Oklahoma's Kasidi Pickering 'Finding her Groove,' Patty Gasso Says

Ella Parker said her advice to teammate Kasidi Pickering was simple.

“She’s Kasidi Pickering,” Parker said Tuesday. “You have to keep swinging. That’s the only way you can get out of a sort of funk or whatever.”

Going into last week’s series at Texas A&M, Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said her confidence in Pickering remained very high.

Gasso backed that up by hitting Pickering, who had been battling a slump, behind freshman phenom Kendall Wells in the first two games of the series.

Pickering backed up the confidence by delivering an RBI single in the fourth inning of Saturday’s opening game of the doubleheader, then coming through with a three-run home run off the top of the wall in the second game.

“I could just see a big exhale and a little celebration,” Gasso said Tuesday ahead of the Sooners’ SEC Tournament opener Thursday. “I think she has found her groove. You could feel it. You could see it in her body language and the way she’s talking. There’s just a joy that has just come back.”

Top-ranked and top-seeded Oklahoma opens the tournament against either LSU or Georgia at approximately 7 p.m. Thursday in Lexington, Ky.

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Though Pickering went just 2 for 10 at the plate in the series, the magnitude of the moments where she did come through stood tall. She also drew a walk in the third inning of Saturday’s finale.

Parker could feel the weight lift off Pickering with her Saturday performance.

“Super happy for her,” Parker said.

Pickering remains one of the most potent bats in the Sooners’ lineup.

Heading into the tournament, Pickering is hitting .383 with 17 home runs, 56 RBIs and 59 runs scored.

Pickering hasn’t had a multi-hit game since March 31 at Wichita State and hasn’t had one in SEC play since March 22 at Ole Miss.

Gasso believes she’s due for a breakout game soon.

Pickering has repeatedly delivered in the clutch during her time in Norman.

As a freshman in 2024, she delivered a grand slam in her first collegiate plate appearance, then hit two home runs in a 3-for-3 performance in her first regional game. She hit .353 with two home runs and three RBIs during the Women’s College World Series.

Last season, she went 7 for 8 in the series against Tennessee and went 2 for 4 against Oregon in the WCWS.

“I’m excited for her this weekend,” Gasso said. “It’s gonna be a big opportunity to really feel she is back. I think she tasted it, but I think we need to cement it.”

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