The remarkable journey of Oklahoma’s core seniors and their quartet of championships

Oklahoma City Sooners coach Patty Gasso sat behind a table in the team room next to Marita Hynes Field in Norman, four months before Oklahoma won its historic fourth consecutive Women’s College World Series championship at Devon Park on Thursday night. Gasso thought about five of the most significant players in her program’s history. Days before Oklahoma started defending its title in 2024, it was February 5. The faces of right-handed pitcher Nicole May, outfielder Riley Boone, catcher Kinzie Hansen, infielder Tiare Jennings, and outfielder Jayda Coleman—pillars in college softball’s greatest modern dynasty—appears in Gasso’s thoughts as the Sooners gear up to pursue their eighth national championship.

Three days before the season began in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Gasso stated, “I think about them more than I ever have because I know that this is the end.” “It is the end of one of the most elite classes that has ever — and may ever — play softball.” Oklahoma City’s esteemed “Core Five” deserved their fairy tale conclusion. Following the Sooners’ 8-4 triumph on Thursday, ten seniors hoisted the trophy. Coleman, Jennings, Hansen, Boone, and May were among those who served as the backbone of the most legendary run in NCAA softball history. After graduating from high school, the five Oklahoman athletes signed with Gasso and helped the team win back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2024.

According to Gasso, “They’ve cemented this program in history.” “They have solidified their place in history. These men will live on in the annals of history, no matter how it changes.”

The team became the link between the previous era of Oklahoma softball and the Sooners’ new $47.9 million home at Love’s Field, mapping out a route from Marita Hynes Field. The veteran core helped the Sooners go from being a consistent national contender to an unstoppable power by winning three Big 12 tournament crowns and four national championships in addition to losing NCAA tournaments. With all four of the Core Five position players concluding their OU careers in the top nine in career hitting average—Jennings, Coleman, and Boone, ranked Nos. 2, 3, and 4 following renowned slugger Jocelyn Alo—they turned the Sooners’ lineup into a formidable force from top to bottom.

They were a fixture on the national stage, with Jennings, Coleman and Hansen tying former Sooner star Grace Lyons with 25 career WCWS games, the most ever, at the same moment college softball grasped the nation’s attention. But individually, each authored a career on her own.

Upon receiving Jennings’ national letter of intent in the class of 2020, Gasso offered a bit of an understated prediction.

“The game seems to come to her almost effortlessly,” she said. “It’s pretty to watch. She’s going to make an impact, no doubt.”

Her legacy is that of one of the best college softball players ever. After growing up alongside Alo, Jennings proceeded to terrorize opponents, concluding her career in the WCWS with 31 hits and 11 home runs, one more than Alo for the second-best total in each category. Throughout her career in Oklahoma, she averaged one home run per eight at-bats. Gasso called Coleman a “program-changer” when she signed with the Sooners, and she lived up to her coach’s prediction, becoming a standout on defense, particularly at the WCWS, and concluding her OU career as the program’s all-time leader in runs scored.

The Johnny Bench Award winner Hansen developed a solid platoon with the Sooners’ pitchers and gained a reputation as a tough captain who delivered key performances in some of the team’s most memorable moments, like as a walk-off home run in the inaugural game at the Sooners’ new stadium.

Boone was a crowd favorite, with the entire stadium echoing “Boooooone” every time she stepped up to the plate or made a spectacular catch. She batted over .400 for her career, taking her job as the No. 9 hitter seriously in a lineup that had no easy outs.

Gasso leaned on Boone and Coleman as “chaos coordinators” to get the team in gear.

“I shout out to Boone and Coleman because those two make this program go,” Gasso said. “They are full of energy, and that energizes everyone. When they aren’t energized, we aren’t energized. … It really sparked this team.”

May became a reliable arm throughout the Sooners’ title chase, going 62-6 over her career with a 2.22 ERA in 106 appearances. Gasso turned to May in a clutch situation to earn a save against Texas to win the Big 12 tournament, and she retired all five batters she faced, with three strikeouts. Then she did it again in the super regionals, slamming the door on Florida State, finishing the season at Love’s Field with a save and sending the Sooners back to the WCWS.

“There’s no one in that moment that I would rather have than Nicole May because of her hard work and her professionalism as an athlete, but her absolute commitment and loyalty to this program,” Gasso said after the game.

Beneath the domination of her stars, Gasso created history of her own, tying the record for the most NCAA softball championships with eight, under the tutelage of famed Arizona coach Mike Candrea. In the process, legends of the Sooners anxious to crown Gasso as the greatest got envious of her program. Returned to Norman for his youth football camp in 2023, Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield (UO 2014–2017) wore a tee that read “GASSO = GOAT.” At his camp, Mayfield told reporters, “This one was custom-made.” “I had it beneath my jersey when I went to the softball game. When she saw it, her mood did not improve. But she is the greatest of all time.”