Oklahoma finds itself one win from making history.
The Sooners (58-7) are on the verge of winning their eighth national championship and fourth in a row. No major college softball team has ever won four consecutive national championships.
Regardless of results, OU softball’s senior class will go down as one of the greatest in softball history. Rylie Boone, Jayda Coleman, Kinzie Hansen, Tiare Jennings and Nicole May are looking to capture their fourth championship in a Sooner uniform. They are joined in the senior class by transfers Alyssa Brito, Karlie Keeney, Riley Ludlam, Kelly Maxwell and Alynah Torres.
This class has made history and come up clutch in big moments. Coleman is OU's all-time leader in runs scored. Jennings ranks second all-time in WCWS home runs and is fourth in hits in program history. Hansen has stepped up in the biggest of moments.
𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐍𝐎 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒. @KINZIEHANSEN pic.twitter.com/MmncgxBI24
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) May 27, 2023
“There has been one person in the history of my program who I’ve pulled their parents after the first lesson and told them their daughter is special,” former UCLA catcher and catching instructor Jen Schroeder told the OU Daily.
That person was Kinzie Hansen.
Hansen and the OU softball program have been through an unprecedented stretch over the past four years. Since the 2021 season, OU has gone 233-15. They have also sent Patty Gasso into third on the all-time wins list among coaches.
Throughout the past four years of OU softball, they have become one of college sports' greatest dynasties.
“So much of it is the mindset and it is such an elite, high level competitive mindset,” former OU pitcher Jordy Bahl told the OU Daily. “I think it’s going to be hard to find another class of girls like them.”
Bahl, a member of the 2022 and 2023 national championship teams, was the ace of the OU pitching staff and held her own when the postseason came around. The Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 WCWS, Bahl pitched 24.2 innings and did not allow a run while striking out 33 batters.
“There was never a moment where anyone on the team had doubt,” Bahl said. “We thought we were gonna go in and win every single game.”
Throughout these postseason runs, it has been these seniors who have repeatedly stepped up when OU needed a big play.
Whether it be Coleman robbing home runs, Boone and Hansen with timely hits, or Jennings driving the ball over the fence, the senior class has given many Sooner fans memories they will remember for a long time.
🥶 𝐈𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐉 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐞 🥶#ChampionshipMindset | @jaydac00 pic.twitter.com/KbRGP8ewUV
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) June 4, 2024
While the position players have had their moments in the crimson and cream, the pitching has also shown up when they needed it.
Despite not having the same success in the postseason as others, Nicole May has proven to be a steady, solid presence as a Sooner. May ranks 10th all-time among OU softball history in wins and is tied for fifth in saves. May had a 31-game streak of appearances without a loss, dating to the 2022 WCWS and was snapped on April 6 against Texas.
“Nicole has been the steady from the very beginning,” Gasso said after May pitched 1.2 scoreless inning out of the bullpen in the Big 12 tournament championship on May 11. “She’s the one that’s loyal and strong with this program, and I always wish everything great for her.”
There’s no doubt the OU softball team has changed softball forever. This senior class was part of the winningest team in softball history in 2023 and has followed that by looking to become the first team to win four consecutive national championships in softball history.
They have captured the minds of people all around the country, and look to carry the standard in the next generation of Oklahoma softball.
“Being able to manage the spotlight is hard,” OU associate head coach Jennifer Rocha said. “I think they have worked to understand how to manage it, but it’s who they are.”
“I feel like (this senior class) is better than us,” former OU softball player Shay Knighten said. “The senior classes now are so good and they know how to play the game.”
OU looks to claim their fourth straight national championship against Texas at 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN.
