How Oklahoma Pitcher LJ Mercurius’ Fall and Rise Helped Sooners Win National Title

Throughout Oklahoma’s run in the NCAA Tournament, LJ Mercurius embodied the Sooners’ “yesterday is dead” motto as well as anybody.

Mercurius was OU’s Friday starter early in the 2026 season but got moved to the bullpen after several rough outings in a row.

The transfer pitcher, though, became one of the Sooners’ most reliable relief options and was integral to their run at the College World Series, which OU capped off with a 13-2 victory over North Carolina in Game 3 of the CWS Finals to win the program's third national title.

“When we moved him to the bullpen, he kind of bought into that,” OU coach Skip Johnson said. “He kind of embraced that.”

Mercurius transferred to Oklahoma from UNLV ahead of the 2026 season.

In his first four starts, Mercurius allowed only one run on nine hits, and he earned a winning decision in each of those contests. Mercurius was even named to the Golden Spikes Award’s Midseason Watch List.

But once SEC play began, Mercurius was far less reliable as a starter.

Mercurius went 1-4 in his first five SEC starts, allowing 23 runs in those contests. His final start of the year came against Arkansas on May 8 — the Sooners lost that game 12-2, and Mercurius’ ERA had skyrocketed to 5.62.

At that point, it would’ve been easy for Mercurius to mentally check out — but he didn’t.

“The biggest thing I've seen in my three years of college so far is teams have two choices,” Mercurius said. “It's either you kind of split apart when things aren't going well, or you come together when things aren't going well.”

The final several weeks of the regular season weren’t just rough on Mercurius; they were brutal for OU’s entire team. The Sooners lost four series in a row heading into the SEC Tournament, and they lost to LSU, the league’s No. 14 seed, in the first round of the conference tourney.

Per Mercurius, the Sooners’ skid — and his individual struggles — didn’t cause any friction within the clubhouse. Instead, OU used the skid to its advantage.

“Every day, when we were losing games, we were still in the locker room, having fun, cracking jokes and just pulling for each other,” Mercurius said. “We started a little Bible study there, and we had about 20 dudes show up and we were just giving it to God. I think that was the biggest thing — we just came together through our faith.”

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Throughout the postseason, Mercurius and his teammates reaped the benefits of their continued belief.

Oklahoma, seeded No. 31 overall in the NCAA Tournament, won two games in a row against No. 2 Georgia Tech to advance out of the Atlanta Regional. The Sooners then breezed through the Lawrence Super Regional, outscoring Kansas 21-3 in two games to advance to the CWS. And in Omaha, the Sooners took down No. 7 Alabama, No. 3 Georgia and No. 5 North Carolina to win the national championship.

Individually, Mercurius was a star out of the bullpen. The Sooners went 7-0 in games in which Mercurius pitched, allowing only three earned runs in those seven appearances.

Oklahoma called on Mercurius to relieve starter Nick Wesloski in Game 3 of the CWS Finals, and the bullpen ace allowed only one run on four hits in 5 ⅔ innings, helping the Sooners dominate the Tar Heels.

The ups and downs of his first season in Norman prepared him for the biggest spot of his career.

“The mindset was always the same,” Mercurius said. “Take my deep breath, finish my breath and just execute a pitch.”

After his outstanding final few weeks of the 2026 season, Mercurius could opt to join the professional ranks. Mercurius is ranked as the No. 172 prospect by MLB.com, meaning he’ll likely hear his name called in the first several rounds of the MLB Draft in July.

Mercurius has the option to return to Oklahoma in 2027 if that’s what he chooses. But if he ultimately decides to go professional, he knows that Johnson is to thank for his end-of-season turnaround.

“Skip’s a genius,” Mercurius said. “(If) Skip says, ‘Take a breath and throw one pitch,’ I'm going to take a breath and throw one pitch. When I started to appreciate it and really settle into listening and taking that breath, my game changed, and it shows. So I think whatever Skip says, you better frickin listen.”

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