There are a lot of Oklahoma Sooners getting hype to be the best softball player in the country in 2025.
The watch list for the 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year featured five Sooners of the 53 players included. OU players included Ailana Agbayani, Abigale Dayton, Sam Landry, Ella Parker and Kasidi Pickering.
The SEC led all conferences with 23 players, making up almost half of the list. OU tied with Florida for the most players from a single program included.
For the 23rd season, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will honor the best player in college softball. The list will be narrowed down to 25 on April 30, then 10 finalists will be announced on May 14. The final step before a winner will be three finalists on May 19.
Players do not have to be included on this initial watch list to be named one of the 25 finalists.
The winner of the award will be announced before the Women's College World Series starts in Oklahoma City.
OU has had two players win the award before. Jocelyn Alo earned it in back-to-back seasons in 2021-22, and Keilani Ricketts also won it back-to-back in 2012-13.
Parker, Pickering and Dayton probably have the best chances of emerging as the third Sooner to be honored. All three were also already named D1Softball Preseason All-Americans, with Parker and Pickering getting first-team honors.
The Sooners will start their season against California State Northridge on Feb. 6 in San Diego. OU will also play San Diego State that same day.