All Sooners

Oklahoma Softball Garners Commitment From California's No. 1 Junior

The Sooners picked up their fourth 2026 commit Wednesday night.

Bryce McKinnis

Credit: @kiele_hoching/x.com
Credit: @kiele_hoching/x.com /

NORMAN — College softball’s four-time defending national champions landed one of the nation’s top recruits Wednesday night.

Ki’ele “Ele” Ho-Ching, the third-ranked player and second-ranked infielder in 2026 by On3, announced her pledge to Patty Gasso’s Sooners on her X and Instagram accounts. The Long Beach Poly (CA) junior chose Oklahoma over Texas, UCLA and others.

“I am now able to say that I will compete at the highest level with the number one college softball program in the nation, University of Oklahoma,” Ho-Ching wrote in her X post. “Boomer Sooner!!”

Ho-Ching’s commitment was the fourth for the Sooners in the 2026 class. Fullerton (CA) High School’s Malaya Majam-Finch, the nation’s No. 10-ranked pitcher in ‘26, committed to OU on Sept. 17. Peyton Westra, the nation’s No. 41 overall player from North Polk High School (IA), committed on Sept. 23 via Instagram. Jerrell "Ori" Mailo, a power hitter from Mililiani High School (HI), committed on Monday.

The Sooners' fall Battle Series also opened Wednesday night at Love's Field.

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Bryce McKinnis
BRYCE MCKINNIS

Bryce is a contributor for AllSooners and has been featured in several publications, including the Associated Press, the Tulsa World and the Norman Transcript. A Tishomingo native, Bryce’s sports writing career began at 17 years old when he filed his first story for the Daily Ardmoreite. As a student at the University of Central Oklahoma, he worked on several award-winning projects, including The Vista’s coverage of the 2021 UCO cheer hazing scandal. After graduating in 2021, Bryce took his first job covering University of Tulsa and Oral Roberts University sports for the Tulsa World before accepting a role as managing editor of VYPE Magazine in 2022. - UCO Mass Communications/Sports Feature (2019) - UCO Mass Communications/Investigative Reporting (2021) - UCO College of Liberal Arts/Academic presentation, presidential politics and ideology (2021) - OBEA/Multimedia reporting (2021) - Beat Writer, The Tulsa World (2021-2022) - Managing Editor, VYPE Magazine (2022-2023)

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