Latest news with #Gasso
USA Today
4 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Oklahoma Sooners dynasty far from over
Oklahoma Sooners dynasty far from over The Oklahoma Sooners championship streak came to an end with their 3-2 loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. A lot of folks in the softball world were waiting for the day that Oklahoma didn't hoist the national championship. They were so excited about the Sooners' downfall in 2025 that they may have been a bit hasty with some of their language. "The dynasty is over," they said. But what they don't realize is that the dynasty started long before 2021, long before the first of four straight national titles. Let's consider what the Sooners have done for a second. Made the super regionals every year since 2010. Made the Women's College World Series 13 of the last 14 times. Seven national championships since 2013. Runner-ups in 2012 and 2019. Only once failed to reach the semifinals of the WCWS since 2013 And here's what they've done over the last 10 years. 2016 - National Champion 2017 - National Champion 2018 - Semifinalist 2019 - Runner-up 2020 - COVID Year, No WCWS 2021 - National Champion 2022 - National Champion 2023 - National Champion 2024 - National Champion 2025 - National Semifinalist The Sooners have been on an incredible run for a decade and a half, redefining what success looks like in the sport of college softball. They're nowhere close to being finished. Patty Gasso and Oklahoma came into the 2025 season with a young team. They had 13 underclassmen on the roster. The first four hitters in the order were freshmen and sophomores. There were only three seniors on the roster; Sam Landry, Isabella Smith, and Cydney Sanders. The Sooners are losing a lot in Landry, Smith, and Sanders. But Gasso and her staff still have a big portion of their corps remaining for the 2026 season. Just look at this projected lineup. Kasidi Pickering, LF Ella Parker, UT Gabbie Garcia, SS Nelly McEnroe-Marinas, 3B Sydney Barker, 1B Ailana Agbayani, 2B Hannah Coor, CF Isabela Emerling, C Abigale Dayton, RF Barker, a true freshman in 2025, went 3-for-3 off of NiJaree Canady in Oklahoma's loss to the Red Raiders. That's the only change to a lineup that won the SEC regular season title, was co-SEC tournament champions, and made it to the semifinals of the Women's College World Series. A lineup that was third in the nation in home runs per game, second in on-base percentage, third in slugging percentage, and 22nd in batting average. The Oklahoma Sooners will likely be active in the transfer portal to add some pitching help. However, the staff remains solid as it stands right now. Kierston Deal and Peytn Monticelli return a lot of experience. Audrey Lowry was fantastic down the stretch, even if she didn't get an opportunity to pitch in the Women's College World Series. Sophia Bordi will be back, and the Sooners are adding the top pitcher in the 2025 recruiting class, Alyssa Parker from Ocola, Oklahoma. Gasso and pitching coach Jennifer Rocha have added a frontline starter in the portal each of the last two offseasons with Kelly Maxwell and Sam Landry. You can bet they'll be aggressive to make sure they have a pitcher who can lead the way for the Sooners. The Sooners are bringing the nation's No. 1 recruiting class to Norman in the fall. In the 2026 cycle, the Sooners currently have the No. 2 class in the nation. It's a team that will come back hungry for the 2026 season, knowing they were just a couple of hits away from extending their season on Monday night. And Gasso believes that they'll be better off going through this experience. After the game, she talked about how much fun she had with this team, watching them develop. "Watching them grow," Gasso said. "Watching them be hungry. Watching them never quit. The amount of rebounded, extra-inning, or last-inning heroics and come-from-behind wins has been something incredible. As much as I need a break, I'm really ready to have them come back and start over again because I think we learned so much and we're going to be that much better." The Oklahoma Sooners have areas they can improve. However, if their last decade and a half is any indication, the Sooners will be one of the best teams in college softball in 2026 and one of the eight teams to contend for the national title. Opponents want the dynasty to be over. But it's far from over. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
