Scouting the Oklahoma Sooners ahead of UNC matchup

What you need to know about Oklahoma ahead of the College World Series

North Carolina will face a dangerous Oklahoma team that is on a roll.

Oklahoma (41-22) has been just as dominant. The Sooners, making their 13th College World Series appearance and first since 2022, surged through the postseason as road warriors. They won the Atlanta Regional by upsetting No. 2 seed and ACC champion Georgia Tech in the final, then swept Big 12 champion and No. 15 seed Kansas by a combined score of 21-3 in the Lawrence Regional.

The Sooners, who are 3-0 in Omaha after beating No. 7 seed Alabama and knocking off No. 3 seed and SEC champion Georgia twice, are seeking their third national championship. Oklahoma won titles in 1951 and 1994 and finished as runner-up to Ole Miss in 2022.

Here are a few things to know about Oklahoma:

Best player: Catcher Deiten LaChance

LaChance is Oklahoma’s most powerful hitter. He is batting .333 with 12 doubles, two triples and team highs of 16 home runs and 65 RBIs.

Throughout the postseason, he is hitting .326 with four home runs and 15 RBIs. In Omaha, he is 5-for-14 (.357) with one home run and five RBIs.

Strengths

Like North Carolina, Oklahoma is a balanced team that is good at a little bit of everything and is built to frustrate opponents.

Oklahoma is a balanced hitting team like UNC, but the Sooners have hit a few more homers with 91, compared to the Tar Heels’ 82. That is largely due to the Sooners smashing 26 home runs in their 10 postseason games. In Omaha, OU has homered eight times, including five homers in its win over Georgia in its previous game.

The Sooners have stolen 129 bases this season. That is good for 24th nationally and second in the SEC.

Pitching-wise, OU is 18th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings and leads the SEC in shutouts.

Weaknesses

The most glaring weakness is the pitching staff, despite its ability to strike out opposing batters and record shutouts.

The Sooners have a 4.98 ERA as a staff. Only one pitcher with 10 or more appearances has an ERA under 3.60.

They also allow 4.51 walks per nine innings, which ranks 138th nationally.

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