Tag: Giselle Juarez

Every Sooner to win NCAA softball tournament’s Most Outstanding Player

A look at every Oklahoma Sooners star to win Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament.

No team has won more national titles since the turn of the century than the Oklahoma Sooners’ seven. After getting their first ring in 2000, it took Oklahoma 13 years to get their next one.

Since 2013, the Sooners have six national championships, more than any team has since 2000. UCLA has the most championships all time with 14, but it has only won four this millennium. Arizona is one title ahead of Oklahoma, but has just three titles this century and hasn’t won a championship since 2007.

In seven national title runs, Oklahoma had seven players win the NCAA Most Outstanding Player award. Here are the seven:

10 Oklahoma Sooners named to D1 Softball’s top 100 for 2023

10 Sooners land inside D1 Softball’s top 100 players as Oklahoma prepares for their NCAA title defense.

One would think that losing the best player in the history of college softball would create a huge hole in the Oklahoma Sooners’ lineup. Yet, the two-time defending national champion Oklahoma Sooners are looking fully loaded and ready for the three-peat.

Jocelyn Alo will be missed, but OU has more than enough firepower to make up for her absence. Since departing after the 2022 season, Alo signed with the OKC Spark of the WPF and was named Sports Illustrated’s 2022 Athlete of the Year.

Oklahoma recently broke ground on Love’s Field, the future home of Sooners Softball. According to the Sooner Club website, the ballpark will be ready for the 2024 season, which could be the Sooners’ first in the SEC.

With so many stars on the roster, the new ballpark will be a fitting home for the back-to-back (to-back?) defending national champions. Here’s a look at the 10 Sooners in D1 Softball’s top 100 (subscription required).

Oklahoma Sooners Softball favorites in Big 12 preseason poll

Coming off of a historic 2021, the Oklahoma Sooners softball team was voted the preseason favorites to win the Big 12 in 2022.

While a lot of things have changed in Oklahoma athletics over the past year, one thing remains the same; championship expectations for Patty Gasso and her crew.

Coming off a historic season in which they set a new record for home runs, the Oklahoma Sooners Softball team was voted the No. 1 team in D1 Softball’s preseason rankings. The unanimous vote is just the first poll the Sooners sit atop of as they land at the top of the Big 12 preseason rankings as well.

The Sooners garnered all but one first-place vote from the seven participating schools. With nine returning all-conference selections including the Big 12 and national player of the year Jocelyn Alo, the Sooners look primed to bring home more hardware in 2022.

Last season, the Sooners were 16-1 in Big 12 play and hold a combined 144-14 record over the last nine seasons according to SoonerSports.com. Each of the last nine seasons has seen the Oklahoma Sooners win the regular season conference championship and 2022 should be no different.

The Sooners are stocked once again with great offensive talent. Run rule wins will once again be prevalent as the Sooners launch offensive barrages upon their opponents. They’ll need Nicole May to rise to the occasion as the ace of the staff with Giselle Juarez and Shannon Saile graduated. May had a fantastic true freshman season in 2021 and should be ready to take the next step in her development.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

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Oklahoma Sooners are unanimous No. 1 in DI softball’s 2022 preseason top 25

The staff over at DI Softball voted the Oklahoma Sooners unanimous No. 1 in the 2022 preseason rankings.

Just as they did at the plate several times during the 2021 season, the Oklahoma Sooners are looking to go back-to-back heading into 2022. Instead of homers though, they’re looking to collect back-to-back national championships.

Returning a roster that made run rules the standard in 2021, the Sooners look primed to make another run at the 2022 College World Series and national championship.

DI Softball recently released its preseason rankings, and the Oklahoma Sooners were named the unanimous No. 1 heading into the 2022 season.

Oklahoma set an NCAA record with 161 home runs a season ago and held the top position in our rankings for the majority – since Week 3 – of the 2021 season. – DI Softball Staff

Patty Gasso and the Oklahoma Sooners return the key components to their dominant offense from 2021: Jocelyn Alo, Tiare Jennings, Jayda Coleman and emotional sparkplug Mackenzie Donihoo.

Oklahoma will have to replace Giselle Juarez and Shannon Saile, the key pitchers from the 2021 College World Series. Both have graduated, and Saile has moved into a graduate assistant role. Nicole May, who was great for the Sooners at times in 2021, will be expected to take on a larger role this season.

Oklahoma opens its season Feb. 10 in California against UC Santa Barbara. The Sooners will take part in several tournaments to start the season. Traveling to southern California, Houston and back to California before they host their home opener against Minnesota on March 7 at Marita Hynes Field. After that one-off at home, Jocelyn Alo will lead the Oklahoma Sooners to the power hitters’ home state of Hawaii for the Rainbow Wahine Classic. The team returns to Oklahoma City for the Hall of Fame Classic on March 18. Big 12 plays opens against Baylor on March 25.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

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What Patty Gasso, players said after Oklahoma softball’s fifth national title win

A recap of what Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso, SP Giselle Juarez and DP Jocelyn Alo said after the Sooners’ national title win on Thursday.

No. 1 Oklahoma softball claimed their fifth national title in program history on Thursday with a dominant 5-1 win over Florida State in the decisive Game 3 of the Women’s College World Series finals.

Starting pitcher Giselle Juarez was once again tremendous throwing seven sensational innings that locked up her bringing home the award for the Most Outstanding Player of the week. Jocelyn Alo’s 34th home run of the year set the tone early and the Sooners simply never looked back cruising to the title-clinching win.

The argument can easily be made that this is the greatest team in the history of softball after the absurd offensive numbers they put up all season long. At the very least, this is a historic team that won’t be soon forgotten.

