don't think so....but, maybe I'm wrong.
Softball has bypassed all but football in the state
Patty Gasso went to the awards ceremony at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s annual convention last summer because her coaching staff was getting some hardware.
The award: national coaching staff of the year in Division I.
No surprise, right? OU steamrolled its way to a second consecutive national championship, losing only three games and staking its claim as one of the best college softball teams ever, so of course Gasso and her coaching staff would be honored.
But then came a surprise; other coaching staffs from the state honored, too. Rogers State won the Division II award while Oklahoma City University won the NAIA one – those teams won national titles, too, last season – meaning Oklahoma teams stood atop three of college softball’s four biggest divisions.
“It’s pretty cool,” Gasso said. “It was quite an honor to see that happen as we were sweeping all the awards.
“It says a lot.” For starters, it says the softball scene is fantastic in our state. Tons of talented players at all levels. Skilled coaches. Marvelous teams. But as the college softball season gets underway this week – OU opens Thursday at the Mark Campbell Invitational in Irvine, California, while OSU begins Friday at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Mexico – we need to stop and take stock of the sport’s meteoric rise in Oklahoma.
Softball isn’t bigger than football in the state, but right now, football is the only sport that tops softball.
In this state, softball has bypassed every sport but football. Softball’s ascension began a little over three decades ago when the Women’s College World Series came to, then stayed in Oklahoma City. But the climb accelerated the past few years as OU became a dynasty and OSU became one of the few teams that could go toe-to-toe with the Sooners.
Stadiums are packed beyond capacity, players are getting rock-star treatment and coaches can’t even go to the grocery store anymore without being asked for autographs.
The scene is so robust, professional softball will make its debut in the state later this year.
As the college season begins, OU is the unanimous No. 1 in all the national preseason polls while OSU is either No. 2 or No. 3, depending on which poll you prefer. Arguably the two best teams in the entire country play right here in Oklahoma.
No one would be surprised to see this season culminate with the Sooners and Cowgirls playing for a national title.
“I’m not worried about any other program in the country,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said of OU. “That’s the only one that we are trying to get over the hump with. It is what it is.”
OU is the two-time defending national champ. Winners of four of the past six national titles. Dominators of games. Droppers of jaws. Openers of eyes.
The Sooners have taken things to another level, seeming to produce a neverending stream of crazy stats. For example, last year’s team scored more runs (476) than OU’s 1974 national championship football team, often regarded as the best of the program’s title teams, scored points (473).
Here’s another fact: The Sooner softballers hit as many homers in last year’s WCWS as their opponents scored runs.
That number: 17.
Seventeen.
In six games, the Sooners blasted 17 home runs. That’s almost three a game, and that came against the WCWS field, which consists of the best teams in the country. What Jocelyn Alo, Tiare Jennings and Co. did against great competition under intense pressure remains worthy of praise.
Also worthy of praise: OSU’s rise over the past few years.
The Cowgirls have made the WCWS three consecutive times, and they keep making progress in their pursuit of the Sooners. Two years ago, OSU won the first game of the end-of-season Bedlam series and forced OU to win the last two to claim the Big 12 regular-season title. A year ago, the Cowgirls beat the Sooners to win the Big 12 Tournament title.
And of course, OSU nearly made it to the WCWS championship series last June. It just had to beat Texas, something it had done four times earlier in the season. It had a 5-0 lead. It had Kelly Maxwell in the circle. It lost. Oh, what fun a Bedlam championship series would have been.
But here’s the good news: Both the Sooners and the Cowgirls have the chance to be better this season than they were last. So, who knows what grandeur this spring could bring.
Still, it’s hard to see how the crowds could get any bigger; both OU and OSU have outgrown their stadiums. The Sooners have broken ground on a new complex while the Cowgirls are moving toward a day when they’ll do the same.
Attention and exposure are high, too. Name, image and likeness deals have flowed in. Ditto for national media coverage. On Wednesday ESPN indicated it will show OU six times and OSU seven times in addition to ESPN+ broadcasts.
Locally, the appetite for anything related to softball is insatiable. Late last August, for example, I wrote about OU newcomers Alynah Torres and Cydney Sanders, transfers from Arizona State, and even though football season was about to start, that softball piece got lots of eyeballs.
Softball has become a year-round sport in the Oklahoma sports scene.
It might never knock football off the top of the mountain, but that doesn’t diminish what softball has become in this state. It is popular and beloved and celebrated. It is huge – and it only seems to be getting bigger.
