Forged by a 'Very Tough' SEC, Oklahoma is Built for June

The Sooners are one of nine SEC teams playing in Super Regionals, meaning they know exactly what to expect from the business end of the softball season.

Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso waves to a fan while the Sooners warm up at the 2025 WCWS. | Carson Field, Sooners on SI

NORMAN — SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is going to enjoy taking in the Women’s College World Series. 

The Southeastern Conference is already guaranteed three of the eight bids in Oklahoma City, and the league could send up to six teams to compete for the 2026 national title at Devon Park. 

Nine of the 16 programs competing this weekend in Super Regionals hail from the conference, as it has again reinforced that it is the best league in the sport. 

Patty Gasso knew that’s what Oklahoma was getting itself into when the school made the move to the conference, and she sees it as nothing but a positive for her players. 

“My life’s work in coaching has been in the Big 8 and in the Big 12. So it’s kind of bittersweet,” Gasso said on Wednesday. “But at the same time, what is going on in the SEC is what I am signed up for. And that is just challenges every weekend.”

The 3-seeded Sooners host Mississippi State this weekend, pitting OU against one of the handful of SEC teams it missed in the regular season. 

If Oklahoma wins and gets back to Oklahoma City, it could battle Florida, the tournament’s 6-seed, on the opening day of the WCWS. 

All SEC teams got a reprieve from the conference in regional play due to NCAA seeding rules, but Gasso isn’t bothered to see another league member in Super Regionals. 

Gasso’s Sooners won the SEC regular season title for the second year in a row.

“For our team to find a way to win the regular season again was pretty amazing,” Gasso said. “And it just kind of shows I think the work that we put in here to get ourselves prepared for every weekend because it is very, very tough. 

“But we wouldn’t want it any other way. We’re trying to build ourselves tough.”

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Last year, OU split the SEC Tournament title with Texas A&M before making a run that ended in the semifinals of the 2025 WCWS. 

Oklahoma outscored opponents 28-1 in last weekend’s Norman Regional, and the Sooners hope to notch another SEC series victory this weekend to get back to Devon Park. 

“I love it and it makes us better, and that’s what we’re looking for and that’s what we got,” she said.