Oklahoma

OU Softball: Oklahoma Building on New Identity in Today’s Season Debut

Published

1 year ago

February 6, 2025

OU Softball: Oklahoma Building on New Identity in Today’s Season Debut

Finally, the softball season is here.

Patty Gasso’s No. 3-ranked Sooners begin the process of officially breaking in a host of new faces in live action on Thursday with a pair of games in California.

Up first, Oklahoma takes on Cal State Northridge and San Diego State, which serves as the debut for a team that she has continually said will have a new feel this season.

OU will still hit home runs, but the Sooners are expected to be more athletic on the basepaths, putting pressure on opposing pitchers and defenses by swiping extra bags and simply putting the ball in play.

Putting on an Oklahoma uniform for the first time can be daunting for transfers and freshmen alike, but Gasso hopes to just get everyone acclimated and focused on taking the game on play at a time this weekend.

“If you could imagine coming in as a freshman and saying, ‘Oh my gosh, this team has won four national championships, so what is my job? To win them a fifth.’ That’s not what we’re asking for, but it’s just a common feel for them,” Gasso said. “And if we can just get them to settle in and not worry about the outcomes but really about the process of learning and together and those kinds of tough situations, fighting through them, you’ll start to see us rise.

“And I’m really excited for you all to watch what this might look like, because I’m very excited to see it.”

After the two-game set in San Diego, Gasso takes the team to Fullerton on Friday for a pair of games before closing the weekend in Los Angeles.

The slate is not only designed to challenge the team on the field, but to force the team to play through the kind of physical toll that a deep postseason run will take.

All the travel will serve as a good chance for the team to bond, as it’s the first real time Gasso has taken her new group in the road.

“We have a lot of bus rides this first weekend. And bus rides are where you connect,” Gasso said. “If you’ve ever been on a team, if your bus is quiet, then you got a problem. If your bus is rocking, then good things are going on. If there’s a lot of laughter.

“… But as long as there is energy and fun at times, you know they are connecting. What is important is that individuals don’t show their frustration because maybe they’re not getting what they want or they’re not in the lineup as much. They — I still need to see and feel good teammates. Good, like, for the team versus for self. And not everybody’s going to get probably what they want. But that’s part of being a team. And that’s where the captains step in and recognize those things.”

Gasso will undoubtedly tinker with her lineup throughout the non-conference slate, but the opening six games gives the newly minted Team USA coach ample time to mix and match her new pieces all over the field.

“I definitely feel I’m gonna be doing that,” Gasso said. “I think we have a good opportunity to bring in, like a second crew, to come in, maybe defensively in the outfield or defensively in the infield.

“… So there’s lots of opportunity. I just really want to give everybody a feel for what this feels like. We’re going to take in every game. We’re going to really break it down, understand it. … The early preseason is going to be probably the most important part of our season. Because if we aren’t ready going into the SEC, it’s too late to try to get ready.”

Those preparations will start against Cal State Northridge at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, and the night’s second contest against San Diego State is scheduled to start at 8 p.m.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026

Published

5 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026

Big night in downtown OKC as the Oklahoma City Thunder welcome the Denver Nugget and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is back on the floor.

Steve McGehee reports live from Paycom Center with the latest on SGA’s return after missing nine games, the Thunder’s push to hold the top spot in the Western Conference, and what getting healthy means for OKC’s title hopes.

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Oklahoma

How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason

Published

17 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason

Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy experienced great success during his first year in Norman.

Nagy, who joined OU’s staff in February 2025, oversaw the Sooners’ scouting staff as Oklahoma reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. He also helped OU sign a top-15 2026 recruiting class and land several key transfer portal players after the 2025 season.

Though the wins outweighed the losses in Nagy’s first year, the Sooners’ general manager knew that there was much to fortify during the offseason.

Oklahoma’s offense sputtered late in the season, as the Sooners scored fewer than 25 points in each of their last four games.

For Nagy, a major focus was surrounding OU quarterback John Mateer with quality talent.

