Oklahoma

Sunday Offering: Oklahoma in Contention for 4-star 2025 LB

Published

2 years ago

April 21, 2024

Sunday Offering: Oklahoma in Contention for 4-star 2025 LB

Already holding one of the top five recruiting classes in the 2025 cycle, Brent Venables and Oklahoma continued to make headway in the past week.

Even in the midst of preparing for the Sooners’ spring football game, OU was able to stay in contention for one of the top linebackers in the country and extend offers to five other high school prospects.

With plenty of time left to continue building their next recruiting class, Oklahoma is off to a good start and seems to be in position to add to what is already a solid group.

On Wednesday, Chad Simmons of On3 reported that Oklahoma, Alabama, Missouri and Nebraska are “battling” for 4-star linebacker Dawson Merritt. Hailing from Blue Valley High School in Overland Park, KS, Merritt is rated the No. 61 overall player and No. 8 linebacker in the nation, according to 247Sports.

Listed at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Merritt has racked up nearly 25 scholarship offers from schools around the country. In late November, the speedy linebacker visited Norman to see the Sooners take on TCU in OU’s final regular season game of the 2023 campaign.

Merritt is the son of Kansas City Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt, who has been with the team for five seasons. Merritt has spent 23 seasons as an NFL coach after playing linebacker in the league for four years.

With Carl Albert (OK) linebacker Marcus James, Wagoner (OK) edge rusher Alexander Shieldnight, Lee’s Summit North (MO) interior defensive lineman Ka’Mori Moore and Dr. Henry Wise (MD) defensive lineman Trent Wilson already on board in the upcoming cycle, adding Merritt would be a massive win on the recruiting trail for Zac Alley and company, strengthening the OU front seven in 2025.

Offers extended

On Monday, Oklahoma offered Port Arthur Memorial (TX) 4-star linebacker Tank King. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, King is rated the No. 70 overall player and No. 6 linebacker in the 2026 recruiting class, according to On3.

Also a standout baseball player, King holds offers from Notre Dame, Texas, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Penn State and many others.

On Tuesday, the Sooners offered 4-star Lincoln-Way East (IL) quarterback Jonas Williams. A 6-foot-3, 205-pound sophomore, Williams is rated the No. 147 overall prospect and No. 9 quarterback in the 2026 class, per On3.

OU is the latest school to offer the Frankfort, IL, product, following in the footsteps of LSU, Oregon, Ohio State and many other programs.

The following day, Seth Littrell and company offered Queen Creek (AZ) quarterback Tait Reynolds.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, Reynolds is rated the No. 236 overall prospect and No. 19 quarterback in the 2026 cycle, according to On3. Like King, Reynolds is also a standout on the diamond and is currently committed to Arizona State to play baseball.

The two-sport star also holds offers from Tennessee, Florida State, Utah and others.

At the Sooners’ spring game on Saturday, Venables and company handed out two more offers. First, Oklahoma offered 3-star 2026 offensive tackle Maxwell Robinson, from Derby, KS.

Later in the day, 4-star Skyridge (UT) offensive lineman Darius Afalava picked up an offer from the Sooners.

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 280 pounds, Afalava is rated the No. 199 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, according to Rivals.

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Oklahoma

Kansas State women’s basketball stuns Oklahoma State, moves on to Big 12 semis

Published

15 minutes ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Kansas State women’s basketball stuns Oklahoma State, moves on to Big 12 semis

Kansas State women’s basketball’s fairytale run will continue.

A day after rallying to keep their Big 12 Tournament run alive, the 12th-seeded Wildcats got hot in the fourth quarter to upset fifth-seeded Oklahoma State in a 74-73 quarterfinal win on Friday, March 6, at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

After Oklahoma State made a game-tying 3-pointer with five seconds left, it accidentally fouled Tess Heal with 1.3 seconds remaining, sending her to the line. She split her free throws, missing the backend, leading to a Cowboys miss on a desperation heave.

The Wildcats will play in Saturday’s 3 p.m. semifinal against the winner of Friday afternoon’s matchup between league-champion TCU and ninth-seeded BYU.

