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— Four-star CB Cobey Sellers released his top six schools today, and tells me that he currently doesn’t have any set-in-stone visit plans for spring ball. That’s a good sign for Oklahoma, as the longer this recruitment drags out, the longer the other five finalists have to close the Sooners’ lead. The absence of any concrete visit plans bodes well for the status quo in any recruitment, and the status quo favors OU. I like my FutureCast here, and the expectation within the Switzer Center is still that the Sooners will get Sellers on board relatively soon. There’s a general consensus among sources that the spring game is a ballpark timeline.

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— I mentioned in an update last month that Alabama could be a major player for Christian Jones depending on the composition of Kalen DeBoer’s new staff. Former Washington assistant William Inge was one of the staffers that made the move from Seattle to Tuscaloosa, and Jones’ strongest relationship is with Inge. We haven’t seen a Bama offer go out yet, but if that offer does come, I expect the Crimson Tide to jump to the front of the pack pretty immediately. Don’t get it twisted: the Sooners are in good shape, but there’s work to be done.

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— Officially faded my FutureCast to Oklahoma for Gus Cordova, which is a bit overdue. I don’t see things heating back up between him and Oklahoma, especially given the off-field circumstances at Lake Travis that have made waves nationally. OU was kind of always the dream for Cordova, but the Sooners weren’t ready to take his commitment last fall and the plan had been for him to take a few more visits and commit this summer. Initially, the Sooners had remained in touch with him even after the locker-room fiasco in which Cordova was a prominent character, but it seems they eventually decided it wasn’t worth the PR scrutiny. It hasn’t stopped him from racking up 40 total scholarship offers… but Oklahoma appears content to let another school deal with the inevitable blow-back that will come with Cordova’s pledge.

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— I mentioned Amarion Jackson in a note last week as a potential offer guy for Oklahoma down the line, and he’s now earned an invite to the Sooners’ Future Freaks event on March 9. Also in attendance will be Lawton (Okla.) MacArthur WR Joshua Rushing. Both of these wideouts could be early pledges to OU if they end up earning offers, as both of them grew up rooting for the Sooners. The question is whether Emmett Jones will pull the trigger on one or both, as he’s already in great standing with several 2026 wideouts (including Legend Bey, Mason James and Brock Boyd). That said, Jones has shown a willingness to err on the side of offering too many prospects as opposed to too few. So these are two names that I would file away, and whose recruitments we’ll likely revisit next month after they visit.

ACL. That sucks. She will always be Sooner to me.

Quick notes from OU's wins on Saturday and Sunday:

It's only been two weeks, but Oklahoma and Texas easily look like the Big 12's top two softball teams to this point. https://oklahoma.rivals.com/news/bi...up-ou-texas-in-lockstep-as-nation-s-top-teams

Takeaways, notes from a tale of two halves at the Lloyd Noble Center:

OU associate head coach and pitching coach Jennifer Rocha has done a phenomenal job getting the best out of veteran transfers, as evidenced by a pair of fantastic seasons from Hope Trautwein and Alex Storako the past two years, and Rocha’s already been hard at work to strengthen Maxwell’s game.

“I think Jen and Kelly,” said Gasso, “they kind of started from ground zero and Kelly hadn’t really looked at numbers. She didn’t look at a lot of video. There was a lot of exploring, a lot of learning.

“… It’s really starting to stick and it’s really starting to show in her pitches.”

Spending so much time breaking down video was new to Maxwell, both of opposing hitters but also the process of watching herself and identifying the areas she wanted to improve.

“It was very different from where I came from,” Maxwell said. “I’ve never really watched much film and never really took the time to study other hitters. So having this new knowledge is really elevating my games and I think it’s going to help me in the long run.”

