Get to know the 2022 Oklahoma Sooners softball team and schedule

NORMAN — OU softball returns the majority of its roster that led the Sooners to the program’s fifth national championship last season.

The Sooners started the season at the top of the polls and are the favorites to win this season’s Women’s College World Series.

The biggest losses from last season’s team were pitchers Giselle Juarez and Shannon Saile and outfielder Nicole Mendes.

OU coach Patty Gasso concentrated on bolstering her pitching staff in the offseason, adding freshman phenom Jordy Bahl and North Texas transfer Hope Trautwein to join with Nicole May as the backbone of the Sooners’ pitching staff.

“Man, they’re hard to hit off of,” said OU’s Jocelyn Alo, one of the most prolific hitters in NCAA history, before the season. “They’re the only pitchers I’ll give credit to because I don’t have to face them in a game.”

Here’s a look at the players most expected to contribute for OU in 2022:

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Pitchers

Jordy Bahl, RHP, Freshman: The Papillion, Nebraska, product was last year’s Gatorade National High School Softball Player of the Year and the consensus top prospect in the 2021 class. The led Papillion-LaVista High to three consecutive state titles and went 27-0 with a 0.10 ERA, allowing just 27 hits and walking 15 while striking out 316 in 137 innings last season. She also batted .510 with 20 home runs and 55 RBIs.

Nicole May, RHP, Sophomore: The lone returner in the Sooners’ core pitching group, May was 15-2 with a 2.37 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings last season. She earned Big 12 All-Freshman honors as well as a spot on the Big 12 All-Tournament Team. May picked up a win against James Madison in an elimination game in the WCWS.

Hope Trautwein, RHP, Redshirt Senior: The North Texas transfer set a bevy of records at her previous school, including for career ERA (2.05), wins (61), saves (15), lowest opponent batting average (.197) and strikeouts per seven innings (8.11). She set a North Texas and Conference USA single-game strikeout record with 21, reaching the mark three times. She pitched the first all-strikeout perfect game in NCAA Division I history last season against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

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Catchers

Kinzie Hansen, Junior: Hansen started 58 of OU’s 60 games last season at either catcher or first base, hitting .438 with 24 home runs and 66 RBIs. Her home run total was third on the team last season and fifth nationally. Three of her home runs came in the WCWS. She’s also a member of the 2022 USA Softball Women’s National Team.

Lynnsie Elam, Redshirt Senior: Elam started 41 games in 2021, mainly at catcher and DP, hitting a career-best .346 with 12 home runs and 44 RBIs. In the regional, she was 6 for 9 with three home runs, six RBIs and a double.

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Infielders

Tiare Jennings, Sophomore: Jennings took the college softball world by storm last season, setting the NCAA freshman record for RBIs with 92, which ranks 10th for any player. Her 27 home runs were three shy of the program and NCAA record for freshmen. Her 52 extra-base hits set a program record, as did her 25 doubles. She started 57 games at second and the other three at third and hit .462.

Jana Johns, Redshirt Senior: The South Carolina transfer hit .293 with 12 home runs, five doubles and 40 RBIs last season for the Sooners, starting 54 games at third base. Johns’ biggest hit was a solo home run in the second game of the WCWS Championship Series vs. Florida State.

Grace Lyons, Senior: Lyons started all 60 games at shortstop for the Sooners last season, making just five errors with 64 putouts and 65 assists. The Peoria, Arizona, product hit .392 with 14 home runs, 12 doubles and 52 RBIs. Lyons stole a base in three consecutive games in the WCWS.

Grace Green, Senior: The Oakdale, California, product was a key contributor off the bench last season, starting 11 games and playing in 40 total. She hit .373 with 25 RBIs, five doubles and four home runs. Green blasted a pinch-hit grand slam in the Sooners’ 14-3 regional victory over Wichita State.

Outfielders

Rylie Boone, Junior: The Owasso product was primarily a reserve last season, starting nine games in the outfield but playing in 55 of 60 games. She hit .412 with 13 RBIs and 31 runs scored with six stolen bases. Boone was 2 for 3 in the WCWS with three runs scored. Her brother, Trevor, plays baseball at Oklahoma State.

Jayda Coleman, Sophomore: Coleman started 51 games in centerfield last season, though also made starts at the other outfield spots and at first base. She had a team-high 20 stolen bases as a freshman, and ranked second on the team with a .545 on-base percentage. The lefty from The Colony, Texas, had a 1.136 OPS last season, hitting .44 with nine home runs with 53 RBIs and 70 runs scored. She struck out just nine times in 171 at-bats and had a 43-game streak of reaching base.

Mackenzie Donihoo, Junior: The Mustang product became a fan favorite during last season’s championship run with her penchant for coming through with clutch hits and big plays in the field — and the emotion she showed when she made them. Donihoo started 31 games, hitting .438 with 45 RBIs, seven doubles and nine home runs. In the WCWS, she led the team with a .476 average and the tournament with 10 RBIs, hitting three home runs. She hit two in a win over UCLA for the first multi-homer game of her career.

Alyssa Brito, Sophomore: The Tustin, California, product hit .299 with 10 homers and 31 RBIs, making 31 starts at shortstop as a freshman last season at Oregon before transferring. She went 81 consecutive chances without making an error to begin her collegiate career and was a second-team All-Pac 12 selection.

Taylon Snow, Redshirt Senior: In her second season with the Sooners after transferring from Auburn, Snow hit .328 with 37 RBIs. She started 35 games at first base and a combined 11 games at the corner outfield spots. Snow made just one error with 179 putouts and five assists last season.

Utility

Jocelyn Alo, Senior: The reigning USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and Big 12 Player of the Year entered the season just seven home runs behind Lauren Chamberlain’s program- and NCAA-record of 95 career home runs. Her .425 career batting average entering the season is first in program history. The Hawaii product set a program and Big 12 record with 34 home runs last season, and had a 40-game hit streak that was the second-longest in NCAA history.

Hannah Coor, Freshman: The No. 14 overall player in the 2021 class and No. 5 shortstop by Extra Inning Softball, Coor hit .618 with nine home runs and 40 RBIs as a high school sophomore in Yorba Linda, California, before the season was cut short due to COVID-19. Coor is the latest Batbusters alum to join the Sooners.

2022 Oklahoma softball schedule

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU softball: Sooners roster, schedule for 2022 season