COLUMN: Oklahoma's Journey to the CWS Was a Long Process, Not a Single Moment

There was a lot of "learning" happening early in the season, but players eventually bought in and now are on the verge of playing for a national championship.

OMAHA — It might have been the blown lead in the late innings of the rubber match against Texas. Or it might have happened the following weekend in game two at Oklahoma State when a four-run lead dissolved. Or maybe it was dropping two out of three at home to New Orleans.

Somewhere, at some point of the college baseball season, Oklahoma players had just had enough losing. Only 20-12 after dropping two of three conference games to the Cowboys, the Sooners somehow picked themselves up and resolved to turn things around.

That would be the convenient storyline.

But OU coach Skip Johnson said that epic moment never actually happened. There apparently was no clubhouse rant. No players-only meeting.

Instead, Johnson said, it was a season-long progression of improvement and positivity and supporting each other.

“That's what we do,” Johnson said. “I mean, you know, it's a family environment. It's loving relationships. It's all those things that are balled up in one.

“It's not something that, there's a ‘right ingredients.’ There's not magic dust that you put on top of the players. It's those guys willing to be selfless, and do things the right way all year long.”

The goal of getting to the College World Series and playing for a national championship, he said, was always there. It didn’t suddenly become possible because the Sooners got hot down the stretch and won their last five Big 12 Conference series. It didn’t come into focus when they swept the Big 12 Tournament. Players didn’t just decide they’re ready to push to the program’s third national title.

“No, I think there's always … your goal is to go play for the national championship,” Johnson said. “And that's always been our goal and we're trying not to let anything distract us from that.”

It’s one reason why Oklahoma’s underdog mentality – “a team full of Davids,” Johnson says – has helped galvanize the whole team.

“I think it just really keeps us all level headed and keeps us all the same,” said center fielder Tanner Tredaway. “It makes us feel like not one person is contributing more than the other. I think that's good for team morale and our success so far.”

“I think it helps us play with a chip on our shoulder,” shortstop Peyton Graham said. “Something to prove people wrong. … I think that just rallies the guys, gets them fired up a little bit.”

The Sooners are 44-22 and sitting pretty when they rematch with Texas A&M on Wednesday at Charles Schwab Field. OU knocked the Aggies (44-19) into the losers bracket 13-8 in their tournament opener last Friday, so just one victory – either Wednesday or Thursday, if necessary – will put the Sooners into the best-of-3 championship series over the weekend.

Oklahoma’s last title came in 1994, the second of three CWS trips in four years under Larry Cochell. Before that, the Sooners last won it all in 1951. They started 2-0 in Omaha during both of those title runs, and of course go into Wednesday at 2-0 this year.

Regardless of their talent level or the competition or how the breaks go, championship teams are often the best at handling their business. Taking care of the small things often leads to big things. Details matter.

Johnson has been impressed with that intangible element of his squad.

“Whether it's our grades, whether it's practicing on their own time, whether it's practicing game-like in practice, all those things are evolved (as part of) our culture,” Johnson said, “and we talk a lot about it. And really, really ecstatic watching these kids, how they evolved into young men and really pull for each other.”

Johnson doesn’t emphasize winning and losing to his players. Rather, he calls it “winning and learning.”

And early in the season, there was a lot of learning going on.

“A lot of people, I think, began the year and were like, ‘Winning and learning? Really?’ ” Johnson said.

Eventually, though, that message was received.

Players have become focused on the team, and on the micro level, themselves. They’re intent every day on getting better – “one pitch at a time,” Johnson stresses – and on handling those small things. To watch them run through yet another 90-minute practice at Bellevue East High School or take batting practice in downtown Omaha is to watch executives attend a business meeting.

“You're never going to perfect this game,” Johnson said. “It's an imperfect game in which you want to keep practicing all the little details that you want those guys to learn. Our goal is that when they leave there, they're going to be a good citizen, and be good baseball players who know how to play baseball. too, whether it's in A ball, Double-A or even in the big leagues.”