The national recognition for Oklahoma baseball in the 2026 season didn't stop at the Men's College World Series and winning the national championship.
The Sooner skipper, head coach Skip Johnson received a national trophy of his own after being named the 2026 National Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
Johnson led the Sooners on what Oklahoma radio voice Toby Rowland called "the most improbable, most inconceivable, most unbelievable championship run in OU history," beating five nationally seeded teams in the NCAA Tournament, including four of the top seven, on the way to the 2026 national championship.
It was the second time Johnson has been named Coach of the Year in college baseball, both coming with Oklahoma. Johnson also received the honor in 2022 with an OU team that finished as College World Series runner-up to Ole Miss. The 2022 Sooners, however, were members of the Big 12. Johnson's 2026 Sooner team is in its second season as a member of the almighty SEC, which sent 12 teams to this year's NCAA Tournament and five to the MCWS.
Johnson is the only Oklahoma head coach to be honored as National Coach of the Year in baseball.
Skip Johnson is the only OU baseball head coach to be named National Coach of the Year
Oklahoma completed the 2026 season with an overall record of 43-22 after going 11-2 in a remarkable postseason turnaround and 5-1 in six College World Series games. OU's magical run to the national title included a pair of wins each over No. 2 and ACC champion Georgia Tech and No. 3 and SEC champion Georgia, along with wins over No. 7 Alabama, No. 15 Kansas and taking two of three against No. 5 North Carolina in the CWS championship series.
It was an unbelievable charge to the finish line by an Oklahoma team that began the 2026 season winning its first seven games and 17 of its first 20. The Sooners lost 18 of their next 33 games and were 4-9 in the 13 games preceding the beginning of postseason play. OU was 14-16 in the SEC this season and finished in an 11th-place tie with Vanderbilt in the conference standings. Hardly the resume for a national championship contender.
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The Sooner offense caught fire in the postseason and three freshmen starters stepped up their game to a championship level. In fact, Oklahoma became the first team in College World Series history to reach the championship round and win the national title by starting a freshman on the mound in every game.
There was little question who was the hottest team in the country at season's end. The Sooners had a .291 team batting average for the season and averaged 7.1 runs and 9.6 hits per game. In the NCAA Tournament, however, Oklahoma hit .331 as a team and average 9 runs and 12 hits a game.
The Sooners also cranked up their power bats in the postseason. They hit 47 home runs in their final 19 games (30 of those in the postseason) after hitting 48 home runs in the first 46 games of the season.
This was Johnson's ninth season at the helm of the OU baseball program. He is 310-198 (.610) in his nine seasons. His Sooner teams have gone 28-14 in the NCAA Tournament and are 8-3 in the two times he has taken them to the Men's College World Series.
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