Tag: Jocelyn Alo

WATCH: Tiare Jennings, Jocelyn Alo belt first-inning HRs to begin Oklahomaโ€™s title defense

Sophomore Tiare Jennings and redshirt senior Jocelyn Alo each blasted first-inning home runs as OU started off its title defense.

That didn’t take long. Top-ranked Oklahoma started off its title defense in style. Sophomore at second base Tiare Jennings and designated player Jocelyn Alo each belted first-inning homers.

In the process, the Sooners jumped all over the Gauchos with a nine-run first inning in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Jennings connected on an 0-2 pitch for a leadoff bop to start Oklahoma’s season.

It’s already the 28th home run of Jennings’ abbreviated career with OU. Jennings set an NCAA single-season freshman record with her 92 RBIs last season and the program record with 52 extra-base hits in 2021.

Then, to cap the opening fireworks, Alo stepped to the plate with the bases juiced and ripped a 2-2 pitch well past the right field wall to collect her 89th career home run.

Alo is just six homers shy of tying the career NCAA home run record. Of course, former Sooner slugger Lauren Chamberlain holds that record with her 95 career blasts.

“I’m not really thinking about it. Honestly, I know it’ll come so I’m just kind of, like I said, enjoying every moment that I have and if it comes it comes, if it doesn’t it doesn’t, but I know it’ll come so I’m not like pressed about it,ย but like I said I just want to win another (national title),” Alo said of her record pursuit ahead of the season.

Again, her main focus is leaving Norman with another national championship ring.

“Obviously, I want to win again. It’d be nice to be the last team standing once more. I think you guys kind of know about the other record going on. But honestly, I’m just here to enjoy my last year and I was kind of talking with my dad about it. I was just saying how I want to enjoy every moment and just be present in every moment. And Coach Gasso said like you won’t ever get this again. And I really won’t ever get this again. Like I won’t get to grind the same way that they pushed me to, I won’t get to play for these coaches again, I won’t get to play with this team again, I won’t get to wear ‘Sooners’ across my chest again. So I’m just kind of here to enjoy every moment,” Alo said.

Freshman standout pitcher Jordy Bahl got the opening-day start in the circle for the Sooners and promptly struck out a pair of Gauchos in a scoreless first.

Oklahoma head softball coach Patty Gasso recently commented on the team’s motivation to start the 2022 season.

“It’s interesting because I think different teams approach the next season differently. Once you win it, you have two choices of thought, ‘I want it, I got it, it’ll never go away, I’ll have it forever and I’m good’ or ‘That tasted so well, that was such a wow factor in my world that I want more’. The taste of winning it, being called the best, is something that is almost like a drug. You want more. Some players feel one way, and some players feel the other. That is a bit concerning. The whole goal here from my side, is what would I feel like if a coach is telling me this and I’m an athlete. If my coach told me ‘you could be the greatest softball team of all time’, that would make me want to play hard. That would get me fired up. Every player is different. I’m anxious to see what this (the team) is going to look like when we put it out there because then I can really decipher where we’re at. Right now, we’re grinding and working really hard to get prepared for the start,” Gasso said.

The Sooners will also play in the Mark Campbell Invitational over the weekend from Irvine, Calif. On Friday, OU takes on Loyola Marymount at 5:45 p.m. and Mississippi State at 8:30 p.m. Then, on Saturday, Oklahoma will play No. 3 UCLA at 6 p.m. The final game of the weekend is against UC San Diego on Sunday at 1 p.m.

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Oklahoma Sooners lead USA Softball’s National Player of the Year watch list

Ahead of the 2022 season, Oklahoma Sooners Jocelyn Alo, Tiare Jennings, Jayda Coleman, and Kinzie Hansen were named to USA Softball’s National Player of the Year watch list.

The Oklahoma Sooners come into the 2022 season with incredibly high expectations. Based on their 2021, they’re warranted. After setting a new record for home runs in a season and returning much of the team that set a new standard for run-rule wins, the Oklahoma Sooners are the far and away favorite for the 2022 national title based on preseason rankings.