USA Today
a day ago
- General
- USA Today
'The athletes deserve it': Patty Gasso lobbies to change double-header format
'The athletes deserve it': Patty Gasso lobbies to change double-header format The college softball world came to a halt on Monday night as the Texas Tech Red Raiders dethroned the Oklahoma Sooners in dramatic fashion with a walk-off sacrifice fly. The Red Raiders rally came after a two-run, game-tying home run from Abigale Dayton in the top of the seventh inning. Before that, Texas Tech ace NiJaree Canady was throwing a gem. The Sooners nearly extended the game to extra innings. Had the Sooners won in extras, the two teams would have turned around 30 minutes later and played again to determine who would face Texas in the Women's College World Series championship. It didn't come to that, but that didn't stop Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso from sharing her opinion on the doubleheader format in the semifinals. "I've been in this tournament enough, and there's one thing that has to change," Gasso began. "I'm going to say it out loud, and I hope the committee is going to look at this. If we are all about women's athletics and women's sports and rah-rah, do not make us play doubleheaders to get to a national championship series. Do not do that. Don't do that. They don't do it in baseball. It should not happen." The Women's College World Series has become a spectacular event over the last decade. One that's garnered increased exposure on television and led to record ratings over the years. Programs are investing more into their softball programs, and the results are noticeable. The games have been fantastic. In the Women's College World Series, there was only one game decided by more than three runs. That's how tight and dramatic these matchups have been. It would have been a shame to force a double-header to determine who would play for the national championship. And Gasso wasn't even thinking about the Sooners as she mentions that Tech would have felt maybe a bigger impact. "If we were to win or if Texas Tech were to lose, and they made it here all the way undefeated and they were to lose to us, and then we have to play another game right after, that is not fair," Gasso continued. "It's not fair to them more than it is not fair to us because we didn't get there on the road that they did. But we've got to make changes." Canady has thrown every pitch for the Red Raiders in Oklahoma City. And had the Sooners won and forced the winner-take-all game two Monday night, it's likely she would have thrown every pitch in that game. Though one could argue that's the bed Gerry Glasco made by riding his ace throughout the WCWS, it would have been detrimental to the sport not to get a rested Canady in the decider. Gasso explained that any concerns that fans wouldn't come back to watch are unfounded. The way the game has grown, it has never been more popular. From those watching in person to the traffic it generates on social media, softball has become a national phenomenon every May and June. It's best for the game and, more importantly, as Gasso discusses, for the athlete to allow them to get some rest before playing the second game. "We've got to put money into this. People will watch. They'll come back, and they'll watch this next day. This is one of the most-watched championships in any sport. Softball is one of the top. So why wouldn't you want to come back and watch that 'if' game? Or would you rather watch us have zero energy left and you're not able to throw your best because you're just trying to scrap it together? It's unfair to the athletes at this high level. That is my soapbox. Let's try to change that, even if it's going to cost a little bit of extra money. These athletes deserve it. And thank you all very much. Thank you for listening." As Terrance Mann, played by James Earl Jones, said in Field of Dreams, "People will come." The game has grown to such heights that die-hard and casual fans are tuned in for every pitch and every inning. Though the doubleheader didn't impact who was playing for the national title in 2025, that doesn't mean it's not a worthwhile discussion to be had. And when the Queen of College Softball says something, you have to believe rules committees take notice.
