Although Oklahoma didn’t add another national championship to its crammed trophy room this year, a third-place finish at the 2025 Women's College World Series didn't change the fact that the softball program remains the gold standard for all others to contend with season in and season out.
As 13 OU alumni over this summer have confirmed, the momentum continued long after the last second of eligibility ran out as the Sooner dynasty extended beyond Love’s Field across the Oklahoma City Spark, the Athletes Unlimited Softball League and the 2025 World Games.
Sydney Romero among members of inaugural Athletes Unlimited Softball League champions
The crimson and cream pedigree ran thick throughout the highest levels of play as all except Sam Landry (2025) were a part of least one of head coach Patty Gasso’s national title-winning squads, including four members of the 4-Peat Club in Tiare Jennings, Jayda Coleman, Kinzie Hansen and Rylie Boone from 2021-24.
The launch of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League in June saw five Sooners drafted to three teams. Keilani Ricketts (2010-13) and Hope Trautwein-Valdespino (2022) played for the Blaze, Jennings and Landry sent shockwaves as Volts, and Syndey Romero (2016-19) flocked with the Talons. While the former two teams finished fourth and third. respectively, in the final standings, the Talons won the title after defeating the Bandits in both games of the Championship Series and finishing the season with an 18-6 record.
Romero, Jennings and Landry had a homecoming at their alma mater in Norman, where the Talons went undefeated against the Volts in a four-game series on June 20-23.
In the All-Star Cup following the regular season where the players compete individually, Ricketts finished third in the standings with 1,184 points and a bronze medal after an August-long tour of North Carolina and Illinois. Romero, Landry and Jennings finished 41st, 45th and 56th, respectively, in the sixth running of the competition.
Eight national champions put together another successful season for OKC Spark
The independent pro circuit had a strong presence of Oklahoma talent. The Spark roster this season featured Jocelyn Alo (2018-22), Boone, Alyssa Brito (2022-24), Hansen, Haley Lee (2023), Kelly Maxwell (2024) and Alynah Torres (2023-24), finishing with a 19-4 record after defeating the Florida Vibe in the postseason playoff tournament.
Five former Sooners reunited with Patty Gasso to bring home gold in 2025 World Games
The sun never sets on Oklahoma’s softball empire.
Hansen, Coleman, Maxwell and Jennings traveled overseas to Chengdu, China and defended the US Women’s National Team’s title at the World Games. Team USA breezed through the five-day event undefeated and shut out Taiwan in the gold medal match, though the Eagles were put on the ropes by longtime rival and bronze medalist Japan in the semifinal that lasted 10 innings. Jennings was awarded the MVP for her performance leading the team with seven runs and eight hits.
Gasso made a statement in her international debut by leading the country’s top talent, which included the four aforementioned players under her guidance during the championship streak. For Sooner fans who can’t wait longer for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, the GOAT will once again call the shots in familiar territory when softball returns to Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
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