Gasso’s Core 5: The Lasting Influence of Jayda Coleman on the Future of Oklahoma Softball

The OU star had a highly successful career, but the lessons Patty Gasso learned from coaching Jayda Coleman and her classmates will endure for years. Coleman, OU’s standout outfielder, was a must-watch player throughout her four years in Norman, consistently threatening to rob home runs or hit them herself.

Her walks were especially notable. Before heading to first base, she would turn to her dugout and roar, energizing her teammates and sparking rallies.

Coleman, like many of her teammates, played with intense passion and an edge, something even the legendary coach Patty Gasso had to adjust to.

“When I first saw these guys throw the bat down after a walk, I’m like, ‘What are you doing? Don’t do that,’” Gasso said after the Sooners captured the program’s eighth national title last week. “You’re showing up the umpire or you’re going to hit somebody. But we do it. They do it at practice. I’ve learned to allow them to be who they are. The old coach in me would not allow any of this.”

Coleman taught Gasso to embrace her team’s unapologetic style of play, a lesson the veteran coach has often mentioned in recent years.

In her final year as a Sooner, Coleman hit .385, blasted 13 home runs, drove in 44 runs, scored 72 times, and drew 54 walks.

Coleman’s unbridled joy permeated everything she did, whether making a diving catch or getting on base. It fueled the Sooners and alleviated the pressure of chasing an unprecedented four-peat.

“The whole season was tough,” Coleman said. “For me personally, I know I had very high expectations. Even right off the bat playing our first game, I felt the pressure. I felt the expectations.

“As we went on, if we lost one game, two games, lost to Texas, everyone had an opinion about us. It was frustrating just to see everyone on Twitter, TikTok hoping anybody else but us.

“Well… That didn’t happen, so… We’re blessed.”

Still, even a veteran player can have a turning point.

For Coleman, it came in Oklahoma City after OU’s first loss at the Women’s College World Series, a 9-3 defeat by the Florida Gators.

Gasso brought in former Sooner Shay Knighten, the hero of Oklahoma’s 17-inning marathon victory over Florida in the 2017 WCWS Championship Series.

Coleman idolized Knighten growing up and played inspired to walk off the Gators the next day, setting up a title-deciding match with Texas.

“I will never forget that meeting for the rest of my life,” Coleman said. “… For her to be in the same room as me was surreal. For her to just open up her heart and talk about the Lord, pretty much just telling us that we are not alone. She has been through this before. Anytime we are on the field, if we want to look up to her, she can give us 30 seconds of encouragement.

“I use that very, very often, ever since she told me that. It was just a surreal moment. I remember just bawling, crying.”

To follow in Knighten’s footsteps and win one title at Oklahoma was a dream for Coleman.

To finish her career with a title every season was unimaginable, even for someone as confident as Coleman.

“On Twitter there was an interview, Jayda Coleman at 13 years old,” Gasso said. “… She’s like, I won in junior high. I’m expecting I’m going to win in high school. Now that I’m going to OU, we’re going to win it all there. I’m going to win it every year.

“She’s speaking it into existence as a 13-year-old. I just watched these athletes grow into women. They come in as girls, they really do. They’ll admit that. But each one of them has something about them that is unique.”

Coleman may have manifested greatness, and her career will forever be remembered in Norman.

The impact Coleman and OU’s senior class had on Gasso, however, will resonate through the next generation of Oklahoma softball.

“This generation, they’ve taught me a lot about coaching,” Gasso said. “They taught me how to accept who they are and how it looks. I mean, I think that has a lot to do with a lot of things, that I just allowed them to be them.

“It’s hard sometimes because some of it I’m like, ‘Oh, no.’ But it’s important to them. They’ve taught me how to coach better.”