Heading into the Atlanta Regional, one thing is clear: the Sooners’ pitching needs to be on its A-game.
OU head coach Skip Johnson noted that the 2026 season has seen mixed results from Sooners on the mound, but he’s confident that with some solid performances, OU can make some noise in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“I think we've got to continue to try to get better and throw strikes,” Skip Johnson said. “I think going into it, early in the year, we were really good, went through a little low there, and then at the end of the year, we weren't very good at all.”
The Sooners (32-21) finished the regular season with an average earned run average of 5.33, with 19 players contributing across the season. Junior right-handed pitcher LJ Mercurius, junior left-handed pitcher Cameron Johnson and freshman left-handed pitcher Cord Rager saw the most work, with Mercurius pitching 60.2 innings, Cameron Johnson pitching 53.2 and Rager pitching 52.
“It's the grind of the season, you could say the experiences that we had,” Skip Johnson said. “We didn't have a lot of experience coming back, but I think they grew. I think Cord Rager got better as the year went on. I think that we’ve got to continue to grow, and they've all pitched, which is really good. And if they get hot, … a good offense will protect a good defense, and pitching is a part of defense.”
The Sooners are set to face a tricky offense in The Citadel (35-24) to start the tournament before taking on the nation's best hitting team in No. 2 overall seed Georgia Tech (48-9) later in the weekend. Johnson noted The Citadel’s offense plays a similar style to the Sooners.
“They're (going to) bunt, and they're (going to) run. They're (going to) do things that (are)what we do,” Skip Johnson said. “It's kind of a mirror image, so we'll be used to it.”
As for the Yellow Jackets, they hold the highest team batting average at .358 and most runs scored with 616 in the nation. However, Johnson noted that playing in the Southeastern Conference in both the regular season and conference tournament has prepared the Sooners for the stiff challenges ahead.
“You're walking into a regional; there's a reason why those guys are there,” Skip Johnson said. “It's a good opportunity for us, … three good teams going into regional, and Georgia Tech is really good. And so I think that, for us, it's going to be even better. I think our conference will prepare us for just about anything.”
That preparation includes playing in some of college baseball’s toughest environments, according to Skip Johnson.
“There's not an atmosphere we haven't played in,” Skip Johnson said. “We played at LSU, played at Texas, played Arkansas. I mean, there’s not going to be a bigger atmosphere that we play in. Those atmospheres are like playing in Omaha.”
The Sooners will open up their 42nd NCAA Tournament in the Atlanta Regional against the Bulldogs at 4 p.m. Friday on ESPN+.
This story was edited by Joshua McDaniel.
