Any time an Arizona legend makes their return to Tucson, it's a special occurrence. When it's to join the staff of her former coach, an Arizona legend in his own right, it's that much more exciting.

Coach Mike Candrea recently announced that Taryne Mowatt would be joining his staff as a pitching coach. Mowatt helped lead Arizona to back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. That included a dominant run in 2007 in which she was named the Women's College World Series Most Valuable Player based on her WCWS records 60 innings pitched, 76 strikeouts, and eight complete games.

In that 2007 season, she set single-season Pac-12 records in victories (42), strikeouts (522) and innings (370), all of which still stand. Thus, it is safe to say Mowatt has fond memories of Tucson.

After assistant coaching stints with Cal Baptist and Ole Miss, Mowatt is happy to be back at her alma mater, where she hopes to impose the success she has seen both as a player and a coach onto the current Wildcats roster. Read below for a brief profile of Mowatt, as well as a look at her past experiences and expectations for the team's future. 

Name: Taryne Mowatt

Years spent at Arizona: 2005-08

Sport: Softball

Notable achievements: Two-time national champion, 2007 Women's College World Series Most Valuable Player

What does it mean to you to be back at Arizona?

"It's amazing being back. It felt like home the second I stepped off the plane in Tucson. It's been exciting for me. It's been busy, but it's been fun being back here and seeing the differences from when I graduated ten years ago, and being able to work with the team and move them along in the process to getting back to Oklahoma City and winning a national championship."

What's your favorite part about being at Arizona?

"The weather is definitely nice. But my favorite thing is being able to work with Coach (Candrea), (assistant coach) Caitlin Lowe, and (Director of Recruiting-Operations) Stacy Iveson on a professional level. 

How will your past success help you coach the current group of pitchers?

"The success I had at the playing level here and at the coaching level at the two different schools, that experience helps me translate to the current pitchers. I think having been in that role as a player, and knowing what it takes to get there, is something that not everybody has. If you can paint that picture for the current players who haven't been there and don't know what it's like, and say 'I've seen the finish line. I know what it takes to get to the finish line,' then they have the plan and know what they need to do to get there."

What was the biggest key to your success as a coach at Ole Miss?

"Getting to know the pictures individually and setting an expectation with them that they compete everyday. That doesn't mean they're going to win every game that they pitch, but I expect them to compete everyday. I had a lot of different style pitchers there, and I didn't treat them all the same. I treated them individually and according to their style and strengths. They worked well together. They cheered each other on. Yeah, they wanted to be the one on the field pitching, but they knew that only one pitcher at a time could go, and they worked well together as a unit. They taught each other and encouraged each other."

What will it take to get Arizona back over the hump as a national champion?

"I think it's going to take an edge. The past Arizona teams when I played, and before, had an edge and an expectation that our season ends in Oklahoma City. We're getting the current team to buy into that expectation that we want to end our season, in June, in Oklahoma City, so start planning for it. That's what we expect and that's the end goal. You need an edge. It's a little bit of cockiness, but it's also trusting that you've put in the work everyday from when you step on campus in August, all the way until the season ends in June. You're working hard everyday and trusting that you did everything that you can to make it to the end."

When asked to reflect on Mowatt's time as a player under his leadership, Coach Candrea said "Taryne is a fierce competitor. She pitched with a chip on her shoulder. She's the type of coach that will develop our pitchers to be the same competitive athlete that she was."