FULLERTON, Calif. — It can get pretty boring doing the same thing over and over again.
That’s pretty much the routine for Patty Gasso. For the Oklahoma softball coach, all she does is field a team that constantly wins. Over and over again.
But is she getting tired of it?
“Uh, no,” Gasso said with a laugh.
Cementing herself among the greatest coaches in sports, Gasso has guided the Sooners to the pinnacle of the softball world. She has eight national championships – seven of which have come in the last 11 seasons. – The Sooners are coming off their fourth consecutive title – unprecedented in the sport.
Even with all of the success, the quest for a fifth-straight championship might be the Oklahoma’s most difficult challenge yet. But early indications show the Sooners won’t go down easy and are ready to add some more hardware to the trophy case.
It’s difficult to win one championship, let alone four in a row. But surprisingly, it’s happened 13 other times in NCAA history across all divisions and sports. The fifth straight is where the crowd shrinks. Five consecutive titles has happened five times, last in 2011-15 from the mighty North Dakota State football team in FCS.
If Oklahoma wants to join another prestigious list, Gasso will have to mostly lean on players that haven’t tasted championship glory.
A major reason why Oklahoma won four in a row was the ‘Core Five,’ a superstar 2024 graduating class that knew nothing but ending the season on top of the softball world. They compiled an astounding record of 235-15 during their time in Norman.
That core is now gone, and the roster is composed of three players that regularly went to bat last season, two returning pitchers and 14 newcomers.
“I’ve had such a savvy group of players the last four years that really were elite athletes, and so we’re really working, teaching, finding different ways to win with a different set of skills,” Gasso told USA TODAY Sports.
Of course, Gasso brought some potential stars to fill the holes. Highly ranked recruits that made up one of the top recruiting classes in the country and transfer portal hauls now make up the majority of the roster.
It may be a lot for a freshman or inexperienced player to be thrusted into the role, but Gasso said it wasn’t hard for her newcomers to understand the standard. In fact, she feels like they’ve probably taken it a little too seriously, causing some unwarranted pressure. It’s been about trying to take that mental hurdle out of their minds and get them into the same routine that’s worked for four years.
“We always have the same expectations,” Gasso said. “We work every team the same way. Every day of practice, it’s fast, it’s hard, it’s hustling, it’s blue collar. That’s really been our mantra since I’ve been there, and it’s not gonna change.”
What hasn’t changed either so far in 2025 is the winning. The Sooners opened up the campaign with a trip around Southern California, starting in San Diego and then to Fullerton, Los Angeles and Long Beach for six games in four days. It wasn’t against high-caliber teams, but it was a trip with plenty of time in traffic with short turnarounds.
“I want them to feel these challenges, because this is what it really feels like when you get to the end of the season,” Gasso said.
Despite all the moving around, the trip was a success – a 6-0 record with plenty of highlights from those newcomers. Isabella Smith, a senior transfer from Campbell, threw a perfect five innings against California Baptist, and freshman Gabbie Garcia hit a grand slam in an offensive onslaught against Cal State Fullerton.
There was success, but it didn’t come without some challenges. The Sooners were pushed to extra innings against San Diego State and Long Beach State, and Gasso felt in other games her team left too many people on the bases, showing signs this team isn’t exactly national championship-looking yet.
“There’s just so much more that we have to learn and figure out, but they’re catching on,” Gasso said.
There will be plenty of opportunities for Oklahoma to fine tune things in the first month of the season. It only has one ranked opponent, Baylor, before it enters what Gasso calls the “gauntlet” of the SEC. Oklahoma did have worthy challengers in the Big 12, but it now joins conference that has 10 other teams in the top 25, including top-ranked Texas and No. 2 Florida – teams it will face at the end of the regular season.
Gasso knows the challenge they will be navigating in the SEC, and that’s why she wants the start of this season to be focused on getting the team’s body and mindset ready for the task.
“It’s going to be very tough. Even at home, it’s going to be tough,” she said. “We’re trying to get our girls here to turn into women before we get into the SEC.”
By the time we get to the NCAA Tournament, the Sooners may not have a dominating record or be one of the top four national seeds. It’s not the same ol’ Oklahoma, and that’s perfectly fine with Gasso. She’s having fun and insists she’s having a good time working with this group.
It’ll be an even better time if this team is hoisting a fifth consecutive trophy in Oklahoma City.