Entering the third weekend of the college softball season, Oklahoma stood 8-1 and ranked No. 4 nationally by both Softball America and ESPN/USA Softball.
The reigning SEC champions play 12 games in 11 days, beginning with six games this weekend in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, California, a suburb of Palm Springs. This is the 19th time in the last 21 years that Oklahoma has participated in this popular early-season tournament.
Sooners competing in Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic just outside of top 3
This year marks the first time in the past five seasons that an Oklahoma softball team has lost a game this early in the season and was ranked lower than No. 3 nationally. Despite that, the 2026 Sooner softball lineup may be one of the most prolific offensive teams that Patty Gasso has put on the diamond in her 33-year tenure as Oklahoma head coach.
Oklahoma may be in slightly unfamiliar territory in winning percentage and national standing this early in the season, but the Sooners have wasted little time showing off what they are capable of offensively, leading all of college softball in several major categories. After two weeks, OU leads the country in runs scored (125), runs per game (13.89), home runs (38), on-base percentage (.557) and slugging percentage (.951), and is No. 2 in batting average (.460).
The Sooners are averaging 4.2 home runs a game through the first nine contests. At that pace, they would round the bases a total of 247 times this season. The all-time NCAA record is 161, set by the 2021 Oklahoma team. OU hit 121 round-trippers a year ago, third-best in Division-I softball.
The Sooners returned 100 of those home runs for this season, along with additional power from a talented freshmen group that includes starting center fielder Kai Minor and catcher Kendall Wells, who already have three and four, respectively, this season.
Sophomore Audrey Lowry has established herself as the early ace of the OU pitching staff. The left-handed starter has already equaled her win total from last year (6) and leads the staff with a 1.18 earned-run average, along with 14 strikeouts in 23.0 innings. The concern for the Sooners from a pitching perspective, with a staff that goes six deep, is that no other OU pitcher has recorded more than 8.2 innings of work.
Senior southpaw Kiersten Deal entered this season with a career record of 27-3 over three seasons and a 2.05 ERA. She has struggled mightily, though, in three 2026 starts, going just 3.0 innings and allowing eight earned runs, resulting in a lofty ERA of 18.67.
Gasso is excited about what she's seen from Lowry so far and feels that the rest of the staff is on the verge of getting things turned around.
"I do think we're turning a confidence corner," Gasso said during last weekend's New Mexico stopover. "It's not stuff, it's confidence. Just continue to minimize walks and keep the ball in the park. And even if it goes out, we're going to match it. We always do."
The Sooners began play in the Mary Nutter Classic with a couple of wins against Cal State Fullerton and San Diego State on Thursday. They'll play a single game on Friday vs. No. 14 Duke, a twin bill Saturday against Long Beach State and California, and finish out the weekend action with one final game on Sunday vs. Washington.
The six games in Southern California will complete Oklahoma's 15-game season-opening swing through the Mountain and Pacific time zones.
The Sooners will be home at Love's Field for the home opener next week, featuring a pair of games each against Alabama State and Sam Houston State. OU will play Alabama State under the lights on Thursday, followed by a doubleheader with both teams on Friday and again on Saturday.