Tag: Oklahoma Sooners Softball

Oklahoma softball earns two ESPY nominations for 2024

Oklahoma softball was nominated for a pair of ESPY awards. .

The Oklahoma Sooners softball team was nominated for a pair of awards at the 2024 ESPYS after bringing home the national championship earlier this month.

[autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag]’s team has been nominated for the Best Team award, after a fantastic [autotag]WCWS[/autotag] run that included one loss in Oklahoma City. It’s the fourth consecutive year Oklahoma has been nominated for the award. This includes last year when OU didn’t win Best Team despite having one loss all season and dominating the NCAA softball tournament field in the midst of the historic winning streak.

This season, the Sooners won the national championship, their eighth since 2000, with Gasso as the head coach. OU has won the past four titles and six of the last eight.

The one loss in the [autotag]Women’s College World Series[/autotag] was avenged in epic fashion by senior [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag]. Her walk-off home run in Game 3 against Florida was nominated for Best Play.

The 2024 ESPYS will be broadcast live on Thursday, July 11, at 7 p.m. CT on ABC from Los Angeles. Fan voting is underway for all categories and runs through July 11 at 4 p.m. CT. The complete list of 2024 nominees can be viewed here.

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Jayda Coleman, Kinzie Hansen appear in Rawlings commercial

Jayda Coleman, Kinzie Hansen commercial pays tribute to Michael Jordan and Larry Bird classic commercial for McDonald’s

Two of college softball’s biggest stars over the last few years have taken their games to the professional level with the Oklahoma City Spark. [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] and [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] will continue to ply their craft in the Softball Capitol of the World.

Over their careers at Oklahoma, Coleman and Hansen became known for clutch performances in the field, earning Gold Gloves and Defensive Player of the Year awards. But even more important was their work at the plate as both came through in clutch situations time after time during the Sooners’ historic four-straight national championships.

And the former Sooners stars and two of the best ambassadors of the sport starred in a new commercial for Rawlings softball.

The commercial is a fun tribute to the McDonald’s classic featuring Larry Bird and Michael Jordan in a game of HORSE. Instead of playing for a Big Mac, Hansen and Coleman have a home run-hitting contest for Rawlings’ new “Mantra” bat.

The two go back and forth, even attempting to switch hit, with relative success.

As softball continues to grow, this is just another step in the right direction by using two of the sport’s biggest stars to be ambassadors for one of the biggest brands in diamond sports.

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Former Campbell pitcher Isabella Smith commits to Oklahoma Sooners

Transfer pitcher Isabella Smith commits to the Oklahoma Sooners.

The Oklahoma Sooners have picked up their fourth transfer addition of the offseason, earning a commitment from Isabella Smith from Campbell.

Smith was 26-7 with a 2.01 ERA in 2024. She pitched 206 innings, struck out 238 batters and allowed an opponent’s batting average of .181. She started 30 games and appeared in 42 of Campbell’s 59 games this season.

She had six games with double-digit strikeouts, including 15- and 14-strikeout performances in a span of three days in April.

In her career, Smith is 70-28, logged 593.1 innings, allowed an opponent’s batting average of .193 and a WHIP of 0.97.

 

Smith joins an Oklahoma pitching staff that includes [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag], [autotag]Paytn Monticelli[/autotag], and incoming freshman [autotag]Audrey Lowry[/autotag].

The Sooners are still hoping to make a splash in their pursuit of Stanford star and National Player of the Year [autotag]NiJaree Canady[/autotag], but Smith gives them a talented and experienced arm that can throw a bunch of innings for the Sooners.

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Former Sooner Qunicee Lilio transfers to South Carolina

Former Oklahoma utility player Quincee Lilio has transferred to South Carolina.

It’s the offseason in the world of college softball, and that means the transfer portal is heating up.

After [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] and the Oklahoma Sooners won national championship number eight and completed the four-peat, there was expected to be plenty of roster movement.

So far, two of the three former Sooners who entered the portal had found homes in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag]. Infielder [autotag]Avery Hodge[/autotag] went to LSU and pitcher [autotag]S.J. Geurin[/autotag] transferred to Auburn.

