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Patty Gasso, Sooners pick up second softball transfer commitment

By Chip Rouse

Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso smiles during the first game of the Women's College World Series softball championship series game between the Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and Texas Longhorns at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Oklahoma won 8-3.
Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso smiles during the first game of the Women's College World Series softball championship series game between the Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and Texas Longhorns at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Oklahoma won 8-3. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY
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The Oklahoma softball program lost three players to the transfer portal after winning its fourth consecutive national championship. The Sooners also lose 10 seniors off of the 2024 roster.

On Sunday, coach Patty Gasso picked up a transfer commitment from Utah outfielder Abby Dayton. That's the second transfer portal addition in less than a week for the Sooners and there are sure to be more to come with the OU roster turning over by more than half from the 2024 to 2025 seasons.

Dayton's commitment to the Sooners comes just a few days after Oklahoma landed the commitment of former North Carolina catcher/infielder Isabela Emerling from the transfer portal

The Sooners are in need of outfield help after losing two starters -- Rylie Boone and Jayda Coleman -- to graduation. Dayton led the Pac-12 Conference this past season with a .431 batting average. The Riverside, California, native also led the conference with six triples, tied for 13th best in NCAA Division I softball, and finished second in the conference with a .521 on-base percentage.

Dayton, like Emerling, has two years of eligibility remaining. Both players are likely to be in the starting lineup when the 2025 season starts in February. I wouldn't be surprised to see Dayton in center field the next two seasons and hitting leadoff for the Sooners, just as Coleman did the past four seasons.

Dayton went to the same Southern California high school (Norco High) as departing Sooner catcher Kinzie Hansen. The Utah transfer had a connection to OU softball and the Gasso family, having played for Patty Gasso's son DJ in the 2023 season. He was the Utah softball hitting coach.

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