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Oklahoma softball: Reigning national champs No. 1 in Big 12 Preseason Poll

By Chip Rouse

during the second game of the championship series in the Women's College World Series between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Texas Longhorns at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Thursday, June 9, 2022.Wcws Ou Texas Champ
during the second game of the championship series in the Women's College World Series between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Texas Longhorns at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Thursday, June 9, 2022.Wcws Ou Texas Champ /
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The Oklahoma softball team has been named the favorite to win the Big 12 in 2023 in the conference’s preseason poll.

What else is new? This is the 11th consecutive season, a conference record, the Sooners have been ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 Preseason Softball Poll, which is voted on by the league coaches. Oklahoma has been voted the preseason favorite in 14 of the past 15 years.

The Sooners received six of the seven first-place votes with in-state rival Oklahoma State receiving the one vote not going to OU. The Cowgirls, who defeated Oklahoma in the Big 12 Softball Championship last season, were ranked No. 2 in the conference preseason poll for the second consecutive year. The Texas Longhorns came in No. 3 in the poll.

Only seven Big 12 schools compete in softball. The final four spots in the poll went to No. 4 Baylor, Iowa State, Texas Tech and Kansas.

The Big 12 also issued its preseason all-conference team for the 2023 season. It’s probably not a huge surprise that seven of the 12 student-athletes named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team are Oklahoma Sooners.

The OU players are sophomore pitcher Jordy Bahl, junior utility player Alyssa Brito, junior outfielder Jayda Coleman, junior infielder Tiare Jennings, redshirt-senior utility player Haley Lee, redshirt-senior infielder Grace Lyons and sophomore infielder Cydney Sanders.  were named to the team. Lee and Sanders are new to the Sooner team this season. Lee transferred from Texas A&M, where she was All-SEC First Team in 2022, and Sanders comes to Norman by way of Arizona State, where she was All-Pac-12 First Team last season as a freshman.

The two-time defending national champion Sooners open the 2023 season on Feb. 9 in the Mark Campbell Invitational in Irvine, California. OU will play a season-opening doubleheader facing Duke and Liberty. Over the next three days, Oklahoma will play Stanford, Washington and San Jose State. All but San Jose State competed in last season’s NCAA Softball Championship.

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