GPS’s Megan Givens is small in stature, but University of Tennessee softball coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly evidently think she’s big on talent.

Givens has accepted a scholarship offer from UT. She said she’s been going to Tennessee athletic events all her life and has made only unofficial visits so far. She makes to make an official visit before she signs her letter of intent in November.

“I absolutely love it,” Givens said. “I think it’s so pretty. I’ve not actually toured the campus with a guide, but I can feel a presence there.”

Givens is a 5-foot-1 left-hander with a .358 career batting average heading into her 12th-grade season. At various times she has batted in each third of the order, including the middle portion normally reserved for girls much bigger.

“That’s what’s special about her,” GPS coach Susan Crownover said. “She’s a kid that can hit the ball out, she can hit it in the gap, then turn around and drop a bunt down and beat you to first base. Per pound, she hits it a ton.”

Her role on last season’s Division II-AA state-championship team was providing a spark from the bottom of the lineup, which she did by stealing 10 bases in front of the top of the order and scoring 27 runs.

Jeremy Higdon, Givens’ summer coach on the 18-under Gold Fury Fastpitch, said he moved Givens to the leadoff spot on his team and she’s batted better than .400 and reached base more than 50 percent of the time.

“That’s amazing against the kind of competition we play,” Higdon said.

He said Givens being a natural left-hander is helping her develop as a slap hitter, a role she’s expected to fill for the Lady Vols. Crownover called Givens “multifaceted” and praised her for everything from her instincts as an outfielder to her ability to slide and avoid tags.

Givens has volleyball practice starting Monday. When that season is finished, she’ll devote the rest of her athletic attention to softball.

UT’s offer is bolstered by Givens’ 3.8 grade point average. She was voted president of GPS’s Beta Club for the upcoming school year.

Givens said her first choice of a college major is nursing, specializing in anesthesiology, but something in engineering is another possibility.

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