Auburn's Tannon Snow Taking Life One Pitch At A Time

On Tuesday, Auburn’s Tannon Snow was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week.

The junior’s collegiate career hasn’t always been this successful though. When she transferred to Auburn from Washington prior to the 2017 season, she was expected to make an immediate impact.

Then, life happened.

In September 2016, Snow was in her apartment doing laundry. The next thing she remembered was riding in an ambulance and being told she had a seizure.

She continued practicing in hopes of landing a starting spot but then she had two more seizures in January 2017, followed by four in February. Softball was put on hold, she redshirted and returned home to Chino Hills, Calif.

After several seizure-free months, she returned to Auburn. The seizures resumed.

But, in November 2017, Snow finally got an answer she was searching for and was diagnosed by a doctor at UAB with epilepsy.

“It’s been eye-opening just for life in general,” Snow said. “My mom was diagnosed with Lupus and that was an eye-opener for us as a family. We just appreciate every little thing, every single day. It comes with everything, relationships, teammates, friends. I just appreciate everything.”

Since the diagnosis, Snow battled her way back into the starting lineup in 2018, mostly as the designated player. In 128 at-bats, she hit .219 with four doubles, two triples, six home runs and 31 RBIs.

She took to social media as “This Snow Rises” with her diagnosis and has used that as a way to connect with others who have the same disease or just for words or encouragement.

“I love hearing from other people and their stories. Just connecting and hearing has helped me learn other things from other people. I’m happy that everyone has reached out to me and I’m more than happy to reach out to them too.”

Fast forward to this season and she has eclipsed all of last year’s numbers.

“It’s really embracing all those moments outside of practice and dedicating my time to doing things on my own,” Snow said. “Even if it’s just 15 minutes and getting extra reps on my own. I’m just focusing on what I need to focus on.”

The extra time has paid off as she’s leading the team in multiple offensive categories. Through 40 games, she batting a team-high .385 and slugging .786 with 35 runs scored, nine doubles, a triple, 12 home runs and 41 RBIs. Her on-base percentage is .444 and she’s only struck out nine time in 117 at-bats.

“I think at first Tannon was happy to be healthy and then at some point late fall, early spring she decided to step up and compete,” said Auburn head coach Mickey Dean. “She’s someone that doesn’t get too high or get too low. She has great ability and we are starting to see that on a consistent basis.”

She finished 6-for-9 in the series against then-No. 5 Tennessee with three home runs, eight runs batted in and four runs scored. She’s also on a 15-game on-base streak and has at least one hit in 17 of her last 21 games.

“I just go up and it’s just another at-bat. I’m not thinking anything and I’m just looking for my pitch. It all starts at practice during the week and come game day you don’t want to think about anything,” Snow said. “Honestly, I didn’t even know (with my first two home runs) that they were over until I got to first base. They were line drives that just felt good. But, definitely my third one, that one felt good.”

Every three to six months, Snow travels up to UAB for check ups. But for now, she’s looking ahead to this weekend’s series against No. 15 South Carolina.

“I’m healthy now and I’m looking forward,” she said. “I don’t really want to look back. Just because there was a lot of stuff that I had gone through. I’m just staying positive and embracing every day.”

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