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Tori Tyson Opens Up About Nebraska Softball’s Lasting Impact

Former Husker Tori Tyson shares how Nebraska softball shaped her journey, reflecting on its lasting influence on her life and career.

Maren Angus-Coombs

Former Nebraska softball player Tori Tyson hugs head coach Rhonda Revelle.
Former Nebraska softball player Tori Tyson hugs head coach Rhonda Revelle. / Nebraska Athletics

The last time Tori Tyson put on a Nebraska softball uniform was in 2011. She was a team captain and sidelined with a back injury that eventually cut her playing career short.

Fast forward to Saturday night at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic when Tyson led her Howard Bison into battle against her alma mater. The outcome wasn't what she hoped it would be but the matchup meant so much more to her.

"I didn't know I was gonna cry," Tyson told D1Softball's Sashel Palacios. "Apparently, I'm a cry baby later in life but when you walk up to a woman that gave you so much, that loves you, and I didn't give her a lot to love at that age right? Like figuring myself out and her giving me so much motivation to lead them in the way that she did but also in my own style.

"Rhonda is – I can get emotional talking about her now. I met Skylar's father there, she is responsible for so much. Nebraska has a special place in my heart and to see Miller and Sipple, just women who would give me the shirt off their back even now at 35.

"I wasn't even an everyday starter, and they love me entirely and it is an amazing feeling to have said that you played there and to play for a Husker community that has rallied for me and my family. So much pride. It'll be go Big Red for the rest of my life."

The Huskers defeated the Bison 11-1 in five innings but the embrace shared between the two coaches overshadowed what happened on the field.

Sports reporter Sydney Supple captured the moment and posted to social media.

"A special moment for Tori Tyson and Rhonda Revelle before first pitch," Supple wrote.

"Howard softball’s head coach former Husker player said this game is emotional to her as Husker softball was there for her during a time she needed it most."

Tyson met her daughter Skylar's father Dylan Talley in Lincoln. Talley, who played basketball for NU, passed away in March 2022.

While living in Nebraska, Tyson became pregnant, and Talley was convinced they were expecting a boy. Their daughter, Skylar, was born in Nebraska in 2013 — just 40 minutes after the Husker softball team secured its first-ever spot in a super regional.

Tyson has become a force in college softball turning the Howard program into a destination among historically Black colleges and universities. She led the Bison to an NCAA Tournament appearance months after Talley's death in an unforgettable scene.

While Tyson continues to change lives in the Washington D.C. area, Nebraska will always have a special place in her heart.

Who knows — maybe one day, she and Skylar will find their way back to Lincoln because Tyson made it clear that she is a Husker "always and forever," and, as they say, there’s truly no place like Nebraska.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 and spent the 2023 season covering Husker Softball for Hail Varsity. In addition to All Huskers, she is a staff writer for the Los Angeles Sports Report.

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