Tag: Women’s College World Series

Kinzie Hansen returning to Oklahoma City Spark in 2025

One of the all-time greats in Sooner softball history will be back on the OKC Spark next season.

Former Oklahoma Sooners softball catcher [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] will be back with the Oklahoma City Spark for the 2025 season, the team announced on Thursday.

Hansen was a member of the most decorated senior class in college softball history, winning four national titles during her time in Norman. Hansen and the Spark had a successful summer as an independent squad, rolling through the competition to a record of 20-7. Hansen had a strong year in her rookie season and will look to build off of that next year.

Hansen played in 243 total games for head coach [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] at OU. She averaged 54.75 games a season and started 49.5 games each of the last four years. In her career, Hansen hit .390 with 60 home runs and 268 RBIs. She was the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] Defensive Player of the Year as a senior.

Her flair for the dramatic and her penchant for clutch hits marked her time as a Sooner. Perhaps the biggest hit of her career came against Clemson in the 2023 super regionals, when heavily-favored Oklahoma trailed late against the Tigers. OU had led 4-0 before Clemson rattled off seven unanswered runs. Oklahoma had two on with two out, and down to her final strike, she connected on a pitch and pulled it deep to left field to tie the game. The Sooners would eventually win the game in extras and would and go on to capture title No. 3 of the current [autotag]Women’s College World Series[/autotag] four-peat. She also hit a two-run home run in the Game 1 of the NCAA Softball championship series this past June.

With Hansen staying in OKC, Sooner fans will have plenty of opportunities to see on of the all-time greats continue her incredible career.

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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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Patty Gasso, Oklahoma earn NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year

After another historic season, the Oklahoma Sooners earned the NFCA’s National Coaching Staff of the Year award.

It was another historic season for the Oklahoma Sooners, who earned their fourth consecutive national championship and eighth overall. After a 59-7 season, Big 12 tournament title, and national title, Patty Gasso and her staff were awarded the NFCA Coaching Staff of the Year award for 2024.

The award is voted on by member Division 1 NCAA coaches.

It is the third straight season and the seventh time Gasso and her coaching staff have received the award.

It was a masterful job by Gasso, associate head coaches Jennifer Rocha and J.T. Gasso, and assistant coach Falepolima Steele. In a year where they lost a conference series for the first time in more than a decade and missed out on the regular season title, Gasso and company helped the team rally during a postseason run in which they lost just one game.

Of their 59 wins, 27 came by way of run rule, and the Sooners’ pitching staff recorded 23 shutouts.

In addition to the successful completion of the sport’s first four-peat, Oklahoma opened the largest on-campus softball stadium at Love’s Field. With an expanded capacity, the Sooners averaged 4,328 fans per game for a record attendance of 108,156.

Oklahoma finished the season as the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation after sweeping the Texas Longhorns in the [autotag]Women’s College World Series[/autotag] Finals by a combined score of 16-7.

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Stanford’s NiJaree Canady officially in the transfer portal

USA Softball Player of the Year NiJaree Canady is officially in the transfer portal.

What was reported over the weekend is now official. Stanford star pitcher [autotag]NiJaree Canady[/autotag] is in the transfer portal. According to James McLeod of D1Softball, it became official on Monday.

After helping the Stanford Cardinal reach the [autotag]Women’s College World Series[/autotag] each of the last two seasons, will have a number of options available to her after winning USA Softball Player of the Year.

Canady led the nation with 337 strikeouts and a 0.73 ERA and was 24-7 for Stanford. She allowed just 44 walks. She held opponents to a .147 opponent’s batting average and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 0.69.

In the 2024 WCWS, Canady started five elimination games for Stanford, going 4-1 and allowing just one earned run. The lone loss coming in a 1-0 pitcher’s dual vs. Texas.

Easily the No. 1 player in the transfer portal and arguably the best player in softball, Canady will have a multitude of options available to her. The Oklahoma Sooners will no doubt be in pursuit, hoping to add the dominant pitcher to their staff.

