Oklahoma Sooners softball

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Oklahoma Sooners Softball
Softball current event.svg 2025 Oklahoma Sooners softball team
Oklahoma Sooners logo.svg
Founded1975 (50 years ago)
University University of Oklahoma
Athletic director Joe Castiglione
All-time Record2,015–794–2 (.717)
Head coach Patty Gasso (31st season)
Conference SEC
Location Norman, Oklahoma
Home stadium Love's Field (Capacity: 4,200)
Nickname Sooners
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, 2025
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, 2025
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, 2025
Conference Tournament championships
1996, 2001, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025
Regular Season Conference championships
1996, 1999, 2000, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025

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.

Contents

Oklahoma has won their conference title 16 times, and their conference tournament ten times, winning the Big 12 Conference tournament nine times and the SEC tournament once. They have been to the NCAA tournament 31 times, advanced to the NCAA Women's College World Series 18 times, and has won the NCAA championship 8 times. Oklahoma also appeared in the AIAW Women's College World Series 4 times.

History

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

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 (the Oklahoma City based travel center chain) 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 the largest on-campus softball facility in the country with a seating capacity of 4,200. [7] [8]

Coaching history

YearsCoachRecord%
1975–1976 Amy Dahl 18–16.529
1977–1984Marita Hynes257–188.578
1985–1993Michelle Thomas226–230.496
1994Jim Beitia58–15.795
1995–present Patty Gasso 1,456–345–2.808

Championships

National championships

SeasonRecordHead coach
2000 66–8 Patty Gasso
2013 57–4Patty Gasso
2016 57–8Patty Gasso
2017 61–9Patty Gasso
2021 56–4Patty Gasso
2022 59–3Patty Gasso
2023 61–1Patty Gasso
2024 59–7Patty Gasso
8 national championships

Conference championships

SeasonConferenceRecordHead coach
1996 Big 12 17–5 Patty Gasso
199911–3
200017–1
200914–4
201219–5
201315–2
201416–2
201514–2
201617–1
201717–1
201818–0
201918–0
202116–1
202217–1
202318–0
2025 SEC 17–7
16 conference championships

Conference tournament championships

SeasonConferenceHead coach
1996 Big 12 Patty Gasso
2001 Big 12Patty Gasso
2007 Big 12Patty Gasso
2010 Big 12Patty Gasso
2017 Big 12Patty Gasso
2018 Big 12Patty Gasso
2021 Big 12Patty Gasso
2023 Big 12Patty Gasso
2024 Big 12Patty Gasso
2025 SEC Patty Gasso
10 conference tournament championships

Records and statistics

Year-by-year results

Records by opponent

As of March 22, 2025 [9]
Southeastern Conference opponents
TeamTMW–LLast meeting
Alabama 188–10W 7–3
June 2, 2019
Arkansas 3028-2W 10-7
March 16, 2025
Auburn 108-2W 7-1
March 19, 2023
Florida 108-2W 6-5
June 4, 2024
Georgia 84-4W 8-0
June 5, 2021
Kentucky 1110-1W 7-1
March 4, 2023
LSU 1911-8W 3-0
April 11, 2023
Mississippi State 88-0W 10-7
March 16, 2025
Missouri 9856-42L 1-3
March 22, 2025
Ole Miss 66-0W 11-8
February 17, 2017
South Carolina 127-5W 2-1
March 9, 2025
Tennessee 127-5W 9-0
June 3, 2023
Texas 8861–27W 8-4
June 6, 2024
Texas A&M 8353-30W 8-0
February 24, 2023
Notable Non-Conference opponents
TeamTMW–LLast meeting
Tulsa 5848–10W 8–0
April 16, 2024
UCLA 2310–13W 1–0
June 1, 2024

NCAA Tournament seeding history

National seeding began in 2005. The Oklahoma Sooners have been a national seed 19 of the 20 tournaments.

Years → '05 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '21 '22 '23 '24 '25
Seeds →143107149417113104111122

College World Series

Oklahoma has advanced to the Women's College World Series 18 times, winning the title in 2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 and finished as runner-up in 2012 and 2019.

YearWinLossPercent
2000 401.000
2001 12.333
2002 02.000
2003 12.333
2004 12.333
2011 02.000
2012 42.667
2013 501.000
2014 12.333
2016 51.833
2017 501.000
2018 22.500
2019 33.500
2021 62.750
2022 51.833
2023 501.000
2024 51.833
2025 00–
Total5324.688

2025 Coaching Staff

NamePositionSeasons at Oklahoma
Patty Gasso Head coach 30th
Jennifer Rocha Associate head coach and Pitching Coach5th
JT GassoAssociate head coach and Hitting Coach8th
Falepolima SteeleAssistant coach1st
Lauren FosterGraduate assistant1st
Ryan WondrasekDirector of player development1st
Reference: [10]

Individual honors and awards

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

National awards

USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
NFCA National Player of the Year
Softball America Player of the Year
Softball America Pitcher of the Year
Softball America Defensive Player of the Year
NFCA National Freshman of the Year
Softball America Freshman of the Year
Honda Sports Award
Softball Academic All-American of the Year

Conference awards

Big 12 Player of the Year
Big 12 Pitcher of the Year
Big 12 Freshman of the Year
Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year
Big 12 Newcomer of the Year
Big 12 Coach of the Year
SEC Coach of the Year
SEC Newcomer of the Year

First Team All-American

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

References

  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. 1 2 Post, J.J. (June 8, 2023). "Oklahoma softball joins elite company with title three-peat". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  4. 1 2 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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