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Get to know the 2024 Oklahoma Sooners softball team and schedule
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- Get to know the 2024 Oklahoma Sooners softball team and schedule
NORMAN — OU softball opens yet another national championship defense Thursday in the Puerta Vallarta College Challenge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
The Sooners will take on Utah Valley at 10:30 a.m. and Duke at 1 p.m.
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The biggest piece from last year's team the Sooners must replace is pitcher Jordy Bahl , last year's ace who came up big in the Women's College World Series.
Bahl decided to transfer home to Nebraska after last season, but the Sooners reloaded, adding Oklahoma State transfer Kelly Maxwell and several other experienced players.
Here's a look at the Sooners' softball roster:
More: OU softball: Three storylines for Oklahoma Sooners ahead of 2024 season opener
Catchers
Kinzie Hansen
Graduate, Norco, California:One of two captains for the Sooners, Hansen hit .409 with 13 home runs and 57 RBIs last season. Her three-run home run in the seventh inning of the second game of the Super Regional vs. Clemson was one of the highlights of OU's season.
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Riley Ludlam
Graduate, Fort Myers, Florida:Ludlam started 49 games last season for Furman, where she hit .372 with 10 home runs, 15 doubles and 41 RBIs, with a .988 fielding percentage.
More: Mussatto: Can Patty Gasso, OU softball pull off 'unheard of' NCAA four-peat? Of course.
Oklahoma Alyssa Brito (33) forces a runner out at second base and throws to first during a University of Oklahoma (OU) softball scrimmage at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla., on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023.
Infielders
Alyssa Brito
Senior, Tustin, California:Brito has solidified herself as the Sooners' third baseman, hitting .412 with 17 home runs and 60 RBIs last season with a .960 fielding percentage. Hit .417 in the 2023 WCWS.
Avery Hodge
Sophomore, Richmond, Texas : Hodge hit .261 with 21 runs and three RBIs as a freshman last season, appearing in 56 games — mostly as a pinch runner.
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Tiare Jennings
Senior, San Pedro, California:Jennings will move to shortstop after playing second base the previous three seasons. Jennings 73 career home runs is third in program history behind only Jocelyn Alo (122) and Lauren Chamberlain (95).
Nelly McEnroe-Marinas
Freshman, Waianae, Hawaii:McEnroe-Marinas is expected to redshirt after undergoing surgery recently that will sideline her for some time. She was the No. 6 player in the 2023 class by Extra Innings Softball.
Cydney Sanders
Junior, San Marcos, California:Sanders figures to be the Sooners' everyday first baseman after hitting .284 with nine home runs and 31 RBIs last season.
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Oklahoma softball schedule 2024: Sooners open Love's Field, look toward WCWS
OU's Rylie Boone (0) hits a bunt in the third inning against Florida State in Game 2 of the WCWS championship series on June 8, 2023, at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.
Outfielders
Maya Bland
Freshman, Argyle, Texas: Bland was the No. 11 player in the 2023 class according to Extra Inning Softball. As a high school junior, Bland hit .528 with 16 home runs, 61 RBIs and 22 stolen bases.
Rylie Boone
Senior, Owasso: A career .405 hitter, Boone started 61 of the Sooners' 62 games in the outfield last season and finished second on the team with a .493 on-base percentage.
Jayda Coleman
Senior, The Colony, Texas: Coleman is a career .425 hitter with 141 RBIs, 34 home runs and a .991 fielding percentage. Coleman was the 2023 Big 12 Player of the Year after starting all 62 games in center last season.
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Hannah Coor
Redshirt sophomore, Yorba Linda, California:Coor has battled back issues that forced her to miss all but four games last season after appearing in 40 games as a freshman. She was one of the Sooners' top hitters during the fall.
More: Relive OU softball's run to three straight WCWS titles with our 'Crimson Empire' book
Oklahoma's Kelly Maxwell throws a pitch during the University of Oklahoma softball competes in the Battle Series Game 5 at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla., Thursday, Nov., 9, 2023.
Pitchers
Kierston Deal
Sophomore, Winston Salem, North Carolina:Deal was 3-0 with a 0.77 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings last season. Deal made one appearance in the Women's College World Series, getting one out in the win over Tennessee.
SJ Geurin
Redshirt freshman, Leander, Texas: Geurin redshirted last season but was the No. 20 overall recruit and No. 7 pitcher in the 2022 class, according to Extra Innings Softball.
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Karlie Keeney
Graduate, Providence, Kentucky:As a senior at Liberty last season, Keeney was 27-12 with a 2.03 ERA in 240 1/3 innings, second most in the nation. She had 153 strikeouts. Keeney missed most of the fall due to a broken finger.
Kelly Maxwell
Graduate, Friendswood, Texas: Maxwell was 16-7 with a 1.91 ERA and a Big 12-best 229 strikeouts in 142 2/3 innings last season for Oklahoma State. She threw a shutout against Oregon in the Cowgirls' Super Regional win that sent OSU to the WCWS.
Nicole May
Senior, Pleasanton, California:May has consistently improved each season, going 18-0 with a 0.91 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 107 2/3 innings last season — all career highs. May is 48-3 in her career.
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Paytn Monticelli
Sophomore, Cedarburg, Wisconsin:As a freshman last season at Wisconsin, Monticelli was 7-4 with a 2.71 ERA. She led the Badgers in strikeouts with 82.
More: What does OU softball coach Patty Gasso think of Love's Field? 'It's the coolest thing'
Oklahoma's Alynah Torres (40) celebrates a double next to Stanford's River Mahler (22) during a softball game between the Oklahoma Sooners and Stanford in the Women's College World Series at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in in Oklahoma City, Monday, June, 5, 2023.
Utility
Quincee Lilio
Redshirt sophomore, Oceanside, California:Lilio hit .275 with 14 runs, a home run and nine RBIs last season, playing in 47 games with 12 starts.
Ella Parker
Freshman, Los Angeles : Parker, the niece of Dodgers ' manager Dave Roberts, was the No. 3 recruit in the 2023 class according to Extra Innings Softball. She hit .651 with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs as a junior.
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Kasidi Pickering
Freshman, Humble, Texas: Pickering was the No. 4 player in the class by Extra Inning Softball after hitting .608 with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs as a junior.
Alynah Torres
Senior, Glendale, Arizona:After playing her first three seasons at Arizona State, Torres hit .350 with two home runs, 28 runs scored and 23 RBIs last season for the Sooners. She hit .500 in the WCWS.
More: OU softball media day takeaways: Tiare Jennings moves to shortstop as Sooners start season
2024 OU softball schedule
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU softball: Oklahoma Sooners roster, schedule for 2024 season
