Five Oklahoma Sooners are in the running for college softball’s top individual honor. 

Tiare Jennings, Jayda Coleman, Alyssa Brito, Kinzie Hansen and Kelly Maxwell all made the cut as top 26 finalists for the 2024 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award, USA Softball announced on Wednesday. 

Oklahoma’s five selections leads all teams, with Tennessee also adding three selections. Duke, Florida and Miami (OH) were the other three schools who also earned multiple selections. 

Jennings is the only OU player to start all 49 games this year, and she paces the Sooners with 18 home runs, 55 RBIs and 12 doubles. She’s batting .386 in 2024, and has drawn 28 walks while striking out just nine times. Jennings made the top 10 a year ago alongside Coleman. 

Coleman, the 2023 Big 12 Player of the Year, is batting .488 entering the final weekend of the regular season with a slugging percentage of .722 and a 1.266 OPS. She driven in 77 runs and hammered 11 long balls to pair with her always show-stopping defense in center field. 

Hansen leads OU with a .441 batting average and has been nothing short of sensational since returning to the lineup. She boasts a .488 on-base percentage, belting eight home runs, six doubles and 27 RBIs. 

Brito was again a steady hand for the Sooners at third base and an explosive bat in the lineup. She’s hit 18 home runs, four triples, three doubles and driven in 50 runs. Brito is batting .417 on the year and has a 1.369 OPS entering Bedlam.

In the circle, Maxwell has dazzled as Oklahoma’s ace. Appearing in 24 games, Maxwell has a 1.66 ERA is 16-1 on the year. She’s thrown seven complete games and four shutouts, striking out 107 batters while allowing 34 walks and holding opposing hitters to a .170 batting average in 2024. 

The list of 26 will be cut down to 10 on May 15, and the top three finalists will be announced on May 20. Finally, the 2024 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed in the build up to the Women’s College World Series. 

A Sooner has taken home the award four times. Jocelyn Alo won the award in both 2021 and 2022, and Keilani Ricketts won in both 2012 and 2013.

Oklahoma is notorious for unpredictable, unseasonable weather. In late March, snowfall surprised the metro, and spring temperatures have ranged from the upper-80s to low-40s.

On average, annual precipitation in the state ranges from about 17 inches in the far western panhandle to about 56 inches in the far southeast, according to the Oklahoma Climatological Survey.

Here’s everything you should know about rainfall in the Sooner State.

Which day has the highest rainfall in Oklahoma?

According to the climatological survey, the greatest annual precipitation recorded in the state was 84.47 inches at Kiamichi Tower in the southeast in 1957.

In a 24-hour period, the greatest official rainfall was 15.68 inches in Enid on October 11, 1973.

When does Oklahoma receive the most rain?

Oklahoma gets most of its precipitation during the nighttime hours, according to the climatological survey, but the greatest rainfall intensities occur during late afternoon.

In the winter, precipitation is widespread and stratiform, meaning they’re continuous and uniform in intensity, and rainfall is the dominant precipitation type for all but the Oklahoma Panhandle, according to the survey.

In the summer, precipitation is mostly convective, occurring when warm, moist air rises in the atmosphere, and produced by individual thunderstorms.

Spring and autumn see convective and stratiform precipitation, according to the survey, and most of the precipitation during these transition seasons is associated with systems of severe thunderstorms.

Oklahoma Mesonet rainfall totals

The Mesonet is a joint project between the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University under the Oklahoma Climatological Survey.

Find daily rainfall totals using this Oklahoma Mesonet rainfall map.

By OU Media Relations

TULSA — No. 22 Oklahoma dropped a midweek contest to Oral Roberts, 3-1, Tuesday night in Tulsa.

A pitcher’s duel to start between Sooner starting LHP James Hitt and ORU starter RHP Joshua Caravalho led to three and a half scoreless innings to start the contest. 

After Hitt surrendered just one hit through three, the Golden Eagles (17-26-1) broke through in the fourth with two runs on three hits. After consecutive singles to start the frame, an RBI single and sacrifice bunt put the first runs on the board. 

The Sooners (26-17, 15-6 Big 12) went quietly again at the top of the fifth before ORU added one via RBI double in the home half to make it 3-0 after five. 

Oklahoma pushed one run across at the top of the sixth. After consecutive singles from freshman Jason Walk and junior John Spikerman to start the inning, an RBI groundout from sophomore Easton Carmichael scored Walk for OU’s only run of the night. 

A scoreless final three innings brought the final to 3-1, Oral Roberts. OU’s three hits tied its lowest total on the year with last Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Wichita State. 

Hitt (L, 2-5) took the loss in an otherwise solid showing, going four innings and surrendering two runs on four hits with one walk and a pair of strikeouts. Grant Stevens (1.0 IP), Carter Campbell (1.2) and Dylan Crooks (1.1) saw action out of the pen with Stevens striking out one. 

At the plate, Spikerman, Walk and senior Anthony Mackenzie recorded OU’s three hits on the night, while Carmichael brought in OU’s run. Senior Bryce Madron drew a pair of walks. 

OU returns to Big 12 conference play this weekend, May 3-5, in Lubbock vs. Texas Tech (29-17, 12-12). The three-game series begins Friday with a 6:30 p.m. CT first pitch. The series can be seen via Big 12 NOW on ESPN+.