Next Fall Freshman Class

[TropicalSooner]

I almost posted this in the Class of '22 tab above, but since they are already signed and will be finishing their HS careers very soon (if not already) I thought I would go ahead bring this up in a new topic here.

For those that have access to this kind of information, do we know or follow how our signed HS seniors have been doing this spring: Kierston Deal LHP, Avery Hodge SS, Jocelyn Erickson C/1B, and Savannah Geurin LHP ?

I was wondering how their senior HS stats compare with last summer's travel ball stats.

Thanks!

[OUBeliever56A]

The only player I have seen anything about is Jocelyn Erickson (LH Catcher / 1B) from the same high school as Grace Lyons. I saw on EIS where she was hitting over .500 and had 20+ HRs during her senior year. I will take that every day from a LH Power hitter.

I think the summer is important for all four of the players.

I am sure everyone will be watching Kierston Deal (LHP and 1B) to see if she can have a 2022 summer like she had in 2021. She plays for the Tennessee Mojo - Fisher team. If she does, OU is in very good shape in the circle.

SJ Geurin has been on one of the better teams in high school in Texas. She plays for the Texas Bombers Gold in the summer. If she carries that to the summer like she did in 2021, the circle for the Sooners in the fall of 2022 will be full of quality pitchers with May, Bahl, Deal and Geurin. I do not know if McAdoo and Guthrie will be there or not.

Erickson will once again play for the OC Batbusters with a couple of other future Sooners, Maya Bland, Ella Parker and Nellian McEnroe Marinas in the 2023 Class. Erickson will catch, play 1B and hit in the middle of the lineup.

Avery Hodge (SS) will play for the Texas Bombers Gold with Geurin and she will probably play SS every game and bat leadoff. A strong summer will propel her into a strong fall at OU. That would be good to see.

I think this class will be a strong one for the Sooners!

[TropicalSooner]

Thanks very much for the information '56......can you tell me approximately when summer travel ball starts? and ends?

[OUBeliever56A]

Thanks very much for the information '56......can you tell me approximately when summer travel ball starts? and ends?

\

All the high school ball should be ending shortly. The Summer 18 and 16 play will start in earnest in June with a few tourneys the last weekend of May.

[TropicalSooner]

I guess that 4 incoming freshmen a year is probably all the scholarship room we have to work with annually (depending on graduation of course) but is there any other top rated HS senior that we might possibly look at? If not, then I guess we are all finished up for the next two years with 4 signees this fall and 4 verbal commitments next fall. What might we look for in the Portal if that becomes available? I realize bench size is self limiting---obviously only 9 players (plus DP) at one time, plus probably 4 extra pitchers, plus your freshmen group. But what would you look for if it was up to you to look in the portal for someone "special" to bring to the team?

[OUBeliever56A]

We have 20 active players on the roster right now (minus Donihoo and Waitman from what is shown).

We lose 5 Super Seniors and gain 4 freshman in 2022-2023.

That is a net of 19 players for 2019. It may be safe to assume that we lose one more player to a transfer off of this roster. That makes 18.

I think we could handle two transfers for the 2022-2023 season. Maybe a corner infielder (3B preferred) and/or a OF or Pitcher. If there are 2, That makes 20 on the roster.

For 2023-2024, we lose 2 and gain 4. That pushes things up to 22 roster players. Without transfers out, I am not sure we have room to receive a transfer or not with 22.

The next season we lose 6 players though at a minimum, probably all of them starters. (Hansen, Boone and May plus J Coleman, Jennings and Brito)

That reduces the roster to 16. So between recruits and transfers we need at least 4 players. BTW, the 16 players left are very good.

[AustinTXSooner]

I was doing the same analysis. Here are the groupings I came up with for the 19 players

Pitcher: Bahl, Deal, Geurin, Guthrie, May, McAdoo
Catcher: Erickson, Hansen, Nugent
Infield: T.Coleman, Green, Hodge, Jennings, Lilio, Lyons
Outfield: Boone, Brito, J.Coleman, Coor

Brito and T.Coleman can play infield or outfield. So we have a lot of flexibility there.

I'm fairly confident that Patty will want at least 20 on the roster. So we will pickup a player.

If we lose more than 1 pitcher to the portal, we'll pickup a pitcher. 5 is really the minimum you want there. Anything less, and an injury will really mess with your rotation.

We need to replace a starting 1B and 3B. Can Green still play 1B on a regular basis? I don't know enough about her leg injury to know if she is limited now. Clearly she was replaced by a middle infielder the last 2 years. Who starts at 3b? If Brito snags that position, then we'll need an outfielder from the portal. For depth if nothing else. We've run a string of shortstops through 3B, with Javon Henson, Shelby Pendley, Sydney Romero, and Eliyah Flores. But that doesn't mean that all shortstops can play 3B. Third is a highly reactive position. Some people have it, some don't. Johns and Romero definitely have it. If a really good third baseman enters the portal, we might make a run at them. Same for first base.

