Pair of Oklahoma Sooners among Softball America’s freshmen to watch for 2023
What Patty Gasso has created in Norman is nothing short of extraordinary. Not only do they have an incredible lineup returning to defend their back-to-back national championships, but they brought in an incredible recruiting class as well.
The Sooners have one of the best pitchers in the game with Jordy Bahl. They also have a pair of pitchers that were third-team preseason All-American selections in Nicole May and Alex Storako. Then they added the No. 1 player in the country, left-hander Kierston Deal.
Deal and Jocelyn Erickson were mentioned by Softball America’s Breanna Bryant as true freshmen to watch for the 2023 season.
Deal is a left-handed pitcher for Oklahoma. She was originally committed to the University of South Carolina, but decided to decommit during her recruiting process. Deal had a very successful high school and travel ball career. She was named the Gatorade North Carolina Softball Player of the Year as a senior after posting a 23-3 record with a 0.79 ERA and 305 strikeouts in 150.1 innings pitched. – Bryant, Softball America
The Sooners have a tremendous rotation even if they don’t utilize Deal much in 2023. However, she’ll get opportunities to contribute, which will not only serve her well in the future but take some of the workload off of the shoulders of the Sooners’ top three pitchers. Throwing from the left side gives Gasso and assistant head coach Jennifer Rocha the ability to play matchups if they want to.
Like Deal can be for the Sooners’ pitching rotation, Jocelyn Erickson’s hitting ability adds another powerful option for Patty Gasso and J.T. Gasso.
Erickson is a catcher and first baseman for Oklahoma. About Erickson, Sooners head coach Patty Gasso said, “She can do special things for us.” Erickson is going to help an already dominant lineup at Oklahoma. She led the state of Arizona with 25 home runs and batted .624 with 58 RBIs during her senior season at Sandra Day O’Connor High School. Erickson was also named the Gatorade Arizona Softball Player of the Year. – Bryant Softball America
Patty Gasso hasn’t been shy about inserting freshmen into the lineup if they prove to be ready for big-time at-bats. That was the case with Jocelyn Alo, Jayda Coleman, and Tiare Jennings, and it sounds like Jocelyn Erickson could be the next great true freshman in Oklahoma’s lineup.
She has a shot to be involved at first base, to spell Kinzie Hansen behind the plate, and hit in the designated player role vacated by Alo.
The Oklahoma Sooners are easily the deepest team in the country. From the circle and at the plate they feature a host of preseason All-American selections and some of the top players from the 2022 signing class.
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10 Oklahoma Sooners named to Softball America's Preseason All-American teams
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Projected lineup for the Oklahoma Sooners as they prepare for national title defense
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