Oklahoma
OU Softball: Projecting Oklahoma’s 2026 Starting Lineup
The transfer portal came to a close on Monday, and Patty Gasso’s coaching staff appears to be done with their summer business.
Oklahoma graduated three players after its season came to an end in the WCWS semifinals — first baseman Cydney Sanders and pitchers Sam Landry and Isabella Smith — meaning there will be plenty of familiar faces in the Love’s Field dugout next year.
The Sooners did lose four players to the transfer portal in outfielders Hannah Coor and Maya Bland, infielder Kadey Lee McKay and catcher Corri Hicks, though only Coor consistently factored into Gasso’s starting lineup in 2025.
After signing the top-rated class in the country a year ago, Gasso repeated that trick, and five talented freshmen are set to join the program in the fall.
Outfielder Kai Minor, who was rated as the best player in the entire recruiting class by Softball America, will join infielder Lexi McDaniel, catcher Kendall Wells and pitchers Allyssa Parker and Berkley Zache at Oklahoma next season.
Pitcher Sophia Bordi, who redshirted last season but did not finish the year with the program, appears set to return to Norman and Gasso added a transfer pitcher in former LSU star Sydney Berzon.
OU’s string of four-straight titles may have ended in 2025, but the Sooners are primed to again be in the hunt for a national title in 2026.
Two of the three spots in the OU outfield are straightforward to project.
Kasidi Pickering, who started 61 games in 2025 and finished second on the team with a .392 batting average and 18 home runs, will hold down a spot.
She’ll be flanked by Abigale Dayton, who also started 61 games, and hit .325 with three home runs, eight doubles, a triple and 19 RBIs.
The last spot could be up for grabs well into the season.
By the time the SEC Tournament rolled around, freshman Sydney Barker was Gasso’s choice to get her bat into the lineup.
At a minimum, Barker will be available to feature heavily in right fight.
If Barker is able to replace Sanders at first base, however, that could open things up for Minor and potentially Tia Milloy to work themselves into the lineup in the outfield.
Milloy appeared in 50 games as a freshman, though she only started 11, and she hit .259 with five home runs and a double in 54 at-bats.
Superstar Ella Parker is also back for her junior year, and while she primarily serves as OU’s designated player, she can also deputize in the outfield if needed.
Much like the outfield, there should be only one spot up for grabs in Gasso’s infield.
Nelly McEnroe-Marinas cemented herself as a reliable third baseman as a redshirt freshman, and the middle infield duo of Gabbie Garcia at shortstop and Ailana Agbayani at second was one of OU’s many strengths by the end of the year.
That leaves the major battle at first, where Barker played a handful of times in relief of Sanders a year ago.
McDaniel, the true freshman, could be given an opportunity during the fall to try and battle at the position, as could any other bat that Gasso might try to work into the lineup.
In all likelihood, it feels like a spot for Barker to call home after a strong close to her freshman campaign in Norman.
Associate head coach and pitching coach Jennifer Rocha has slowly adopted a staff approach over the past decade, but 2026 could be her largest rotation to date.
Berzon’s arrival gives the Sooners an ace to replace Landry, and she’s already proven to be effective in the SEC.
She’s earned NFCA All-American honors twice before, and the change of scenery to work with Rocha has benefitted plenty of veteran transfers before.
Kierston Deal, Paytn Monticelli and Audrey Lowery all return from the 2025 rotation as well, which gives the Sooners plenty of experience both as starting pitchers and out of the bullpen.
Before Bordi reclassified, she was rated as the top pitcher in the 2025 class per Softball America.
With her officially moving into the 2024 class, Parker took over the top spot and Zache signed as the No. 5-ranked pitcher.
Berzon will lead the way, but Rocha has more viable options than ever before to piece together game plans all year.
Behind the plate, Isabela Emerling returns a wealth of experience at catcher that she can pass on to Wells, who is the top-rated catcher in the country.
Emerling played in 58 games, making 56 starts, and Wells should have more opportunities to work her way into the lineup early in 2026 unlike Hicks, who dealt with injuries during fall ball a year ago.
Oklahoma didn’t have to do much work in the transfer portal, unlike Texas Tech, due to the talent retained and Gasso signing another group of freshmen with sky-high expectations.
But the lack of noise in the portal won’t hamper the Sooners’ efforts to be in the hunt for another WCWS crown next June.
Putnam City West High School will shift to virtual learning on Tuesday after an incident involving two students prompted an investigation by the district and Oklahoma City police, according to Putnam City Schools.
District officials said administrators were alerted near the end of the school day Monday to an altercation involving two students in the school’s arena area.
Officials said the students left campus, and the case was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for investigation.
District officials said no students or staff were harmed and there is no ongoing safety threat related to the incident.
What we know
Putnam City West sent the following email to all families and staff at the school:
All PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st.
