Tournament in Norman

[TropicalSooner]

Bottom post of the previous page:

Ouch!

[OUBeliever56A]

I noticed Deal had KT tape all over left elbow. My thought is tendinitis and mechanical issues.

Don't sound any alarms.....it is nothing. Deal will be fine by August!!!!

[TropicalSooner]

Nice stats from HS.
Of course you can't always tell about the competition, but still 2ks per inning looks awfully good.

[MNSooner]

Will Jocelyn Erickson be the next Jocy? Her 25 home run her senior year is amazing (I know it’s Arizona air).

[OUBeliever56A]

Well the next Jocelyn Alo may have been playing 2B the last two years. The next 'Jocey' maybe Jocey Erickson. But let's let her hit 15-20 HRs as a freshman before we expect too much.

[TropicalSooner]

Wouldn't that be great? I'm excited to see how she begins her collegiate career....I really wish her the best and can't wait to see how she handles top-notch D1 collegiate pitching. In fact, I can't wait to see how she does against our staff of Bahl, Storako, and May in batting practice this fall! I wish '56 could sneak back into the park to get some "sneak peeks" for us and report back But alas, I'm afraid that ship won't be coming back to port.
Now, what we can look forward to, like '56 observed, is our very own "Tiare Watch" She's got what.....56 HRs so far? (sorry '56--no pun intended there) and was going strong at the end of last season. 25 her 1st year, 29 last year, increasing all along so we can extrapolate to some reasonably close numbers for her career. What we are going to have to find ---assuming we move her into the #2 hole -- Alo's old spot -- is some one to put behind her in the 3 hole to give her protection. Can Hansen get her old Mojo back to provide that protection? Will Grace Lyons be that person? She was #3 on the HR list last year. Will Jocelyn Erickson explode into the line-up and provide that power? Lots of options working there. And that kind of leads into a "what about next year line-up" thread...........but that will be for another time after the portal closes and the dust starts to settle and we can be reasonably sure who we are going to have on board to work with.
Fun things to ponder as we while our way through the summer waiting for fall practice to begin and Fall Ball!!
Boomer!

[White River]

Fun things to ponder as we while our way through the summer waiting for fall practice to begin and Fall Ball!!
Boomer!

February is a long way off but I guess we'll have to watch some football to pass the time....... oh well.

[OUBeliever56A]

I wanted to wrap-up my comments about the Top Club National Softball Tourney in the Norman/Moore area this weekend.

From Wednesday morning to Saturday evening I had an enjoyable, hot weekend of watching high level softball in the Norman and Moore area. My desire was to watch 7 future Sooners that were playing on four different teams to be more knowledgeable about each of them. In every case, my original opinions were confirmed and enhanced by watching them play. It was a weekend well worth the effort. After thinking a bit about the play, I came to the following conclusion.

There are a great number of players that are available to college coaches to recruit that have the ability to run, bunt and slap on almost every team. Some very good teams have 6 or 7 of that type of player in their normal lineup. I would liken most of these players to Rylie Boone and maybe Jayda Coleman offensively. I now see why there are many D1 college teams that play that primarily that style of offense. They simply have many players to chose from to fill their rosters. But there are very few players at 17-18 years old that have the ability to drive the ball hard to the outfield with authority. I am talking about players like Jocelyn Alo or Tiare Jennings. There are also a great many pitchers that all throw about the same way. Same pitches, same velocity and same strengths. Fewer pitchers have the ability to make batters swing and miss and/or have an outstanding changeup that makes a difference. The recruiting process to find those special players is more than rigorous for the coaches trying to do so.

While I have always had a great deal of respect for Coach Gasso an her assistants, there is even more respect today. They have been able to recruit the best of the very best to play for OU. And many times, they have been able to do that 4 or 5 years before the players are 18 years old. I think the Sooner coaches chose a different path than the easy path for recruiting players. They looked for hitters and not just effective hitters that can get on base with speed. That has led to what we have witnessed a fans since 2016 for the Sooners and changed the game offensively.

With the recruiting changes that were made which prevents players from 'being recruited until their junior year in HS' that process enables the Sooner coaches to recruit players later and get the best of the best without as much speculation as before. As I look at the most recent players that have committed to the Sooners. In he 2022 Class, Kiersten Deal (LHP) was added to the class of Avery Hodge (MIF), Jocelyn Erickson (C/1B) and SJ Geurin (LHP) who all committed a few years earlier to the Sooners. All four players can play at a high level. In the 2023 class, Ella Parker (OF), Kasidi Pickering (OF)and Nellie McEnroe-Marinas (MIF) have been added as late commitments as Juniors along with Maya Bland (OF/UT) who has been committed for a few years. For the 2024 Class, which opens recruiting in August this year, I can't wait to see the results. I can honestly testify that the players that are coming to be Sooners in from the 2022 and 2023 classes, can truly play softball at a high level. IMO, Deal, Erickson, Parker and Pickering will be difference makers for the Sooners. Hodge, Geurin and Bland will be very valuable players as well as Sooners. I expect McEnroe-Marinas to be in the very same mold.

There was a showcase on Sunday morning from 9 AM-1 PM for potential and future Sooners at Marita Hynes Field. It was an intense 4 hours for players. Coach Gasso arrived on the field at 8:58 AM after her evening in Omaha watching the Sooner baseball team. Deal, Erickson, Pickering, Parker and Bland were there as recruited Sooners. About 50 players in total were in attendance. I have to say, that the 5 confirmed Sooners were the class of the group. It was pretty obvious to see. There were maybe 4 players from the 2024 Class and beyond that stood out. Two were a SS/2B. One was a 3B/1B and one was a 2B/1B. There were two pitchers maybe three that also stood out (Two RHs and 1 LH). One of those RH pitchers also hit the ball well. I am still working on who these players were. (wish me luck with this)

The introduction to the Showcase was the Coaching staff introducing themselves to the campers. Then the 'coaches' helping with the showcase introduced themselves. It went like this.

I am Reagan Rogers - I was a Sooner from 2016 to 2019. I was a member of two national championship teams.
I am Keilani Ricketts - I was a Sooner from 2010 to 2013. I was a member of one national championship team. (It might have been two if not for rain and umpires.)
I am Rylie Boone - I am a Covid JR/SR? I have two years left as a Sooner. I have been on two national championship teams.
I am Paige Parker - I am currently the Pitching Coach at Utah. I was a Sooner from 2015 to 2018, I was a member of two national championship teams.
I am Samantha Ricketts - I am the Head Coach for Mississippi State. I was a Sooner, well, it was a long time ago.
Then Coach Gasso had K Ricketts and Parker stand together and introduced them as two players that have won 4 or 5 major awards for Softball as Sooners.
It was an impressive introduction to the players I thought.

I am just excited even more for the upcoming 2022-23 season as well as looking forward to the 2023-2024 season after this weekend. It is good to be a Sooner Softball Fan.

Boomer Sooner!

[TropicalSooner]

Very nice recap of the weekend '56. Always appreciate your views of our future players. Are there more games for them elsewhere going into July? or are they finished for the summer now?

[White River]

56,
Thanks for enduring the heat to get a perspective on these players. Thanks even more for returning home and sharing that perspective with those of us who lacked the ability to attend ourselves. As always, you are appreciated and respected for what you do for the sports fans on this board!

Many thanks.........