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A look back on Kinzie Hansen’s time with the Oklahoma Sooners

Kinzie Hansen always seemed to come through in the clutch for the Oklahoma Sooners, helping lead OU during a historic career.

If “attitude reflects leadership,” as Julius Campbell from Remember the Titans once coined, then the Oklahoma Sooners were a reflection of one of their captains in 2024.

[autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag]’s career had some ups and downs. She dealt with injuries in the 2022 season before getting healthy enough to play a huge role in that year’s title run. The Sooners’ catcher has been the epitome of toughness and resilience over her five seasons at Oklahoma.

She played in 243 games for the Sooners. After playing just 24 as a true freshman, Hansen averaged 54.75 games a season and started 49.5 games each of the last four years. In her career, Hansen hit .390 with 60 home runs and 268 RBIs.

If you take out the 2022 season, where she battled injuries throughout, Hansen hit .416. In four of her five seasons at OU, Hansen hit over .400. Statistically, 2021 was the best of her career, hitting .438 with 24 home runs and 66 RBIs.

While the power numbers might not have returned, Hansen’s proclivity for clutch hitting and heroics remained. She was as good as anyone in the country with two strikes and earned a reputation for coming through when the count was stacked against her.

There’s no greater example than Hansen’s game-tying home run against Clemson in the 2023 super regionals.

Chasing history, the Oklahoma Sooners were down 7-4 to the Clemson Tigers. At one point, OU was up 4-0 before the Tigers rattled off seven unanswered runs.

Valerie Cagle, one of the best players in the game, was on the mound, battling to tie up the super-regional series with Oklahoma. It was the moment that every kid playing diamond sports daydreams about. Oklahoma had two on with two out, and Hansen dug in at the plate as the tying run.

After falling behind in the count 0-2, Hansen connected on a pitch up and away and pulled it deep to left field and beyond the bleachers of Marita Hynes Field.

With one swing of the bat, Hansen tied the game to send it to extra innings, where [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] put OU ahead in the ninth to win the game. The win gave the Sooners their 48th straight victory, passing Arizona for softball’s longest winning streak. It’s a streak that extended into the 2024 season and finished at 71 games.

The game doesn’t get there unless Hansen comes through in the seventh. It was an at-bat that Sooners fans and the softball world will remember forever.

That was Oklahoma’s final game at [autotag]Marita Hynes Field[/autotag], a place they called home for more than 20 years. In a poetic moment, Hansen also had the walk-off home run to beat Miami (OH) in Oklahoma’s first game inside Love’s Field.

And while her work at the plate will be remembered for years to come, it’s important to acknowledge her role in managing the pitching staff over the last five years. In each of the Sooners’ four national titles, Hansen caught a different frontline starter to win the national championship. In 2021, it was [autotag]Giselle Juarez[/autotag]. In 2022, [autotag]Hope Trautwein[/autotag] took the ball in key moments. 2023 was [autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag]’s season of dominance. And in 2024, it was [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag].

In 2023, Hansen was named a first-team All-American. She was also a first-team All-Big 12 selection each of the last two seasons and has been selected for multiple national team appearances. In 2024, she was the Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Big 12 selection.

Hansen’s toughness, resiliency, and propensity to come through in clutch situations made her a fan favorite over the last five years. And with the announcement that she’ll continue her softball career locally with the WPF’s Oklahoma City Spark, Sooner fans have the opportunity to continue to watch K-9 do her thing on the diamond.

Stanford’s NiJaree Canady intends to enter the transfer portal per reports

USA Softball National Player of the Year NiJaree Canady intends to enter the transfer portal, according to multiple reports.

One of the biggest names in the sport of softball is on the move. According to multiple reports, Stanford’s [autotag]NiJaree Canady[/autotag] is expected to be in the transfer portal.

