It was no secret Oklahoma outfielder Kasidi Pickering would eventually end up in the transfer portal like she now is, and it also doesn't take a detective to predict where she'll play her final season of college softball.
After fans anticipated the move for about two weeks, D1Softball reported on Monday evening that Pickering entered the transfer portal with a "do not contact" tag, meaning she already has her mind made up on where she's going so there's no need to hear from other programs. And all clues reveal that Pickering will inevitably play for the new New York Yankees of college softball (minus actually winning championships), the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Texas Tech could be rewarded with Kasidi Pickering for its poaching ways
Pickering spent three years with the Sooners before deciding to finish her career somewhere else. She leaves OU with 182 starts and 186 games under her belt after immediately cracking the starting lineup as a freshman in 2024 as the Sooners won a fourth consecutive national title.
She really broke out as a sophomore in 2025 and was named NFCA First Team All-American and First Team All-SEC after hitting a career-high .392 with 18 home runs, 57 RBI, 58 runs and 14 doubles. After that stellar showing, Softball on SI reported last June that Pickering was among multiple players the Red Raiders tried to poach without even being in the portal. Texas Tech was taking advantage of an NIL loophole to start recruiting transfer targets early with massive paychecks, according to the article.
Pickering declined the opportunity and returned to Oklahoma before her numbers actually dipped as a junior thanks to a midseason slump that even had her briefly lose her starting role. Even with the struggles, Pickering still finished with a .370 batting average and a career-high 20 home runs.
Read more: Tracking every player Oklahoma softball loses and gains from the transfer portal
With the heat obviously cranked up for Pickering to stay in OU's starting lineup, the fear of her entering the portal arose while looking for a reset. The exit then seemed like a guarantee when just a few hours after the Sooners' season ended with an upset loss to Mississippi State in Super Regionals, Pickering praised Texas Tech making the Women's College World Series by sharing via Instagram a video of the Red Raiders celebrating punching their ticket with the comment, "This is everything."
Now, with Pickering actually in the portal with a destination apparently already decided, it doesn't seem like an overreaction when fans panicked that subtle post meant Pickering would leave for Texas Tech.
Pickering was the fourth player the Sooners lost to the portal so far after Tia Milloy and sisters Riley and Berkley Zache. Pickering, though, is by far the biggest loss.
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