OKLAHOMA CITY – Four months before Oklahoma won an unprecedented fourth straight Women’s World Championship at Devon Park on Thursday night, Sooners coach Patty Gasso sat behind a desk in the room of Norman’s court side Marita Hynes and reflects on the five most important players in her program’s history.
It was Feb. 5, days before Oklahoma began its 2024 title race. As the Sooners prepared to pursue their eighth national championship, the faces of quarterback Jayda Coleman, quarterback Tiare Jennings, Catcher Kinzie Hansen, outfielder Riley Boone and right-handed pitcher Nicole May – mainstays of college’s outstanding modern softball dynasty – appeared at the tournament. before Gasso’s mind.
“I think about them more than ever because I know that this is the end,” Gasso said three days before the season opener in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. “It was the end of one of the most elite classes that ever — and could — play softball.”
In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma’s decorated “Core Five” had their storybook ending.
Ten seniors hoisted the trophy after the Sooners’ 8-4 victory on Thursday. Among them, Coleman, Jennings, Hansen, Boone and May represent the oldest league affiliation in college softball history. The five Oklahoma stars signed with Gasso out of high school and went on to participate in back-to-back national titles from 2021 to 2024.
“They have historically solidified this program,” Gasso said. “They have established themselves in history. History may change, but these people will never be forgotten.”
The team charted a journey from Marita Hynes Field to the Sooners’ new $47.9 million home at Love’s Field and emerged as a bridge to the next era of Oklahoma softball. Along the way, the veteran nucleus won three Big 12 tournament titles and as many national championships — four — as many losses in the NCAA tournament, propelling the Sooners from perennial national contenders to become an unstoppable force.
They transformed the Sooners’ lineup into a force from top to bottom, with all four Core Five position players finishing their OU careers in the top nine in career batting average, including Jennings, Coleman and Boone placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th after legendary skateboarder Jocelyn Alo.
They were fixtures on the national scene, with Jennings, Coleman and Hansen surpassing former Sooner star Grace Lyons with 25 career WCWS games, the most ever, at the same time in college softball. study attracted national attention. But individually, everyone has their own career.
Upon receiving Jennings’ national letter of intent for the class of 2020, Gasso made a bit of a prediction.
“The game seemed to come easily to her,” she said. “It’s beautiful to watch. There’s no doubt she will make an impact.”
She leaves as one of the greatest players in college softball history. After sharing his early years with Alo, Jennings continued to strike fear into opponents, finishing his WCWS career with 31 hits and 11 home runs, trailing Alo by one run in each category. for second place all-time. She averaged one home run every eight games during her Oklahoma career.
Coleman, whom Gasso described as a “program changer” when she signed with the Sooners, lived up to her coach’s predictions, finishing her OU career as the program’s all-time leader. era of scoring goals and being a star for his defense, especially at WCWS.
Hansen, a Johnny Bench Award winner, has forged a strong relationship with the Sooners’ pitchers and is known as a fierce leader who has stood out in some of the biggest moments team, including a stellar homer in the first game at the Sooners’ new palace.
If there’s one Sooner who knows how to capture that moment, it’s Kinzie Hansen.
Her HR start helped OU to a 9-7 win in Game 1 at Love’s Field. Who else besides K9? pic.twitter.com/bATE5xi2Gr
— Eli Lederman (@ByEliLederman) March 1, 2024
Boone was a crowd favorite, with the stadium echoing “Boooooone” every time she stepped up to the plate or made a spectacular catch. She hit over .400 in her career, taking seriously her role as the No. 9 hitter in a lineup that wasn’t easy.
Gasso relied on Boone and Coleman as “chaos coordinators” to prepare the team.
“I give a shout out to Boone and Coleman because those two made this program possible,” Gasso said. “They’re full of energy and that energizes everyone. When they don’t have energy, we don’t have energy. … It’s really inspired this team.”
May has been a reliable arm throughout the Sooners’ title chase, going 62-6 in his career with a 2.22 ERA in 106 appearances. Gasso turned to May in a pinch for the save against Texas to win the Big 12 tournament, and she struck out all five batters she faced, with three strikeouts. Then she did it again in the super regional, slamming the door on Florida State, ending the season at Love’s Field with a save and sending the Sooners back to the WCWS.
Gasso said after the match: “There was no one at that time that I would have wanted more than Nicole May because of her hard work and professionalism as an athlete, but her absolute commitment and loyalty. her success with this program”.
Behind the star dominance, Gasso made his own history, defeating legendary Arizona coach Mike Candrea for his eighth championship, the most in NCAA softball history.
In the process, Gasso’s program became the envy of Sooners legends eager to claim her as the greatest.
Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield, who played at Oklahoma from 2014 to 2017, returns to Norman for a youth football camp in 2023 wearing a shirt that says “GASSO = GOAT.”
“This is custom-made,” Mayfield told reporters at his camp. “Went to the softball game and left it under my shirt. She wasn’t happy to see it. She’s the GOAT, though.”
Former Sooners football coach Barry Switzer, 86, and “Little Joe” Washington, 70, the legendary Sooners running back, caught up on Wednesday and marveled at Coleman’s outing against Florida and the upcoming series against the hated Longhorns.
Switzer noted that softball has become perhaps the second-hottest sport in the Red River Rivalry series, behind football, due to the Sooners’ dominance and Texas’ efforts to catch up.
“What [Gasso] achieved that had never been done before and so it set itself apart,” Switzer told ESPN. “I’m proud of her for doing it and I’m proud of her for doing it get that at our school.”
Coleman is engaged to the former five-star recruit Billy Bowman Jr., a safety on the Sooners’ football team, which was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award last season. Even Bowman’s personal coach can’t help but adjust his players to the power-couple hierarchy.
Hey 2🗣️I’m going with 24 @jaydac00 SHE got That 🥶in VEINS & ⭕️UDNA…CONGRATULATIONS‼️ https://t.co/drQHN6CinY
— Brent Venables (@CoachVenables) June 4, 2024
The Sooner seniors will leave as legends, leaving the program better than the one they inherited. But they will also leave behind a group of underclassmen who have witnessed and closely studied their greatness every day.
Freshman Ella Parker’s two-run, sixth-inning double on Thursday night provided the latest evidence that the future at Norman remains bright following the departure of the incoming seniors away from Oklahoma. Parker and freshman midfielder Kasidi Pickering were both named to the tournament team.
Parker said she has idolized the seniors since she was 12 years old and made it her mission to follow them to college.
“[They’re] Pass the stick, pass the torch to us. “Our job now is to continue to transition that leadership,” Parker said. Therefore So glad I got to play with them.”
Coleman, Jennings, Hansen and Boone sat to Gasso’s right during Thursday’s postgame press conference, understanding the importance of the four-peat. After they left, she realized how remarkable this moment was.
“What’s really strange to me is that in four years, I’ve never had to cry here,” Gasso said. “But I did it anyway, because they were all sitting here. When they were on the field, it was easier. It seemed like I didn’t feel the pain of the last loss. That’s not true.” understandable at this level.”
Gasso said next season will be a return to getting her hands dirty, saying she can’t wait to coach again, “because I don’t have to coach this team” with the exceptional amount of experience that this team brings.
“I will miss them so much, they have been here for so long,” Gasso said. “They’ve done everything you can do and more. It’s time for them to fly. So, the Olympics, professional, marriage. There’s a lot of things coming their way. I’m really happy happy for them.”
And history will bind them forever.
“I just thought, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to miss them,’” Gasso said. “[But] We’ll have championship reunions like four years in a row. We’ll see each other a lot.”
