Welcome to the SEC: Patty Gasso is Prepared and Excited for What’s Ahead at Oklahoma
The Sooners will feature many new faces in 2025 but will depend on a fresh group of leaders to navigate the program’s inaugural season in the SEC.
No program at Oklahoma is more prepared for the SEC than Patty Gasso’s powerhouse softball team.
Gasso concluded her last month coaching in the Big 12 by winning a fourth consecutive national title. She witnessed the most decorated senior class in the sport’s history have a final celebration in Oklahoma City, following a sweep of the Texas Longhorns in the Championship Series.
The program now boasts eight national championships, with seven earned since 2013.
OU is set for significant changes this offseason. Ten seniors have graduated, and another three players have transferred. Gasso has recruited eight talented freshmen and has already filled four of five open roster spots from the transfer portal.
The opening of Love’s Field in 2024 was a major success, and it would be fitting if Gasso’s first major recruiting triumph at the new facility is securing 2024 USA Softball Player of the Year NiJaree Canady, who is highly sought after by virtually every top team in the sport.
“I’m ready to start coaching again, because I don’t have to coach this (veteran team),” Gasso said earlier this month after winning the title. “They know it. They’ve got it. They coach each other. I’m really excited about what’s coming.”
Should the Sooners land the former Stanford star, the impressive Southeastern Conference will be stuck in a steel cage with Gasso and Oklahoma, not the other way around.
Top-to-bottom, the SEC will undoubtedly be a step up in competition from the Big 12.
Every SEC university with a softball program participated in the NCAA Tournament in 2024, creating a weekend series atmosphere akin to Super Regionals for each conference matchup.
Despite the undeniable strength of the conference, this hasn’t resulted in complete dominance at the highest levels, unlike SEC baseball. Since the Florida Gators’ loss to OU in the Championship Series of the Women’s College World Series in 2017, no SEC team has returned to the final.
Oklahoma and fellow new SEC addition Texas have competed twice for the national championship in the past three years, while Kenny Gajewski’s Oklahoma State Cowgirls have ensured that the Sooners face another significant ranked series annually since 2021.
Trading matchups against Houston, Iowa State, and Texas Tech for contests against programs like Ole Miss, Kentucky, and South Carolina highlights the challenge of transitioning to the new conference.
Oklahoma has demonstrated strong performance in these matchups against their upcoming conference rivals as well.
Over the past four years, Oklahoma has compiled a record of 22 wins and 2 losses against teams from the SEC.
In 2021, Oklahoma suffered a loss to Georgia during a doubleheader in Athens, but later avenged that defeat at the WCWS. Additionally, at the 2024 WCWS, the Sooners split their games against Florida, advancing to the Championship Series against Texas. In 2022, Oklahoma maintained an undefeated record of 5-0 against SEC opponents, and in 2023, they extended their dominance with a perfect 10-0 record against the league.
While road games may present increasingly hostile environments, the Sooners are accustomed to traveling with a strong contingent of fans, known as the crimson horde, who travel from across the country to support the nation’s top-ranked program.
No home field advantage compares to the one Gasso has cultivated at Love’s Field, and the OU head coach anticipates her team improving as they become more accustomed to their new surroundings in Year 2.
Whoever takes the mound for the Sooners next season, Gasso’s program received a boost in 2024 from freshmen Ella Parker and Kasidi Pickering.
Parker led the team with a .415 batting average last season, hitting 13 home runs and driving in 62 runs. She also recorded 15 doubles and drew 34 walks.
Pickering finished fifth on the team with a batting average of .389, hitting 12 home runs and driving in 51 runs.
They will be joined by first baseman Cydney Sanders as returning starters. Additionally, head coach Patty Gasso welcomes back outfielder Hannah Coor and pitchers Kierston Deal and Paytn Monticelli, all of whom bring valuable experience.
In recent weeks, the Sooners have bolstered their roster with the additions of former Utah Third Team All-American outfielder Abby Dayton, BYU star shortstop Ailana Agbayani, reliable North Carolina catcher Isabela Emerling, and Campbell veteran right-hander Isabella Smith. These players will join Gasso’s highly touted freshman class for the 2025 season.
Looking ahead, Gasso will once again lead the team from the dugout next year, supported by her associate head coaches Jennifer Rocha and JT Gasso, as they guide the program into an exciting new competitive era.
