Shannon Doepking was ‘the total package’ at Tennessee, dominating behind the plate
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Shannon Doepking received her nickname after Tennessee’s first practice in 2005. It stuck with her all four years.
“We called her Shannon the Cannon,” former teammate India Chiles said.
Doepking earned the nickname because of her strong arm as a catcher and ability to catch runners stealing. She threw out runners “for fun,” Chiles said. From the time she stepped on campus, the position was “undeniable” for her.
“She came in with the confidence as a freshman expecting to play, not just being on the roster,” Chiles said. “She came in with the mentality and the ego expecting to play. That’s what we needed.”
Doepking, SU softball head coach, was a steady presence behind the plate for four seasons at Tennessee. She missed just 10 games, was named to the Southeastern conference all-freshman team and accumulated first-team honors her junior and senior years. Her defensive abilities shined while helping Tennessee to three straight Women’s College World Series appearances from 2005-07.
Doepking was “the total package,” Chiles said. She threw out 42 runners stealing in four seasons so teams would be hesitant to run on her, former teammate Natalie Brock said.
Brock and Doepking were part of the same recruiting class for the Volunteers, later playing professionally for the Tennessee Diamonds after graduating. She recalled going to bars that sometimes had arcade punching bags. Because of her arm speed and power, Doepking often got higher scores than men.
Doepking’s competitive nature connected her with Brock. When coaching a youth softball team after college, the two played “fungo” following practices and games, where you throw the ball to yourself, trying to hit a home run. They both did this until they were drenched in sweat.
“If there was anything you could win in, we were going to try and beat each other.” Brock said.
From the start, Doepking fit right in with a ranked Tennessee squad in 2005. Chiles said she was quiet, but had an aura and confidence behind her, allowing her to catch Monica Abbott, the Vols’ star pitcher. Abbott was just the third pitcher in NCAA history to record 500 strikeouts in a single season, earning first team All-American honors in her freshman year.
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Doepking was up front and honest with them, “giving it to people straight,” Brock said. Doepking’s straightforwardness allowed her to connect better with Abbott. Brock called Abbott an “ultra competitor” who could handle criticism.
“Monica wanted to be so good and wanted to win so badly that there was never any friction,” Brock said. “It was always just ‘hey, I’m just trying to make you better.’”
In between innings, Doepking sat on a bucket and worked with pitchers off to the side. When Abbott was exhausted, Doepking was her motivator, Chiles said. As the catcher, it was Doepking’s job to assume the role of “field general,” essentially becoming another coach, Brock said.
Being behind the plate, Doepking was the only one who could see the entire field and it was her job to guide the pitcher and the outfield, too. Doepking controlled the pace of the game, helping set the tone, similar to how leadoff hitters do on offense, Brock said.
Not many people could catch Abbott. Standing at 6-foot-3, Chiles compared Abbott to baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson, as both were hard-throwing lefties. Abbott’s fastball sat around 70 miles per hour. Brock said Doepking couldn’t take a pitch off, staying laser focused, trying to frame pitches if Abbot missed a spot.
Chiles explained that Doepking’s mental state drove her physical state. Brock said that Doepking took care of her body on the front end, getting extra back work done. Squatting for seven innings while catching can take a toll, she said.
”The fact that she can walk and her back’s not thrown out is amazing,” Brock said. “Even playing pro ball after college, that’s just a lot of wear and tear on your body, it’s hard.”
Doepking still managed to start 95% of the total games in her career, including all 63 games her senior year.
It wasn’t crucial for Doepking to dominate offensively as long as she performed behind the plate, Brock said. But Doepking wanted to contribute on both ends. She batted .274 her freshman season, hitting a career-high seven home runs. Throughout her collegiate career, she grew as a hitter, becoming more disciplined at-bat, Chiles said.
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During her junior season, Doepking struggled at times. Teams started pitching around All-American Tonya Callahan to get to Doepking, since she wasn’t as strong as a hitter compared to Callahan.
In the offseason, Doepking hit “nonstop,” Brock said.
“People sometimes say to get away from the game for a bit in the offseason, but she was like no, ‘I got to hit.’” Brock said. “She literally hit all summer because she was like ‘they’re not going to do this to me again.’”
The work paid off. Doepking’s senior season was her best offensively. She set career-highs in average (.315), RBIs (47) and on-base percentage (.455). Brock said Doepking got more contact on the ball and struck out less. After striking out at least 30 times in her first two seasons, Doepking combined for 30 in her last two seasons.
Twice during her senior season, Doepking blasted home runs after teams had avoided the batter before her, Brock remembered. She hit an “emphatic” homer against Auburn late in the year.
“It was one of those moments where she earned it.” Brock said.
Doepking “kept the bar high” during Tennessee’s successful years, Chiles said, adding that the whole team was “chasing greatness.”
Tennessee made the NCAA Tournament for just the third time in its history during Doepking’s freshman season in 2005. It advanced to its first super regional and later the Women’s College World Series. Brock remembered Pat Summit, the Tennessee women’s basketball coach, giving the team a pep talk before the team left campus. She said to call when they won. Abbott called after the Volunteers defeated Stanford. Tennessee would later fall in the semifinals.
In 2007, Doepking’s junior year, Tennessee’s run to the WCWS was a little less “magical,” Brock said, treating it like a “business trip.” With a heavy veteran presence on the team, the Volunteers knew they belonged.
“By that point, we were expected to do this.” Brock said.
The then-No. 5-seeded Volunteers cruised to the World Series. Against Texas A&M in the first game of the WCWS, Doepking went 2-for-4, knocking in a run in the seventh inning to put the Volunteers up 2-0. In the first game of the championship series against Arizona, Doepking homered, once again putting Tennessee up two runs.
The Volunteers were one win away from the national title, but fell just short, losing two straight games to Arizona. In Doepking’s senior season, Tennessee didn’t make it past the regionals. Even though the Volunteers fell short, Chiles said Doepking helped leave a legacy in Knoxville.
“She knew when she committed to the University of Tennessee what the assignment was ahead of her, and she made sure that she was prepared,” Chiles said. “She was just a leader who continually stepped up for our team.”
