OU Leads Four Big 12 Teams in Softball America Top 25 Poll
Patty Gasso and the Oklahoma Sooners are in a familiar position heading into the 2024 softball season as they’ll enter the year as the preseason favorite to hoist a trophy at the conclusion of the Women’s College World Series in June.
The three-time defending national champions will enter the year as the No. 1 team in the Softball America Preseason Top 25 Poll.
However, the Sooners aren’t the only team from the Big 12 that cracked the poll ahead of the 2024 season, as three other teams find themselves inside the top 15 of the poll.
Texas is the second-highest-ranked team in the conference, coming in at No. 7 after falling to Tennessee in the Super Regionals last year. The Longhorns return a plethora of young talent that should make them one of the most dangerous teams in softball this season.
Baylor checks in four spots behind the Longhorns at No. 11 after making an NCAA Tournament appearance last year. With Dariana Orme, Shaylon Govan, and Aliyah Binford coming back, this Bears team should be in line to get back there once again.
Oklahoma State checks in at No. 14 in the preseason poll after yet another run to the Women’s College World Series, joining their in-state rivals as the only team to make the trip to OKC in each of the last four seasons.
The Big 12 race should be as fun as we’ve seen it in some time with UCF, BYU, and Houston all joining the conference, but as has been the case for a while now, the title likely runs through Norman, Oklahoma.
The Sooners ride a 53-game winning streak into the 2024 season after making a perfect run through the 2023 NCAA Softball Tournament and look primed to make a run at history, hoping to be the first team to win four national titles in a row, but also eight of the last 10 national championships.
