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.
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