did. But apparently -- not apparently -- obviously, should have done a little bit more. Should have done something a little bit different because were weren't obviously ready to go like we should be.

Q. Tim, again, still, the season, you guys made it here, you guys were in the top 10 pretty much the entire season. Looking ahead now, do you chalk this up to a couple of bad games, or what could potentially change, if anything, for next season?

TIM WALTON: Yeah, I think that's a tough question sitting here now looking back at the season we've had and our ability to -- we've beaten most teams. We lost a ton of games in my mind. 18 losses is a ton. I have never been satisfied. We lost five games one year and how can we get better?

I'm never satisfied. We have players on our team that have to develop a little bit more. We have coaches on our staff that have to do a little bit more, and there's a lot of things.

And I think I said this in our super regional, we're having to modify our training methods because we have more athletes coming into our program that are injured along the way. So just have to figure out how we can do a better job to still put pressure on our athletes, get them tougher and stronger without impacting their normal career after softball, you know, their life.

So we got to do a better job of that. It's hard to really turn up the pressure and push and push and push and push. So we got to do it in a way -- pitching is important. Keagan hasn't had that training, and we got to do some things just a little bit different but smarter to make sure we still, number one, take care of our athletes the right way, putting pressure on them mentally and physically and still doing what's right.

We could have won the World Series here and you could have asked me the same question, you would have asked me in a different way, but I would have said the same thing. We're all striving to get better, recruit better players, recruit better coaches, recruit everything we're trying to do. Every time we make a change, we want to impact the team and the program in a positive way.

But really proud of my team and the season we've had. Disappointed, but definitely proud nonetheless.

THE MODERATOR: Okay, that'll wrap things up, thank you.

TIM WALTON: Appreciate it, guys. Go Gators.