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Oklahoma's Skip Johnson Named Central Region Coach of the Year

After a memorable 2022 in which the Sooners nearly won the national championship and set numerous standards, their Skipper is being recognized.

The awards are pouring in for Skip Johnson.

Oklahoma’s baseball coach on Wednesday was named 2022 Central Region Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association after guiding the Sooners to the College World Series and national runner-up finish.

In his fifth season in Norman, Johnson led Oklahoma to the Big 12 Tournament championship to clinch an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

The Sooners rolled through regional play in Gainesville, FL, and super regional play in Blacksburg, VA, to earn the program’s 11th College World Series appearance. The Sooners were swept last Saturday and Sunday in Omaha by Ole Miss, which won its first men's national championship in any sport.

OU trailed just 4-2 late in the first game and led 2-1 late in the second game, but came up short both times to the Rebels.

OU became only the second Big 12 school to play in the CWS’ best-of-3 championship series, and the first since Texas in 2009.

The Sooners finished 45-24 this year. They got hot down the stretch, winning their last five Big 12 Conference series, including a 27-12 record since April 12 and a 15-9 mark in league play.

Picked to finish sixth in the Big 12 preseason poll, OU tied for second in the regular season league standings, one win out of a tie for first place with TCU.

OU spent the entire postseason —and the final six weeks of the season overall — on the road but still went 14-5 record in that stretch.

Shortstop Peyton Graham, pitcher Jake Bennett, closer Trevin Michael, catcher Jimmy Crooks and center fielder Tanner Tredaway all earned earned conference, regional and/or national accolades for their 2022 season.

Tredaway posted OU’s second-highest hits total in a season (105), behind Kevin Burdick’s 118 in 1986. First baseman Blake Robertson set a program record with 69 walks. Second baseman Jackson Nicklaus set an OU freshman record for walks (34) and finished second among freshman with 11 home runs and 48 runs scored.

OU’s pitching staff — led by Johnson as the pitching coach — set a single-season school record 644 strikeouts, passing the previous mark of 608 set in 2018.

Oklahoma also recorded 145 stolen bases this year, the most by an OU team since 1989 (168). The team’s 73 home runs in 2022 were the most in a season since the 2010 team hit 105 homers.

Johnson is 157-103 in five seasons at OU.