OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Four months before Oklahoma captured its unprecedented fourth consecutive Women’s College World Series championship at Devon Park on Thursday night, Sooners coach Patty Gasso sat behind a table in the team room adjacent to Norman’s Marita Hynes Field and contemplated five of the most important players in her program’s history.
It was Feb. 5, days before Oklahoma began its 2024 title run. As the Sooners prepared to chase their eighth national championship, the faces of outfielder Jayda Coleman, infielder Tiare Jennings, catcher Kinzie Hansen, outfielder Riley Boone and right-handed pitcher Nicole May — pillars in college softball’s preeminent modern dynasty — sat at the front of Gasso’s mind.
“I think about them more than I ever have because I know that this is the end,” Gasso said three days before the season opener in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. “It is the end of one of the most elite classes that has ever — and may ever — play softball.”
In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma’s decorated “Core Five” earned its storybook ending.
Ten seniors lifted the trophy after the Sooners’ 8-4 victory Thursday. Among them, Coleman, Jennings, Hansen, Boone and May represented the connective tissue to the most storied run in college softball history. The…
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