Wikipedia

Oklahoma Sooners softball

The Oklahoma Sooners softball team represents the University of Oklahoma in NCAA Division I college softball. The team competes in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and plays its home games at Love's Field in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners are currently led by head coach Patty Gasso.

Oklahoma Sooners Softball
2025 Oklahoma Sooners softball team
Founded1975 (49 years ago)
UniversityUniversity of Oklahoma
Athletic directorJoe Castiglione
All-time Record2,015–794–2 (.717)
Head coachPatty Gasso (31st season)
ConferenceSEC
LocationNorman, Oklahoma
Home stadiumLove's Field (Capacity: 4,200)
NicknameSooners
ColorsCrimson and cream[1]
   
NCAA Tournament champions
2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
NCAA WCWS runner-up
2012, 2019
NCAA WCWS appearances
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
AIAW WCWS appearances
1975, 1980, 1981, 1982
NCAA Super Regional appearances
2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
NCAA Tournament appearances
1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Conference Tournament championships
1996, 2001, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024
Regular Season Conference championships
1996, 1999, 2000, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023

Oklahoma has won their conference title 15 times, has won the Big 12 Conference tournament nine times, has been to the NCAA tournament 30 times, has advanced to the NCAA Women's College World Series 17 times, and has won the NCAA championship 8 times. Oklahoma also appeared in the AIAW Women's College World Series four times.

History

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The Sooners won their first national championship back in 2000. They swept Harvard, Cal-State Northridge, and Oregon State at their home regionals to advance to their first appearance in the Women's College World Series. They beat California and knocked off Southern Mississippi and Arizona to advance to the championship game against UCLA. They beat UCLA 3-1 to capture their first national title.

They hosted and won their 2013 regional. They beat Marist and Arkansas with a combined score of 41-6. They hosted again their super regionals against Texas A&M where they outscored the Aggies 18-2. In Oklahoma City, they went through 8 seeded Michigan, #10 ranked Texas, and #11 ranked Washington to reach Tennessee in the championship. Game 1 was where Lauren Chamberlain hit her iconic two-run walk-off home run after 12 innings of play. In game 2, Keilani Ricketts drove in all four runs, and Michelle Gascoigne pitched a shut out to obtain their second national title.

Once again, they hosted their regional in 2016 where they beat Wichita State and Ole Miss. They went on to host their super regional against Louisiana-Lafayette where they swept to advance to the Women's College World Series once again. In their first game in the tournament, they beat Alabama in extra innings. They faced #12 Michigan in game 2, and beat LSU in their third to face Auburn in the championship. They won 2-1 in their final game where Paige Parker threw a complete game.

In 2017, Sooners hosted another straight regional and won against North Dakota State, Arkansas, and Tulsa. From there, they went to #7 Auburn for the Super Regionals where they won in two games. They held off Baylor in Oklahoma City, overcame #6 Washington, and beat Oregon to face Florida in the finals. They won game 1 in the longest game ever played in the finals in 17 innings. They finished off the series with a swept to capture their fourth national championship.

In 2021, the Sooners hosted their regional as the No. 1 overall seed and beat Wichita State, Texas A&M, and Morgan State. They advanced to host their super regional against Washington, which they won in two games. At the Women's College World Series, they lost their first round game to James Madison University; subsequently, they won four straight elimination games to advance to the championship series, besting Georgia, UCLA, and James Madison twice. In the championship series, they lost their first game to Florida State, but returned to win games two and three to claim their fifth national championship.

In 2023, the Sooners set an NCAA Division I softball record 53-game winning streak.[2] They finished the season with a 61–1 record and won their seventh national championship, and third consecutive championship. They became the first team to three-peat since UCLA from 1988 to 1990.[3][4]

On June 6, 2024, Gasso's Sooners again defeated Texas in the national championship series, in a rematch from 2022, winning Gasso's and the school's eighth national championship. Gasso's eight national titles tied Arizona's Mike Candrea for the most by any coach in Division I softball history. With the win, Oklahoma became the first team in college softball history to four-peat.[3][4]

Love's Field

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On October 28, 2021, it was announced a new softball stadium, Love's Field, was planned to break ground in 2022 and open before the 2024 season. Love's provided the naming gift following a $12 million total donation.[5] The estimated cost for the project is $47.9 million.[6] The overall square footage of the complex will be 44,000 square feet and will have a seating capacity of 4,200.[7][8]

Coaching history

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Main article: List of Oklahoma Sooners head softball coaches
Years Coach Record %
1975–1976 Amy Dahl 18–16 .529
1977–1984 Marita Hynes 257–188 .578
1985–1993 Michelle Thomas 226–230 .496
1994 Jim Beitia 58–15 .795
1995–present Patty Gasso 1,456–345–2 .808

Honors

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National championships

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Season Record Head coach
2000 66–8 Patty Gasso
2013 57–4 Patty Gasso
2016 57–8 Patty Gasso
2017 61–9 Patty Gasso
2021 56–4 Patty Gasso
2022 59–3 Patty Gasso
2023 61–1 Patty Gasso
2024 59–7 Patty Gasso

