Oklahoma was again well-represented among softball individual royalty with three Sooners named Softball America 2026 Preseason First-Team All-America selections.
The Sooners tied Texas Tech, last season's national runner-up, with three players named to the first-team. Selected from Oklahoma were junior outfielder Kasidi Pickering, junior utility Ella Parker and sophomore shortstop Gabbie Garcia. Both Pickering and Parker were NFCA First-Team All-Americans last season.
3 Sooners selected to Softball America's 2026 Preseason All-America Team
Pickering hit .392 last season as a sophomore with 18 home runs, 57 runs batted in and an .807 slugging percentage. Parker led the Sooners in hitting a year ago with a .423 average, along with 15 home runs, 53 RBIs and a .789 slugging percentage. Garcia batted .351 as a freshman with a team-high 20 home runs and 58 RBIs. Garcia was also stellar with the glove, committing just four errors in 177 fielding chances as the Sooners' starting shortstop.
In addition to Pickering, Parker and Garcia, two other Oklahoma players, redshirt sophomore third baseman Nelly McEnroe Marinas and LSU transfer pitcher Sydney Berzon, were also named to the top-50 watch list for 2026 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.
OU's five selections were tied with Red River rival and defending national champion Texas for the most from any one team. The top-50 list included 24 players from the SEC, the most of any conference.
Softball America also last week released a top-100 players list that featured Parker, Pickering, Garcia, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas and Berzon.
Oklahoma has had 44 First-Team All-Americans in program history, all under head coach Patty Gasso, who is beginning her 32nd season at the helm. The Sooners start the 2026 season on Feb. 5 at Arizona State. That is followed the next day by a three-game weekend series against Arizona as part of the Candrea Classic in Tucson, Arizona.