Kansas State got a special shooting performance from freshman Jordan Spieser, who showed why she was considered a five-star prospect, as she finished with 21 points and five made triples. After Oklahoma State cut the Wildats’ lead to two with 46 seconds left, Speiser made her final 3-pointer with 17 seconds left.

This came after the Wildcats went on a 9-0 run to overcome a four-point deficit with 4:41 left in the fourth. Taryn Sides’ layup with 1:48 left put the Wildcats up by five. Kansas State’s largest deficit was 13 points early in the third quarter.

With the win, Kansas State became the first 12-seed to beat a four-seed since 2008. It came a day after the Wildcats scored the final 21 points to overcome a 14-point deficit against No. 21 Texas Tech.

Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com

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Oklahoma

5-seed Oklahoma knocks off Florida 82-64 to advance to the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinals

Published

12 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

5-seed Oklahoma knocks off Florida 82-64 to advance to the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinals

GREENVILLE, South Carolina –

The 5-seed Sooners used a 10-0 run to start the third quarter to pull away and beat the 12-seed Gators 82-64 in the second round of the SEC Tournament.

Massive Third Quarter

OU outscored Florida 27-7 in the third quarter to build a big lead before winning by 18. The Sooners started the quarter on a 10-oh run that was highlighted by an epic fast break bucket.

Beers Joins Elite Company

Oklahoma center Raegan Beers reached a historic milestone Thursday night in her 100th career start. The All-SEC standout became the third player in Oklahoma history—and the only active Division I player—to surpass 2,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds.

With the achievement, Beers joins legendary Sooners Courtney Paris (2,731 points, 2,032 rebounds) and Molly McGuire (2,147 points, 1,071 rebounds) in the exclusive club.

Beers now totals 2,003 points and 1,207 rebounds in a remarkable college career that includes two seasons at Oregon State and two at Oklahoma.

In the win over Florida, Beers had 18 points and seven rebounds.

Super Freshman

Freshman Aaliyah Chavez continued her impressive debut season on Thursday. The only freshman named to an All-SEC team this week, Chavez finished with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists.

She has now scored in double figures in 24 straight games, showcasing remarkable consistency in her first college season.

Chavez also went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, extending her SEC record for consecutive made free throws to 57. She now sits just two shy of the Oklahoma program record, currently held by Taylor Robertson.

Next Up

Oklahoma will face No. 6 LSU on Friday at approximately 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. The matchup marks a chance for the Sooners to respond after the Tigers handed them their largest loss of the season earlier this year. On Jan. 18, LSU defeated Oklahoma 91–72 in Norman, making Friday’s game a highly anticipated rematch.

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Oklahoma

PSO shares safety, preparedness tips for Oklahoma Severe Weather Awareness Week

Published

1 day ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

PSO shares safety, preparedness tips for Oklahoma Severe Weather Awareness Week

As Oklahoma Severe Weather Awareness Week continues, Public Service Company of Oklahoma is urging customers to take steps now to stay safe and prepared as the threat of spring storms returns.

In a news release dated March 5, 2026, PSO said it is monitoring the potential for severe weather across its service area this week.

The company said severe thunderstorms, large hail, high winds and isolated tornadoes could cause power outages.

PSO said crews are ready to restore power “safely and quickly” if outages occur.

The utility encouraged customers to review storm preparedness tips, including what to do if the lights go out; download the company’s mobile app to stay connected and report outages; sign up for outage alerts and email updates; and review power line safety.

“We’re always monitoring weather conditions and preparing our system to handle whatever Oklahoma’s spring might bring,” said Dwayne Apple, PSO vice president of distribution operations. “Now is a great time to review your emergency plans, check your supplies, and make sure your loved ones and neighbors are ready too.”

PSO said it prepares for severe weather year-round by trimming trees near power lines, upgrading equipment and installing smart technology intended to help reduce outages and improve response times.

The company also said it recently held a comprehensive storm drill to prepare employees for the unique challenges of Oklahoma’s weather.

PSO said the exercise included real-time response activities such as weather forecasting, resource management and restoration planning, aimed at ensuring the company can respond safely and quickly when storms strike.

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