After falling short of reaching the Women's College World Series for the first time in nine years, it immediately seemed what the Oklahoma Sooners needed most to get back to Oklahoma City in 2027 is a reliable ace to carry the squad. Most assumed the quick fix to that would be found in the transfer portal, but with that window less than a week from closing, the answer to Patty Gasso's problem might already be in Norman or on the way, or at least might have to be.
The portal has taken from the Sooners this offseason, and so has graduation, but it's yet to give back. And unless a star pitcher abruptly enters the portal before it closes on Monday, there won't be a gift worth Gasso unwrapping and bringing home.
Read more: Patty Gasso admits WCWS disappointment was the wake-up call Oklahoma needed
On3 ranked LSU's Jayden Heavener and Texas State's Madison Azua, respectively, as the best pitchers to enter the transfer portal. Heavener has already committed to Texas Tech and Azua is headed to Texas A&M. However, neither really would have caused a monumental shift for the Sooners if added to the roster.
As of Tuesday, Texas transfer Cambria Salmon is the top pitcher still available in On3's rankings. Salmon appeared in just four games this past season while getting buried in the Longhorns' pitching rotation. If she's not good enough to be in the circle for Texas, she likely isn't north of the Red River either.
Below Salmon in the rankings is Berkley Zache, who just transferred from Oklahoma after barely seeing the field as a freshman with 14 appearances. That right there reveals the Sooners' options in the portal have already been exhausted if the second-best choice was just part of the problem they're trying to solve.
Sooners have young talent that could emerge as their next ace
That then puts the pressure on pitching coach Jennifer Rocha to upgrade what she already has coming back after Kierston Deal and Sydney Berzon graduated. Neither of those will be hard to replace, though. And although there's not an certifiable ace on OU's roster right now, that doesn't mean there won't be by next year's WCWS.
Lefty Audrey Lowry ultimately took over as the Sooners' ace in 2026 with a 2.70 ERA in 35 appearances and 19 starts. She'll return for her junior season, but Lowry is preferably a bullpen option or No. 2 for a championship team.
Others returning include Miali Guachino and Allyssa Parker. Like Lowry, Guachino is a solid No. 2 but not an ace after posting a 3.10 ERA in her first season at OU after transferring from Ole Miss.
Parker was Rivals' top pitcher from the 2025 class, but she's a do-it-all player that could be needed in the lineup elsewhere everyday. She was used primarily in relief as a freshman and had a 3.73 ERA in 20 appearances with seven starts.
Joining those three will be three more pitchers from OU's 2026 signing class in EK Smith, Keegan Baker and Malaya Majam-Finch, the niece of softball legend Jennie Finch. Smith and Baker are both top-5 prospects at their position with Smith at No. 4 and Baker right below her in Rivals' rankings.
That gives the Sooners six pitchers already on their 2027 roster and all are young players with promising potential. That right there would have been a blessing before the transfer portal era created the desire for immediate results and thinking that the portal is the only way to solve roster problems.
The Sooners' pitchers are certainly unproven, but they're young and talented, and 2027 could be the time for them to prove themselves as Gasso solves a roster problem the old-fashioned way by developing the players she recruited out of high school.
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