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Bauer Sharp and Jake Roberts’ Presence in Oklahoma’s Locker Room ‘a Refreshing Thing,’ Says Brent Venables

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Bauer Sharp and Jake Roberts’ Presence in Oklahoma’s Locker Room ‘a Refreshing Thing,’ Says Brent Venables


NORMAN — To the casual fan, Bauer Sharp and Jake Roberts are a pair of transfer tight ends looking to make an impact in their first year at Oklahoma. To Brent Venables, they’ve already made a tremendous impact in the Sooners’ locker room.

“They [Sharp and Roberts] love to compete,” Venables said last week. “They’re skilled. They know how to play tight end. They like blocking. They know how to get open. When the ball’s thrown to them they catch it. … They love their teammates. Those two guys have brought a spirit to that, really to the whole offense. Other guys are a part of that too, but those are guys that, they just love it.”

Their talents, and that of others in the position group, have already been utilized in the passing game under offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, who coached tight ends at North Texas, North Carolina and Indiana.

“I love where just the tight end in today’s world is going,” Sharp said. “I feel like in the past, it’s been just a big, heavy guy, you know what I’m saying, but I trust whatever our team has planned for me in the future for these games, we’ll get it done for our team for sure.”

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Sharp, a team captain in his first game as a Sooner in last Friday night’s 51-3 win over Temple, was an accomplished pass catcher at Southeastern Louisiana University after making the switch from quarterback in spring of 2022. In his first game in a Sooners uniform, Sharp caught five passes for 47 yards and the season’s first touchdown, a 14-yard connection via Jackson Arnold to complete OU’s first possession as an SEC club.

“Bauer Sharp … he’s been phenomenal. Just a natural leader, done an outstanding job,” Venables said.

Roberts, a Norman North High School alum, didn’t hold an offer from his hometown team as a high school senior in 2020. He signed to play at North Texas (where he played under Littrell) and quickly became a rotation player and eventually a full-time starter. He transferred to Baylor in 2023 and made three starts before transferring to play his fifth year in Norman.

The pair was brought on by tight ends coach and co-offensive coordinator Joe Jon Finley to replenish a depleted position group that graduated Brayden Willis and Austin Stogner in back-to-back seasons. Venables was immediately impressed by the tandem’s work ethic.

“They love to practice. They show up in the building,” Venables said. “They’ve got a really positive attitude that is infectious and contagious. … If you work in an office building, if you work in a locker room, nobody wants to deal with people that are funky, you know, they’ve got a funk to them when they show it. … And those guys are the opposite of funky and they like all of it. When the day’s over, they’re not grabbing their stuff and running out of the building as fast as they can. They really have a locker room that’s like that.”

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Sharp is a captain for a reason. His and Roberts’ energy has become infectious. Roberts didn’t have any receptions on Friday night against Temple, but quarterback Jackson Arnold did target him in the first quarter, launching a pass that sailed over Roberts’ head.

Sharp, meanwhile, delivered a steady intermediate target for Arnold who could conceivably, if things break right, be among the team’s leaders in catches and receiving yards this year. He ended his OU debut with five catches (one behind Deion Burks for team high) and 47 yards (tying Jalil Farooq to lead the team) and scored a first-quarter touchdown. Arnold targeted him six times, and the subtle adjustment he made on his route to separate and catch the touchdown shows an innate knowledge of the game.

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Transfer Talk: What Oklahoma is Getting in TE Bauer Sharp
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Returning to Oklahoma Was a Homecoming for TE Jake Roberts
Transfer Talk: What Oklahoma is Getting in TE Jake Roberts
Oklahoma Adds Local TE Out of Transfer Portal

“I thought our tight ends played well, Jake and Bauer and Kade McIntyre, Kaden Helms got in,” Venables said after the game on Friday, “so that was really good to see as well.”

Well beyond their one-game performance, Venables has been sold on the presence of Roberts and Sharp since their arrival last January.

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“They’ve made that group a lot better,” Venables said. “They’ve made Kade McIntyre better. They’ve made Kaden Helms better. Those were young guys that, you know, hadn’t been necessarily exposed to that,” Venables said. “Brayden Willis was a lot like that. Austin [Stogner], Austin was a lot like that last year. … That whole group has transformed. And those two guys, they have a genuine deep, deep, genuine appreciation for their coaches, for the resources, for their teammates, for their opportunity to be able to wear an Oklahoma jersey. They’re like, ‘I can’t believe it.’ It’s like a dream to them. And so that’s refreshing. That’s a really refreshing thing.”



