Oklahoma Sooners news: Football adds 2024 PWO safety, 2026 four-star tight end commits, and more

Brent Venables has been locked into the 2025 recruiting class, hosting a group of nine high school recruits in Norman this weekend, but apparently, he wasn’t done building the 2024 class yet either. 

On Sunday, the Sooners added safety Devon Owen to the roster as a preferred walk-on, he announced on social media. The 6-foot-1 190-pound Texas native has been a Sooners fan his entire life and told Sooners Illustrated that even his great-grandfather went to OU. 

Owen had committed to Navy in high school but decommitted during his senior year, so he wasn’t sure where he’d play football. Owen was in Norman this past weekend for camp, working out at linebacker when Venables and the Oklahoma staff offered him a spot as PWO. 

The 2025 class is still far from complete, but while adding the final piece to the 2024 class and attempting to lockdown top 2025 recruits, Oklahoma has landed a 2026 commitment from Ryder Mix a four-star tight end from Frisco, Texas. 

He is ranked as a three-star by 247Sports, but On3 has him rated as a four-star and the latter considers him a top-10 tight end in the 2026 class. Mix was mulling offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Auburn, Florida State, and Oregon. 

Mix is the second player in the 2026 class to commit to the Sooners, joining four-star running back Jonathan Hatton Jr. 

Patty Gasso brought Kelly Maxwell to Norman from Stillwater through the transfer portal to win a national championship and that’s exactly what Maxwell did. Well, with Maxwell out of eligibility, Stanford pitcher NiJaree Canady who just entered the transfer portal could be the perfect replacement in the circle. 

Canady, a sophomore from Topeka, Kansas, went 24-7 with a 0.73 ERA in 41 games for the Cardinal, striking out 337 to just 44 walks. That, after posting a 0.53 ERA as a freshman. Canady was named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year for the second straight season. 

Oklahoma, and nearly every elite softball program in the country, will be after Canady, but the team with four consecutive national titles and a need in the circle is rightfully considered the favorite.