“(We wanted to) just really put more around John Mateer,” Nagy said on The Dari Nowkhah Show on KREF on Friday.

Nagy and his scouting team added plenty of pieces from the portal that should elevate Oklahoma’s offense.

The Sooners signed three portal wideouts — Trell Harris (Virginia), Parker Livingstone (Texas) and Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State) — after the 2025 season to join returning receivers Isaiah Sategna, Jer’Michael Carter and Jacob Jordan.

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Sategna, who transferred to OU from Arkansas after the 2024 season, served as Mateer’s safety net in 2025. The receiver finished the year with 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 catches.

Harris and Livingstone are both proven producers at the Power Four level, and Nagy believes that those two will make OU’s receiving corps stronger in 2026.

“Those two, we’re very excited about both of those guys,” Nagy said.

Nagy also did plenty of work to ensure that OU’s run game improves in 2026.

The Sooners added three tight ends — Hayden Hansen (Florida), Rocky Beers (Colorado State) and Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee) — from the portal. They also added three transfer offensive linemen: Caleb Nitta (Western Kentucky), E’Marion Harris (Arkansas) and Peyton Joseph (Georgia Tech).

OU will have its two top running backs from the 2025 squad, Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock, back in 2026.

For those two to reach their full potential, the Sooners’ blockers will have to regularly open up running lanes — and Nagy is confident that they will.

“We have to run the ball better, there’s no way around that,” Nagy said. “Our job is to create more competition in every room in the offseason. I feel like we’ve done that.”

On the show, Nagy revealed that the Sooners added nearly 9,000 collegiate snaps to their roster during the offseason.

The general manager believes that both sides of the ball will be stronger as a result of his scouting team’s offseason efforts and their collaboration with OU’s coaching staff.

“I’ve tried to be really intentional with our communication,” Nagy said. “There’s a common goal: We’re trying to win a national championship. This is a true partnership, and we all have the same goal in mind. It’s going to continue to evolve and get better.”

Oklahoma will open its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 5.

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Oklahoma

Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion

The loss was on Ritson Meyer’s mind all week as he prepared for his final state wrestling tournament.

A senior 215-pounder at Elgin, Meyer isn’t used to getting beaten, but he got a wake-up call when he lost against Coweta senior Aiven Robbins by five points in their regional championship match.

For Meyer, it set in that winning his fourth state championship wouldn’t be an easy task.

“I lost to him last week and I’m not a loser, so it was eating on me all week in practice,” Meyer said. “So (in) practice, I really leveled up everything. Everything about it.”

Meyer and Robbins met again on Saturday, this time with the Class 5A state championship on the line.

Intensely focused from the start, Meyer came out aggressive. And although it was another great match, Meyer did just enough to etch his name in the state history books.

Meyer held on to beat Robbins in an 8-7 decision in the new OG&E Coliseum as he claimed his fourth state championship, while Coweta won the team title.

An Abilene Christian football signee, Meyer’s wrestling days are over, but he leaves the sport with satisfaction.

“I came out here — even though it hurt, even though I was tired — I got it done,” Meyer said. “I’m so happy. I got to celebrate with my parents, my family, my friends. It’s a crazy feeling.”

A standout running back and linebacker on the gridiron, Meyer helped his team win the Class 4A state title in football as a junior before Elgin lost to Tuttle 23-20 in the 2025 championship game in December.

It’s a different sport, but that loss fueled Meyer’s wrestling season in a way.

“I like to tell people that wrestling is like offseason football,” Meyer said. “I can’t go out, lose. Everybody wanted me to win this. I won it for the whole entire community. First four-timer at Elgin. And that football (loss) really did eat me alive. It didn’t feel good at all, and I didn’t want that same feeling again.”

Meyer had a great start against Robbins on Saturday and never trailed, but Robbins battled to set up a great finish and both were gassed when it was over.

“I just gave it my all,” Meyer said, “and I got it done.”

This article will be updated.

Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at@nicksardis. Sign up forThe Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

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