Fresh Faces: Why Tia Milloy Was 'Ready' to Hit the Ground Running at Oklahoma

The highly-touted freshman was raised in a family full of superstars, helping shape her work ethic to get the most out of her talent.

Oklahoma softball's Tia Milloy and Patty Gasso | Photo via Tia Milloy's X accout

Leading into the 2025 softball season, Sooners on SI is profiling Patty Gasso’s nine talented freshmen who are set to help OU in the program’s first trek through the Southeastern Conference. 

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NORMAN — Tia Milloy expects excellence and nothing less. 

The Oklahoma freshman holds herself and those around her to a high standard, which is undoubtedly a result of growing up in her family, 

Her mother, Claudine, was an All-American track and field star at Washington. 

Her father, Lawyer, enjoyed a phenomenal NFL career. 

Her oldest sister, Amirah, followed her parents footsteps to play softball at Washington, and Kiki Milloy starred at Tennessee, leading the Volunteers to a 2023 Women’s College World Series appearance.

The Milloy’s don’t just compete. They compete at the highest level, which is something that Tia embraces wholeheartedly.

She even effortlessly shakes off expectations to eclipse her sisters’ softball careers, which could be a weight that weighed down other freshmen. 

“My sisters want me to be the best. My parents see it as trial-and-error,” Milloy said last November. “They want each of us to learn from whoever came before us. I sat there and studied Amirah when she was at U-Dub. Then I sat and I studied Kiki when she was at Tennessee. Every single thing they learned at college, they passed down to me.”

In many ways, that mentality that was ingrained in Milloy from a young age makes her a perfect match for Oklahoma.

The Sooners are the softball machine of the last decade, and every team steps onto the diamond and has to wrestle with the weight of expectation passed down by the accomplishments of previous championship teams. 

Then once Milloy met Patty Gasso, she was sure that OU was the place for her. 

“My first impression of Coach Gasso was that she’s very straightforward and that is the type of coaching that I personally strive under,” Milloy said. “I don’t really like passive coaching. I feel like I would just rather you hold me under a high expectation, hold me accountable and I think that’s where I think that’s where I grow the best. 

“I knew that me and Coach Gasso would get along very well because I’m the same way, straightforward, and it’s been exactly the same way since I’ve gotten here.”

There was another thing that drew Milloy to Gasso, too.

“I think for me, a non-negotiable in my recruiting process is that I really wanted to have a female head coach,” Milloy said. “So my two older sisters, they played for female head coaches. I know that Coach Gasso really preaches that she wants to take girls and turn us into women. 

“And I think that even though we’ve only been here for three months, we have definitely learned a lot of lessons that I know I’m going to take in my life and maybe pass onto my children. I think that here, it’s about maturity and I know that I’m going to grow a lot here.”

Once Milloy arrived in Norman, Gasso wasted no time putting her versatility to the test. 

This past fall, Milloy played both infield and outfield before getting work exclusively on offense after a minor injury.

👏 A terrific throw from @tia_milloy ends the sixth!

4-2 Team Boomer as we head to the home half.

📺 SEC Network+ pic.twitter.com/o2Cbe66vje

— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) October 3, 2024

The result? Milloy was often on base making her teammates work defensively with heads up baserunning.

“Tia has a great lefty swing and is very passionate about the game,” Gasso said when Milloy signed. “She works well in the infield, but I believe she's athletic enough to play at any position. She's another one of those big-time hitters who will leave her mark on OU Softball."

Getting to watch both her sisters before her, Milloy had a good idea of what the schedule for a collegiate softball player looks like. 

That allowed her to get into the swing of things off the field quickly this past fall. 

Every newcomer gets pushed to the limit at Oklahoma, but that challenge is something Milloy’s upbringing prepared her for. 

“It’s very competitive in my household and we do hold each other accountable,” she said. “I would say that I wasn’t very focused when I was little and my two older sisters were always on me saying ‘Tia, you need to go get your reps in. You need to do this and do that.’ Not a lot of people get the privilege of living with professional athletes and four All-Americans right across the door.”

And though talent seeped through the walls in the house when Milloy was growing up, it did take her a little bit to fully open herself up to the coaching from her sisters. 

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Read More About Oklahoma Softball's 2025 Freshmen:

• Kadey Lee McKay
• Chaney Helton
• Sydney Barker
• Corri Hicks
• Riley Zache
• Gabbie Garcia
• Audrey Lowry

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“When I started reaching my potential, it’s when I started trusting in my family members,” she said. “I started trusting in the things that they were saying to me and being able to pick their minds on a random Tuesday night. I didn’t have to get and DM somebody and be like, ‘Oh, what? What was the process for this?’ 

“I think that was a privilege for me. And being able to talk to people that have already reached the heights that I’m trying to get to, it was amazing.”

Her growth was evident by the time she hit the major travel ball circuit. 

Milloy closed her final session with the Northwest Bullets by hitting .494 with a 1.490 OPS, tallying 44 hits and 27 RBIs. 

Now, Milloy is learning from her new teammates and coaches.

“Our support staff here is amazing,” she said. “… I think that, from day one, this team has gotten along very well. We mesh very well even though there’s half returners, half new people. This team has really good chemistry.”

Milloy, like the rest of the team, has soaked up the lessons from associate head coach and hitting coach JT Gasso as well as taking lessons from graduate assistant Tiare Jennings. 

“Just seeing her work with the middle infielders and stuff,” said Milloy, “I can always see her holding the middle infielders accountable and then just giving them advice that is picked up the next play.”

The competition for spots on the field raged all fall and it will continue through the early stages of the season. 

When the Sooners get rolling on Feb. 6, they’ll tour California and slide down to Waco before enjoying a nice homestand at Love’s Field. 

The shift in schedule will be an adjustment for all of OU’s freshmen, but Milloy expects to handle that with stride and do everything she can to help boost the team early. 

“I feel like I was ready to be here,” Milloy said. “I was ready for the schedule. I was ready for the practices and all that. I think I’m going to have a good career here.”