Oklahoma's Dual Dynasty
Oklahoma Claims Fourth Straight Softball Title, Adds 2026 Baseball Championship for Dual National Prominence
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Key Points
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In the 2024 WCWS finals, Oklahoma overcame an early deficit in Game 2 to clinch the title, with Cydney Sanders delivering a decisive two-run single and Kasidi Pickering and Ella Parker adding key hits as the Sooners secured their fourth straight national championship in softball.
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During the 2026 College World Series final, a pivotal defensive moment came when Dasan Harris fired to third on Rom Kellis V’s base hit, tagging the trailing runner at third and helping preserve Oklahoma’s lead in a game they would win 13-2.
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In Game 3 of the 2026 CWS, a critical sequence unfolded as Walker McDuffie’s bases-loaded walks loaded the bases, Jaxon Willits delivered a two-RBI single, and Caden Glauber was pulled after a walk—moments that helped spark Oklahoma’s offensive eruption on their way to the title.
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Jaxon Willits was named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player, with Kyle Branch driving in six runs (including a homer) and LJ Mercurius delivering multi-inning relief to seal the championship.
Oklahoma softball made history in June 2024, winning its fourth straight Women's College World Series title — the first program ever to accomplish that feat — with an 8-4 win over Texas in Game 2 of the finals, capping a dominant 59-7 season SoonerSports. Then, two years later, the Sooners pulled off one of college baseball's most stunning turnarounds, rising from 11th place in the SEC to crush North Carolina 13-2 in the 2026 College World Series finale in Omaha LA Times.
Together, the two titles cement Oklahoma as the premier multi-sport program in college athletics — winning national championships in both major diamond sports within a three-year span Just Baseball.
Softball's Four-Peat: A Historic Dynasty Under Patty Gasso
Oklahoma's 2024 WCWS title was the program's eighth overall and its most historic. No team in NCAA softball had ever won four straight national championships. Coach Patty Gasso's Sooners went 59-7, steamrolling the competition before facing rival Texas in the finals at Devon Park NCAA.
In Game 2 on June 6, Oklahoma overcame an early deficit. Cydney Sanders delivered a decisive two-run single. Kasidi Pickering and Ella Parker added key hits. Pitcher Kelly Maxwell — a transfer from Oklahoma State — dominated throughout the series and was named Most Outstanding Player SoonerSports. The title also served as a farewell to the Big 12, as Oklahoma departed for the SEC the following year SoonerSports.
Baseball's Improbable Run: From SEC Cellar to Omaha Champions
The 2026 Sooners were picked to finish 14th out of 16 SEC teams. They finished 11th, going 14-16 in conference play and losing seven of their final nine regular-season games. They entered the NCAA Tournament as a bubble at-large team with an RPI of 16 Just Baseball.
Then everything clicked. OU upset No. 2 seed Georgia Tech in the Atlanta Regional, swept Kansas in the Super Regionals, and beat Alabama and No. 3 Georgia twice in Omaha to reach the finals ESPN. Outfielder Trey Gambill summed up the SEC grind simply: "You're going to get punched in the face... The question is… do you like the taste of blood?" SEC Network.
Game 3 Explosion: Branch's Six RBIs Blow Open the Final
North Carolina forced a winner-take-all Game 3 by beating OU 6-2 on June 21. The decisive game on June 22 turned on a critical sequence: Walker McDuffie issued bases-loaded walks, Jaxon Willits ripped a two-RBI single, and the Sooners' offense never stopped NCAA. Oklahoma won 13-2 before 23,248 fans at Charles Schwab Field Sports Business Journal.
Second baseman Kyle Branch drove in a career-high six runs, including a three-run homer. "I just wanted to execute for my brothers," Branch said 247Sports. Relief pitcher LJ Mercurius threw 5.2 innings of one-run ball to seal it. Shortstop Jaxon Willits, who set a school record with 13 hits in Omaha, was named the CWS Most Outstanding Player SoonerSports.
Title Count Debate and What the Championship Really Means
Some outlets called it Oklahoma's "first championship since 1994." Others called it the program's third title overall, after wins in 1951 and 1994 Wikipedia. The official university and NCAA records confirm three total titles. The confusion came from media framing the 32-year gap as a defining angle, not a second title SoonerSports.
What is not in dispute: OU's win was the SEC's seventh straight CWS title, extending the conference's stranglehold on college baseball MLB.com. Coach Skip Johnson kept his team together through the slump. "They got really confident the last month... they were selfless," he said LA Times. Analyst Eddie Radosevich called it "one of the most improbable championship runs in OU athletics history" SoonerScoop.
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