CBS News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Texas Tech ends OU's 4-year run as Women's College World Series champ after walk-off 3-2 win
Oklahoma's run of four straight Women's College World Series titles ended when Lauren Allred's walk-off sacrifice fly gave Texas Tech a 3-2 victory in the semifinals on Monday night. Coach Patty Gasso's Sooners (52-9) were down to their last strike in the top of the seventh inning when Abigale Dayton summoned a bit of magic, hitting a tying two-run homer off Red Raiders ace NiJaree Canady. It was just her third longball of the season. But the Red Raiders (53-12) responded quickly in the bottom half. Mihyia Davis singled with one out and Hailey Toney followed with a double. Allred hit a fly ball to right field and Sydney Barker's throw to the plate was wide, allowing Davis to score easily. "Congratulations to Texas Tech," Gasso said. "They earned that. They played well. They hit well. They pitched well. So well deserved." Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco recounted how he told his team to refocus after giving up the lead. "We don't want it to be easy," he said. "It's Oklahoma. You knew it wasn't going to be easy. Let's go to work right here, win this right here in the bottom of the seventh." Texas Tech, in its first trip to the WCWS, will play Texas in the best-of-three championship series starting Wednesday. The Longhorns reached the finals for the third time in the past four years. They lost to Oklahoma in 2022 and 2024. Sam Landry, the No. 1 overall pick in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League draft, took the complete-game loss. Glasco was Landry's coach at Louisiana last season, and Allred and Davis followed Glasco from Louisiana to Texas Tech. Glasco and Landry embraced after the game. "It's bittersweet," Landry said. "I wished him luck going forward. Neither one of us wanted to be where we met in the postseason. Super happy for them. That's a lot of my old teammates. I'm glad they're getting to experience it." Canady lost the shutout but got the win. She is the two-time reigning National Fastpitch Coaches Association Pitcher of the Year and was the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year last season. Formerly with Stanford, she signed a name, image and likeness deal worth more than $1 million to go to Texas Tech. Canady reached her first finals after leading Stanford to the semifinals the previous two years. "I think people doubted us, didn't think we'd get to this point," she said. "I think we just didn't have any pressure on us, just wanted to go play softball." Oklahoma had won nine straight elimination games, but the Sooners had lost the core of the team that won the previous championships. Their roster featured nine freshmen and just three seniors. Gasso said the future looks bright for the Sooners. "We're standing at the World Series as one of the top three teams left, with a team of 14 newcomers," Gasso said, "and I just shared with them in the locker room how much fun I had with them coaching them, watching them grow, watching them be hungry, watching them never quit."
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Everything Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said after Sooners lost to Texas Tech in WCWS
Everything Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said after Sooners lost to Texas Tech in WCWS Oklahoma softball coach Patty Gasso hadn't felt what she did Monday night in several years. The Sooners, winners of the last four Women's College World Series national championships, were eliminated from the tournament by Texas Tech. Gasso was contemplative afterward, having taken a team with 14 new players as deep into the tourney as she did. The world may have not considered Oklahoma underdogs, but the team had a sense they were, anyway. After the game, Gasso reflected on what she called one of her most fun years as a coach ever. Patty Gasso opening statement Congratulations to Texas Tech. They earned that. They played well, they hit well, they pitched well. Well deserved. Just extremely proud of this team. Who they are first. What they do second. It's been a joyous ride and if you would have ever asked me - and I think I've already said this a million times - but we're standing at the World Series as one of the top three teams left with a team of 14 newcomers. I just shared with them in the locker room how much fun I had with them. Coaching them. Watching them grow. Watching them be hungry. Watching them never quit. The amount of rebounded, extra-inning or last-inning heroics and come-from-behind wins has been something incredible. As much as I need a break, I'm really ready to have them come back and start