Oklahoma Announces Major Injury Update on Nelly McEnroe-Marinas

Oklahoma announced a major injury blow on Friday.

Third baseman Nelly McEnroe-Marinas will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, OU coach Patty Gasso announced.

McEnroe-Marinas sustained the injury in the top of the third inning of Sunday’s contest against Southeastern Louisiana.

She collided with catcher Kendall Wells as both players tried to catch a bunt that was popped up into foul territory.

McEnroe-Marinas was replaced by Sydney Barker after heading to the dugout.

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This season, she had made 19 appearances, including 16 starts, and she was hitting .462 with three home runs and 16 RBIs.

Her batting average ranks ninth on the team, and she combined with shortstop Gabbie Garcia to form one of the best defensive infield combinations in the country.

Last year, McEnroe-Marinas served as the team’s captain as a redshirt freshman, and she earned First Team All-SEC honors.

She hit .339 and started 61 games, totaling 15 home runs, 15 doubles, one triple and 48 RBIs. McEnroe-Marinas also drew 18 walks and was hit 10 times while striking out 32 times, and she finished the season with a .424 on-base percentage and two stolen bases.

After joining the program from Waianae, Hawai’i, McEnroe-Marinas had to redshirt in 2024 due to a season-ending injury that she sustained before the season.

McEnroe-Marinas was not serving the role of captain this season, as the Sooners have no official captain, though Gasso maintained that the redshirt sophomore remains a key member of the team’s leadership group.

The Sooners played their first game completely without McEnroe-Marinas on Tuesday against North Texas.

Barker started at third against the Mean Green, and she went 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run and two RBIs.

Before sustaining the ACL injury, McEnore-Marinas was carrying a shoulder injury.

Gasso held her out of the starting lineup in five games last weekend, using her sparingly as a late-game substitution before she returned to the starting lineup in the Sunday contest with Southeastern Louisiana.

OU will play a pair of double-headers on Saturday and Sunday against Louisiana and Abilene Christian in the Okana Invitational at Love’s Field.

This weekend will be the Sooners’ final before SEC play gets underway.

Next week, OU will host Tulsa in a mid-week contest on Wednesday before battling Auburn in a three-game series at Love’s Field starting on March 13.

The Sooners are currently 20-2 and ranked No. 6 in the country.