Both D1 Softball and USA Softball voted the Sooners their unanimous preseason No. 1. With just a couple of weeks until the Sooners’ season opener against UC-Santa Barbara, USA Softball released its preseason National Player of the Year watch list.

The 2021 National Player of the Year Jocelyn Alo leads the way and is the favorite to repeat as winner of the prestigious award. Joining her are freshman of the year Tiare Jennings, Jayda Coleman, and Kinzie Hansen.

Alo was a force all season from her designated hitter role, setting career highs across the board. She hit .475 with 34 home runs, 89 RBIs, and a slugging percentage of 1.109. Her home runs and slugging percentage were the best in the NCAA.

Tiare Jennings was just as remarkable in her freshman season for the Sooners. She was second in the country with 27 home runs and collected an NCAA freshman record 92 RBIs. She had an impressive 1.000 slugging percentage and led the nation in doubles with 25.

Fellow freshman Jayda Coleman was impressive in her first year with the Sooners. She was electric in center field, providing highlight-reel defense for the No. 1 team in the nation. On the season, she hit .444 with nine home runs and 53 RBIs while leading the team with 20 stolen bases. She was a first-team All-American and National Freshman of the Year Finalist.

Starting 58 games for the Sooners last season, Kinzie Hansen hit .438 as a sophomore. Her 24 home runs were fifth in the nation and added 66 RBIs. Hansen registered a .990 fielding percentage from behind the plate with 279 putouts and 21 assists.

The Oklahoma Sooners have a ton of talent in their lineup and will be a force to be reckoned with on the diamond. Any one of these four on the preseason watch list could end up as National Player of the Year.

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Oklahoma Sooners unanimous No. 1 in USA Softball preseason top 25

As they get set to defend their 2021 national championship, the Oklahoma Sooners were voted unanimously the preseason No. 1 by USA Softball.

The Oklahoma Sooners are the team to beat on the softball diamond in 2022. Of that there is no dispute. After being voted the unanimous No. 1 team in the country in D1 Softball’s preseason poll last week, the Sooners were also unanimously voted the preseason No. 1 team in the country by USA Softball.

According to the University of Oklahoma, it’s the second time in program history that they were the unanimous No. 1. It was also the third time the Sooners have been voted the No. 1 team overall.

Bringing back the National Player of the Year in Jocelyn Alo, the Sooners hope to replicate their 2021 that saw them set a new all-time mark for home runs in a season. In addition to Alo, the Sooners return four other All-Americans: Tiare Jennings, Jayda Coleman, Kinzie Hansen, and Grace Lyons.

Head coach Patty Gasso will be going for her sixth national championship, all with the Sooners. With all the returning firepower the Sooners have on offense, they’ll have a shot to be back-to-back national champions like they did in 2016 and 2017.

The Oklahoma Sooners were also selected as the preseason No. 1 by the Big 12 coaches and are the favorites to win the conference yet again.

The Sooners will open their season Feb. 10 in Southern California against UC-Santa Barbara.

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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.

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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 โ€“ since Week 3 โ€“ 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.

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11 things Oklahoma Sooners fans can be thankful for in 2021

It’s the season for giving thanks and the Oklahoma Sooners have a lot to be thankful for as they approach the traditional Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. It may not have all gone as planned, but it’s been an eventful year for the University of …

It’s the season for giving thanks and the Oklahoma Sooners have a lot to be thankful for as they approach the traditional Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. It may not have all gone as planned, but it’s been an eventful year for the University of Oklahoma.

As Thanksgiving approaches and we reflect on what we have to be thankful for, we here at the Sooners Wire wanted to provide for you some of the things we’re thankful for as well.

This certainly isn’t an exhaustive list as that could go on and on, especially if we listed each individual player. It also isn’t in any particular order or ranking. The numerical value isn’t representative of a pecking order of things we’re thankful for.

