Patty Gasso and the Oklahoma Sooners will be chasing history in 2024. The back-to-back-to-back defending national champions are looking to become the first program to ever pull off a four-peat. In order to do that, they’re going to need to fill some gaps left behind by player who left either due to eligibility running out or through the transfer portal. That’s exactly what Gasso did, though. She reached down into the prep level and brought in four incredibly talented true freshmen for the 2023-24 season. There’s also not a coach out there who plays the portal game better than Patty Gasso, and the top team in the land was also named as having the top transfer class ahead of the 2024 season.
On Monday, D1 Softball announced it’s top five transfer classes for 2024. The group was led off with Oklahoma, in the top spot, and then followed by Arkansas, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Alabama.
The Sooners made waves shortly after the conclusion of the Women’s College World Series when star pitcher Jordy Bahl announced that she was going home and transferring to Nebraska. Unphased, Gasso convinced three-time All-Big 12 first teamer, and two-time All-American, Kelly Maxwell to cross Bedlam boundaries and finish her career in Norman. Maxwell was named the 2022 co-Pitcher of the Year, sharing the award with Bahl, but she wasn’t the only cannon added to Oklahoma’s pitching battery. Graduate right-handed pitcher from Liberty, Karlie Keeney, and and Paytn Monticelli, a sophomore right-handed pitcher from Wisconsin. That’s a combined 981 strikeouts, 92 wins, and an ERA of 2.10 among the three new portal pitchers. That’s not a bad trade at all for Jordy Bahl.
The Sooners also added Riley Ludlam, graduate utility player from Furman who was the Southern Conference Player of the Year and NFCA All-Region selection in 2023 for Furman after she hit .372 with 10 home runs and 41 RBIs.
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