The Sooners are ready to tackle the 2026 season. 

At least Patty Gasso thinks so. 

No. 3 Oklahoma opens the season with a four-game swing through Arizona that will feature one contest against Arizona State and three bouts with No. 17 Arizona. 

Seven new Sooners, five freshmen and two transfers, will have an opportunity to make their OU debuts over the weekend, but Gasso’s team returns a majority of their production at the plate. 

Over 80 percent of Oklahoma’s hits, total bases, RBIs and home runs are back in 2026, and everyone is expected to take a step forward this season. 

“Our team is strong,” Gasso said last Saturday. “… It’s a game-changer. Again, the strength of this team and their swings—I would not want to be an OU pitcher having to face this lineup over and over, like daily. There’s just, what can you do? 

“The swings are good, and they’re powerful, and they’re smart. I think, again, our experience last year has really helped us learn about being better hitters.”

How to Watch OU Softball in Arizona

• Thursday vs. Arizona State: 7:15 p.m., ESPN+
• Friday vs. Arizona: 5 p.m., ESPN+
• Saturday vs. Arizona: 6 p.m., ESPN+
• Sunday vs. Arizona: 12 p.m., ESPN+

Oklahoma’s physical gains should be paired with mental strides. 

The Sooners relied on numerous players last year, either in their first year with the program after transferring in — Abby Dayton, Ailana Agbayani and Isabela Emerling — or who were playing college softball for the first time — Gabbie Garcia, Sydney Barker, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas, Audrey Lowry, Tia Milloy and Chaney Helton — as freshmen. 

Comfort brings more confidence, as does the addition of this year’s highly-rated freshman class. 

“I’m super excited coming into my sophomore year,” Garcia said. “We’ve got a great incoming freshman class, which I’m excited to experience and play along with. But I mean, how can I not be confident with the team I have behind me?”

Freshman Kendall Wells will likely make her debut behind the plate at some point during the weekend, as will outfielder Kai Minor. 

OU’s new-look pitching staff will be on full display as well. 

Kierston Deal returns alongside Lowry, but the Sooners added LSU transfer Sydney Berzon and Ole Miss transfer Miali Guachino, who both bring SEC experience. 

Freshmen pitchers Allyssa Parker and Berkley Zache also hope to make their regular-season debuts this weekend. 

Read More Oklahoma Softball

Regardless of who gets handed the ball, however, Oklahoma’s pitching staff is just thankful to take on batters other than their own teammates. 

“I’m super excited to see all of us as one staff,” Deal said. “Getting to face other people besides our team. We love our offense; they’re really good. We’re excited to face some new batters this weekend. I’m just super excited. 

“Everyone brings a little something different to the table. We’re able to feed off each other, talk through things, help each other. Be able to encourage each other as well. I’m really excited to see our staff come together this year.”

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — Legislation that would allow and later require certain public cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest nickel is moving forward at the Oklahoma Capitol.

House Bill 3075, the Oklahoma Common Cents Act, passed out of the House General Government Policy Committee and now heads to the Government Oversight Committee.

The bill authored by Representative Derrick Hildebrant would apply only to public-sector cash payments, or the cash portion of a payment, made to political subdivisions such as counties and municipalities. It would not affect private businesses and would not apply to checks, debit cards, credit cards, or other digital transactions.

“What this bill does is it addresses this problem in the public sector by providing clear statutory authority to all political subdivisions by rounding cash transactions using a standard mathematical rounding to the nearest nickel,” District 23 Representative Derrick Hildebrant said.

Under the bill, totals ending in one or two cents would be rounded down to zero. Totals ending in three or four cents would be rounded up to five cents. Amounts ending in six or seven cents would be rounded down to five cents, while totals ending in eight or nine cents would be rounded up to 10 cents.

Hildebrant said the bill was requested by one of his constituents, Rogers County Treasurer Jason Carini, who raised concerns about a growing shortage of pennies and the difficulty of providing exact change at public payment counters.

Rogers County analyzed the potential impact of rounding, reviewing cash transaction data from 2023, 2024, and 2025. The analysis showed that rounding would have a minimal financial impact overall.

In 2023, the county recorded 1,517 cash transactions, resulting in a net gain of $0.21 if rounding had been applied. In 2024, the county recorded 1,555 cash transactions with a net gain of $0.75. In 2025, 1,542 cash transactions would have resulted in a net gain of $0.86.

“5 percent of those transactions were cash and so in 2023 I think around 15-hundred cash transactions and the overage and underage ended up being a 22 cent overage, so less than a dollar,” Representative Hildebrant said.

Hildebrant emphasized that the bill includes statutory language outlining how political subdivisions may account for overages or shortages resulting from rounding.

“We’ve put in statute that any political subdivision of the state may account for over/underage payments from the funds under its control to determine the governing body of the political subdivision,” he said.

The Oklahoma Common Cents Act mirrors similar legislation being considered at the federal level. The federal Common Cents Act would direct the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury to stop minting pennies and require cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest five cents nationwide.

Hildebrant said House Bill 3075 does not eliminate the penny in Oklahoma but provides guidance for public entities if pennies move out of circulation.

“What it does is give statutory language to counties, and counties cannot operate without statutory language,” Hildebrant said. “If it’s signed into law by the governor, it would be effective in July.”

Under the bill, political subdivisions could choose to implement rounding from the effective date through July 1, 2027. Beginning July 1, 2027, rounding would become mandatory for applicable public cash transactions unless Congress directs otherwise.

Carini said Rogers County plans to notify residents of any changes through signage at the courthouse and at mobile payment sites in the community. Hildebrant said broader public communication would include press releases, signage at cash registers and coordination with media outlets to ensure consistency statewide.

The Oklahoma Municipal League has endorsed the bill, and Hildebrant said he has worked closely with the organization.

If HB3075 clears the Government Oversight Committee, it will move to the full House for consideration before heading to the Senate. If approved by both chambers, the bill would then be sent to the governor for final approval.

Since the passage of State Question 788 legalized medical marijuana, Oklahoma has seen dramatic increases in marijuana use. In its first two years, the state issued more than 178,000 medical marijuana patient licenses. Today, nearly one in eight Oklahomans, or 320,000, holds an active medical marijuana license.