Texas Blaze catcher Taylor Ellsworth will be a player you see in the 2017 Hot 100 over the next two weeks. Ellsworth shares her official visit at the University of Texas with FloSoftball.

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Finally, I've been waiting for what feels like eternity for my official visit to the University of Texas.

Friday morning, I woke up ready to head to downtown Austin. My family and I all loaded up in my mom's car and took off to meet Texas assistant coach Jennifer McFalls at our hotel. Waiting there for us was a Longhorns gift bag with all different types of chocolates and goodies. We all then loaded up in a van and went to meet head coach Connie Clark at NEZ (North End Zone).

As we arrived, we met up with Coach Clark. As everyone stated arriving, the conversation grew. We all came from different areas, but it felt like we've known each other for years. Janae Jefferson, Chloe Romero, Ari Adams, Brooke Bolinger, and Mary-Katherine Tedder are all future teammates of mine. As the conversation continued, we began to head up the elevator to where the athletes eat, which is known as the TANC (Texas Athletic Nutrition Center).



It was almost overwhelming of how many choices of food we got to choose from. As we finally made our decisions, we got to sit down with assistant coach Tripp MacKay and visit with him for a while. When lunch started to wrap up, we began our tour. We went down to the weight room and training room. Getting to see all the equipment and access the athletes had available to them is crazy. I've never seen anything like it.

After we got to see all the really cool stuff, we had the opportunity to have an academic meeting, which was super informative. As much as I thought I was going to dread the academic meeting, I learned a lot of super important things such as dual-credit classes and how well the coaches work with the academic side of things.

They are true believers in being a student athlete, meaning student comes first. Soon after getting done in NEZ, we marched our way over to San Jacinto dorms. We got to tour around and see what it is like to live in the dorms. Then we headed back to the hotel to get ready to meet our coaches and our hosts for dinner.



That night we got picked up in these super cool vans and drove to dinner at Ruth's Chris. And let me tell you, it was the best steak I think I've ever had. As dinner came to an end, we left with our host.

My host was Tiarra Davis, she was my chauffeur for the weekend. We met the rest of the team and recruits at Taylor McAllister's house. We started playing a lot of games and got to know everyone super well. It was so easy to talk and get along with everyone. As this day came to an end, I couldn't wait for the next day.

Saturday is when all the real fun started to happen. That morning we all met up again at the UT Golf Club and ate brunch. Tons of pictures were taken at the golf club. Then our host took us and our families to Mount Bonnell, which is a local tourist site that overlooks the scenic beauty of Lake Austin and the Pennybacker Bridge. It was definitely a time where memories were made.



We then spent time shopping on the "drag" for new University of Texas apparel before heading down to the tailgate.

At the tailgate, we met other recruits, prospects, and their families that were invited to the D.I.R.T. experience (discipline, integrity, respect, teamwork) weekend. They fed us BBQ and all the fixings, definitely a Texas traditional meal. As we finished up lunch, the coaches called all the recruits on their official visit down to the locker room. Surprisingly, they wanted us to try on uniforms and get fitted for shoes and other apparel.

Coach McFalls handed me my glove with my last name embroidered on it. My thoughts dated back to my first UT camp, and I remembered how much I wanted to wear a burnt orange jersey. As I put on the jersey and slipped my hand into the glove, it felt like a dream come true. I couldn't believe my time to be a Longhorn was approaching. I didn't want to take off the uniform, but I knew I had to.

We walked to the football field and went onto the field for pregame warmup. As I got to take pictures with "baby" Bevo and the football field behind me, I could only imagine how jealous all my friends would be. We sat and cheered loud for the 'Horns.



It was a great game to go to, mainly because everyone was happy we won. After the game, it was late as Tiarra and I headed back to her apartment to get ready for D.I.R.T camp the following day.

Sunday morning, we headed to the softball field. I was reluctant only because I knew this amazing weekend was coming to an end. We did a few drills and scrimmaged each other. I think the best part was spending time on the field with my future teammates.

This weekend is one for the books. I've been verbally committed to Texas since my freshman year. I can visually see me wearing burnt orange jersey come January, and it can't come fast enough. I'm so grateful to have been around such amazing influences and have the opportunity to represent the University of Texas.

Thanks to Coach Clark, Coach McFalls, and Coach McKay for an amazing weekend.

Can't wait. HOOK'EM

Taylor Ellsworth