OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — When Oklahoma State’s Kelly Maxwell jogged out of the bullpen, fans in the outfield turned their attention to left field. With the Sooners four games away from the national championship, Maxwell’s arrival was met with enthusiasm and a collective deep breath.
The Sooners already felt like their destiny was in their own hands, but coach Patty Gasso used her ace up her sleeve to end the championship series against top-ranked Texas. Maxwell, who was later named the Women’s College World Series Most Outstanding Player, did just that, helping the Sooners win 8-4 to sweep the championship series and make Oklahoma the No. 1 player in college softball history. A team that won four consecutive national championships.
Oklahoma is familiar with this phase, but players and Gasso are sure to point out the challenges that come with reaching this level of success over and over again. Senior outfielder Jada Coleman said the pressure is on especially this season.
“As we go on, if we lose one, two games, to Texas, everybody’s going to have something against us,” Coleman said. “It’s so frustrating to see that everyone on Twitter is paying attention and TikTok wants everyone else to be paying attention but us.”
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She shrugged. “Well…that didn’t happen, so…”
With eight national championships and 17 appearances in the WCWS since 2000, the Oklahoma dynasty has been building for some time. Over the past four national championship seasons, OU has compiled a 235-15 record.
Coaches Patty Gasso and Kelly Maxwell lead Oklahoma to its fourth consecutive national championship. (USA Today)
As the victories mount, so do the doubts. Oklahoma State has lost more games this season (seven) than it has since 2017. Skeptics pointed to these as signs of vulnerability, while comments about the home crowd advantage OU enjoyed by holding the WCWS 20 miles from campus fueled frustration and talk about rotating events.
“This is probably the hardest coaching season I’ve had in a while because there’s a lot of naysayers,” Gasso said. “The heaviness of wearing a crown on your head is one of the things that really stands out. I heard someone say that. It’s a real feeling. It’s already tiring.
But as the noise around the team increased, Oklahoma State maintained its identity on the field.
“Love us or hate us, I feel like everything we do for softball and women’s sports has to be treated with a certain level of respect,” senior pitcher Nicole May said. “It’s crazy to see the growth of this sport and I just want to see it continue to grow.”
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Texas coach Mike White pointed to Oklahoma State’s ability to “reload and continue to add top players to their program” as one of the factors that keeps the Sooners pulling away. Freshman outfielder Kayden Henry and sophomore infielder Viviana Martinez pointed to the Sooners’ veteran roster as the biggest difference: Oklahoma’s 10 senior players have laid the foundation for each championship run.
Members of the class include Coleman, Tiare Jennings, Rielly Boone, Alyssa Brito and Kinzie Hansen, who all rank in the top 10 in program history in career batting average . The trio of Maxwell — who transferred from rival Oklahoma State this season — May and Carly Keeney anchor the pitching staff. Infielder Alynah Torres and utility player Riley Ludlam round out a dynasty senior class. Coleman, Jennings, Boone, Hansen and May, all five who have been at the University of Oregon since the beginning of their careers, have never made the playoffs without a national championship.
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“They’re going to go down in history — not just at the University of Oregon — but I would personally say, nationally, they’re one of the best softball teams ever. I’m proud of that,” Gasso said. “It’s easy to say we’ve had enough. It’s hard, we’ve had enough. But they’re elite athletes. They’re going to work hard whether they want to or not.
But what Gasso built in Norman won’t end with their departure. This is where freshmen come into play.
Parker went 3-for-4 in the Sooners’ elimination game against Florida, hitting a game-tying RBI single to send the game into overtime. She finished the season with a .415 batting average, the best on the team. Pickering hit a home run in every Championship Series game. Both freshmen were named to the WCWS all-tournament team.
“I give all the credit to the seniors,” Pickering said. “Every hitting senior would come up and talk to me and help me get my mindset ready for the at-bats that were coming, so I left everything up to them.”
When asked if he felt pressure to pick up where his seniors left off, Pickering quickly answered no.
Oklahoma State is about to move to the SEC, and the organization just sent all 13 teams competing in softball to the NCAA tournament. This restructuring will bring a new level of competition. The Sooners also welcomed eight players into the 2024 recruiting cycle, a class ranked No. 1 nationally in softball OT. Of course, an unprecedented five consecutive championships will also be a top priority.
“We need (freshmen). They’ve done some really, really great things offensively,” Gasso said. “There are a lot of young pitchers watching, learning and waiting for their number to be called. Even without these 10 seniors, the future will continue to be bright.
Gasso said Hansen, Keeney and Jennings will return next year as graduate assistants. But even as the players who make up the dynasty move on, the man behind every championship remains Gasol.
“I’m ready to start coaching again because I don’t have to coach this,” Gasso said, pointing to the senior next to her. “They know it. They’ve done it. They coach each other. I’m very excited for what’s to come.
It felt familiar and exciting Thursday night as Oklahoma held a parade in the outfield and celebrated with tears in their eyes, championship trophy in hand. Just like the ace enters the game at a crucial moment, the final hurray finally arrives. This chapter of OU’s history ends with a sense of accomplishment and relief in making history again.
“This, to me, I do feel a little more sentimental. We grew up together,” Hansen said. “It’s never a hero at the plate or the mound or anything like that. It’s a team effort. We battle all season long. Everybody keeps having something to say about us. People count us out. It’s just It’s a grind. Mentally, physically, we’ve been fighting all year and it’s all worth it.
(Above: Tyler Schank/NCAA Photo via Getty Images)