I think we're good in the outfield, unless one of our outfielders becomes a starter in the infield.

And I'm completely ignoring the fact that some of our pitchers might be able to play in the field.

[OUBeliever56A]

From the post of AustinTXSooner:
Pitcher: Bahl, Deal, Geurin, Guthrie, May, McAdoo
Catcher: Erickson, Hansen, Nugent
Infield: T. Coleman, Green, Hodge, Jennings, Lilio, Lyons
Outfield: Boone, Brito, J. Coleman, Coor

I think you are right about the pitching. We need 5. We will have 4 very good ones in May, Bahl, Deal and Geurin I think. I believe Guthrie is red-shirting this year based on what I heard from Coach Gasso yesterday. I do not know if that means Guthrie returns or not. I think it is time to make a decision on McAdoo.

Yes, Green can still play 1B. She has this year and she is finally taking infield with the team in pre-game drills. I would expect that Green and Erickson will share 1B in 2023. Green will DP when not at 1B, at least to start the season.

I think T Coleman is better suited to the OF than the infield. That lessens the need for another OF.

I think Lilio is more suited to the infield as you have her. I think she is a natural 2B, but she takes drills as a 3B. I also think she is red-shirting this year. That is good as we will need her on the roster 4 years from now.

Brito is the swing player. I wonder about her playing 3B due to the concerns you raised. She seems to be more a LF or a 2B than a 3B to me. She may be the player that fills a hole depending on a 'new last minute recruit' or a transfer from the portal. I think J Coleman and Boone are locked into a starting OF spot. Brito can fill the 3rd spot without a transfer. T Coleman can push both Brito and Boone for playing time. I like Coor a great deal, but I think her bat is a year away.

If Brito is forced to the infield, I would support Brito at 2B and Jennings at 3B. for a year, maybe more. Hodge is also a candidate for 2B next year and could be used at 3B also.

I think OU takes the best 3B / OF they can find. But the player needs to have power. We need to replace about 50 HRs somehow in 2023. Erickson will count for 10-15 maybe. Green will do that also. there are 30-20 still out there to find.

[OURed]

What about Erickson at 1st base? Unless she is better than Nuggent she wouldn’t get many opportunities at catcher next year.

[TropicalSooner]

Yes, as stated by 56 above, I would think Green and Erickson will be vying for 1st Base, at least at the beginning. Nugent does look to be the backup behind Hansen. I hope Erickson's knee has completely healed when she arrives at OU next fall. If it still needs recovery time, then 1B would be the best spot to do that I would think.

[OUBeliever56A]

Erickson's knee is reportedly fine now. She will be in the rotation at Catcher also, probably. She is a quality defensive player.

[JSULL60]

Lets not forget that Patty plans on Jordy Bahl in the batting order. She wanted to this year but Jordy wanted to concentrate on pitching. Patty has stated next year she will need Jordy's power in the lineup. Jordy does have homr run power

[OUBeliever56A]

Lets not forget that Patty plans on Jordy Bahl in the batting order. She wanted to this year but Jordy wanted to concentrate on pitching. Patty has stated next year she will need Jordy's power in the lineup. Jordy does have homr run power

This is true about Bahl. I can't seem to wrap my head around this yet. I have heard Coach Gasso say that Bahl is a good outfielder also. I know she played 2B mostly in summer ball and high school when she did not pitch to keep her bat in the lineup.

In infield drills before games, Bahl works out as a 3B which confuses me. I have to work on figuring out where Bahl might play if it is not DP.

I also think this may be an issue with Kiersten Deal (LHP/1B) in 2023 and it will be an issue in 2024 with Ella Parker (LHP/1B/OF). Nicole May could get in on the act at 1B/3B also in the future.

Next year will be a different type of lineup for the Sooners. The game evolves and a team must be on the edge of that evolution.

Boomer Sooner!

[AllSooner]

I have a couple of rudimentary questions that have been on my mind for some time. Is there an NCAA limit to the number of athletes that can be on the softball roster? By the same measure, is there a scholarship limit? How many scholarship players are on the roster?

I must admit that I have been an OU football fan since the mid-60's but only started following OU softball since my retirement in 2005. I fell in love with the speed and emotion of softball, as compared to baseball. These young women are talented, exciting, durable, and just down right fun to watch. But I never took the time to truly understand the inner workings of the sport until the last couple of years. This forum has been nothing short of a treasure trove and wealth of information. I am getting deeper and more appreciable view of the sport just from reading all the posts and discussions taking place on this forum. Thanks to all that contribute to this forum, and thus to my edification of our Sooner Softball team! Kudos to you all!

[OUBeliever56A]

The rosters are not limited. The scholarships are limited to 12.

I think I am correct that only 20 players are allowed on a roster in post-season.

We are not privy to who is on scholarship or how much in softball. I think most get some sort of financial aid, but there are sone that pay their own way.