Late-inning heroics allowed the Sooner baseball team to get their second win in a row in Arlington on Sunday afternoon, with true freshman Jaxon Willits playing the hero in a dramatic victory. Oklahoma rallied from a four-run deficit and didn't take the lead until Willits' two-out, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The Sooners got off to a bit of a shaky start in the first frame. After getting a quick first-pitch out, Sooner starter Jamie Hitt walked Joshua Overbeek and gave up a single to Dylan Carey. With two outs in the inning, Easton Carmichael overthrew Rocco Garza-Gongora on a dropped third strike. The ball went into right field, allowing the two Cornhusker runners to score. That made the score 2-0 in favor of Nebraska.

Hitt had a strong response to the rough first inning by striking out the side in the top of the 2nd The Sooners started their scoring in the bottom of the 3rd; they loaded the bases after a walk from the aptly named Jason Walk, a single by Easton Carmichael, and another walk from Rocco Garza-Gongora. Nebraska starter Caleb Clark attempted a pickoff throw to second base, which got away from the Nebraska second baseman. This allowed Walk to score for the Sooners' first run of the game. Caleb Clark was removed with two outs in the inning, and was replaced by Tucker Timmerman. Timmerman came on to strike out Kendall Pettis with the bases loaded to stop the bleeding for the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska got to Hitt in the top of the 5th. Riley Silva got it started with a single. Cayden Brumbaugh followed that up with a double. Both of them scored on a single to left by Joshua Overbeek, and Overbeek then scored on an RBI single by Josh Caron to give the Cornhuskers a 5-1 lead. Jamie Hitt was removed after the 5th inning. He gave up 5 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits, but tallied 10 strikeouts. True freshman Brad Pruett came on to replace him.

The Sooners tacked on two runs in the bottom of the 5th against Nebraska reliever Drew Christo. John Spikerman got the inning started with a leadoff single. Bryce Madron drew a walk, and Rocco Garza-Gongora brought Spikerman home on a two-out RBI single to right field. Madron then scored on a wild pitch to cut the Nebraska lead to 5-3.

Nebraska responded with a run of their own in the top of the 6th. Cole Evans scored on an RBI single from Riley Silva, the run coming against Sooner reliever Carter Campbell. This gave Nebraska a 6-3 lead.

Kyle Perry came in to pitch the bottom of the 7th for Nebraska. Spikerman got the inning started with a single, and Bryce Madron then sent a two-run homer over the right-field wall to make the score 6-5. That was the first HR of the season for Oklahoma.

In the bottom of the 9th inning, some Sooner magic ensued. Spikerman kicked it all off with a leadoff single. Then, with two outs, Michael Snyder doubled to left to bring home Spikerman and tie the game. After a Garza-Gongora intentional walk and a Kendall Pettis hit by pitch, true freshman Jaxon Willits stepped to the plate. He coolly singled to center field to give the Sooners a 7-6 walk-off win. It was the first hit of Willits' career.

The Sooners end the weekend 2-1, beating Nebraska and Tennessee. Their next game will be on Tuesday in Dallas against Dallas Baptist.

THE COWGIRL CHALLENGE SERIES

Our No. 1 Oklahoma Softball travels to the Cowgirl Challenge hosted by McNeese State this weekend to play a five-game slate in Lake Charles, LA.

The Sooners (4-0, 0-0 Big 12) begin competition on Friday, Feb. 16 with a 3:30 p.m. CT start against Central Arkansas (1-4, 0-0 ASUN) followed by a 6 p.m. first pitch vs. McNeese (4-1, 0-0 Southland). OU meets Lamar (2-2, 0-0 Southland) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15 then faces McNeese at 6:30 p.m. OU closes their appearance in Louisiana with an 11 a.m. CT first pitch on Sunday, Feb. 18 against Central Arkansas.

Both games against McNeese State will be streamed on ESPN+ ($) while the Sooners' contests with Central Arkansas and Lamar can be viewed via webcam on SoonerSports.com with radio coverage on The Franchise. All five games will be broadcast on 1560 AM/103.3 FM The Franchise 2 with both McNeese State contests also airing on 107.7 FM The Franchise.

