What did OU softball coach Patty Gasso learn about Sooners in fall camp?

What did OU softball coach Patty Gasso learn about Sooners in fall camp?

OU softball coach Patty Gasso said after the Sooners won their fourth consecutive Women’s College World Series title that she was looking forward to coaching again.

The departing core group of seniors from last season’s team — Rylie Boone, Jayda Coleman, Tiare Jennings, Kinzie Hansen, Nicole May, Alyssa Brito and Alynah Torres — had made her job considerably easier in recent seasons.

But now, Gasso must bring together a new core of players as the Sooners make the move to the SEC.

Here’s a look at what the Sooners learned about themselves in the fall:

Finding new leadership

With so much turnover from last season, there’s a definite leadership vacuum with the Sooners.

Cydney Sanders is the lone returning senior, while sophomores Ella Parker and Kasidi Pickering are the only returning regular position players and Kierston Deal the only returning pitcher that threw more than 20 innings for the Sooners last season.

“We worked hard,” Gasso said of developing leadership in the fall, particularly vocal leadership. “I’ve got a good group of five that I think have really grown into this some. It’s still quite different because they were always the quiet ones being told what to do and now it’s like, ‘OK, it’s your turn to tell everyone else what they need to do.’ And at first they’re like, you know, now really made that way. …

“So I kind of created a group of five collectively (to) work hand in hand and figure this out. I’m seeing them gather together and talk about the messaging that they want to give to the team. I’m seeing them start to stick a little bit.”

Nelly McEnroe-Marinas looking like breakout player

While Parker and Pickering were critical pieces of last season’s championship team and Maya Bland became the Sooners’ top pinch-running option, the fourth member of last year’s class flew under the radar.

Nelly McEnroe-Marinas suffered a shoulder injury that kept her out for the entirety of last season.

But McEnroe-Marinas showed in the fall why she was one of the top players in the 2023 class, both with her bat and with her glove at third base, where she looks like the likely successor to Brito.

“That’s something I’m really excited about,” Gasso said. “I felt so bad for her with her injuries just coming back. … She’s been working really hard to make sure that all of her injuries are done with and rehabbed well.

“She reminds me so much in a wonderful way of Syd Romero, just her style and the way she looks, the way she talks, the way she laughs, everything. Every time I see her I thin of Syd, which is a good thing. She’s winning that spot right now.”

Hannah Coor making significant strides

Though Hannah Coor played in 63 of OU’s 66 games last season, she was still significantly limited due to the back injury that forced her to redshirt in 2023.

Coor served as the Sooners’ fourth outfielder last season and slashed .211/.256/.342. She was errorless in 114 1/3 innings.

“She’s had two back surgeries,” Gasso said. “The first one didn’t go well, and this girl was in pain constantly. And you can look at somebody when they’re in pain, and it just hurts you, because you know that she’s hurting.”

Gasso said the second surgery “was a lot more successful.”

“We’re just kind of keeping an eye on her and letting her go to a point until we feel like she might look like she’s starting to stiffen up,” Gasso said. “But she would never have been able to do the things she’s doing right now last year.”

In the fall finale Nov. 6, Coor made a diving catch.

Gasso said she didn’t even flinch.

“Not anymore, because it’s just her,” Gasso said. “She is going to do it, whether it’s going to hurt or not, she’s going to do it for the team. I just kind of watch the way she gets up. That’s going to tell me whether or not she will check herself out if she needs to. So if she’s not doing that, then we know we’re good.”