Oklahoma in the SEC: Year One in Review

OU rolled Temple but struggled to put away Houston and Tulane — clear signs that Brent Venables’ third squad was not up to the coming task of an SEC slate that became one of college football’s most demanding schedules.

The Sooners fielded one of the worst offenses in the nation — and certainly in program history — and Venables fired offensive coordinator Seth Littrell midway at midseason. Tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley filled in but didn’t fare much better as OU ranked 113th nationally in total offense, 114th in passing offense, 124th in yards per play and 132nd in yards per pass.

All that offset a defensive surge under first-year coordinator Zac Alley as OU finished 6-6, but then Alley bailed for West Virginia before the Sooners lost to Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Jackson Arnold’s turnover habits resurfaced against in a home loss to Tennessee, so Michael Hawkins (and a pick six by Kip Lewis) ignited a thrilling road win at Auburn. 

That momentum was quickly lost, however, as OU fell 34-3 to Texas, 35-9 to South Carolina and 26-14 to Ole Miss. The Sooners trailed the Gamecocks 21-0 just 5 1/2 minutes into the game, but led the Rebels at halftime in Oxford.

An unexpected comeback preceded an inexplicable collapse in a loss at Missouri, but the Sooners got bowl eligible when they blew out Alabama 24-3 in Norman (fueled again by a Kip Lewis pick six).

The season finale at LSU produced a 37-17 blowout loss to the Tigers, and after Arnold and others hit the transfer portal, OU couldn’t overcome the Midshipmen in a 21-20 loss in Fort Worth.

For 2026, Venables has installed himself as defensive coordinator and hired a new linebackers coach to replace Alley, and also hired native Texan Ben Arbuckle from Washington State. He also mined new 2026 talent  from the portal, including Washington quarterback John Mateer and Cal running back Jadyn Ott. 

OU this offseason also has finally begun building out a big-time personnel department, with former Senior Bowl executive director and NFL scout Jim Nagy running the show and allowing Venables to focus on coaching.

After landing a 2025 recruiting class that ranks 18th nationally per Rivals and 17th per 247Sports, Oklahoma’s 2026 recruiting class is coming along slowly: Rivals ranks OU 28th nationally and ninth in the SEC, while 247Sports has it at No. 36 nationally and 10th in the SEC.

Men's Basketball

Oklahoma came out of the gates as one of college basketball’s hottest teams.

The Sooners won their first 13 games of the 2024-25 season, finishing the non-conference portion of their schedule undefeated. That slate included wins against Providence, Louisville, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia Tech and Oklahoma State and helped them reach No. 12 in the AP poll.

Conference play, though, didn’t go according to plan.

The Sooners dropped their first four SEC games and fell out of the AP Top 25. With just a few weeks remaining in the season, OU was 3-10 in conference play and in jeopardy of missing the NCAA Tournament.

OU rallied to win three of its last five games of the regular season, earning wins against Mississippi State, Missouri and Texas. The Sooners beat Georgia in the first round of the SEC Tournament before falling to No. 6-seed Kentucky.

The Sooners’ end-of-season momentum was enough to get them their first NCAA Tournament berth in Porter Moser’s tenure as head coach. They earned a No. 9 seed in the tournament, drawing two-time defending national champion UConn, an eight-seed, in the first round. 

Oklahoma lost 67-59 to the Huskies in the first round and finished the year 20-14 overall.

OU next year will be without most of its production from 2024-25.

Freshman guard Jeremiah Fears declared for the NBA Draft after his lone season with the Sooners and was selected No. 7 overall by the New Orleans Pelicans. Starters Jalon Moore, Kobe Elvis and Sam Godwin graduated, while Duke Miles and Luke Northweather transferred after the season.

The Sooners signed an impressive transfer portal class after the season, landing Derrion Reid (Alabama), Nijel Pack (Miami), Tae Davis (Notre Dame) and Xzayvier Brown (St. Joseph’s).

Women’s Basketball

Before stepping on the court in the SEC, Jennie Baranczyk knew her program had some room to grow. 

The coaching staff struck in the transfer portal and landed center Raegan Beers, a statement of intent by the Sooners after the entire college basketball world pursued the former Oregon State star. 

And while OU was unable to follow up its Big 12 regular season titles to truly push South Carolina, the SEC grind prepared the program to get out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament and reach the third round for the first time since 2013.

Oklahoma ultimately fell to eventual national champion UConn in the Sweet Sixteen, but the year laid the groundwork for an even bigger push next year. 

Key pieces in Skylar Vann and Liz Scott graduated out, but the experience gained by Zya Vann as well as Sahara Williams’ continued development will be crucial as Beers and guard Payton Verhulst are also returning for the 2025-26 season after finishing 27-8 overall and 11-5 in league play. 

Baranczyk and her coaching staff also set a new bar for recruiting.

The Sooners landed Aaliyah Chavez, the nation’s top-ranked recruit and the highest-rated recruit in program history, to add to a team flush with experience and ready to take another step forward to try and reach the same levels South Carolina, LSU and Texas hit last season. 

Softball 

For a normal program, 2025 should have been a rebuilding season with plenty of bumps and bruises. 

But Patty Gasso doesn’t do normal these days.