Today, an isolated serious incident involving two students occurred on school grounds. Near the end of the school day, administrators were alerted to an altercation between two students in the arena area. The individuals involved quickly left campus, prompting an initial fact-finding response by school administrators before the matter was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for further investigation. Because this is an active investigation involving students, no further information will be released at this time.
We understand this information may be concerning to students, staff, and families. Please know we are committed to maintaining a safe, secure, and positive learning environment for all students. At Putnam City Schools, student and staff safety remains our highest priority. Therefore, out of an abundance of caution and to allow for a thorough investigation, all PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st. Students will need to check Google Classroom for updates from teachers.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support of PC West.
Putnam City Schools
All students and staff at Putnam City West will transition to virtual learning on Tuesday, April 21, while investigators continue their work, according to the district.
Students were told to check Google Classroom for instructions from teachers.
The district said it is withholding additional details because the case involves students and remains under investigation.
School officials have not said what triggered the incident or whether any arrests have been made.
This is a developing story. Updates will be added as more information becomes available.
TULSA, OKLA (KTUL) — A new program in Oklahoma is giving adults another way to finish high school by allowing them to use past credits and test scores to earn a diploma, an option officials say could help thousands of people and strengthen the state’s workforce.
For years, adults in Oklahoma who did not finish high school largely had one main option: earning a GED. Now, Oklahoma CareerTech is rolling out the Career Readiness Diploma, a pathway designed to build on what students have already completed rather than requiring them to start over.
“So in Oklahoma right now, if you look at the demographics, we have about 279,000 people in our state without a high school diploma. So it’s almost 10% of our population doesn’t have a high school diploma,” said Lance Allee, an adult education and family literacy specialist with Oklahoma CareerTech.
Allee said the program allows adults to apply previously earned high school credit and combine different assessment scores into a single record to qualify for a diploma.
“It allows the student to use previously earned high school credit. So, it’s kind of like a portfolio where you can take multiple assessment scores and put them into one portfolio to get your high school diploma,” Allee said.
The program is open to adults 21 and older. In some cases, officials said, participants can finish in just weeks, depending on how many credits they already have.
CareerTech officials say the program is also aimed at improving job prospects for individuals while helping Oklahoma remain competitive when attracting employers.
“When you’re a company and you’re looking at moving into Oklahoma, you look at the demographics and say, is there a workforce there that we can employ? And you say, well, about 10% of the population doesn’t have a diploma, they may start looking at states that surround us. So, we definitely want to get as many diplomas out there as we can,” Allee said.
The program started issuing diplomas in recent weeks, and officials said dozens more people are already in the process. For more information or to sign up click here.
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NORMAN — Cord Rager’s return comes at a pivotal time for Skip Johnson’s Oklahoma Sooners. Not only do they get their day three starter back in time for big road matchups against Auburn and Arkansas on the horizon, but the Sooners pitching strength, their rotational depth, is primed and ready for the test.
The freshman lefty finished with eight strikeouts and only gave up one hit in only 65 pitches before his day ended in the sixth.
No. 14 Oklahoma earn its first conference sweep of the season, defeating Missouri 8-4. It was OU’s fourth conference series win.
Oklahoma (27-12, 10-8) put their best foot forward as they turn the page to the meat of their schedule where they will do battle against No. 13, No. 20 and No. 16 over the next three weeks — two of those series’ on the road.
Four runs in five hits in the second got things rolling for the Sooners.
Camden Johnson continued his brilliant play of late with a triple in the second. This came after a Brenden Brock solo home run to put OU up 1-0. Deiten LaChance grounded out to short but scored Johnson. Dasan Harris and and Nolan Stevens each found home before the inning ended.
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OU found fortune from the plate again in the fourth. Four runs off of four hits highlighted by a three-run home run by Johnson put Oklahoma up 8-0. It was Johnson’s seventh home run of the season, second on the team behind Brock’s nine.
Trent Collier got the nod in the sixth to relieve Rager.
In the seventh, Missouri finally got on the board for the first time since the ninth inning of Friday night’s Sooner victory. Cam Durnin hit a solo shot — his fourht of the season — to make the score 8-1 in favor of the home team.
The Tigers got their third hit of the game shortly after. From there, Collier’s short day was done. Gavyn Jones came on to relieve
LaChance missed a home run by inches when Tiger center fielder Kaden Peer made a leaping catch, jumping into the fence.
In the eighth, the Tigers continued to chip away. With bases loaded, Blaze Ward hit a basehit to score two Missouri base runners. OU led 8-3 heading into the final inning.
Harris led the Sooners with three hits. His day was accented by an RBI, stolen base and a run.
Oklahoma will travel to Auburn to take on the No. 13 Tigers for a three game series starting on Friday. Before that, they will host Oral Roberts for a midweek game at Kimrey Family Stadium in Norman. The Sooners won 4-0 against ORU earlier this season.
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