Photo by Kyle Parmley.
Vestavia Hills’ Tait Davidson (23) during the Gulf Coast Classic on March 27, at Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores.
Tait Davidson has saved her best for last, at least in terms of her success with the Vestavia Hills High School softball program.
Davidson has long been recognized as one of the most talented pitchers in the area and across the state, but the path has been far from straight. She’s battled injuries and other adversities over the years, but she has hit peak performance in 2024.
Within the first few weeks of the high school season, Davidson had already recorded three games of 16 or more strikeouts. Most nights, opposing hitters seem to hardly have a chance with her in the circle.
“When you put somebody like that in the circle, it gives you a boost of confidence, a little bit more fight and edge,” said Vestavia Hills head coach John Simmons.
Simmons has had a front row seat for Davidson’s progression, having coached her in school ball for the last three seasons and many years before that in travel softball.
“I don’t know if there’s many harder workers out there,” he said. “Tait puts in the time and she works.”
Davidson leads a pitching staff that also includes junior Elizabeth Yother, a recent commit to Covenant College, and freshman Hollon Gay.
She is now a senior leader for the Vestavia Hills High School softball team, one of five playing their final season in a Rebels uniform. She and Lucy Spisto, Laura Faith Beard, Reese Johnson and Alexis Fizer bring plenty of experience to the table.
“We’re so different, but we’ve become really good friends,” Davidson said of the seniors. “It’s been fun, because we’re all different, and I think that’s why we’re all friends.”
Davidson is now reaching career milestones that put her in distinguished air in program history. She has eclipsed the 700-strikeout mark for her career and has more than 50 wins in the circle for the Rebels. She has been named to the All-South Metro Team multiple times and was the Pitcher of the Year in 2023. She was named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association list last spring as well.
Davidson didn’t know if some of those round numbers would be possible. Her eighth grade season was shortened. She’s battled injuries and also had to overcome doubt —from herself and others — at times.
But a glimpse into her mind these days tells a different story. When she gets a hitter to two strikes, in her mind, it’s over.
“If I get them down that far, they’re beat,” she said.
Davidson has signed to play for coach AJ Daugherty at UAB, a school she had not considered despite its proximity to Vestavia.
“I went [to a camp] and fell in love with the coaching staff, the school, the girls that were there. The atmosphere was so great and uplifting,” she said.
While at UAB, she has plans to major in sports medicine and kinesiology, with hopes of becoming an athletic trainer.
But before she goes that route, she aims to lead the Rebels back to the postseason, especially after last season’s disappointing elimination in the area tournament.
“Believe in ourselves, that’s what it all comes down to,” Davidson said. “We know we have the talent and the skill.”