After the game, head coach Patty Gasso, Juarez and Alo spoke to the media about their incredible run. Here are some of the highlights of what they had to say:

Sooners News: Oklahoma Softball off to hot start in El Paso

The Oklahoma Sooners softball team ran up the score over the weekend. They outscored the opposition 70-2 overall.

The Oklahoma Sooners softball season got into full swing at a fast and furious pace. On Thursday, the team set an NCAA record by driving 13 balls out of the yard. Yes, you read that correctly. The Sooners hit 13 home runs on opening day as they blasted UTEP 29-0. They weren’t done by any stretch of the imagination.

In the second game on the first day of the season, OU would take on Abilene Christian. In this game, they would defeat ACU 9-0 to increase their run differential to 38 runs. These ladies were coming to send a message that they were hungry.

On Friday, they were back on the field to play ACU once again with Giselle Juarez in the circle for the Sooners. She pitched three innings, striking out five and allowing only one baserunner on a walk. Oklahoma allowed just one hit as they cruised to an 11-0 victory, outscoring ACU on the weekend 20-0.

In the final game of the Miner Invitational in El Paso, Oklahoma would take on UTEP once again. Freshman Nicole May would be in the circle looking for her first win on the season. The Sooners once again put 20+ runs on the board as they defeated the Miners 21-2, giving up their first runs on the season.

Senior Jocelyn Alo is moving up the ranks in Oklahoma history. She launched her 57th career home run to move her into fourth in OU history. She finished with one home run and four RBIs in two at bats.

Oklahoma scored 70 runs on the weekend and blasted a total of 24 home runs during the two-day stretch. Freshman Tiare Jennings and junior Grace Lyons were the story of the weekend. Jennings is batting .923 through four games with five home runs and 12 RBIs. Lyons drove six balls out of the ballpark with an identical 12 RBIs in the early going.

Three Oklahoma softball players added to Player of the Year watchlist

Three Oklahoma Sooners softball players were named to the 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.

The Oklahoma Sooners softball team is gearing up for another season. They have won a total of 12 Big 12 Championships, including eight in a row. Their streak is technically still intact given that the season was cancelled due to COVID-19 in 2020. Prior to the cancellation, the Sooners were 20-4 and winners of seven-straight games.

The Sooners softball team is ready to make another run at their fifth National Championship. They finished as runner ups in 2019. The expectations are right where they should be with the championship culture around campus. The USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll has been released for the preseason rankings. Oklahoma is the highest-ranked of any of the Big 12 schools.

Oklahoma is also well represented in the 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.

Giselle Juarez, Jocelyn Alo, and Nicole Mendes were all named to the watch list that is comprised of 50 softball players around the country. Juarez holds a career ERA of 1.45 and she is looking to climb even further in the Sooners’ history books.

Last year Alo hit eight home runs with 21 RBI’s while batting .427 for the Sooners. She returns for another year of eligibility due to the NCAA’s ruling to allow the extra year due to the season that was lost with the cancellation.

Mendes also returns for a fifth year at Oklahoma. She appeared in just six games and hit two home runs with four RBI’s in six plate appearances. The Sooners will begin their season soon, as we await the official schedule to be released for the 2021 campaign.

Patty Gasso expects Giselle Juarez, Nicole Mendes and Shannon Saile back for 2021 season

Oklahoma softball head coach Patty Gasso said she expected Giselle Juarez, Nicole Mendes and Shannon Saile back for the 2021 season.

Oklahoma softball head coach Patty Gasso said she expected Giselle Juarez, Nicole Mendes, and Shannon Saile back for the 2021 season in light of the 2020 season’s cancellation.

After the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of all Division I and Division II spring sports, the NCAA announced on Friday that all Division I student-athletes who participated in the spring season will receive an extra year of eligibility.

“I expect the three seniors back,” Gasso said at her teleconference on Monday.

Gasso explained that Juarez and Mendes, who had already missed significant time in the 2020 season, could receive medical redshirts. Juarez was limited to just 6.2 innings through the Sooners 24 games, and Mendes was just getting back in the swing of things with six at-bats in the last six games.

Saile had thrown more pitches than any other Sooner before the season’s cancellation. She led Oklahoma in innings pitched and strikeouts, and led the Sooners to an 8-3 record when in the circle,  allowing just three runs in her last 20 innings pitched.

Oklahoma posted a 20-4 record before their season ended.

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Oklahoma softball ranked No. 3 in both preseason polls

The Oklahoma softball team will enter the 2020 season ranked No. 3 in both major preseason polls.

The Oklahoma softball team will enter the 2020 season ranked No. 3 in the country in both the USA TODAY/NFCA Div. I Coaches Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Preseason Top 25.

Alabama and Washington hold the top-two spots, respectively, while UCLA and Arizona hold the fourth and fifth spots. 

Oklahoma earned their 13th appearance in the Women’s College World Series last season, cruising to a 57-6 record but finishing as the runner-ups to UCLA. It was head coach Patty Gasso’s 25th season with the Sooners.

Oklahoma is returning two first-team All-Americans in pitcher Giselle Juarez and utility Jocelyn Alo. Grace Green, a third-team All-American, is also returning. 

This is the 10th-straight year the Sooners have started in the NFCA’s top 10, the nation’s longest active streak. 

As it stands, the Sooners will face eight ranked teams. Their top-five matchups include No. 5 Arizona on Feb. 15 and top-ranked Washington in the Mary Nitter Collegiate Classic on Feb. 22. 

Oklahoma opens their season on Thursday, Feb. 6 against Nevada in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.