8 Sooners named to USA Softball Player of the Year watchlist

Eight Sooners named to USA Softball Player of the Year preseason watchlist

Jocelyn Alo has won the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award the last two seasons, and deservedly so. On Wednesday, USA Softball released their preseason watch list, a list featuring 50 players across the country.

Needless to say, head coach Patty Gasso’s bunch was very popular on the list. A total of eight Sooners made the cut, nearly one fifth of the 50 names mentioned. No other school has more than three names on the list.

While Alo’s departure is sure to be felt by Oklahoma at some point, it will be interesting to see just who ends up pulling away from the rest of the pack for this prestigous award. The Sooners have a talented lineup and a deep group of pitchers. They’re talented enough to win their third-consecutive national championship, which will put someone in line for yet another national player of the year honor.

Oklahoma softball lands at No. 1 in recent USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

The Oklahoma Sooners are now the No. 1 team in the country according to the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. They are currently 12-0.

There isn’t a hotter team in collegiate softball than the Oklahoma Sooners at this point in the season. They have climbed to the top spot in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches poll. They are one of four teams in the top 25 that come from the Big 12 Conference.

The Sooners have won 12-straight games to begin the 2021 campaign. In the Miner Invitational in El Paso, Texas, OU allowed just two runs in four games while scoring 70 runs. They have allowed just 14 runs in the eight games that have followed that appearance in the season-opening tournament. In that same stretch, they scored 98 total, including a 33 run outburst against New Mexico. Their second game of the year with at least 29 runs in a game.

On Friday the Sooners will participate in the Courtyard Marriott Tournament in Norman when they face off against Missouri and Sam Houston State in a double-header. There is a lot of excitement about the top softball program in the country.

The Full NFCA-USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll:

  1. Oklahoma
  2. Arizona
  3. Alabama
  4. UCLA
  5. Florida
  6. Oregon
  7. Texas
  8. Washington
  9. Oklahoma State
  10. Kentucky
  11. Arizona State
  12. Louisiana
  13. Louisiana State
  14. Duke
  15. Virginia Tech
  16. Florida State
  17. South Carolina
  18. Missouri
  19. Georgia
  20. Arkansas
  21. Michigan
  22. Central Florida
  23. Iowa State
  24. Auburn
  25. Tennessee