So as you get ready to spend some quality time with your loved ones, we hope you enjoy our list of 11 things we think Sooners fans should be thankful for this year, and would like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

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 isย theย 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:

Oklahoma’s Jocelyn Alo a candidate for 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year

Oklahoma Sooners Jocelyn Alo has been named a finalist for national player of the year honors.

The Oklahoma Sooners softball team had quite the season as the No. 1 team in the country for most of the season. They finished the season with a record of 45-2 after securing the regular season and conference tournament Big 12 championships. Both losses were avenged immediately in both instances. Now the No. 1 team in the country looks to secure the national championship.

One of their top players this year, Jocelyn Alo is now up for even more hardware after being named the Big 12 Player of the Year. According to a release from the Oklahoma Sooners athletic department, she is a candidate for more player of the year honors. This time for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.

Alo, the Big 12 Player of the Year and First Team All-Big 12 selection, has paced the potent Oklahoma offense in 2021, holding the nation’s lead in home runs (27) and slugging percentage (1.120) and ranks second in RBIs (75) and fifth in batting average (.479).

The senior slugger has homered in 25 of OU’s 47 games, including two grand slams and two multi-home run games. She has successfully reached base in 59 of OU’s last 60 games dating back to last season, including going on a program record 40-game consecutive hit streak from Feb. 21, 2020 vs. Texas A&M to April 3, 2021 vs. Kansas.

Additionally, Alo tied the NCAA record for consecutive games with a home run at seven from March 7 vs. Sam Houston through OU’s first matchup with Iowa State, March 26. The Hauula, Hawaii, native has 81 career homers, just 14 shy of the OU and NCAA career record for home runs (95), set by 2015 OU grad Lauren Chamberlain.

No. 1 Oklahoma was one of three programs to have multiple top-10 finalists for the award, as freshman Tiare Jennings was a Top-10 candidate for the award, considered the most prestigious honor in NCAA Division I softball.

The winner will be announced June 1 prior to the start of the NCAA Women’s College World Series

Oklahoma softball takes four of five Big 12 yearly awards, numerous players named to all-conference teams

No. 1 Oklahoma softball took four of the five yearly conference awards on Wednesday including numerous players being named all-conference.

Oklahoma softball is preparing to attempt to follow up their Big 12 regular season title with a victory in the annual conference tournament later this week. When they do so, they’ll be taking some hardware there with them as the Sooners took four of the five yearly Big 12 honors on Wednesday.

Head coach Patty Gasso was named Coach of the Year after leading the team to an absurd 42-2 record and the mantle as the widely-viewed best team in the country essentially all year long. She was an easy choice winning the award for the ninth straight year.

Senior outfielder Jocelyn Alo picked up the Big 12 Player of the Year selection after leading the country in home runs with 26. She’s the 14th Sooner to win the award.

Freshman infielder Tiare Jennings earned the Freshman of the Year choice unanimously after leading the country with 72 RBIs and being just behind Alo with 23 home runs.

Lastly, junior infielder Grace Lyons was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year as one of the elite defensive shortstops in the country on an Oklahoma team that is one of the top defensive teams in the sport.

Joining Alo, Jennings and Lyons on the All-Big 12 first team is senior pitcher Shannon Saile and freshman outfielder Jayda Coleman. Senior pitcher Giselle Juarez, senior catcher Lynnsie Elam and sophomore infielder Mackenzie Donihoo were named to the All-Big 12 second team.

Coleman, Jennings and freshman pitcher Nicole May were selected to the All-Big 12 freshman team as well to round out the plethora of honors for the Sooners.

This team had a tremendous year so all of these awards really come as no surprise. But, as they would all surely agree, they don’t mean nearly as much as finishing off the year with a championship would.

The Sooners will begin postseason play in the conference tournament on Friday in Oklahoma City against Baylor at 2:00 p.m. CT.

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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.