OKLAHOMA CITY – Neither Sam Landry nor Texas Tech head coach Gerry Glasco wanted this to happen.
The two spent three seasons together at Louisiana, before going their own separate ways in the transfer portal following the 2024 season.
It was Glasco’s Red Raiders who ended Oklahoma’s quest for a fifth consecutive national championship on Monday, with a 3-2 walk off win on Monday. For the first time since 2019, there will be a new national champion in the softball world.
In addition to Glasco ending one of the best dynasties in college sports, his Louisiana team were the ones that halted OU’s 71-game winning streak in 2024, with the Ragin Cajuns beating the Sooners 7-5 in the fifth game OU played at Love’s Field.
Once the celebration began for Texas Tech, it was Glasco who consoled an emotional Landry right by home plate.
This is a quick clip of a very long embrace between Gerry Glasco and Sam Landry. Pretty special moment after a hard-fought game. pic.twitter.com/9JAYvwaCfe
— Justin McLeod (@justfactsmaam) June 3, 2025
“I love you,” Glasco said to Landry. “I hated that we had to play today. I just hated it. I would’ve rather her finish her career against anybody besides me, and I would have rather played anybody (but) her to go to the championship, but we don’t control that.”
Landry described the moment with her former coach as “bittersweet” and also mentioned how tough it was facing her old coach and teammates.
“I wish him luck going forward,” Landry said. “Neither one of us wanted this to be where we met in (the) postseason. That’s a lot of my old teammates, so I’m glad they’re getting (this) experience.”
Including playing against her former coach, Landry also faced four of her former teammates at Louisiana, who made the decision to follow their coach to Lubbock.
One of them was Lauren Allred, who hit the walk off sacrifice fly off her former teammate.
🗣️ "THE RED RAIDERS STORM TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES!!"#WCWS x 🎥 ESPN / @TexasTechSB pic.twitter.com/aJ08wP1YPV
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) June 3, 2025
“Sam’s a great pitcher,” Allred said after the game. “Going against her I knew wasn’t going to be easy, especially with the history we have playing with each other.”
While Landry may have been on the losing side of things Monday, there’s no doubt the impact she had on this Oklahoma team. Landry’s 191.2 innings pitched this season are the most since 2017, where Paige Parker threw 210.1 innings en route to a national championship.
Landry has also honored Glasco’s late daughter, Geri Ann, who was killed in a car accident in 2019.
When she was playing at Louisiana, Landry wore No. 12 to honor her. However, when she transferred to OU, No. 12 was taken, but Landry still wanted to find a way to remember her and has her No. 12 written on her glove.
“I got to know (Geri Ann) a bit before she passed away,” Landry said. “... Wearing No. 12 was how I helped, in my opinion, keep (coach Glasco) going. That’s why it was so important to me and just carrying on her legacy.”
While Landry’s college career is officially over, she will compete in the AUSL over the summer.
Coming into this season, this was not the path Landry saw herself going on.
When she entered the portal, head coach Patty Gasso remembers sitting at an IHOP with Landry and her family, when Gasso made Landry an offer.
Her mom wound up disappearing to go the restroom, and Gasso became unsure. After getting the confirmation from Landry telling her she’d be a Sooner, Gasso became very excited.
Landry wound up becoming the leader of the pitching staff, often pitching in multiple games during regular season series and carrying the Sooners on her right arm in the postseason.
“As the game went on, I just kept telling myself to leave it all out there,” Landry said while fighting back tears. “... I’m glad I had the experience here at Oklahoma.”
This story was edited by Parker Coyne.
