The drive from Norman to Omaha, Nebraska, home of the Men's College World Series, takes about seven hours, but many Oklahoma baseball fans already knew that.
The Sooners have started the 2026 season as one of the hottest teams in college baseball after going 4-0 over opening weekend. Three of those victories came against old Big 12 foes in Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and TCU as OU claimed the Shriners Children's College Showdown title while going 3-0 in the loaded event at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Sooners then finished the trip with a 10-6 win over New Mexico State on Monday.
Sooners climb in rankings after undefeated start in Shriners Children's College Showdown
Despite beginning the season against daunting competition, the Sooners beat every team in the Shriners Children's College Showdown by at least seven runs, starting with a 10-3 season-opening thumping of Texas Tech on Friday. OU then took the first round of Bedlam this year with a 10-1 rout of Oklahoma State on Saturday.
The Sooners claimed the trophy after run-ruling TCU 12-2 in seven innings on Sunday. The next day when a new set of D1Baseball Rankings were released, TCU, even after enduring that beating from the Sooners, was still the biggest riser after jumping three spots from No. 10 to No. 7 thanks to ranked wins over then-No. 23 Vanderbilt and then-No. 7 Arkansas.
The undefeated weekend propelled the Sooners from unranked to No. 21 in the latest D1Baseball Top 25. OU was already inside the top 25 of Baseball America's preseason rankings, but climbed from No. 19 to No. 15 this week.
The hype after opening weekend soared even higher throughout Sooner Nation, though, as OU fans are already making plans for the end of the season after what the Sooners just showed to start.
I have began making travel arrangements for Omaha.
— Sooner Recruiting (@OU_RecruitingHQ) February 16, 2026
Anyone else craving Omaha steak? #BoomerSooner https://t.co/Q0H3bz4hvI
— Ryan Hilliard (@TheRyanHilliard) February 16, 2026
I’m glad I preemptively booked hotels in Omaha a while back. Should I go ahead and book flights too lololol. @OU_Baseball ⚾️🥵⚾️🥵
— SoonerGirlSportsPod (@soonergirlpod) February 16, 2026
However, some OU fans are rightfully cautiously optimistic. The Sooners also started hot last year winning their first 11 games of the season. It was the best start ever under head coach Skip Johnson, but in the end, OU took some blows throughout its first SEC gauntlet and didn't even get to host a regional before falling in the Chapel Hill Regional well short of the MCWS.