After winning four consecutive national titles and graduating out the most decorated class college softball has ever seen, Gasso reloaded with nine freshmen and five transfers to try and tackle the best conference in the sport.

Not only did OU prove they could replace virtually an entire roster and compete with the nation’s best, the Sooners won the SEC regular season crown and split the tournament title with Texas A&M after the title game was rained out.

Oklahoma opened the season on a 28-game winning streak as freshmen Gabbie Garcia and Nelly McEnroe-Marinas broke out as stars alongside established studs like Ella Parker and Kasidi Pickering.

The Sooners only dropped series to Tennessee, Alabama and Florida while sweeping South Carolina, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Texas en route to the regular season crown. 

OU beat LSU and Arkansas in the SEC Tournament and then rolled through both regionals and super regionals in Norman to get back to Oklahoma City.

The Sooners ultimately fell to Texas Tech in the semifinals at the Women’s College World Series, but Gasso only loses Cydney Sanders, Sam Landry and Isabella Smith to graduation from a team that finished 52-9.

Four more transfers departed, but Oklahoma signed the top-ranked recruiting class for the second straight year and landed former All-American pitcher Sydney Berzon out of the portal from LSU. 

OU’s streak of national titles finally came to an end in 2025, but Gasso’s Sooners and her softball dynasty aren’t going anywhere in 2026.

Baseball

Oklahoma’s baseball team under Skip Johnson started out hotter than almost every other squad in the nation.

The Sooners began the year 11-0, going undefeated in February. Their hot start included wins against No. 2 Virginia, No. 7 Oregon State and Minnesota — all at a neutral site (Dell Diamond in Round Rock, TX).

OU’s undefeated start eventually ended on March 4, when the Sooners lost to No. 21 Dallas Baptist in a midweek road game. The Sooners won their next four games after that and entered their first SEC series with a 15-1 record.

Oklahoma took two games of three in each of its first two conference series, beating South Carolina on the road and Mississippi State at home. The Sooners then lost two of three on the road against Alabama before being swept by eventual national champion LSU at home.

They were up and down for the remainder of the regular season, winning series against Vanderbilt, Missouri and Ole Miss but dropping series to Georgia, Kentucky and Texas.

The Sooners won games against Georgia and Kentucky at the SEC Tournament before falling to Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals.

OU earned a 2-seed in the Chapel Hill Regional, joining North Carolina, Nebraska and Holy Cross at that site. The Sooners beat Nebraska in their NCAA Tournament opener before falling to North Carolina. 

They defeated the Cornhuskers again in an elimination game and avenged their previous loss to the Tar Heels in their next game. UNC, however, beat OU 14-4 in the Regional Final to end the Sooners’ season.

OU finished the year 38-22 and went 14-16 in SEC play.

The Sooners next year will likely be without their 2025 ace, Kyson Witherspoon, as he’s expected to be selected in the first round of the MLB Draft. Only five players on OU’s 2025 roster were seniors or graduates, and four of them were relief pitchers.

Gymnastics, Golf, Rowing, Soccer, Tennis, Track, Volleyball

Start with K.J. Kindler’s seventh national championship in women’s gymnastics. After falling short the last two years, Jordan Bowers led the Sooners to another title — but yet couldn’t nail down an SEC title.

The Sooners went 33-2 but lost two regular season meets against LSU, allowing the Tigers to reel in this year’s conference crown. But the Sooners took out SEC foes Florida, Missouri and Alabama in the NCAA Championships.

(Men’s gymnastics finished fourth nationally but competes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, not the SEC, which doesn't sponsor men's the sport, or wrestling; OU wrestlers still compete in the Big 12.)

OU men’s golf won four tournaments, including the NCAA Amherst Regional, but only finished fourth in the SEC Championship Stroke Play before finishing fifth in the NCAA Championships in men’s golf.

Women’s golf won one tournament and finished 14th at the SEC Championship before wrapping up 21st in the nation. 

In volleyball, the Sooners finished 15-11 overall and 8-8 in SEC play, good for sixth in the standings. That included a landmark 3-2 victory over the Longhorns, who own four national championships, including 2022 and 2023, and finished No. 2 in the SEC standings. 

The OU soccer team went 10-7-1 last season, but just 3-6-1 in conference play, good for just 14th in the SEC standings.  

The Sooners had a good season in rowing, finishing fourth in the conference regatta behind Texas, Tennessee and just one point behind Alabama. 

Women’s tennis went 20-7 in duals and finished 11-4 in SEC play. They made it to the SEC semifinals before ending the season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, while men’s tennis went 17-11 and 7-7, then went to the SEC quarterfinals and also made it to the second round of the NCAAs. 

In track and field, OU men finished 10th at the SEC Championships and the women took sixth. That included gold medals for defending NCAA champ Agur Dwol and B.J. Green in the triple jump, Ralford Mullings in the discuss and Olivia Lueking in the pole vault. 

At the NCAA Championships, Pippi Lotta Enok then went on to win her second NCAA Championship in the heptathlon with a school record 6,285 points. OU men finished sixth nationally overall in Eugene, while the women’s team finished 14th — the first time in school history both programs finished in the top 15 in the NCAAs. 

In cross country, freshman Leah Jeruto earned OU’s first All-America honors in almost 20 years as the Sooner men finished ninth in the SEC and the women took 12th.