According to Landon Reinhardt of NBC News outlet KSNT in Topeka, Kan., Canady will enter the transfer portal.

A source in the Canady family tells 27 News that the Stanford Cardinal and Topeka High grad will enter the transfer portal. – Reinhardt, KSNT

 

WIBW’s Vince Lovergine is also reporting that Canady is in the transfer portal.

This is arguably the most notable player to hit the portal in the modern transfer era. She’s been the best pitcher in the sport the last two years, carrying Stanford to the [autotag]Women’s College World Series[/autotag] in both seasons.

Both in 2023 and 2024, the Cardinal’s two losses came to the No. 1 team in the tournament. In 2023, it was the Oklahoma Sooners who knocked off Canady and the Cardinal in the WCWS. In 2024 it was Texas who handed Stanford both losses in Oklahoma City. This year, the lack of run support from the Cardinal lineup was glaring. Texas held Stanford scoreless in both games.

Canady was special in elimination games for Stanford this postseason. After dropping the opener to LSU in the super regionals, she shutout the Tigers shut out Oklahoma State and beat UCLA in elimination games.

In 2024, Canady was named USA Softball’s National Player of the Year. She led the nation with 337 strikeouts and a 0.73 ERA and was 24-7 for Stanford. She allowed just 44 walks. She held opponents to a .147 opponent’s batting average and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 0.69.

This is a landscape-changing transfer portal entry. Canady is arguably the best player in softball and with two years left of eligibility, the program that earns her commitment will become a shoe-in for the Women’s College World Series and potentially the team to beat in 2025.

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Trio of Oklahoma softball players enter the transfer portal

The Sooners need to replace three players after losing them to the transfer portal.

The Oklahoma Sooners are fresh off victory in the Women’s College World Series final, winning their fourth NCAA national championship in row. It’s championship No. 8 overall for the program, all in the 21st century.

But, heavy is the head that wears the crown. OU had three players depart via the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] on Monday.

D1softball’s Justin McLeod posted on social media that [autotag]Avery Hodge[/autotag], [autotag]Quincee Lilio[/autotag] and [autotag]S.J. Geurin[/autotag] will test the portal waters.

Hodge is the most surprising of the departures and the biggest loss of the three. The infielder stepped up when her role increased in the [autotag]Women’s College World Series[/autotag]. She is a career .278 hitter in 114 games and 97 at-bats.

Lilio is another loss in the infield, owning a .211 batting average in her career. She’s mostly played in a utility role, coming off the bench in pinch-hit situations. In 88 games, Lilio has just 71 at-bats.

Geurin is the first pitcher to depart the team. She pitched 10 innings in 2024 after a redshirt season in 2023.

While roster turnover is expected every year, the offseason is just beginning in college softball. [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] will no doubt seek to improve the champs via the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] to chase ring No. 9. It’s likely the Sooners will be active in the portal, but they are adding eight true freshmen this fall as part of the 2024 signing class.

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Duke softball star Gisele Tapia writes emotional reflection as collegiate softball career ends

Duke’s Gisele Tapia, who wrapped up her collegiate career at the Women’s College World Series last week, penned an emotional goodbye to the sport.

Duke softball star Gisele Tapia couldn’t leave the sport without saying goodbye.

After her collegiate career came to an end in Oklahoma City last week, Tapia wrote a ‘Dear Softball’ letter and narrated it for the NCAA account.

Tapia, a graduate student who spent the last five seasons with the Blue Devils, played in more than 250 games with Duke. She batted .362 in 2023, her first senior season (she earned an extra year of eligibility because of the COVID-19 extension in 2020). She also set career-highs with 12 doubles and 50 RBIs that season, and she finished her career with 17 home runs.

Tapia also watched the rise of Duke’s softball program. Her freshman season in 2020 was the third season in program history. Two years later, Duke reached its first Super Regional in school history, and this past year, she helped lead the Blue Devils to their first Women’s College World Series berth.

