Karlie Keeney is 'Settled' Back Into Life at Oklahoma as She Tackles Her New Role

The Sooners' interim pitching coach can finally focus fully on the job at hand after moving back to Norman from Kentucky.

Former Oklahoma pitcher Karlie Keeney is serving as the program's interim pitching coach. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Oklahoma’s pitching staff is in for its next great test this weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.

Patty Gasso believes that her pitchers need to step into the circle with confidence this weekend to prevail against teams like No. 20 Duke and Washington and San Diego State, who are both receiving votes in the NFCA Coaches Poll.

Another factor that could help No. 5 Oklahoma’s staff is simply having a “normal” week with interim pitching coach Karlie Keeney.

The former Sooner joined the staff in place of Jennifer Rocha right before the season started, and she still had to get her life back together in Norman last week after returning home from Arizona.

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“Yeah, (Keeney’s) had a journey, literally, driving to Kentucky and back to Oklahoma,” Gasso said on Tuesday. “And so she is settled now, and I think it should allow her to breathe.”

The stability will allow Keeney to dive headfirst into the task at hand, something that Gasso is excited to see.

“It also will allow her — she is a student. She has charts and she's got — she just looks at it like Rocha,” Gasso said. “They just stare at their iPads, and they're just going over it again and again and again and note taking. And so preparation is what makes both those pitching coaches so good.”

Just like Rocha, Keeney brings a calming presence to the pitching staff on game day.

“She had a lot of confidence in everyone,” sophomore pitcher Audrey Lowry said last week. “She’s just fun to work with, fun to talk to. She’s just easy to interact with, so it’s just good to have her in the dugout.”

Oklahoma used its trip to New Mexico to iron out the details of the coaching staff’s daily routine, something that Gasso hopes will translate to a smooth operation at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.

“I think it went better,” Gasso said. “I trust her, believe in her. She is working with Coach Rocha from afar and really gathering information as to how to pitch call, and so forth. Karlie is a really smart pitching coach. She knows how to set up hitters. We allowed our catchers to call a few innings. I thought that worked well.”