Both Central Arkansas and McNeese State earned trips to the NCAA Tournament last season. UCA was eliminated in the Tuscaloosa Regional while the Cowgirls lost out in the Seattle Regional.
-all information via


SCHEDULE

2/16 @3:30 PM CST vs Central Arkansas (W9-0) (Soonersports.com webcam)
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2/16 @ 6 PM CST vs McNeese ESPN +
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2/17 @1:30 PM CST vs Lamar (Soonersports.com webcam)
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2/17 @6:30 PM CST vs McNeese ESPN +
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2/18 @ 11 AM CST vs Central Arkansas (Soonersports.com webcam)
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WHERE TO WATCH

Central Arkansas Game 1 and 2, Lamar

https://soonersports.com/watch/live

McNeese Game 1 and 2.

WHERE TO LISTEN

LIVE STATS

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Can the Sooners lose by less than 20pts today is the question.

The more we learn of Dereon Coleman and OU, the more this pairing seems like it's bound to commit to one another this offseason. The buzz here has basically gone national, but here in Florida it's been steady for some time and I'm buying atm.

After dropping the season opener yesterday to Oregon, Skip Johnson and the Sooners bounced back with a 5-1 extra inning win over #9 Tennessee.

Texas Tech transfer Brendan Girton started on the bump for the Sooners. He got off to a bumpy start, allowing Tennessee to load the bases in the first inning. However, he was able to work out of that jam without allowing any runs. He pitched 4 innings, giving up 3 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, and had 9 strikeouts.

The Sooners got the scoring started in the top of the 4th. Easton Carmichael lead that inning off with a double against Tennessee starting pitcher, Drew Beam. Carmichael then scored on a one-out RBI singe from Rocco Garza-Gongora to make the score 1-0.

Tennessee quickly responded with a Solo HR from Dylan Dreiling to tie the game at one a piece in the bottom of the 4th. Brendan Girton finished the 4th inning, but did not come back out for the 5th. He was replaced by Kyson Witherspoon.

Tennessee started Drew Beam went 5 2/3 innings and was replaced by Marcus Phillips.

In the top of the 7th, the Sooners had runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Jaxon Willits came up and attempted a sacrifice bunt. His bunt attempt was caught by Tennessee pitcher Chris Stamos on a diving effort. Both of the Sooner runners failed to get back to their bases in time, so the Volunteers were able to turn a triple play.

After walking two in the bottom of the 9th, Kyson Witherspoon was taken out of the game. He pitched 4 1/3 innings where he gave up 3 walks, 3 hits, gave up zero runs, and struck out 4 Volunteer hitters. Skip Johnson turned to Missouri State transfer, Ryan Lambert to finish the 9th. He retired two hitters in a row to send the game to extra innings.

After struggling all weekend, the Sooner bats woke up when they needed it the most. They started the top of the 10th with back to back walks, which were drawn by Jaxon Willits and Jackson Nicklaus. John Spikerman came up clutch with an RBI double that scored Willits to give the Sooners a 2-1 lead. Easton Carmichael followed that up with an RBI single that scored Nicklaus to make the score 3-1. The clutch hits continued with a two-out two-run single from Rocco Garza-Gongora to stretch the lead to 5-1. Ryan Lambert closed out the game in the bottom of the 10th to give the Sooners their first win of the season.

The Sooners will face Nebraska tomorrow morning at 10:30 am. Jamie Hitt will start.

OSU sweeps OU in basketball this year also? Seems like they always start strong and fall apart as the year goes on in Big 12 play.

All these Universities with better and new arenas. He's let everyone pass us. That's what happens when you get fat and happy boys. He's kept up with football and softball. That's it.
Just embarrassing

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Spread the word, if you can sign up every dollar matters. Help stock the warchest for the spring portal people.

