Oklahoma cements status as all-time NCAA softball dynasty
- Kendall Baker, author of Axios Sports
Jocelyn Alo celebrates with the national championship trophy. Photo: Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
Oklahoma beat Texas, 10-5, on Thursday to repeat as softball national champions, the first team to do so since national seeding began in 2005.
Why it matters: The Sooners have cemented themselves as an all-time dynasty, winning four of the past seven Women's College World Series titles and 115 of their last 122 games.
A fond farewell: Thursday was the final college game for fifth-year senior Jocelyn Alo, the greatest home run hitter in softball history and one of the most dominant athletes in any sport.
- She ends her career with 120 HR (most in NCAA history for softball or baseball) and 320 RBIs (third-most in D-I history). Her final season: .515 batting average, 34 HR, 85 RBI.
- Wild stat: Alo's weighted runs created plus (wRC+) this season was 303, which was 203% better than the D-I average (100). The highest wRC+ in MLB history is 244 (Barry Bonds in 2002).
What's next: Alo will play professionally but has not said whether that will be in Women's Professional Fastpitch or Athletes Unlimited, where she was drafted No. 1 overall in May.
The bottom line: In 2021, Oklahoma went 56-4 and won a national title. In 2022, they got even better, making a case as the greatest softball team ever assembled.