For this edition of Student-Athlete Spotlights, welcome Mac Titus.

Titus is a red-shirt senior goalkeeper for the University of Tennessee at Martin Skyhawks women’s soccer team. Her love of soccer came from her family. Both her father, Eric Titus, and uncle, Jeff Titus, played at the collegiate soccer level for the Auburn University at Montgomery Warhawks. She also mentioned how her grandfather was their travel ball coach, and through that, soccer just came naturally to her. 

“My dad and my uncle played college soccer together at Auburn Montgomery, and their dad was their travel ball coach for the longest time. And so it was kind of just a natural for me to end up playing soccer,” said Titus. 

All of that said, Titus does not play the same position as her relatives, who were field players. Titus did not become a goalkeeper until her sophomore year of high school at Chelsea High School, where she played with the Chelsea High School Hornets. Titus was named to several awards in that sophomore season, such as Female Athlete of the Week, All-County, All-Region and All-State. 

“So I wasn’t always a goalkeeper. I only became a goalkeeper between my freshman and sophomore years of high school. Up until that point, my dad and my uncle were obviously field players, as was I. So my dad, especially, would always be knocking the ball around with me. He was my little league coach when I was younger, and he always has tips and tricks after a game, just knocking the ball around with him,” said Titus. 

UT Martin was not always Titus’ first choice, nor was it her first college soccer team. Titus spent one season with the Mississippi State Bulldogs in 2022 and one season with the North Texas Mean Green in 2023. Titus said one of the biggest reasons she came to UT Martin was the personal relationships she has built with the staff members and how each of them knows her name; it felt harder to do at the bigger schools.

“Here at UTM, it feels like I could walk into any of my staff members’ offices and they’d know who I am and know how the game went the night before, and I could have an actual conversation with them. Whereas I think at much bigger institutions, there’s not that personal connection with everybody,” said Titus. 

Another reason she came to UT Martin was the women’s soccer head coach, Mike Varga. Titus credited Varga as a major reason why she came to UT Martin after he attempted to recruit her not once but two times–successful on the second attempt. When Titus was recruited the second time, she committed to the school and team even without had visited the campus. 

“I’m so grateful that Coach Mike recruited me the second time I was in the portal as well. The first time, I turned him down. Then he recruited me again, and I was like, he’s a great guy, it has to be a sign. I committed before I even saw the campus just because I had so much trust in the relationship I had already built with Mike just over the phone,” said Titus.  

It is clear that Varga thinks highly of Titus, and when interviewed about her, he had nothing but great things to say. 

“Mac takes a lot of pride in her goalkeeping and is one of the most gifted goalkeepers that I have had the pleasure to coach. She (Titus) makes her teammates earn every goal they score in training and is fearless in net. I am proud of Mac and what she has overcome to get to this point.  She has been difficult to score on this year, and I am confident in saying that she is the top goalkeeper in the Ohio Valley Conference,” said Varga. 

Like most athletes, Titus has a “pre-game ritual” or something she does before a matchup to get into the swing of things. Titus mentioned how she watches her own highlights from previous matches.

“I actually watch my own highlight reel. It sounds self-absorbed, but it’s really just a great way to look at situations that I’ve been in and say, ‘Okay, I can handle whatever scenario is thrown at me.’ And even in my highlight reel, I can sit down and analyze, maybe I didn’t like X, Y or Z things that I did and can fix that today. It really just gets in the right mindset of calm and confident,” said Titus. 

Like most on campus, Titus is a student too. She is currently has a major in interdisciplinary studies, but plans to switch to political science for the spring semester of 2026 so that she can attend law school, which has been a dream of hers. 

“My dream for a long time has been to go to law school. So I think that political science with the legal studies focus is probably the best jumping point for that,” said Titus. 

Now, what are some of Titus’ hobbies? She enjoys books–that can vary from almost any genre of book she mentioned–hiking trails and video games in her free time. 

“I read a lot of fantasy romance, and then I’ll also just read academic stuff, like niche subject books,” said Titus. “Especially in the summer, I go hiking and paddleboarding anywhere I can. Video game-wise, me and my best friend were really into Overwatch and Marvel Rivals for a period of time.”

One may wonder, how does Titus balance out all of this as a student but also an athlete? The short and simple answer, she “goes with the flow.”

As mentioned, Titus does have law school in her plans, but she hopes to become a professional women’s soccer player. 

“The dream would be to get a professional contract anywhere in the U.S.. A lot of girls end up overseas, and that’s definitely exciting, but all my family is here, and I’m so family-oriented.”