Softball has bypassed all but football in the state
Patty Gasso went to the awards ceremony at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s annual convention last summer because her coaching staff was getting some hardware.
The award: national coaching staff of the year in Division I.
No surprise, right? OU steamrolled its way to a second consecutive national championship, losing only three games and staking its claim as one of the best college softball teams ever, so of course Gasso and her coaching staff would be honored.
But then came a surprise; other coaching staffs from the state honored, too. Rogers State won the Division II award while Oklahoma City University won the NAIA one – those teams won national titles, too, last season – meaning Oklahoma teams stood atop three of college softball’s four biggest divisions.
“It’s pretty cool,” Gasso said. “It was quite an honor to see that happen as we were sweeping all the awards.
“It says a lot.” For starters, it says the softball scene is fantastic in our state. Tons of talented players at all levels. Skilled coaches. Marvelous teams. But as the college softball season gets underway this week – OU opens Thursday at the Mark Campbell Invitational in Irvine, California, while OSU begins Friday at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Mexico – we need to stop and take stock of the sport’s meteoric rise in Oklahoma.
Softball isn’t bigger than football in the state, but right now, football is the only sport that tops softball.
In this state, softball has bypassed every sport but football. Softball’s ascension began a little over three decades ago when the Women’s College World Series came to, then stayed in Oklahoma City. But the climb accelerated the past few years as OU became a dynasty and OSU became one of the few teams that could go toe-to-toe with the Sooners.
Stadiums are packed beyond capacity, players are getting rock-star treatment and coaches can’t even go to the grocery store anymore without being asked for autographs.
The scene is so robust, professional softball will make its debut in the state later this year.
As the college season begins, OU is the unanimous No. 1 in all the national preseason polls while OSU is either No. 2 or No. 3, depending on which poll you prefer. Arguably the two best teams in the entire country play right here in Oklahoma.
No one would be surprised to see this season culminate with the Sooners and Cowgirls playing for a national title.
“I’m not worried about any other program in the country,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said of OU. “That’s the only one that we are trying to get over the hump with. It is what it is.”
OU is the two-time defending national champ. Winners of four of the past six national titles. Dominators of games. Droppers of jaws. Openers of eyes.
The Sooners have taken things to another level, seeming to produce a neverending stream of crazy stats. For example, last year’s team scored more runs (476) than OU’s 1974 national championship football team, often regarded as the best of the program’s title teams, scored points (473).
Here’s another fact: The Sooner softballers hit as many homers in last year’s WCWS as their opponents scored runs.
That number: 17.
Seventeen.
In six games, the Sooners blasted 17 home runs. That’s almost three a game, and that came against the WCWS field, which consists of the best teams in the country. What Jocelyn Alo, Tiare Jennings and Co. did against great competition under intense pressure remains worthy of praise.
Also worthy of praise: OSU’s rise over the past few years.
The Cowgirls have made the WCWS three consecutive times, and they keep making progress in their pursuit of the Sooners. Two years ago, OSU won the first game of the end-of-season Bedlam series and forced OU to win the last two to claim the Big 12 regular-season title. A year ago, the Cowgirls beat the Sooners to win the Big 12 Tournament title.
And of course, OSU nearly made it to the WCWS championship series last June. It just had to beat Texas, something it had done four times earlier in the season. It had a 5-0 lead. It had Kelly Maxwell in the circle. It lost. Oh, what fun a Bedlam championship series would have been.
But here’s the good news: Both the Sooners and the Cowgirls have the chance to be better this season than they were last. So, who knows what grandeur this spring could bring.
Still, it’s hard to see how the crowds could get any bigger; both OU and OSU have outgrown their stadiums. The Sooners have broken ground on a new complex while the Cowgirls are moving toward a day when they’ll do the same.
Attention and exposure are high, too. Name, image and likeness deals have flowed in. Ditto for national media coverage. On Wednesday ESPN indicated it will show OU six times and OSU seven times in addition to ESPN+ broadcasts.
Locally, the appetite for anything related to softball is insatiable. Late last August, for example, I wrote about OU newcomers Alynah Torres and Cydney Sanders, transfers from Arizona State, and even though football season was about to start, that softball piece got lots of eyeballs.
Softball has become a year-round sport in the Oklahoma sports scene.
It might never knock football off the top of the mountain, but that doesn’t diminish what softball has become in this state. It is popular and beloved and celebrated. It is huge – and it only seems to be getting bigger.
