🥎 OU earns NCAA tourney's top seed
🥎 OU earns NCAA tourney's top seed
Oklahoma softball is the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in program history and will begin its run in Norman.
✌🏽 Happy Monday, friends. Let’s ride.
📖 Word count: 830 (About five minutes)
📱 Follow Eyes on Oklahoma on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Keep up with all the latest on the Oklahoma Sooners by subscribing to Eyes on Oklahoma and receive a FREE newsletter every Monday and Friday with all of the most important stories around Norman.
🥎 OU lands No. 1 seed
Oklahoma’s weekend at the Big 12 tournament didn’t go quite as planned.
Sunday’s NCAA softball tournament selection show, however, did.
The defending national champions are the No. 1 overall seed in this year’s field, and they will begin NCAA regional play on Friday at Marita Hynes Field.
Here is a quick look at the Norman regional:
The teams
Oklahoma (49-2, 17-1 Big 12)
Texas A&M (29-26, 6-18 SEC)
Minnesota (26-24, 11-12 Big 10)
Prairie View A&M (20-27, 16-8 SWAC)
The schedule
Friday, May 20
Game 1: Texas A&M vs. Minnesota, 4 p.m. CT on ESPN2
Game 2: Oklahoma vs. Prairie View A&M, 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+
Saturday, May 21
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, time TBD
Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner
Sunday, May 22
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner (if Game 3 winner loses, the teams will play again later on Sunday to determine the regional champion)
Scouting report
Oklahoma: The Sooners were without star freshman Jordy Bahl this past weekend but managed to get to the Big 12 tournament championship game, where they lost in extras. OU still has its biggest goal in front of it, and its offense and defense haven’t been better. If OU can get Bahl back, and at 100%, the Sooners should find its way back to the Super Regional round.
Texas A&M: The Aggies’ record shouldn’t impress you, but they did play one of the toughest schedules in the country. Texas A&M obviously did just enough to get into the postseason, including a series win over No. 6 overall seed Alabama. Aside from taking two of three against the Tide, the Aggies were consistently limited on offense and defense by better competition and stumble into NCAA regional play after losing three of their last four.
Minnesota: The Gophers are coming off of a first-round loss at this year's Big Ten tournament to Wisconsin. They do have some familiarity with their regional, having faced OU on March 7 in Norman but falling 9-1 in five innings. Minnesota boasts a solid defense and one of the better team on-base percentages in the country at .387.
Prairie View A&M: The champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference will try to play Cinderella after grinding its way to an automatic berth via its conference tournament. The Panthers are led by Biviana Figueroa, who boasts a .461 batting average, 59 hits and 38 RBIs so far this season.
🍑 OU lands JUCO QB
Oklahoma’s latest quarterback transfer is anything … but a welcome addition to the Sooners’ depth.
General Booty announced his commitment to OU over the weekend. He transfers to OU after one season at Tyler Junior College.
Who is General Booty?: We’re glad you asked! Booty was a 3-star prospect and a Class of 2021 prospect. He had a few FBS offers, including Liberty and Louisiana-Monroe, but Booty opted for the junior college route to increase his profile. He is the nephew of former NFL quarterback John David Booty.
Will he compete for playing time?: For content purposes, we truly hope so. But it’s unlikely he will crack the Sooners’ depth chart with the likes of Dillon Gabriel and recent addition Davis Beville from Pitt in front of him. I suppose he wouldn’t be the first OU walk-on quarterback to unseat the likely starter.
🏟 Around campus
🎾 OU women continue historic run: For the first time in program history, OU women's tennis is headed to the Elite Eight. The No. 2-seed Sooners defeated Stanford 4-1 on Friday. Click here for more on the Sooners’ victory, and where they will play next.
⚾️ OU takes series vs. West Virginia: OU (31-18, 13-8 Big 12) won its final home series of the year, taking two of three games against West Virginia over the weekend. The Sooners capped the weekend with a 17-7 win over the Mountaineers in seven innings on Sunday. For more on OU's series win, click here.
🏌️♂️ OU men open NCAA Regional play at home: It's a big week in the Sooner State for golf, and it starts with OU hosting its NCAA Regional. The Sooners, who are this year's top overall seed, will begin the three-day event today at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club. Click here for more, including a link to live scoring.
🎧 Subscribe to the pod
The Eyes on Oklahoma podcast returns tomorrow. You can subscribe to the show on all major podcast platforms, including:
Baker Mayfield says hi.