Now, the third OU player in the portal has also found a new home in the Southeastern Conference.

Utility player [autotag]Quincee Lilio[/autotag] will be transferring to South Carolina. Justin McLeod of D1 Softball broke the news on social media.

Lilio made 31 plate appearances in 2024, hitting .129 with five RBIs, 10 walks and six strikeouts. She played second base and outfield in 2023, appearing in a total of 47 contests for the Sooners, starting 12 games. As a redshirt freshman, she hit .275 with one home run and had nine RBIs.

Gasso and the OU staff have also been busy making additions in the portal. [autotag]Isabela Emerling[/autotag], [autotag]Abby Dayton[/autotag] and [autotag]Ailana Agbayani[/autotag] have all joined the roster since the season ended.

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Oklahoma Sooners add BYU transfer Ailana Agbayani

The Oklahoma Sooners continue to fortify their roster with the addition of BYU transfer Ailana Agbayani.

The Oklahoma Sooners picked up another transfer addition, earning a commitment from Ailana Agbayani.

A middle infielder and pitcher for the BYU Cougars, Agbayani led the Cougars with a .434 batting average, hit five home runs, and recorded 33 RBIs. She also added nine doubles, two triples, and 30 walks. She led BYU in on-base percentage by 50 points.

She hit lead off for the Cougars. In BYU’s win over Oklahoma in the middle game of their three-game set, Agbayani went 4-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs. She also threw 0.1 innings, walking a batter and inducing a ground out of Kinzie Hansen with two runners aboard.

The Sooners have now added three players to the roster via the transfer portal as Agbayani joins North Carolina catcher Isabela Emerling and Utah centerfielder Abby Dayton.

Agbayani will likely play one of Oklahoma’s open middle-infield spots after the departures of [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] (eligibility), [autotag]Avery Hodge[/autotag] (transfer portal), and [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] (eligibility).

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Sooners Alynah Torres signs with the Oklahoma City Spark

Alynah Torres is the latest Sooner to sign professionally to play with the Oklahoma City Spark.

Another Sooner is making her way up I-35 to Devon Park this summer as the Oklahoma City Spark announced on Monday that they’ve signed Oklahoma utility player [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag].

Torres, who came to the Sooners from Arizona State following the 2022 season, spent two years in Norman and played a key role in Oklahoma’s record-breaking 2023 and 2024 seasons.

In 2024, as she platooned with [autotag]Avery Hodge[/autotag] at second base and played some in right field, Torres hit .331 with nine home runs and 36 RBIs.

She’s a versatile defensive piece that can help at third base, second base, first base and in the corner outfield.

Torres joins former Sooners teammates [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag], [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag], [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag], and [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag] along with Sooners legends [autotag]Keilani Ricketts[/autotag] and [autotag]Jocelyn Alo[/autotag] with the Spark.

Oklahoma City just completed their first weekend of the season with a series in Chattanooga, Tenn. They’re currently 3-1 on the season as they get set to host Great Britain and Team USA at Devon Park this weekend in the Royal Spark Challenge.

For their full schedule or for ticketing, go to OKCSpark.com.

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Sooners land Utah transfer outfielder Abby Dayton

Oklahoma Sooners earned a commitment from Utah Utes transfer centerfielder Abby Dayton.

The Oklahoma Sooners are fortifying their roster via the transfer portal, earning a commitment from Utah transfer outfielder Abby Dayton. It’s the second commitment in the last few days after the Sooners added North Carolina catcher Isabela Emerling.

Dayton led the Pac-12 with a .431 batting average in 2024. She also recorded 18 extra base hits, including two home runs, and had 28 RBIs last season for the Utes. Dayton also led Utah with 27 walks and only struck out 12 times in 167 at bats.

A native of Riverside, Calif., Dayton helped lead Utah on a nice run through the Pac-12 tournament. The No. 6 seed in the field, the Utes knocked off Oregon and Stanford, before falling to the UCLA Bruins 2-1 in the Pac-12 championship game.