over again because I think we learned so much and we're going to be that much better. Lessons along the way. What I hope is that they learned lessons about themselves. And turning from girls to women, that's really important to this program. Giving them life lessons and versing them and things that will help them throughout life. It was an emotional, amazing, one of my favorite years of all time, I must say. Gasso on feelings in the moment Yes. I haven't felt this in a while. No one is feeling sorry for me about that, I'm sure. But you always want to raise a trophy and just celebrate down at Toby Keith's place. That's kind of been our place the last four years. I don't know. It's hard to talk about. I'm really excited for the future, but really, really pumped for Cyd Sanders to have her best softball when it was needed. It finished that way. Tonight was a tough night for Sam Landry. A lot of emotions for her because of her connection to Louisiana and now all of them at Texas Tech. I was really proud of her because that could have been a very tough situation. She handled it really, really well. There was a lot of emotions going on for her. It's hard to lose. This was the most enjoyable season I've had in a long time. Us, as coaches, really feel that everybody kind of jumped on board with us. They believed in what we were saying. They carried on the championship mindset. They grinded on the field every single day. There are some future superstars on this team and I'm really excited about that. But they had to grown through Cyd Sanders and some of these others that have been around. Ella Parker. Still going to be a young team next year. Extremely excited about it. Just don't want to think about it right now. They've done some miraculous things. You witnessed one that just happened not long ago with the walk-off with two strikes. Their ability to believe has been unbelievable this season. Gasso on what impressed her about the young team's growth It's just absolute trust in each other. If you would have seen it in September and October, we started to kind of gel a little bit more in November. But it was still so new. So many things to learn. Still, at the end of the season, we didn't work on such-and-such enough. We need to do more of that. Seemed like time flew so fast and just kept going. I can't even believe the season is over. Normally, I'm like 'Thank God.' But this was, let's keep going, let's keep going, let's keep going. It really was fun to watch them work together and believe together. They never, ever, ever thought that they would lose. Ever. A lot of times they didn't. It's been a wonderful time. Gasso on pitcher Sam Landry I just go back to when I was recruiting her out of the portal. Literally sat in an iHOP with her and made her an offer in Norman with her family. Her mom kind of disappeared, went into the restroom and I'm like 'what's going on? Are we yes? Are we no? I don't know.' She didn't want to leave her family. Her mom didn't want her to leave. But she knew that this was right. It started off like yes or no, c'mon, what are we doing? When she said yes, I was so excited about that because I know coach (Jennifer) Rocha could create something really special. No offense to anyone, she's a different pitcher here. What I loved about her, she's gone through a lot but her confidence was very, very strong. She maintained. Kind of in and out sometimes, but I can't tell you how fun it was to watch her have that confidence and lead us in that way. Man, I really have a lot of fun with her. We connect really well. She's got a very infectious smile, but she's that big of a person. All of these guys are just special young women. Sam got that golden ticket and she truly thought 'my career is going to end at OU.' And when she got that golden ticket, it was such a big moment for her. Deservedly so. She's always going to be part of this program. I hope she's not going to go far away. She's going to try to go to med school soon and try to do it here in Oklahoma. Gasso on roller-coaster of emotions late in the game They continued to believe. It's just like, get your swing off. You've got to get there real quick. (Texas Tech pitcher NiJaree Canady) is unbelievable. She's really tough. It was hard to square her up. It was hard to make solid contact. As long as they have a swing left, they believe. They do. And that's proof of it. Gasso on references to OU as a historic program I appreciate those comments. Not warranted, but appreciated, for sure. I don't even, honestly, think about that. I just do my job. That's all I'm trying to do is turn girls into women and help them become elite softball athletes but at the same time, make sure they learn about life so that they