“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Tapia told the sport in her letter. “I truly couldn’t have imagined this life without this sport.”

Watch Tapia’s entire goodbye message to her college sport below.

Oklahoma Softball Championship celebration open to the public

Oklahoma to host championship celebration at Love’s Field. Festivities are open to the public.

The Oklahoma Sooners made history with their fourth-consecutive national championship. It is the first time in the history of the sport that a program has won four straight.

Oklahoma did so with an 8-4 win over the No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns on Thursday evening. It’s the second time in three years that OU won the title in the championship series over their Red River Rivals. In the two-game sweep, the bats came alive, outscoring the Horns 16-7.

It was the most watched Women’s College World Series Finals ever.

To celebrate [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] and her championship squad, the University of Oklahoma is hosting a celebration at [autotag]Love’s Field[/autotag] Saturday night at 6 p.m. CT, which is open to the public. For those not able to be in attendance, fans can stream the celebration live on SoonerSports.com.

Details for the celebration can be found below from the University of Oklahoma Athletic Department.

From the University of Oklahoma Athletic Department

Fans Invited to Championship Celebration Saturday

NORMAN – The University of Oklahoma softball team invites fans to celebrate the program’s fourth straight and eighth overall national title Saturday, June 8, at 6 p.m. CT at Love’s Field. Gates will open at 5 p.m.

Admission is free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. Reserved seating for season ticket holders will be general admission in sections 6-10 with passes accessible later today (Friday) via their ticket account. Public parking will be available in the Lloyd Noble Center lot.

Fans will have the opportunity to take photos with the national championship trophy from 5-6 p.m. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a championship poster.

Programming is set to begin at approximately 6 p.m. and fans will hear from head coach Patty Gasso, members of the team and more. National championship merchandise will be available for purchase from the Sooner Shop and limited concessions will be available. Fans are permitted to bring one clear, empty, plastic water bottle (17 oz. or less) and OU’s clear-bag policy will be in effect for the event.

Fans who can’t be in attendance can watch the celebration via https://soonersports.com/watch/.

For updates and more information on Oklahoma Softball, follow the Sooners on Twitter/X and Instagram (@OU_Softball) and like Oklahoma Softball on Facebook.

Oklahoma vs. Texas Women’s College World Series Final most watched ever

Oklahoma’s win over Texas to clinch their eighth national title set a new viewership record.

The Oklahoma Sooners completed another historic season with their 8-4 win over the Texas Longhorns. The Red River Rivals competed in front of the largest viewership ever for a [autotag]Women’s College World Series[/autotag] Finals.

The Sooners and Longhorns averaged 2 million viewers and peaked at 2.5 million, setting a new high, up 3% from the previous record from 2015. This year’s viewership for the finals was up 24% from 2023. They were also the second and third most streamed softball games on ESPN+

It was a back-and-forth affair through the first half of the game, with Texas taking the lead twice before the Sooners took the lead for good in the fourth inning and pulled away in the sixth.

More: Best photos from Sooners 8-4 win over Texas Longhorns

The Red River Showdown between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation came down to the wire.

There was a lot on the line in this rivalry matchup for the championship. Texas was trying to win their first title, and the Oklahoma Sooners were looking to win their record fourth-straight and eighth overall.

The game reached its climax in the sixth inning as the Longhorns pulled within one, but Oklahoma pulled away in the bottom half with three runs to take an insurmountable four-run lead into the seventh.

In a game that was filled with drama and had several lead changes, Kelly Maxwell worked a drama-free 1-2-3 inning to close out the win.

College softball is growing across the nation. Programs around the country regularly set weekend attendance records, and viewership has grown across the sport.

Oklahoma’s dominance has drawn new fans to the sport, both to witness their greatness and root for their downfall. Either way, the sport is growing at a rapid pace and that’s great for the athletes and for the game.

More: Social media reacts to the Sooners win over Texas to clinch national title

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