Oklahoma

OU Softball: Oklahoma Will Unveil Patty Gasso Statue Next Week

Published

1 year ago

September 5, 2024

OU Softball: Oklahoma Will Unveil Patty Gasso Statue Next Week

By OU Media Relations

NORMAN — The University of Oklahoma Athletics Department announced Wednesday it will dedicate a statue honoring head softball coach Patty Gasso, on Friday, Sept. 13. It will be the school’s first statue honoring a female coach or athlete.

The ceremony, which will be open to the public, will begin at 4 p.m. in front of Gate 1 at Love’s Field. The public viewing area will be standing room only immediately south of Gate 1, with a free livestream of the event available on SoonerSports.com. Public parking for the dedication is available in the Lloyd Noble Center lot.

Gasso, OU President Joseph Harroz Jr., OU Vice President and Athletics Director Joe Castiglione and an OU Softball alumna will speak at the ceremony. Following the event, photo opportunities at the statue will be available to fans.

The statue was created by master sculptor Brian Hanlon of Hanlon Sculpture Studio.

In her 31st season at Oklahoma, Gasso, who is an NFCA Hall of Fame member, has molded the OU softball program into a national power, elevated the sport on a global level and permanently placed herself among the elite coaches in the history of the game.

OU has won eight national championships under Gasso, is the only NCAA softball program to win four consecutive national titles and is just one of three programs in NCAA history to win more than two national championships. Gasso has reached the Women’s College World Series 17 times during her tenure and has advanced to the postseason every season (no tournament was held in 2020).

With 34 seasons as a head coach to her name, Gasso owns a 1,676-411-3 (.802) career collegiate coaching record and is 1,515-352-2 (.811) at OU. She is the winningest active coach in NCAA history by both total wins and winning percentage and ranks third all-time in both categories.

She closed her time in the Big 12 Conference as the winningest coach — men’s or women’s — in league history and has more than twice as many overall wins as any other coach in OU annals. The Sooners claimed 15 Big 12 regular season titles, including an unprecedented 11 straight from the 2012 season through 2023, and nine conference tournament championships under her direction. Gasso’s teams finished second or higher 24 times in the 28 years since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996.

Numerous Sooner players have prospered under Gasso’s tutelage and garnered national, regional and conference recognition. Most recently, Jocelyn Alo helped lead the Sooners to back-to-back titles en route to consecutive USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year awards in 2021 and 2022. Former OU pitcher Keilani Ricketts was also a two-time USA Softball Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013. Gasso has recruited and coached 79 All-Americans, 145 all-region honorees and 192 all-conference selections at OU.

In the Big 12 era, Sooners were named Big 12 Player of the Year a total of 16 times and Big 12 Pitcher of the Year nine times, while nine were selected as Big 12 Freshman of the Year and one as Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. In 2010, Amber Flores became the first player in league history to earn player-of-the-year honors twice. Shelby Pendley joined her in 2015 before Alo claimed the honor in consecutive seasons in 2021 and 2022.

OU’s softball success under Gasso is also evident in the classroom, where Sooners have been honored with 180 academic all-conference awards. Twenty-three of those went on to become Academic All-Americans, including former pitcher Lana Moran, the 2000 Academic All-American of the Year.

Gasso and her assistant coaches have consistently been recognized for their efforts on and off the field. The staff was awarded three consecutive Speedline/NFCA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year awards from 1999-2001 and received the national honor in 2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2023 and 2024. Gasso and her staff have claimed the regional honor in 15 of their 29 seasons, with the most recent award coming in 2023. In addition, Gasso was named Big 12 Coach of the Year 15 times.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma State outlasts UCF in overtime, Houston next

Published

5 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma State outlasts UCF in overtime, Houston next

ORLANDO, Fla. –

The Oklahoma State Cowboys men’s basketball bounced back in a big way Tuesday night.

Anthony Roy scored 27 points and Kanye Clary added 23, including seven in overtime, as Oklahoma State defeated the UCF Knights men’s basketball 111-104 in Orlando.

The Cowboys controlled the extra period, finishing overtime on an 11-4 run and outscoring UCF 17-10.

Clary played a major role in closing it out. He hit a key 3-pointer and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in overtime to help seal the win.

The victory moves Oklahoma State to 18-12 overall and 6-11 in the Big 12, and gives the Cowboys two wins in their last three games after snapping a five-game losing streak. UCF, now 20-9 (9-8 Big 12), has dropped two straight.

Roy and Clary led a balanced offensive effort. Jaylen Curry and Christian Coleman each added 16 points, while the Cowboys shot 49% from the field (35-of-72) and 80% from the free throw line (32-of-40).

Themus Fulks led UCF with 22 points, while Riley Kugel added 18.

Late-game drama forces overtime

The final seconds of regulation were chaotic.

With 24 seconds remaining, Isaiah Coleman threw down a dunk to give Oklahoma State a 94-91 lead.

But UCF answered quickly when Chris Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, tying the game at 94-94.

Oklahoma State had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Jaylen Curry missed a shot, and John Bol blocked Roy’s attempt, sending the game to overtime.

Cowboys respond after tough loss

The Cowboys showed resilience after Saturday’s lopsided loss to Cincinnati.

The team traveled directly to Orlando following that defeat and was pushed through two intense practices by head coach Steve Lutz and the coaching staff.

The response was clear.

Led by Roy’s scoring and Clary’s clutch overtime performance, Oklahoma State delivered a gritty win and swept the season series against UCF

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma City police are investigating after a man was shot near Yukon

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

YUKON, Okla. (KOKH) — Oklahoma City Police are investigating after a man was shot near Yukon Monday night.

The shooting happened near Northwest 10th Street and South Yukon Parkway near the border of Yukon and Oklahoma City.

Police are on the scene, and officials said the victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the hip.

OKCPD said they have at least one person in custody.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma lawmakers consider bill to require annual fee for transmission lines on private property

Published

2 days ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma lawmakers consider bill to require annual fee for transmission lines on private property

As consumer electricity needs grow, lawmakers are discussing strategies to ease the burden on landowners who don’t want the towers and wires carrying that energy on their property.

As it’s written now, the bill would require transmission owners to pay landowners $2 per foot of line annually. During the committee meeting, Murdock said he introduced the legislation to “start a conversation.”

“ This is an idea of, maybe moving forward, if the landowners are getting a royalty off of the power being pushed across their property, it may make it a little more palatable for someone to have a transmission line go across their property,” he said.

Landowners can enter into easement agreements with companies to set aside portions of their land for the builds. But in some cases, eminent domain is used to obtain a right-of-way.

“ I’m not saying that this is going to do away with eminent domain,” Murdock said. “What I’m hoping is this just makes it a little more palatable.”

Murdock said he spoke with utility companies about the legislation, though he didn’t name them. The bill’s language could change after creating an alternative rate based on conversations with the companies, he said.

Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, said the bill could raise utility rates for consumers living in Oklahoma’s most populous counties if companies charge more to make up for the annual fee.

Murdock pushed back, noting the lines are necessary to deliver electricity to other counties.

“You understand that you flip that light on because — and have that ability to have electricity because — the people in my district have a transmission line that goes across them, getting you that power,” he said.

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