There are unrealistic expectations for Oklahoma softball, but that's also because Patty Gasso's program has achieved the impossible.
The Sooners are heading into their first SEC Softball Tournament as the top seed to begin another postseason as the four-time defending national champions. OU won the regular-season conference title in its first season in the loaded SEC and has been ranked inside the top 5 all year, yet it still seems like the Sooners have underachieved at times compared to past success.
Gasso was a guest on College Sports Radio on SiriusXM ahead of this week's SEC Softball Tournament and was completely transparent about the expectations of her team after the program has won four national titles in a row.
Patty Gasso honest about expectations for Sooners
"The pressure of the last four years has been pretty insurmountable," Gasso said. "The expectations of if you don't win it again, then what a disappointing season. I'm like, 'OK.' Talk about elite, the last four years I've had absolutely elite of the elite players on my team who were ballers, and they were tough. They were not rattled by anything."
Gasso has made it clear throughout this season that this is not the same group that won four straight national titles. The Sooners had to replace almost their entire roster from last season. In the 2025 season opener, 11 players made their OU debut.
That's why so many college softball fans tipped their caps to Gasso when the Sooners claimed the regular-season crown last weekend. OU had everything against it between roster turnover and joining the toughest conference in the country.
But the Sooners still prevailed and always seem to do, which is why Sooner Nation has become accustomed to only the best.
"This team is just hungry. They're hungry," Gasso said. "They're just hard-working, want to be great -- and sometimes they try too hard to be great. But I've had a great time with them and really trying to teach them that you're more than wins and losses, because they really are taking on a lot.
"I'm talking Sooner fans. I love them, but they're hard to please, because they want it all, all the time. And if it's not that, then you're a bum. And I'm like, 'Wait a minute.' So that's why I really try to just talk to them about the fact they are so much more than winning and losing."
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