SEATTLE — On a sunny, 60-degree day in March, a spring awakening was taking place on the University of Washington (UW) campus. Not just the famous cherry blossoms in the quad, but one of the school's most successful sports teams was re-emerging from its offseason slumber.

"I can think back maybe one or two times that I felt this new," said Heather Tarr, UW softball head coach. "One was my first season as a head coach - 2005. The team wasn't new, but I was new."

Twenty years later, Tarr feels that peculiar feeling of newness. She no longer has the familiarity of four-year letter-winners taking batting practice before a big game. Sixteen of her 20 players this year are new, after losing eight of her top stars last year to the transfer portal. More players graduated.

With almost an entirely new team, the goal is still the same. The Huskies have not missed a regional in Tarr's entire tenure and it all comes back to tradition.

"You've got to get the right people that really believe in this place and want to create legacies, because that's what the founders of this program did for us," Tarr said. "But I do think our team culture and our chemistry and how we play with passion and toughness is something that's intriguing for the right person."

Tarr started by recruiting the right person for the job. Former Husky star and Canadian Olympic medalist Jenn Salling signed on as an assistant coach and understands what it means to push the purple pride.

"It runs pretty deep," Salling said. "And it's a place that builds a lot of character. It builds you as a person and I think it builds you for life."

Salling, who won a College Softball National Championship with Tarr in 2009, said it was important to be a part of a rebuild with a program - and a coach - who were so instrumental in her success.

"This group of gals is, they're so coachable and so bought in to all of the things that we ask of them," Salling said. "I think what makes it really special is that, to be honest, some of them never thought in a million years they'd be Huskies."

Despite making her homers look like routine plays, Alycia Flores is one of those players, grateful for the chance to play for a perennial powerhouse.

"Just being able to know that any girl can do it from back home and especially my sisters motivate me to just do what you do best, just to leave your mark overall," Flores said.

Where they leave their mark in May is still to be determined, but Tarr is confident her streak can continue with her newly built roster.

"We have a long way to go for that, but if any group can overcome some odds, this group has a chance to do some crazy things," Tarr said. "New team, same dream! That's what it is."