Juco transfer Scott Mudler will get the start behind the plate tonight. Easton Carmichael will be the DH. Mudler is a solid defender and a switch hitter. Looking forward to watching him tonight. Still no Anthony Mackenzie. Could potentially get a pinch hit appearance

Thoughts? How can that even be an option? I’m guessing Harrington isn’t going to get is waiver? If not, you’re guaranteed to lose Bowen or RSJ after spring.

In the first game of the Sooners' 2024 campaign on the diamond, Skip Johnson's squad came up short in a 4-2 loss to Oregon at Globe Life Park.

Oregon got the scoring started in the first inning. Braden Davis hit the leadoff batter, and then Easton Carmichael committed a passed ball. Dominic Hellman brought a run home with an RBI single to right field. Easton Carmichael got the first hit of the season for Oklahoma with a two-out single to center, but the Sooners were held scoreless.

In the bottom of the second, Michael Snyder doubled off the left center field wall off of Oregon starter RJ Gordon. True freshman Jaxon Willits followed that up with a walk. However, both runners were stranded after a strikeout from Carter Frederick and a groundout by Jackson Nicklaus.

The Ducks continued their scoring in the top of the third. Bryce Boettcher started the inning with a single. He moved to second on a stolen base and to third on a sac fly from Jacob Walsh. Boettcher then scored on a wild pitch to stretch Oregon's lead to 2-0.

The Sooners got their scoring started in the bottom of the third. Spikerman led the inning off with a single to right. Bryce Madron moved him to third on a double to right field. Spikerman scored on a sac fly from Easton Carmichael to make the score 2-1, and Kendall Pettis followed that up with a sac fly that scored Madron to tie the game at 2.

After a tough first inning, Braden Davis really found a groove. He ended his day by striking out four straight Ducks. He started to get ahead in the count and found a feel for his changeup to keep the Oregon hitters off balance. He struck out seven hitters across five innings of work, giving up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs (1 earned).

Oregon starter RJ Gordon went 4 1/3 innings, also giving up two runs. Left-hander Grayson Grinsell came in to replace him in the bottom of the fifth.

Northwest Florida State College transfer Malachi Witherspoon entered the game for the Sooners in the top of the sixth inning. His first pitch of the appearance registered at 96 MPH. He gave up nothing in the sixth, and then worked out of a jam in the seventh inning by striking out the side. After giving up a hit and two walks to start the eighth, Witherspoon was taken out and replaced by Silo (Okla.) native Carson Atwood. After coming in with the bases loaded and no outs, Atwood forced a double play, but the Ducks scored a run to take a 3-2 lead. Oregon added another run on a wild pitch by Atwood to make the score 4-2.

Oklahoma couldn't touch Oregon reliever Grayson Grinsell. He pitched 3 innings, only gave up one base runner, and gave up zero runs. Michael Freund came in to replace him with one out in the bottom of the eighth.

Carter Campbell came in to pitch for the Sooners in the ninth and tossed a scoreless inning.

Michael Freund stayed in to face the Sooners in the bottom of the frame and retired them in order.

The Sooners face Tennessee at 7:00 PM tomorrow. Brendan Girton will get the start.

Update: I'd imagine Hugley will undergo more testing to determine if he can play through the injury in the future. Yesterday's Initial reports on the injury were not good, as you can all see by my original note. Maybe he can return for the Big 12 tournament, but with his injury history, I'm not sure.

******

I do not anticipate John Hugley returning for the rest of the season due to a knee injury. Expect a significant increase in minutes for Luke Northweather to fill in for Hugley's absence. Additionally, anticipate more small-ball lineups with Jalon Moore at the five, and there may be appearances from Yaya Keita. The timetable for Hugley's injury is expected to be four to eight weeks.

Ole Muleshoe is already on the hotseat: https://www.latimes.com/sports/usc/story/2023-11-18/lincoln-riley-usc-coaching-hot-seat-loss-ucla

Fantastic game Sooners!