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OU Softball: Oklahoma Headlines D1 Softball's Top 100 Players of 2023

Nine OU players were rated in D1 Softball's top 100 players for the 2023 season.

Ryan Chapman

John E. Hoover / AllSooners

Oklahoma’s 2023 campaign was special.

Patty Gasso’s Sooners only dropped one game, setting a new NCAA record by responding with a 53-game winning streak to capture the program’s third-straight national title.

Dominance like Oklahoma’s isn’t achieved on the back of just one player, as it took an entire team effort to take down all challengers.

OU’s depth was on full display as D1 Softball put together its top 100 players for 2023, featuring nine Sooners.

Center fielder Jayda Coleman led the Oklahoma contingent, as D1 Softball ranked her the third best player in the country for this past season.

SB - 2023 WCWS, Jayda Coleman
For the second straight year, Oklahoma center fielder Jayda Coleman robbed a home run in the Women's College World Series Championship Series :: SARAH PHIPPS / THE OKLAHOMAN -USA TODAY NETWORK

Coleman dazzled both in the field and at the plate, smacking a career-high 17 home runs, which was tied for the most on the team. The uptick in power didn’t seem to have other negative effects, either, as Coleman only struck out 18 times while batting .408 and adding 48 RBIs.

A star in the outfield, Coleman still covered plenty of ground including yet another home run robbery in the WCWS Championship Series.

After Coleman, second baseman Tiare Jennings was picked at No. 6-overall.

Jennings paced the Sooners with a .415 batting average, also blasting 17 home runs and leading the team with 66 RBIs while drawing 27 walks and finishing with a .781 slugging percentage.

SB - 2023 WCWS, Tiare Jennings
Second baseman Tiare Jennings again played a crucial role in Oklahoma's third-straight national title.  :: John E. Hoover / AllSooners

Pitcher Jordy Bahl checked in a couple of spots behind Jennings, ranked as the No. 8 player this year.

Bahl shook off a slow start, really kicking into gear against Florida State in March, to put together another special season in Norman.

As the stakes raised, so did Bahl’s play.

The dominant right-hander appeared in every single game of Oklahoma’s WCWS run, where she didn’t allow a single earned run en route to being named the WCWS Most Outstanding Player.

Bahl finished second in the country with a 0.90 ERA, striking out 192 of the 505 batters she faced in 2023.

All-American third baseman Alyssa Brito was the fourth Sooner named to the top 100 list at No. 18.

She finished just behind Jennings with a .412 batting average, and was the third Sooner to launch 17 long balls in 2023.

Alyssa Brito starred in her return to the infield in 2023 for the Sooners.  :: John E. Hoover / AllSooners

An excellent fielder at the corner of the infield, Brito did an excellent job filling the shoes of Jana Johns, adding 60 RBIs, 17 doubles and a triple.

A pair of transfers then came next.

Pitcher Alex Storako was rated the No. 22-overall player last year, posting a 1.15 ERA in her only year in Norman and striking out 108 batters in 103 2/3 innings, holding opposing lineups to a .165 batting average.

Slugger Haley Lee was ranked 25th, batting .370 and hitting another 14 home runs and 51 RBIs for Oklahoma.

She was steady behind the plate as well, starting the season at catcher while Kinzie Hansen was unavailable and filling in again for Hansen for the second and third games of the Bedlam series.

Oklahoma’s third pitcher named to the top 100 was Nicole May, who slotted in right behind Lee at No. 26.

SB - Nicole May, 2023 Super Regionals
Pitcher Nicole May enjoyed a career year for Oklahoma, finishing third in the country in ERA behind only NiJaree Canady and Jordy Bahl.  :: SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN -USA TODAY NETWORK

May finished third in the country in ERA, with her 0.91 mark just trailing Bahl.

Ending the year a perfect 18-0, May held opposing lineups to a .161 batting average, recording 130 strikeouts while allowing only 29 walks.

Hansen’s bounce back year landed her at No. 40 in the rankings.

After missing large portions of the 2022 season with injuries, the All-American catcher ended up third on the team with a .409 batting average, belting 13 home runs and driving in 57 runs.

Shortstop Grace Lyons rounded out Oklahoma’s representation with another outstanding year in the field.

A Gold Glove winner, Lyons batted .331 with nine home runs and 34 RBIs, including a key home run in the Championship Series against Florida State. 

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is deputy editor at AllSooners and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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