2025 Fall College Baseball Reset: Oklahoma

It’ll be a (slightly) new era for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2026. The school lost their entire rotation in the summer, as well as their most productive hitter from 2025. However, don’t be surprised if the Sooners can do damage in 2026, much like in their 2025 campaign.

The Returnees

The Oklahoma Sooners couldn’t get Eli Willits to campus, as the Nationals made him the first overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. Eli likely wasn’t going to be in the cards, even though he was committed to OU. However, the Sooners will get Jaxon Willits back.

Jaxon, one of the top draft-eligible hitters this coming summer, had a strong overall year in 2025. The older Willits brother hit .302/.409/.495 with 22 extra-base hits (nine HR) over 60 games, followed by a .366 average in the Cape.

Willits returns alongside sophomore infielder Kyle Branch, who finished third on the team in hits (64) as a freshman. Additionally, 2025 regulars Dasan Harris, Dayton Tockey, and Jaxon Walk also return. That’ll help soften the blow of losing Easton Carmichael, who led the team in hits (80) and home runs (17) last year.

Carmichael was drafted in the third round by the Pirates last July.

As for the pitching staff, the Sooners lost all three of their weekend starters. Kyson Witherspoon and Malachi Witherspoon were picked in Day 1 of the 2025 MLB Draft, while Cade Crossland was a fourth-round pick by the Cardinals.

The Sooners did add help this summer to replace the three. However, Oklahoma retained key arms from 2025, including Jaden Barfield, Michael Catalano, and Jason Bodin.

Barfield had a good summer, as the left-hander struck out 17 over 11 innings in the California Collegiate League.

The Newcomers

It’s become the norm across college baseball for SEC schools: recruit, but also utilize the transfer portal to take advantage of all the benefits of being an SEC school. Oklahoma added some power to justify that statement this summer.

Former Wichita State infielder Camden Johnson is among the newcomers. Johnson hit .325 last year for the Shockers, along with 20 extra-base hits. The 21-year-old did well in the Cape, as Johnson stole 18 bases and hit .292 in the wood-bat league.

He’ll join another Johnson, Cameron Johnson, on the Oklahoma roster. For what it’s worth, Cameron was also a transfer, as he went to Oklahoma after 2024 after barely pitching with LSU in 2024. However, the latter didn’t have a lot of success this summer, as the former Cardinals 20th-rounder walked 13 over nine innings down in the Cape.

Mason Bixby came over from TCU. Bixby, a 6’7” junior righty, worked with a mid-90s fastball and mid-80s sweeper last season with the Horned Frogs. He struck out 24 over 18 innings last year, working mostly as a reliever.

Other newcomers include former UCF reliever Isaac Williams and UNLV transfer LJ Mercurius. Mercurius, who has a lot of weapons in his arsenal, including a low-to-mid-90s fastball, struck out 58 over 53 innings last as a starter for the Rebels.

Eleven freshmen are also among the new players on the tentative 2026 Oklahoma roster. One of those individuals is California high school product Alec Blair, a 6’6” outfielder who showed a good arm, speed, and power on the showcase circuit.

The Sooners were also able to land pitcher Vaughn Neckar, a fellow California prepster who showed a mid-90s fastball in high school. Neckar was drafted in the 20th round by the Guardians this past July but did not sign.

Another hard-thrower is freshman Xander Mercurius, recruited out of the Nevada high school scene.

Summary

The Sooners are well situated for the future. Oklahoma had a strong overall recruiting class.

And, the reinforcements brought in this past summer via the transfer portal should help soften the massive blow of losing significant talent to the pros.