OU Softball: Oklahoma Leads Softball America Preseason All-America Teams With 10 Selections

As the 2023 softball season rapidly approaches, Oklahoma is once again dominating preseason headlines.

Softball America released its Preseason All-Americans on Monday, including 10 Sooners between the first, second and third teams.

Five of Patty Gasso’s two-time defending National Champions were picked on the first team.

Last year’s NFCA National Freshman of the Year, pitcher Jordy Bahl, was selected alongside Oklahoma State’s Kelly Maxwell and UCLA’s Megan Faraimo as the first team starting pitchers.

Bahl struck out 205 batters in 141 1/3 innings last year, finishing with an ERA of 1.09.

The defense behind Bahl was well represented as well.

Second baseman Tiare Jennings, shortstop Grace Lyons, center fielder Jayda Coleman and Arizona State transfer first baseman Cydney Sanders all joined Bahl as First Team Preseason All-American selections.

Jennings followed her stellar freshman campaign with another outstanding season in 2022. The San Pedro, CA, product launched 29 home runs while hitting .401 on the year and driving in 87 RBIs.

Lyons also provided plenty of power to the lineup last year, launching a career-high 23 home runs while batting .401 and only striking out 12 times. An impact player in the field as well, Lyons turned plenty of highlight plays at shortstop while posting a .960 fielding percentage.

Coleman’s energy in the outfield wasn’t ignored either, as she paired excellent defense in centerfield with taking the mantle of the emotional leader of the OU lineup when batting leadoff. She finished the year with an on-base percentage of .584, drawing 52 walks and adding 18 extra-base hits.

Sanders is preparing for her first season in Norman after bursting onto the scene last year at Arizona State. She was a finalist for the Freshman of the Year award Bahl won, while also being named a 2022 NFCA First Team All-American. In one year for the Sun Devils, Sanders set the program’s single-season home run record, sending 21 balls over the fence, while batting .425 and driving in 63 RBIs.

Texas A&M transfer Haley Lee was picked as a Second Team All-American, filling in as a utility player.

After setting Texas A&M’s single-season home run record at 25 in 2021, Lee posted another strong season in 2022.

She finished with 15 long balls, batting .405 and driving in 45 RBIs while splitting time between catcher and first base in the field.

Catcher Kinzie Hansen joined Lee as a second team selection.

Hansen battled injuries last season, seeing her home run haul of 24 from 2021 dip back to eight deep shots last year.

She also finished with a .273 batting average, well below her standard from 2020 and 2021, but was still a weapon behind the plate throwing out runners at second base. 

Nicole May, Rylie Boone and Alex Storako also earned preseason honors, as the trio were all named as Third Team All-Americans.

May posted a career-best 1.30 ERA last season, striking out 99 batters over 91 2/3 innings, finishing with an overall record of 15-1 with one save.

Boone locked down a job as OU’s starting right fielder last year, and brought a different kind of pressure to opposing defenses on the base paths.

Though she only hit five doubles, a triple and two home runs, Boone scored 43 times last year as she finished the year batting .408.

Storako transferred to Oklahoma from Michigan, where she will fill the void of an experienced arm on OU’s pitching staff left by the graduation of Hope Trautwein.

She earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Year honors in 2021, and posted a 25-8 record with a 1.71 ERA in 2022. Storako recorded 300 strike outs last year in 200 1/3 innings of work, only allowing 64 walks and an opponents’ batting average of .164.

Oklahoma’s quest to win a third consecutive National Championship will begin on Feb. 9 as the Sooners take on the Duke Blue Devils at the Mark Campbell Invitational in Irvine, CA. 

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