Coming off of another historic season, the Oklahoma Sooners are dealing with significant turnover. They lost 10 seniors and three players to the transfer portal. Among their graduating departures was Gold Glove centerfielder [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag].

Oklahoma won’t use the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] to fill every departure, but over the last few days, they’ve found a couple of everyday players in Emerling and Dayton. Dayton looks like a player who could step in and start at centerfield and hit leadoff for the Sooners.

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Former Sooners pitcher S.J. Geurin lands with the Auburn Tigers

Former Sooners pitcher S.J. Geurin announces decision to transfer to the Auburn Tigers.

It’s an offseason of turnover for the Oklahoma Sooners. They lost 10 seniors to graduation and three players to the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag]. For the second day in a row, a former Sooner has found their new home.

After Avery Hodge shared that she was heading to the LSU Tigers on Friday, pitcher [autotag]S.J. Geurin[/autotag] is heading to the SEC to join the Auburn Tigers.

After redshirting in 2023, Geurin appeared in nine games and recorded a 0.70 ERA. In 10 innings, she allowed an opponent’s batting average of .118 with nine strikeouts and three walks allowed.

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Coming out of high school, Geurin was ranked the No. 7 pitcher in the class of 2022 by Extra Inning Softball and the No. 20 player overall.

She joins an Auburn squad that finished 29-21-1 and ninth in the SEC in 2024 with a 9-15 conference record. They were eighth in the SEC in team ERA.

The Tigers were eliminated in the Tallahassee regional in the regional final. Before taking their second loss to Florida State, Auburn had to work their way through the loser’s bracket following their loss to UCF in the opener.

Quincee Lilio is the other Sooner yet to make a portal decision at this stage of the offseason.

Oklahoma added catcher Isabela Emerling from North Carolina on Friday night.

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Sooners add former UNC catcher Isabela Emerling via transfer portal

Patty Gasso lands former UNC catcher Isabela Emerling to help replace Kinzie Hansen

The Oklahoma Sooners lost three players to the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] earlier in June and 10 seniors. Though they bring in a big signing class in 2024, Oklahoma will need to retool their roster through the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag]. On Friday, [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] made their first portal addition.

OU earned a commitment from former North Carolina catcher [autotag]Isabela Emerling[/autotag]. The former Tar Heel is a junior who had a nice sophomore season in 2024. Emerling hit .323 with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs and posted a .685 slugging percentage. She led the Tar Heels in home runs and RBIs last season.

Over the last two seasons at North Carolina, Emerling started 91 games at catcher and in the infield after missing her freshman season due to injury.

Emerling took to social media to announce her decision, saying she was “so excited for this new chapter.”

Gasso and her staff needed a replacement for the recently departed [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag], who won four titles as a Sooner. Hansen had a legendary career, and the catcher is now a member of the Oklahoma City Spark. Emerling will try to help fill that role behind the plate, as the Sooners look for ring number nine.

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Infielder Avery Hodge transfers to LSU Tigers

Avery Hodge joining the LSU Tigers via the transfer portal.

One of the early surprises of the softball [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] season came when Women’s College World Series standout [autotag]Avery Hodge[/autotag] entered the portal. On Thursday evening, she announced her new home, transferring to join the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge.

For much of the 2024 season, Hodge platooned second base with Alynah Torres, hitting .284 with six extra base hits and nine RBIs. During the Sooners national title run, Hodge was an important piece of the defensive puzzle, taking over at second and starting the final five games of the postseason.

During that stretch, she hit .400 and added a walk. She was really good in the field. Now she goes to an LSU team that was really good in 2024. The Tigers took game one of their super regional against NiJaree Canady and Stanford before Canady bounced back with a pair of shutout wins to eliminate LSU.

The Oklahoma Sooners will bring in four middle infielders through their 2024 recruiting class. Sierra Barker, Gabby Garcia, Kade McKay, and Tia Milloy will join the Sooners this fall and have an opportunity to earn a role with the departure of Hodge and senior shortstop [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag].

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