Oklahoma Soaking in Omaha Spectacle, but Ready to 'Make a Statement' on the Field

OMAHA – Oklahoma has arrived.

After a long, winding road through the 2022 season with plenty of high moments and low spots, the Sooners are set to take center stage at the College World Series in Omaha.

When a college baseball season begins, reaching “The Greatest Show on Dirt” is the top goal for all teams around the country.

It’s the pinnacle of the sport. It’s where the best teams meet to close out another year. That's where teams want to finish their season.

But while reaching the CWS is certainly a massive accomplishment worth celebrating, the job is far from done there.

Standing in the way of the Sooners and a national title are seven other teams putting together storybook runs of their own – hoping to finish things off by raising the trophy.

How to Watch

Charles Schwab Field, Omaha

Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M
1 p.m.
ESPN

Oklahoma is certainly excited to have made it this far, but the allure of the program’s third national title keeps them driving forward.

“We just try to stay in the moment,” center fielder Tanner Tredaway said at Thursday’s media day. “I think we enjoy this. We embrace this. This is once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I think we all understand that. But more than anything, we're here to make a statement.”

Entering the season, the Sooners were picked to finish just sixth in the Big 12 preseason poll, largely viewed as a fringe NCAA Tournament team.

Not many expected Skip Johnson’s club to still be standing in late June, a reality not lost on the team, and one that they've since turned into fuel – even now, heading into Friday’s opener as one of the last clubs eight playing.

“I think it helps us play with a chip on our shoulder,” shortstop Peyton Graham said. “Something to prove people wrong, that we came in here ranked eighth (in the College World Series). First ones out. I think that just rallies the guys, gets them fired up a little bit.”

Now, after an incredible run to reach this point, the Sooners enter the confines of Charles Schwab Field laser focused on the task ahead.

As Johnson and company have noted many times throughout the season, a “one pitch at a time” mentality will be utilized to block out all the other circus that surrounds the event.

“The biggest thing is when you're getting ready for a baseball game you're on a mission,” Johnson said. “All the other things can be a distraction.”

“Our main goal is to win it all,” Graham said. “But I think everybody's taking it (the CWS) in. They're not taking any moment for granted.”

For Oklahoma, this trip to Omaha – the program’s first since 2010 – also serves a therapeutic purpose for a team that largely feels like a potentially special 2020 campaign was taken away from them due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Sooners, who opened that season very well with an elite pitching rotation leading the way, seemed to be a top contender to reach the CWS – but never got to the opportunity to fulfill that projection.

Now, two years later, they stand among the nation’s best – a dream realized some 27 months after the devastation of a season canceled.

“That season just made everybody realize that you can't take any season, any game for granted,” Graham said. “You never know when your last one may be. So we're blessed to be here. And all the guys from that team, they've sent us videos, texts all the time, 'Go get 'em.' So it's awesome.”

When Oklahoma takes the field on Friday afternoon, it not only signifies a highly successful 2022 campaign, but serves as the culmination of seasons of pain on the road to this point through a very challenging 2019-2021 stretch.

The Sooners have done what not many thought they could in just simply reaching Omaha, but the satisfaction won’t be complete until they are the last one standing.

“We were here to make a statement in the regional,” Tredaway said. “We were here to make a statement in the super. And now we're here in Omaha to make a statement.”

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