become good mothers, good daughters, good friends. That they try to live the right way, do the right things. Those are the lessons that are going on that are probably more important to me than wins and losses. I want them to walk away and say 'I'm equipped for anything. I can handle this. I can handle anything.' Losing is not fun. But losing is life. We all lose at something. It's hard, but it's lessons learned from it. I think that's probably what's most important for me is these guys leave with something to take with them for the rest of their lives. Gasso on the importance to keep tenets of program year after year I look at the front row of these crazy, crazy athletes that we had last year that have been winning championships. They've got their rings on them and they're just flashing them out there. They're proud of it, but they're here and they're supporting this next movement. I can hear Rylie Boone. Oh, my gosh. I don't know how she does it. I don't know how she has a voice left. They're running around with signs and they're loving our team. They love this team. They want to help them however they can during the game. Shay Knighten is here. Caleigh Clifton. They're all around. They're all helping out. They're just very prideful and they feel it as much as anyone. It's very fun for them to watch them carry on their legacy. It's not their legacy anymore. This is a new legacy they're starting. That's something we talked about in the locker room. Gasso on importance of team understanding what they did was special They're just 'we got a trophy, all right.' It is the most confusing thing for me. I've never seen them dogpile or do anything like that. Today was the first time I've seen them cry. That was not the emotion that I wanted to see. It happens. It comes with it. But they just have a crazy expectation of greatness. And it happens so fast. We're sitting in the locker room and I'm looking at Ailana (Agbayani) and I'm looking at Gabbie (Garcia) and they're sitting next to each other. And they used to - early in the season or in January, they were still trying to connect as a middle and now they're sitting together holding hands and they're crying. Just looking around at some of these connections and just the growth was so fast and so furious. But so beautiful to watch. It really, really was. I don't know. It was pretty amazing. I'm at a loss of words because it was so far beyond anything that I thought this season would be like. So incredibly proud of them. If we would have won the national championship, I still don't know if they would celebrate. I don't know. Hopefully we'll know again sometime. Gasso on strategy of keeping powerhouse program in NIL/portal era Quite honestly, getting players in your program that are 100% bought in. That are 100% behind the program, the coaches, teammates, etc. This day and age, I think there's a lot of 'I'm not playing here, I'm going somewhere else.' It's fine. Doesn't bother me at all. I've never tried to stop anyone if they're ever trying to leave because I want them to find what they want. If it isn't here, it isn't here. The right people need to be in your program giving everything they have. Gasso on changes WCWS needs to make And, can I go on a soapbox for one second, please, everyone? Because I'm old enough, I don't care what anyone thinks anymore. I see Joe. Don't worry Joe, this isn't going to be bad. I've been in this tournament enough and there's one thing that has to change. I'm going to say it out loud and I hope the committee is going to look at this. If we are all about women's athletics and women's sports and rah-rah, do not make us play doubleheaders to get to a national championship series. Do not do that. Don't do that. They don't do it in baseball. It should not happen. If we were to win or if Texas Tech were to lose and they made here all the way undefeated and they were to lose to us and then we have to play another game right after, that is not fair. It's not fair to them more than it is not fair to use because we didn't get there on the road that they did. But we've got to make changes. We've got to put money into this. People will watch. They'll come back and they'll watch this next day. This is one of the most-watched championships in any sport. Softball is one of the top. So why wouldn't you want to come back and watch that 'if' game? Or would you rather watch us have zero energy left and you're not able to throw your best because you're just trying to scrap it together. It's unfair to the athletes at this high level. That is my soapbox. Let's try to change that even if it's going to cost a little bit of extra money. These athletes deserve it. And thank you all very much. Thank you for listening.
Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Texas Tech ends Oklahoma's 4-year run as Women's College World Series champ — now faces Texas for the title
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma's run of four straight Women's College World Series titles ended when Lauren Allred's walk-off sacrifice fly gave Texas Tech a 3-2 victory in the semifinals on Monday night. Coach Patty Gasso's Sooners (52-9) were down to their last strike in the top of the seventh inning when Abigale Dayton summoned a bit of magic, hitting a tying two-run home run off Red Raiders ace NiJaree Canady. It was just her third longball of the season. But the Red Raiders (53-12) responded quickly in the bottom half. Mihyia Davis singled with one out and Hailey Toney followed with a double. Allred hit a fly ball to right field and Sydney Barker's throw to the plate was wide, allowing Davis to score easily. 'Congratulations to Texas Tech,' Gasso said. 'They earned that. They played well. They hit well. They pitched well. So well deserved.' Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco recounted how he told his team to refocus after giving up the lead. 'We don't want it to be easy,' he said. 'It's Oklahoma. You knew it wasn't going to be easy. Let's go to work right here, win this right here in the bottom of the seventh.' Texas Tech, in its first trip to the WCWS, will play Texas in the best-of-three championship series starting Wednesday. The Longhorns reached the finals for the third time in the past four years. They lost to Oklahoma in 2022 and 2024. Sam Landry, the No. 1 overall pick in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League draft, took the complete-game loss. Glasco was Landry's coach at Louisiana last season, and Allred and Davis followed Glasco from Louisiana to Texas Tech. Glasco and Landry embraced after the game. 'It's bittersweet,' Landry said. 'I wished him luck going forward. Neither one of us wanted to be where we met in the postseason. Super happy for them. That's a lot of my old teammates. I'm glad they're getting to experience it.' Canady lost the shutout but got the win. She is the two-time reigning National Fastpitch Coaches Association Pitcher of the Year and was the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year last season. Formerly with Stanford, she signed a name, image and likeness deal worth more than $1 million to go to Texas Tech. Canady reached her first finals after leading Stanford to the semifinals the previous two years. 'I think people doubted us, didn't think we'd get to this point,' she said. 'I think we just didn't have any pressure on us, just wanted to go play softball.' Oklahoma had won nine straight elimination games, but the Sooners had lost the core of the team that won the previous championships. Their roster featured nine freshmen and just three seniors. Gasso said the future looks bright for the Sooners. 'We're standing at the World Series as one of the top three teams left, with a team of 14 newcomers,' Gasso said, 'and I just shared with them in the locker room how much fun I had with them coaching them, watching them grow, watching them be hungry, watching them never quit.' Katie Stewart hit a home run, Mac Morgan and Teagan Kavan combined on a 3-hitter and Texas defeated Tennessee 2-0 on Monday to reach the Women's College World Series championship series for the third time in four years. Kavan, who threw a complete game with eight strikeouts in Saturday's 4-2 victory over Oklahoma, came on in relief of Morgan in the fifth inning and didn't allow a hit the rest of the way. She struck out the Volunteers' Emma Clarke to end the game. Texas (54-11) will play either Texas Tech in the best-of-three series, which starts Wednesday. Karlyn Pickens, a National Fastpitch Coaches Association first-team All-American, allowed just one earned run on five hits and struck out nine for Tennessee (47-17). 'My heart is full because of the young ladies to my right and the young ladies in that locker room,' Vols coach Karen Weekly said. 'They're sad for all the right reasons. It's not about wins and losses; it's about the joy they've experienced being together every single day. And I think people saw that in the way we played. They saw them bounce back. They saw how resilient, how gritty and tough they were.' Texas loaded the bases against Pickens in the third with one out but couldn't score. Reese Atwood struck out swinging and Joley Mitchell popped out to the catcher to end the inning. Things got heated in the top of the fourth when Tennessee hitting coach Craig Snider, the former Texas Tech head coach, appeared to have words with the Texas dugout and was ejected. 'I don't know what transpired,' Texas coach Mike White said. 'I think he was upset about the call by the umpire at home plate … . The rule says any time an assistant coach hits the field and questions something it's an automatic ejection. So I think that's what he was upset about, so I think he decided to maybe just to take some stuff out on us.' Weekly said Snider was frustrated with the strike zone. 'You would hope that you get a little bit of leeway because of the stage you're on right here; you certainly don't want to lose a coach when you're playing for the biggest game of the season,' she said. Stewart homered off Pickens in the bottom of the fourth, a high drive to left that drifted beyond the outstretched glove of Alannah Leach. Pickens recovered quickly, striking out the next three batters she faced. 'We had just enough wind to help that home run go over,' White said. 'That was fortunate there. Looking down on us, maybe, Teagan's grandma, so she puffed one out there.' Kavan pitched Saturday while mourning the death of her 97-year-old grandmother. Morgan got the win, striking out four and walking one. The Longhorns added an insurance run in the sixth on a throwing error by Vols third baseman Taylor Pannell.
