Oklahoma Softball: Why Patty Gasso Says Tough Schedule Provides 'Competitive Advantage'
NORMAN — As winter turns to spring, Oklahoma softball is right around the corner. The expectations for the back-to-back National Champions haven’t changed.
“It’s really about the process, the journey, all of that,” head coach Patty Gasso said Monday, deflecting the attention from a potential rare-air three-peat. “All the work we put in, and now just playing it out. I can’t tell you how excited they are to play someone else in a different uniform.”
Oklahoma’s 2023 bunch is one full of serious skill and experience. From top to bottom, it might be Gasso’s deepest, most talented team on paper. Despite the departure of Jocelyn Alo, arguably the greatest softball hitter of all time, the Sooners have learned to do what all dynasties learn to do: reload.
As Gasso has alluded to many of times this offseason, no one player can account for what Alo brought to the table.
But through the transfer portal and Oklahoma’s freshman recruiting class, the Sooners seem to be in a really solid spot. Gasso added four high-profile transfers in Cydney Sanders, Alex Storako, Alynah Torres and Haley Lee this offseason. Sanders was named a 2022 NFCA First Team All-American member as a freshman for Arizona State, while her teammate in Torres was a first-team All-Pac-12 member. Storako transferred in from Michigan, where she was an All-American pitcher before making the change. Lee holds Texas A&M's single-season home run record after launching 25 home runs in 2021.
In addition to the transfers, OU added pitcher Kierston Deal, the No. 1 recruit in the 2022 class.
Despite Oklahoma’s growing status as a softball giant, the extra additions are much needed when factoring in the Sooners’ daunting schedule. And Gasso wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I think the competitive advantage is what we’re looking for," Gasso said. "I don’t know that we get better with run rules. They don’t make us better. It’s those 2-1 ballgames, or those tight, hard fought extra innings — those are when you really find gold. You find who is clutch, you find who loves those big moments.
“It’s always been, to me, those close games are where your best memories are, where you grow the most as a team. That’s what we’re looking for, that’s why it was scheduled that way.”
Schedules featuring high-interest matchups and thrilling, competitive games are equally as attractive to the players. Recruits, transfers, and the current roster all notice the marquee matchups slated on Oklahoma’s 2023 slate.
“One thousand percent,” junior outfielder Jayda Coleman said when asked if the ranked opponents add excitement to the fold. “I feel like in past years it has been a struggle to get those bigger games earlier just because of COVID, but to see big games early on is really, really exciting.
"It will help us know exactly where we’re at early on in the season, rather than waiting later and knowing we haven’t played that top-10 team yet. Now we’re gonna see them very early and just learn from our mistakes early into the season."
Based on the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, the Sooners have 11 ranked opponents on the schedule, with five of those opponents landing in the top five. As the unanimous No. 1 team in the country, Oklahoma is tasked with facing off against No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 4 Florida State.
Oklahoma also has No. 8 Northwestern, No. 9 Texas, No. 14 Stanford, No. 16 Washington, No. 17 Kentucky, No. 19 Duke, No. 20 LSU and No. 21 Auburn on its 2023 slate.
The Sooners’ run rule totals have been steadily increasing for three straight seasons now. In 2019, OU tied a program-high 25 run-rules, ending 39.7 percent of games early that season. In 2021, the number rose to 35, and last season, Oklahoma recorded 40 run rules in 62 total games.
“It’s been hard to get people to play us,” Gasso said. “We’re having to go to LSU, we’re having to go to Mississippi State, to get some of these games. Which is part of the problem, when we eventually move on, I won’t have these types of problems — but it’s a scheduling nightmare at times.”
Over the past two seasons, Gasso and the Sooners have recorded a 115-7 record with 75 total run rules. With the treacherous non-conference lineup this season, Oklahoma hopes to find competition and areas to improve in.
“This team is really excited about the level of this (schedule),” Gasso said. “It’s gonna be one of the top power ranking schedules that we have had in a long time.”
Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the AllSooners message board community today!
Sign up for your premium membership to AllSooners.com today, and get access to the entire Fan Nation premium network!
Follow AllSooners on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest OU news.
Get your OU tickets from SI Tickets HERE.