Oklahoma Sooners news: John Mateer sports gambling fiasco, 5-star commit, Nik Bonitto Top 100

John Mateer sports gambling fiasco

Late Monday night, Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer was trending on X after a viral post accused him of gambling on sports in 2022 and included screenshots of Venmo transactions from Mateer's account that were titled, "Sports Gambling (UCLA vs. USC)" and "Sports gambling." Gambling on college sports as a student-athlete is against NCAA rules.

However, within 24 hours, it looks like the whole fiasco is behind us. Mateer released a statement Tuesday afternoon that denied the allegation. He confirmed the Venmo account was his, but said the transaction titles related to gambling were "inside jokes."

Shortly after Mateer's statement, OU also released one, with the university stating that it does not expect an investigation from the NCAA.

“OU Athletics provides ongoing education to its student-athletes, coaches, and staff on matters related to sports gambling,” OU said in its statement. “The department utilizes ProhiBet, which is an industry-standard service offering comprehensive monitoring of sports gambling activities. OU takes any allegations of gambling seriously and works closely with the NCAA in any situations of concern. 

“OU Athletics is unaware of any NCAA investigation and has no reason to believe there is one pending.”

Sooners land 5-star Jake Kreul

Five-star defensive end Jake Kreul on Tuesday announced his commitment to the Sooners live on ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show."

ESPN is the only major recruiting service that lists Kreul as a five-star prospect, while every other service gave him four stars. According to the 247Sports Composite, Kreul is the No. 9 edge rusher in the country and became the highest-rated 2026 commit for the Sooners so far.

Nik Bonitto debuts in NFL Top 100 Players

Denver Broncos linebacker and former Sooner Nik Bonitto made his debut in the NFL Top 100 Players at No. 38 after a breakout 2024 season.

Bonitto was the fifth former OU player to be included in the 2025 NFL Top 100 Players after Creed Humphrey (93), Joe Mixon (58), Baker Mayfield (50) and Trent Williams (45), and there will still be more to come.

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