Conference championships

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Season Conference Record Head coach
1996 Big 12 17–5 Patty Gasso
1999 11–3
2000 17–1
2009 14–4
2012 19–5
2013 15–2
2014 16–2
2015 14–2
2016 17–1
2017 17–1
2018 18–0
2019 18–0
2021 16–1
2022 17–1
2023 18–0

Conference tournament championships

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Season Conference Head coach
1996 Big 12 Patty Gasso
2001 Big 12 Patty Gasso
2007 Big 12 Patty Gasso
2010 Big 12 Patty Gasso
2017 Big 12 Patty Gasso
2018 Big 12 Patty Gasso
2021 Big 12 Patty Gasso
2023 Big 12 Patty Gasso
2024 Big 12 Patty Gasso

Records and statistics

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Year-by-year results

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Main article: List of Oklahoma Sooners softball seasons

Records by opponent

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As of June 6, 2024[9]
Southeastern Conference opponents
Team TM W–L Last meeting
Alabama 18 8–10 W 7–3
June 2, 2019
Arkansas –
Auburn –
Florida –
Georgia –
Kentucky –
LSU –
Mississippi State –
Missouri –
Ole Miss –
South Carolina –
Tennessee –
Texas 88 61–27
Texas A&M –
Notable Non-Conference opponents
Team TM W–L Last meeting
Tulsa 58 48–10 W 8–0
April 16, 2024
UCLA 23 10–13 W 1–0
June 1, 2024

NCAA Tournament seeding history

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National seeding began in 2005. The Oklahoma Sooners have been a national seed 18 of the 19 tournaments.

Years → '05 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '21 '22 '23 '24
Seeds → 14 3 10 7 14 9 4 1 7 11 3 10 4 1 1 1 1 2

College World Series

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Oklahoma has advanced to the Women's College World Series 17 times, winning the title in 2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 and finished as runner-up in 2012 and 2019.

Year Win Loss Percent
2000 4 0 1.000
2001 1 2 .333
2002 0 2 .000
2003 1 2 .333
2004 1 2 .333
2011 0 2 .000
2012 4 2 .667
2013 5 0 1.000
2014 1 2 .333
2016 5 1 .833
2017 5 0 1.000
2018 2 2 .500
2019 3 3 .500
2021 6 2 .750
2022 5 1 .833
2023 5 0 1.000
2024 5 1 .833
Total 53 24 .688

2024 Coaching Staff

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Name Position Seasons at Oklahoma
Patty Gasso Head coach 30th
Jennifer Rocha Associate head coach and Pitching Coach 5th
JT Gasso Associate head coach and Hitting Coach 8th
Falepolima Steele Assistant coach 1st
Lauren Foster Graduate assistant 1st
Ryan Wondrasek Director of player development 1st
Reference:[10]

Individual honors and awards

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This is a list of individual honors at the national and conference levels, including All-Americans.[11]

First Team All-American

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Season Player(s)
1999 Lynette Velazquez
2000 Lisa Carey
2001 Kelli Braitsch
2003 Leah Gulla
2004 Heather Scaglione
2005 Heather Scaglione
2006 Kristin Vesley
2007 Norrelle Dickson
2009 Amber Flores
2010 Heather Scaglione
2011 Keilani Ricketts
2012 Lauren Chamberlain, Keilani Ricketts, Jessica Shults
2013 Lauren Chamberlain, Keilani Ricketts
2014 Shelby Pendley
2015 Lauren Chamberlain
2016 Paige Parker
2018 Jocelyn Alo, Paige Parker, Sydney Romero
2019 Caleigh Clifton, Giselle Juarez, Sydney Romero
2021 Jocelyn Alo, Jayda Coleman, Tiare Jennings
2022 Jocelyn Alo, Jordy Bahl, Jayda Coleman, Tiare Jennings, Grace Lyons
2023 Jordy Bahl, Alyssa Brito, Jayda Coleman, Kinzie Hansen, Tiare Jennings
2024 Alyssa Brito, Tiare Jennings

References

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  1. ^ "Colors – OU Brand Guide". OU.edu/Brand. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  2. ^ Brunt, Cliff (June 8, 2023). "Oklahoma wins third straight WCWS title, extends record win streak to 53". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Post, J.J. (June 8, 2023). "Oklahoma softball joins elite company with title three-peat". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Auerbach, Nicole (June 8, 2023). "Oklahoma softball wins third consecutive national title: How Sooners cemented a dynasty". The Athletic. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  5. ^ "Love's Travel Stops Contributes Lead Gift for New Softball Stadium". soonersports.com. October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  6. ^ Aber, Ryan (September 14, 2023). "New OU Softball Stadium on Track for 2024 Opener". The Oklahoman. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  7. ^ "Love's Field Capacity Announced". Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  8. ^ Bailey, Eric (October 28, 2021). "OU to begin construction of Love's Field, a $27 million stadium for softball program". Tulsa World. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  9. ^ "OU Softball Opponents". soonerstats.com. Sooner Stats. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  10. ^ "Oklahoma Softball Coaches". SoonerSports.com. University of Oklahoma Athletics. Retrieved 8 Jan 2023.
  11. ^ "Big 12 Softball Records" (PDF). Big12Sports.com. Big 12 Conference. pp. 86–89. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
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