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Oklahoma softball: Jayda Coleman D1 Softball’s 2023 Defensive Player of the Year

By Chip Rouse

Oklahoma's Jayda Coleman (24) makes a catch in the first inning during the NCAA Norman Super Regional softball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Clemson Tigers at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla., Friday, May, 26, 2023.
Oklahoma's Jayda Coleman (24) makes a catch in the first inning during the NCAA Norman Super Regional softball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Clemson Tigers at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla., Friday, May, 26, 2023. /
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Oklahoma softball three-time All-American Jayda Coleman is best recognized for her offensive star power, but her defensive play as the captain of the Sooner outfield is equally as outstanding.

The Sooners led all of college softball this season in fielding percentage, and Coleman is at the heart of that performance. She has the ability to make difficult plays in the outfield appear routine. And she does it so routinely that you hardly notice. She did not make a single error in 60 fielding attempts in the 2023 season and was credited with three assists on throws from the outfield.

The junior center fielder is one of those double-edged swords in that she gets on base a lot and produces a lot of runs but also takes runs away from opponents with her defense. No better example of that is the leaping, over-the-fence catch she made in the Women’s College World Series that took away a three-run home run from Florida State’s Kalei Harding that could have changed the outcome of the game.

In the other game with Florida State in the WCWS, Coleman showed off her arm cutting down Harding at second base trying to stretch a hit into a double with a laser throw to erase a potential runner in scoring position.

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Coleman, the Big 12 Player of the Year and a top-10 finalist for USA Softball’s National Player of the Year, led the Big 12 in on-base-plus-slugging percentage as well as runs scored and tied for the lead in home runs with 17. She is the engine and the energy that gets the Sooner offense started from the leadoff spot in the lineup as well as a defensive playmaker in the field.

The bad news of Oklahoma’s opponents in 2024 is that Coleman is back again next season.

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