PROUD TO BE AN OKIE: Local talent vital to Vaughan, Rogers State softball

Jun. 8—Oklahoma is a softball state.

It is a phrase that has picked up steam in recent years with the combined success of the Sooners and the Cowgirls, and several smaller schools — including Rogers State — have added to the argument in 2022.

The Hillcats are fresh off winning the NCAA Division II national championship while Oklahoma City University also won a title in the NAIA ranks. Elsewhere, Murray State College (NJCAA Division II) in Tishomingo and the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (NAIA) in Chickasha also made deep runs in their respective world series.

And a majority of those players aren't transplant Oklahomans.

Of the 125 players on the six state schools that made the world series of their respective divisions, 82 are native to Oklahoma (65.6%). USAO tops the list with 18 of its 19 players (94.7%) hailing from the Sooner State while OU has the lowest in-state usage at 20% (4 of 20).

RSU comes in behind USAO, OCU and MSC with a respectable in-state tally of 76.9%, with 20 Oklahomans filling its 26-player roster. When RSU coach Andrea Vaughan took over the program in 2016, that number was at 40% (8 of 20).

Here is a look at the full list:

USAO: 18 of 19 (94.7%)

OCU: 11 of 13 (84.6%)

MSC: 17 of 22 (77.3%)

RSU: 20 of 26 (76.9%)

OSU: 12 of 25 (48%)

OU: 4 of 20 (20%)

TOTAL: 82 of 125 (65.6%)

*Numbers are based on current rosters listed on each team's website.

"Obviously, OU and OSU are going to get the cream of the crop, but we want that next tier to come to Rogers State," said Vaughan, who captured a state championship as a player for Claremore in 1994 before winning a national title with OCU in 1997. "We've got a lot of local talent in Oklahoma, and I think we're proving we've got the best talent in the nation with OU, OSU, Oklahoma City, us, Murray State and USAO — you just look at all the programs that are really succeeding. It's pretty awesome.

"You can stay right here in your backyard and get really great talent. You've just got to be getting that top tier right underneath OU and OSU, and there are so many players who are at that level. There are a lot of players at the Division II level who could go play D-I, and they choose Division II, whether it's because they want to stay close to home or because of their degree or what they want to study."

Furthermore, Vaughan has proven to be one of the top in-state recruiters among her RSU coaching peers.

In the 2021-22 school year, only Hillcat men's and women's cross-country and track, coached by Matt Kennedy, had more Oklahoma representation on their rosters. The softball team ranks third overall and first amongst RSU ball sports.

Here is a breakdown of RSU's in-state athletes per sport:

Women's XC/T&F: 20 of 21 (95.2%)

Men's XC/T&F: 18 of 21 (85.7%)

Softball: 20 of 26 (76.9%)

Men's soccer: 15 of 32 (46.9%)

Women's basketball: 5 of 14 (35.7%)

Men's basketball: 6 of 17 (35.3%)

Baseball: 8 of 31 (25.8%)

Men's golf: 3 of 12 (25%)

Women's golf: 2 of 10 (20%)

Women's soccer: 3 of 29 (10.3%)

TOTAL: 100 of 213 (46.9%)

*Numbers are based on current rosters listed on each team's website.

Vaughan doesn't always have to look far within Oklahoma to find great talent, though.

Four of the 26 players listed on the softball roster are from right here in the Rogers County area, including Verdigris alums Jaylan Gibson and Jackie Zaferes. Rylee DeLozier and Makayla Bowman, a pair of seniors from Collinsville, are the other two.

"Jaylan Gibson has been a huge contributor to our success here," Vaughan said. "She's a great defensive third baseman and can swing it. I remember watching her at the state tournament her senior year and thought, 'That kid can come in and play for us.' She's had to develop and grow and all that into the player you see now, but again, it's about finding those players who have the ability to grow and have the ability to develop into what we need here to be successful. She's definitely one of those.

"Jackie Zaferes has been a great attribute to our team. She's a great teammate, and we use her in a pinch-runner role. She's fast, so she definitely contributes in that way, and we look for her to possibly develop into maybe playing some outfield for us.

"Makayla Bowman is a huge contributor to what we just accomplished, and Rylee has been with me since the very beginning and has been a staple of our success. She came in as a freshman in 2018 and was a part of that class that won us our first conference championship, and I attribute her to a lot of our success on this journey we've been on."

When recruiting multiple players from one school, forming relationships with not only the players but the coaches as well is critical to landing commitments.

Luckily for Vaughan, she is able to use her background as a high school coach to her advantage.

She was the head coach of Oologah softball from 2005-2012, winning the Class 4A state championship in her final season before moving on to RSU as a volunteer assistant coach in 2013. By 2016, she was named the head coach of the Hillcats.

"I value my relationships with the high school coaches," Vaughan said. "Coming from the high school world, I know what it takes to run a great high school program. I try to pull from those programs that know how to win and have structure within their program. What we do at this level does mimic a lot of what they do at the high school level. Those players, do they put the team first? Do they play a position that maybe isn't their favorite for the betterment of the team? Pulling from those successful programs is really, really key. When you pull from those programs, those players know how to win. When they have been in that state championship setting, you pull from that. You want those types of kids in your program because they're going to bring that with them."

Verdigris coach Brian Keith is among the connections Vaughan has built over the years. In addition to Gibson and Zaferes, she also coached Ali Turner, another one of Keith's former players at Verdigris, from 2017-2018.

Keith even lets Vaughan and the Hillcats utilize the Lady Cardinals' turf field during rainy weather.

The link between the two has certainly proven beneficial for both parties. Vaughan gets proven and adequately developed players from a nearby hotspot while Keith gets to watch his former protégés flourish under one of the best college coaches in the nation.

"I think she knows, and I think more people in Oklahoma will hopefully figure it out," Keith said of in-state talent. "There are good players in Oklahoma, and she can go and stay in-state and get players here to compete at that level. I think she's done a heck of a job getting talented players locally. She's got a lot of local kids on that roster that just won a national championship.

"She's around everywhere trying to recruit these high school kids around this area."

Until now, RSU has been what Vaughan calls a "well-kept secret" in the northeast corner of Oklahoma.

That will likely change now that the Hillcats boast a national championship, but that isn't a curse by any means. The recruitment pool in Oklahoma will continue growing, and interest from out-of-state prospects will almost certainly increase.

As a result, Vaughan's delve into states like Kansas, Missouri, Georgia, Texas and other states of interest will be that much more successful.

"I kind of feel like the sky is the limit now that we're on the map," Vaughan said. "Players all over may want to come here ... Once we get people on campus, they love it, though. It's a beautiful campus. It's small, but that's what a lot of our out-of-staters really like about it. They like the small-college atmosphere. Once you get on campus, it's not a hard sell. You just really sell the family aspect of it. It really is a tight-nit group here, and athletics is really valued here along with getting a great education."

However, don't expect Vaughan to lose her Oklahoma roots even when top-level out-of-state recruits start coming to Claremore to play for the Hillcats.

"It just makes for great crowds and makes for great support," Vaughan said of having local players on the roster. "Certainly if you can find really good talent locally, that's what I try to do. Bottom line, I'm out trying to find the best possible talent I can find.

"It just happens to be here in Oklahoma for us currently."