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'Future superstars' key to Sooners NCAA Tournament run
In many ways, Oklahoma's heartbreaking loss to Texas Tech in the Women's College World Series semifinals seemed more like the beginning to a story than an end to one.
The Sooners may have come up just short of earning a spot in the championship series, but it's hard to imagine this group won't have more opportunities. They had just eight returners from last year's national championship run, the last of a historic four-peat, and 14 newcomers were expected to immediately take over that mantle.
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'There's some future superstars on this team, and I'm really excited about that, but they had to grow through Cyd Sanders and others that have been around, Ella Parker,' OU head coach Patty Gasso said on Monday. 'Still going to be a young team next year, but extremely excited about it.'
They came very close — winning the Southeastern Conference regular season title in their first year in the league and seven NCAA Tournament games before running into two of the top pitchers in the country.
The Sooners wouldn't have made it that far into the tournament without several young players performing like veterans. Redshirt freshman Nelly McEnroe-Marinas took over a captaincy role and finished fifth on the team in batting average and was named First Team All-SEC. Gabbie Garcia led the team in home runs and was a NFCA Third Team All-American as a true freshman shortstop.
'I think what me and my class and a lot of the young players on this team will remember is how well we all gelled together and how we used our differences and our superpowers to work together,' freshman Sydney Barker said.
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Out of the eight players that started 55 games or more this season, four were underclassmen and one was a senior (Cydney Sanders). The Sooners will also have to replace a pair of pitchers in Sam Landry and Isabella Smith.
With the future of the program as bright as it's ever been, it's easy to overlook the three seniors, who helped provide valuable leadership during an uncertain season.
Landry was the Sooners' ace this season, starting 27 games and going 25-6 in the circle. The final game of her career came against her former head coach from her time at Louisiana. She finished the season with a 1.94 ERA, throwing 191 innings and 19 complete games.
'It's bittersweet,' Landry said about facing her coach. 'I wished him luck going forward. Neither one of us wanted to be where we met in postseason. Super happy for them.'
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Smith appeared in 22 games with 10 starts including an appearance in the NCAA Norman Regional against Cal. Sanders was fifth on the team in home runs with 13 and had two in the Sooners' win over Oregon in the WCWS.
Landry and Smith both joined the program last offseason in the transfer portal. Sanders was the only senior who had played on a national championship team and one of just eight players total.
