OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Four months before Oklahoma captured its fourth consecutive Women's College World Series championship at Devon Park on Thursday night, Sooners coach Patty Gasso sat behind a table in the team room adjacent to the Norman's Marita Hynes Field and looked at five of the most important players in their program's history.
It was Feb. 5, days before Oklahoma began its 2024 title run. As the Sooners prepared to chase their eighth national championship, the faces of outfielder Jayda Coleman, infielder Tiare Jennings, catcher Kinzie Hansen, outfielder Riley Boone and right-hander Nicole May, pillars of college softball's preeminent modern dynasty, sat in front of Gasso's mind.
“I think about them more than ever because I know this is the end,” Gasso said three days before the season opener in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. “It's the end of one of the most elite classes that has ever played – and could ever – play softball.”
In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma's “Core Five” set got its storybook ending.
Ten seniors hoisted the trophy after the Sooners' 8-4 victory Thursday. Between them, Coleman, Jennings, Hansen, Boone and May represented the connective tissue of the most historic streak in college softball history. The Oklahoma five-stars signed Gasso out of high school and remained on board for back-to-back national titles from 2021-2024.
“They've cemented this program in history,” Gasso said. “They have cemented themselves in history. History may change, but these guys will never, ever be forgotten.”
The group charted a journey from Marita Hynes Field to the Sooners' new $47.9 million home at Love's Field and emerged as the bridge to the next era of Oklahoma softball. Along the way, the veteran core won three Big 12 tournament titles and as many national championships (four) as they had NCAA tournament losses, propelling the Sooners from perennial national contenders to an unstoppable force.
They made the Sooners' lineup a force from top to bottom, with all four Core Five position players finishing their OU careers in the top nine in career batting average, including Jennings, Coleman and Boone ranking in the numbers 2, 3 and 4. after legendary slugger Jocelyn Alo.
They were a fixture on the national stage, with Jennings, Coleman and Hansen tying former Sooner star Grace Lyons with 25 career WCWS games, the most ever, at the same time the College softball captured the nation's attention. But individually, each one created his own career.
Upon receiving Jennings' national letter of intent in the class of 2020, Gasso offered a slightly understated prediction.
“The game seems to come to her almost effortlessly,” he said. “It's nice to see. She's going to make an impact, no doubt.”
She leaves as one of the greatest players in the history of college softball. After sharing his early years with Alo, Jennings continued to instill fear in his opponents, finishing his WCWS career with 31 hits and 11 home runs, one behind Alo in each category for second best all-time. She averaged a home run every eight at-bats in her Oklahoma career.
Coleman, whom Gasso described as a “program changer” when he signed with the Sooners, lived up to his coach's projection, finishing his OU career as the all-time program leader in runs scored and becoming a star for his defense, especially in the WCWS.
A Johnny Bench Award winner, Hansen formed a strong battery with the Sooners' pitchers and became known as a fierce leader who delivered in some of the team's biggest moments, including a walk-off home run. first game at Sooners stadium. new palace
If there's one Sooner who knows how to meet the moment, it's Kinzie Hansen.
His HR that gave OU a 9-7 victory in Game No. 1 at Love's Field. Who else but K9? pic.twitter.com/bATE5xi2Gr
– Eli Lederman (@ByEliLederman) March 1, 2024
Boone was a crowd favorite, and the entire stadium echoed “Boooooone” every time he stepped up to the plate or made a spectacular catch. She hit over .400 in her career, taking seriously her job as a No. 9 hitter in a lineup that had no easy outs.
Gasso leaned on Boone and Coleman as “chaos coordinators” to get the team going.
“I congratulate Boone and Coleman because those two make this program work,” Gasso said. “They're full of energy, and that energizes everyone. When they're not full of energy, we're not… It really lit up this team.”
May became a reliable arm during the Sooners' title chase, going 62-6 over his career with a 2.22 ERA in 106 appearances. Gasso turned to May in a tough situation to earn a save against Texas and win the Big 12 tournament, retiring all five batters he faced with three strikeouts. He then did it again in the super regionals, shutting the door on Florida State, ending the season at Love's Field with a save and sending the Sooners back to the WCWS.
“There's no one at that point I'd rather have than Nicole May for her hard work and professionalism as an athlete, but for her absolute commitment and loyalty to this program,” Gasso said after the game.
Behind the dominance of his stars, Gasso made his own history, tying legendary Arizona coach Mike Candrea with his eighth championship, the most in NCAA softball history.
In the process, Gasso's program became the envy of Sooners legends eager to proclaim her the greatest.
Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield, who played at Oklahoma from 2014 to 2017, returned to Norman for his youth football camp in 2023 wearing a shirt that read “GASSO = GOAT.”
“This one was custom made,” Mayfield told reporters at his camp. “I went to the softball game and I had it under my jersey. She wasn't happy when she saw it. She's the GOAT though.”
Former Sooners football coach Barry Switzer, 86, and “Little Joe” Washington, 70, the legendary Sooners running back, met Wednesday and marveled at Coleman's home run against Florida and the next series against the hated Longhorns.
Switzer noted that softball has become probably the second-hottest sport in the Red River rivalry series, behind football, as a result of the Sooners' dominance and Texas' attempts to catch up.
“That [Gasso] “What we've accomplished has never been done before and therefore stands alone,” Switzer told ESPN. “I'm proud of her for doing it, and I'm proud of her doing it at our school.”
Coleman is engaged to former five-star recruit Billy Bowman Jr., a safety on the Sooners football team who was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award last season. Even Bowman's own coach couldn't help but alter his player's hierarchy among the power couple.
Hello 2🗣️I'm going with 24 @jaydac00 SHE has that 🥶 in her VEINS and ⭕️UDNA…CONGRATULATIONS‼️ https://t.co/drQHN6CinY
—Brent Venables (@CoachVenables) June 4, 2024
The Sooner seniors will leave as legends, leaving the program better than the one they inherited. But they will also leave behind a group of freshmen who saw and studied their greatness up close every day.
A sixth-inning two-run double off freshman Ella Parker on Thursday night provided the latest evidence that the future in Norman remains bright well beyond the departures of Oklahoma's outgoing seniors. . Parker and freshman outfielder Kasidi Pickering were named to the all-tournament team.
Parker said he has idolized the seniors since he was 12 and made it his mission to follow them to college.
“[They’re] passing the bat, passing the torch to us. Now it's our job to continue to convey that leadership,” Parker said. “I'm so Happy to be able to play with them.”
Coleman, Jennings, Hansen and Boone sat to Gasso's right at Thursday's postgame news conference, taking in the significance of a fourth title. After they left, he realized how extraordinary the moment was.
“What's really strange to me is that in four years I've never cried here,” Gasso said. “But I did it anyway, because everyone was sitting here. When they're away, it's easier. It's like I haven't felt the pain of the last loss. That's just incomprehensible at this level.”
Gasso said next season will be a return to getting his hands dirty and said he can't wait to get back to coaching, “because I don't have to coach this” with the exceptional experience this team has.
“As much as I'm going to miss them, they've been here a long time,” Gasso said. “They've done everything they could do and more. It's time for them to fly. So the Olympics, professionalism and marriage. There's a lot of things ahead of them. I'm very excited for them.”
And history will unite them forever.
“I just think, 'Oh, God, I'm going to miss them,'” Gasso said. “[But] We'll be in championship meets like four years in a row. “We're going to see each other a lot.”