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State Sen. Casey Murdock files new sports betting bill, urges action to keep money in Oklahoma

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State Sen. Casey Murdock files new sports betting bill, urges action to keep money in Oklahoma


State lawmakers have filed several bills to bring sports betting to Oklahoma. Despite having 143 casinos, Oklahoma is one of just 12 states without legalized sports betting.

Voters in Missouri approved sports betting in the November election. That means Texas is now the only state surrounding Oklahoma without legalized sports wagering.

Oklahoma lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed interest, but disagreements between Gov. Kevin Stitt’s office and tribes have delayed progress.

Republican state Sen. Casey Murdock has filed Senate Bill 164 to legalize sports betting. It’s similar to a bill he filed in past years, endorsed by the governor, that would offer both mobile and in-person betting.

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Murdock says Oklahomans have overwhelmingly told him they want sports betting, and he says money leaves the state every day.

“I went to a conference last summer on sports betting, and a company that does the geo-fencing was explaining how all that works. And they showed me the map of Oklahoma and people on I-35 headed to Kansas trying to place bets. Every time they placed bets while still in Oklahoma, it’d pop up red. So you saw all these red dots going up I-35, and as soon as they got into Kansas, you saw massive amounts of green dots,” said Murdock.

Lawmakers, though, say no progress will be possible until the tribes—who have casino exclusivity—and the governor, who would sign any bill, come together for talks.

The Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association has said in the past it is open to conversations but wants to protect its exclusivity.

Meanwhile, some industry experts have suggested tribes may wait for a new governor to take office in 2027 before having conversations. However, those talks could move faster if Texas were to legalize sports betting before the end of Stitt’s term.

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Sen. Dave Rader of Tulsa has also filed a sports betting bill this year and tells us he’s hopeful but not all that optimistic about it passing.

The legislative session starts in two weeks.





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Brooklyn Nets Head Coach Jordi Fernández Reflects on Oklahoma City Thunder’s Rebuild

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Brooklyn Nets Head Coach Jordi Fernández Reflects on Oklahoma City Thunder’s Rebuild


Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernández spoke about the Oklahoma City Thunder’s successful rebuild following his team’s Sunday night loss to the latter, and what he is looking for from the Nets as they begin their own process.

“From the outside looking in, you can see that they’re a group that they believe in what they do, and they trust what they do,” Fernández said. “And this is because, along a period of time, even [if] the things go one way or the other, and there is adversity, there’s no second-guessing and there’s just the willingness to work and get better and compete.”

The Nets wrapped up their west coast road trip, a six-game stretch, with a defeat to the Thunder. The contest got off to a rough start when Oklahoma City outscored Brooklyn 39-19 in the first quarter. Fernández’s squad competed, but the game always looked too far gone.

“That’s what I want to see from our growth: resiliency and fight, and doing things the right way. Having right intentions on both ends,” the Nets head coach said post-game. “We have to build that mentality, character and obviously, the Xs and Os, and understanding how we do certain things.” 

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Cam Johnson and Tyrese Martin led the team in scoring with 15 points each. Nic Claxton added 11. For Oklahoma City, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a 27-point, 10-assist double-double. Isaiah Joe finished with 24 points on eight made three-pointers. Aaron Wiggins, Ousmane Dieng and Jaylin Williams also scored in the double figures.

Fernández reflected on the away stretch: “You learn from every situation, right? Played Denver and we played against a very special player (Nikola Jokic). Then we go into Utah and there’s late game situations on offense and defense and we made mistakes and we learned from it. Then we respond in Portland. Then we have a really tough one against the Clippers, which it’s where you don’t want to point fingers. You want to stay together and support each other. And we go to the Lakers, played against the all-time… one of the best players in the world… and, you know, we responded again. And now we come here. We fight.” 

The Nets are now 14-29, and have only won two of their last ten games. Brooklyn’s only west coast win was against the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 14. The Thunder, on the other hand, are first in the Western Conference but it wasn’t long ago that they were in the Nets’ current shoes.

“They do a great job and we have to focus on our own process — and that’s a good thing,” Fernández said. “Sustaining success takes the understanding [of] how things go, and when there’s adversity, is when it’s most important. And that’s right there when our guys have been very good, working hard to just [be] successful along the process … and we just started at this point, and we know we will be very good soon enough.” 

Next, the Nets host the New York Knicks at Barclays Center on Tuesday at 7:30 PM ET. The team begins a four-game home stretch facing the Knicks, Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings.

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Fresh Faces: Oklahoma’s Kadey Lee McKay is Making Dreams Come True by Representing the Sooner State

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Fresh Faces: Oklahoma’s Kadey Lee McKay is Making Dreams Come True by Representing the Sooner State


Leading into the 2025 softball season, Sooners on SI is profiling Patty Gasso’s nine talented freshmen who are set to help OU in the program’s first trek through the Southeastern Conference. 

