Florida State softball pitcher Makenna Reid is finally looking like herself again — healthy, explosive and emotionally present — after two years defined more by rehab than softball.Last week offered the most vivid example yet. In a scoreless pitching duel against Rutgers, Reid stepped into a bases‑loaded, full‑count jam with two outs in the top of the seventh. The senior left-hander fired a strike past the batter to escape the inning, unleashing a roar as teammates swarmed her at the Seminole Softball Complex.It was more than a big strikeout. It was a moment she’d been chasing since her breakout freshman year in 2023, when she helped lead the Seminoles to the Women’s College World Series — before a severe back injury derailed her career trajectory in 2024.
Makenna Reid’s long road back from injury
Reid, now a senior, suffered the back injury late in the season two years ago. It lingered far longer than expected. She returned briefly as a junior but was limited to 10 starts and just 27 innings.“I just think it took longer for my back to…come back to explosive pitching,” Reid said. “Now I feel like I can actually be explosive and drive out and finish.”The physical recovery was only part of the challenge. Reid said she battled pressure and expectations — both internal and external — to perform at an All‑American level immediately.
“There are a lot of questions: ‘Will she be back? Will she be the same?’” Reid said. “Hearing those things is kind of hard because in my head, I know I can be. But you have to prove it, and it’s my senior year.”Through her first 11 appearances this season, Reid has logged 13⅔ innings with 16 strikeouts, two walks and eight earned runs. Head coach Lonni Alameda said none of the adversity has dimmed Reid’s competitive identity.“I think Makenna has always brought in to compete,” Alameda said. “She’s an uber competitor in the circle. She’s put herself in the best healthy position she could be in, and now she’s going to unlock that for us.”Alameda added that while injuries change athletes, they often make them smarter.
“I think she’s a smarter pitcher than she was back then,” Alameda said. “Her preparation is different, but I expect the same Makenna when she gets out there.”
Now one of the most experienced arms on the roster, Reid said she feels optimistic about FSU’s young pitching group and the variety they bring.
“I just think there’s a lot of looks, and everyone’s ready and prepared,” Reid said. “We’re in a good spot, pitching‑wise.”After two years of frustration, rehab and uncertainty, Reid’s strikeout against Rutgers wasn’t just a key out — it was a sign that the version of herself she’s been chasing may finally be back.
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Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Makenna Reid’s comeback fuels No. 10 FSU softball’s pitching strength
Reporting by Peter Holland Jr., Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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