Patty Gasso facing rare rankings slide at Oklahoma

Although they didn't suffer a dramatic tumble from a massive upset, the Oklahoma Sooners are still headed in the wrong direction of national rankings early in the 2026 college softball season, which is extremely rare for Patty Gasso's program.

After going 5-1 last weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, California, the Sooners slipped one spot to stay just inside the top 5 of this week's ESPN / USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll that was released on Tuesday at No. 5. OU also fell three slots from No. 4 to No. 7 in the latest Softball America rankings on Monday.

Sooners slip again in college softball rankings

OU started out as the No. 3 team in ESPN / USA Softball's preseason rankings, but after an early loss to Arizona, the Sooners slid to No. 4 after the opening weekend. The Sooners stayed put last week, but then suffered another dip this week as they've yet to rise at all in those national rankings this season.

The Sooners are off to a 13-2 start with three weeks complete of the 2026 college softball season. OU lost to Long Beach State in an unbelievable 6-4 upset on Saturday. However, the blow from that upset was weakened since the Sooners also tallied a pair of ranked run-rule victories over the weekend against then-No. 14 Duke 11-1 and then-No. 23 Washington 15-2. OU also handled San Diego State, which was receiving votes in national rankings, and California. However, the Sooners did need an extra inning to avoid an upset against Cal State Fullerton, 6-5.

Pitching has been the Sooners' biggest fault so far as the staff is without pitching coach Jennifer Rocha, who's away from the team while dealing with a health matter. If OU's pitching staff finds any kind of consistency, though, watch out, because the Sooners' lineup is already hitting at a historic pace.

Through three weeks, OU leads the country in home runs, total runs and slugging percentage, and is second in batting average and total hits. However, the Sooners are not inside the top 50 of any major pitching stats.

This week, the Sooners will host Alabama State, Sam Houston State and Southeastern Louisiana for their first games of 2026 at Love's Field. OU will rotate between Alabama State and Sam Houston State while playing ASU three times and Sam Houston State twice before a single game against Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday. The Sooners will also travel to North Texas on Tuesday to finish off what should be seven easy wins within a week to figure out their early issues before bigger challenges come.