Heartbreak News Now: The Oklahoma Sooners women’s softball head coach and two players have announced their departure from the team.

Heartbreak News Now: The Oklahoma Sooners women’s softball head coach and two players have announced their departure from the team.

Breaking news now: Two players and the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners women’s softball team have announced their departures from the team.

Ten seniors were already leaving the Oklahoma softball program, which had won a national championship. To that number, add the three players who have chosen to use the transfer portal.

Everyone is aware that the transfer gateway has both giving and taking power. A major factor in the Sooners’ remarkable four straight national championship runs has been head coach Patty Gasso’s use of the portal to augment an already strong recruiting funnel that draws elite players.

Pitchers Giselle Juarez, Hope Trautwein, Alex Storako, and Kelly Maxwell are among the players Oklahoma has gained through the transfer portal and who have made significant contributions to the Sooners’ four-year title streak. Along with Cydney Sanders, Alyssa Brito, and Alynah Torres from this year’s national championship squad. In 2021 and 2024, respectively, Juarez and Maxwell were recognized as the Women’s College World Series Most Outstanding Players.

That is the argument in favor of the transfer portal. However, there is a drawback as well, and this week the Oklahoma program was hit by the first and perhaps final of those waves. As per the social media post by D1Softball.com staff writer Justin McLeod, three players from the 2024 Sooner roster will be transferring out of the program.

The transfer site has also been accessed by Oklahoma pitching prospect SJ Geurin, who tossed 10 innings in 2024 after redshirting in 2023.

The most prominent of the declared departures is sophomore Avery Hodge, who brilliantly substituted for injured Alynah Torres at second base during OU’s Women’s College World Series victory over UCLA. Torres was hit in the face by a ball that got lost in the sun. S.J. Geurin, a redshirt freshman pitcher, and Quincee Lilio, a redshirt sophomore utility player, are also going through the gateway.

In his two seasons at OU, Hodge is a lifetime hitter who is rated at.278. He went 4 for 12 (.333) at the plate in the WCWS against Florida and Texas. She also produced a few excellent plays on the field. Lilio hasn’t played a lot for the Sooners this year. Her batting average was.129 over her 31 at-bats. After graduating from Richmond, Texas, high school, Lilio was rated by Extra Inning Softball as one of the top five prospects overall.

Being able to bring in some of the top athletes in the nation and having a roster this strong and talented almost every year is an inherent challenge. Even though they might not get the chance to play as much as they would like, these are all talented players. They could have to wait their turn at an institution like OU, but they could start elsewhere.

In his two seasons at OU, Hodge is a lifetime hitter who is rated at.278. He went 4 for 12 (.333) at the plate in the WCWS against Florida and Texas. She also produced a few excellent plays on the field.

Lilio hasn’t played a lot for the Sooners this year. Her batting average was.129 over her 31 at-bats. She has a career batting average of.211 and was largely employed in pinch-hit situations. After graduating from Richmond, Texas, high school, Lilio was rated by Extra Inning Softball as one of the top five prospects overall.

In the 2024 season, Geurin threw 10 innings with an earned run average of 0.70 for OU.

Being able to sign some of the top players in the nation and having such a strong and talented squad almost annually comes with a problem: transfer exits. Even though they might not get the chance to play as much as they would like, these are all talented players. They could have to wait their turn at an institution like OU, but they could start elsewhere.

Oklahoma has another strong recruiting class coming in, but given the volume of players leaving the senior-heavy 2024 roster, Gasso could be quite involved in the transfer portal once more during the winter.