Payton Verhulst Savoring one Last NCAA Tournament Ride With Oklahoma

NORMAN — Payton Verhulst sees the end coming up quick.

But though Verhulst, Oklahoma’s redshirt senior who does a bit of everything for the Sooners, knows her college basketball days are in their final moments, she's trying not to make too much of it.

“I’m just getting to enjoy it,” Verhulst said Thursday, the day before Oklahoma opens the NCAA Tournament against Idaho at 9 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center. “And I feel like not putting so much pressure on, ‘Oh, this is the last, this is the last,’ because there’s going to be a lot of last everything. I think my team does a good job of really loving on me and saying those things.”

Verhulst’s time in Norman has been marked by plenty of change.

She arrived in early 2023 after transferring mid-season from Louisville, having to sit while the Sooners won the Big 12 title.

Then her first season on the court, Oklahoma started 6-5 with a stunning loss to Southern before turning things around after the preseason loss of Liz Scott changed the way the offense ran.

Last season, the Sooners added Raegan Beers to the roster, turning them from a five-out offense to one that fed the ball inside regularly.

Then this season, the addition of Aaliyah Chavez plus the further development of sophomore Zya Vann changed the dynamic of how Oklahoma’s offense ran through its dual point guards.

“So Payton’s had to learn a lot,” Sooners coach Baranczyk said. “Sometimes it feels like you don’t have the production or you’re not the player or you go through these different emotions, but the reality is look at the difference that she’s had and she still finds ways.

“She’s very, very versatile. She’s a huge key for us. I want her having fun. I want her to play really hard. I want her to enjoy this experience. I want her to know how good she is.”

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Verhulst’s production when it comes to numbers has been up and down this season.

She’s averaging 11.9 points and 3.2 assists per game, her lowest totals of her three seasons at OU.

But Verhulst is one of the biggest keys for how the Sooners’ system works on both ends, as she has the ability to work with the ball in her hands or away from it, creates opportunities for her teammates, and can direct them as well.

She’s coming off one of her worst shooting performances of the season, going 3 for 13 from the field and 1 of 6 from beyond the 3-point line with a season-high five turnovers in the 112-78 loss to LSU in the SEC Tournament.

Baranczyk expects bug things from Verhulst during her last ride through the tournament.

“Payton’s had a great week,” Baranczyk said. “There was something different that really shifted in her this week, and you could see it. Sometimes that’s the end is near, sometimes it’s just what’s right in front of you.”

During her time in Norman, Verhulst has played in five NCAA Tournament games.

She’s averaging 12.2 points, 3.0 assists and shooting 33.4% from the floor in those games. In three games last season, she averaged 15.0 points, 3.0 assists and shot 39%.

Baranczyk is also savoring her last weeks — at most — coaching Verhulst.

“I love watching young people figure it out, and even if it’s on the last day that she figures it out, great. … I think every single thing that she has learned is exactly what she’s supposed to learn, even when it doesn’t always feel good,” Baranczyk said. “I love coaching her. I love watching her navigate this, and I love what she can do for us. We need her now more than we’ve ever needed her. So she’s going to get to step up, and she’s going to play really well in this tournament, I just know it”

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