NORMAN — Plenty of youth softball players across the Sooner State grow up dreaming of playing at Oklahoma. 

In under a month, Kadey Lee McKay will turn those dreams into reality. 

The Caddo, OK, product is one of Patty Gasso’s nine talented freshmen who will take the field for the Sooners this fall, something that’s been al lifetime in the making. 

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“It’s been a dream of mine since I was tiny to come here and play softball,” McKay said last November. “It’s just dreams turning into reality for me and I just couldn’t be more blessed then getting this opportunity to even come out here to play.”

McKay was a central figure for the last four years for Caddo’s powerhouse, but with coaching running in her family, she knew pretty early on that she was going to have a shot to play big time college softball. 

“I was probably 13-14 years old when me and my dad and my mom kind of realized — I felt a little more experienced, played a little bit more experienced than everyone I was playing with,” McKay said. “Then that was when we realized, ‘Hey, she might be something.’ I didn’t even play 16U travel ball. I straight up went from 14 to 18, so I was 14 playing with 18-19 year olds. That was probably one of the best things I could’ve done because that made me even more experienced and I learned so many more things playing with such older girls from my age.”

McKay quickly developed a great eye at the plate as a lefty. She flashed great bat control during Oklahoma’s scrimmages this fall, guiding the ball into gaps to get runners moving. 

She’s also a reliable glove in the infield, another quality which drew Gasso to McKay. 

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“She’s a gamer and she’s a power hitter,” Gasso said when McKay signed with the Sooners. “I’ve seen her thrive in the clutch moments; she’s not afraid of the big spotlights. You can feel her presence as a team leader, but she’s also the daughter of a coach and you can see those coaching qualities in the way she plays and thinks the game. 

“I’m really excited about her future here. She may have flown under the radar on the recruiting stage, but I think she is a future All-American.”

Though McKay knew she could play at a high level early, it didn’t take any of the surprise off the first time she got a call from Gasso to potently play in Norman. 

“(It was) kind of mind blowing for me, really,” McKay said. “I was like, ‘Is this really happening?’ It was kind of insane. I just knew from the start this is where I really wanted to play. I just continued to work towards that stuff and then realizing she was actually looking at me made me kind of work harder because this is everything I really wanted. It happened, so I’m here.”

Kadey Lee McKay was a key piece of Caddo's softball dominance, as she helped bring home three fastpitch state titles.

Kadey Lee McKay was a key piece of Caddo’s softball dominance, as she helped bring home three fastpitch state titles. / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Signing with the Sooners will just be the start for McKay, however. 

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Fresh off winning a fourth-straight national title, the program is in a year of massive transition. 

Gasso saw 10 players who were more titan than senior graduate last year, which is part of the reason she has such a large freshman class. 

She’s added more newcomers in the form of five transfers to pair with holdovers like Ella Parker, Kasidi Pickering, Cydney Sanders and Kierston Deal among others. 

There will be plenty of opportunities to get into the lineup for all of Oklahoma’s new faces, and as they learn each other they’ll learn a new league as Gasso takes the program through the SEC for the first time. 

McKay, like everyone else, worked on the entirety of her game this fall, but the biggest challenge may have been getting up to speed with associate head coach and hitting coach JT Gasso

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While McKay said she loved working with Oklahoma’s hitting guru, she admitted it was much different than the work she was doing at Caddo that yielded fantastic results. 

“The information that he gathers for us is insane,” she said. “I never would’ve thought of some of the stuff that he shows us and everything like that… A lot of technology that he uses. It’s very different for me because like she said, I never had a hitting coach or anything like that. Very different, but it’s really interesting to see how everything works.”

“… He’s a fun guy. I love him. He really expects a lot out of you. I think it just pushes us more and more every day in the cages and stuff. I’m really thankful having him by our side, especially on the hitting part of stuff.”

Oklahoma’s entire team will have to deal with the pressure of being a completely new group that carries the pressure of the four championship-winning teams that came before them. 

And while Gasso has told the team to just be themselves, McKay will bring an extra chip on her shoulder to work at Love’s Field every day. 

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Representing Caddo and her home state means a great deal to McKay, and it’s something she hopes she can do with pride and passion over the next four years. 

“It’s crazy,” McKay said. “I’ll tell you, every time we had a fall ball game, I couldn’t tell you how many people came and watched. It’s funny, before we even started coach Gasso told me, ‘Your whole town is gonna be here watching you every chance they get.’ I said, ‘They sure are.’ 

“Just trying to make them proud, for sure.”



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