I was attending the NFCA conference last December in Orlando Florida, and woke up early one morning to go to the FCA Softball Breakfast. It turned out that Patty Gasso, the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners was speaking. It was a great presentaion that moring, she talked about last years WCWS, her life, and strong Christian beliefs.

This was a great presentaion. This is the third FCA Softball breakfast I have attended, and all three were great. On this episode I bring you the audio from her presentaion. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. – Produced By Gary Leland

Edited by: Caine Dorr

Now in her 17th season at the University of Oklahoma, head coach Patty Gasso has molded the OU softball program into a national power and permanently placed herself among the elite college softball coaches in the country. Produced By Gary Leland

The Sooners have reached the Women’s College World Series five times during her tenure, in the process, advanced to the postseason in each of her previous 16 seasons. The WCWS run began in 2000 when her team won the NCAA National Championship in OU’s first appearance.

Is she the best coach in the history of Oklahoma softball? Undoubtedly.

Is she the greatest coach in Big 12 history? The stats say she is.

Could she be one of the best coaches to ever coach college softball? Each season, she continues to build what is a very strong argument.

Currently in her 21st season as a head coach, Gasso has a career collegiate coaching record of 936-309-2 (.751) and holds an overall record of 774-250-2 (.754) at the University of Oklahoma. She has won more Big 12 games (199-64) than any coach in the league’s history and has twice as many wins as any other coach in OU history. Gasso’s Sooner teams have finished second or higher 12 different times since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996. They have won 75 percent of their Big 12 contests and OU has claimed four Big 12 regular season and four championship titles under her direction.

Numerous Sooner players have prospered under Gasso’s tutelage and garnered national, regional and conference recognition. She has directed 36 All-Americans, 80 All-Region honorees and 107 all-conference selections.

In the Big 12 era, seven Sooners have been named Big 12 Player of the Year, two have been selected as Big 12 Freshman of the Year, one as Big 12 Newcomer and Lauren Eckermann was named OU’s first Big 12 Pitcher of the Year in 2007. In 2010, Amber Flores became the first player in league history to earn Player of the Year honors twice.

In addition, 2005 graduate Heather Scaglione was a two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Savannah Long became the first infielder to earn the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honor in 2008. Lindsey Vandever earned the award in 2010.

The OU softball success under Gasso has also spilled over into the classroom where the Sooners have been honored with 78 academic all-conference honors. Six of those have gone on to become Academic All-Americans, including Lana Moran, the 2000 Academic All-American of the Year.

Gasso and her staff have consistently been recognized for their efforts on and off the field. The staff was awarded three consecutive Speedline/NFCA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year awards from 1999-2001 and received the national honor in 2000. Gasso and staff have claimed the Midwest honor in five of their 15 seasons with the most recent award coming in 2004. In addition, Gasso has been named the Big 12 and Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 1996, 1999 and 2000. She was named the 2009 Big 12 Coach of the Year.

Gasso’s career with the Sooners began in 1995 when she arrived at OU after five successful years at Long Beach City College. Her accomplishments during her tenure at LBCC and since led to Gasso being named to the LBCC Hall of Champions in 2004. Later during the 2004 summer, Gasso was inducted into the inaugural class of the Long Beach City Baseball and Softball Hall of Fame. Her success in her hometown of Long Beach set the foundation for a spectacular career in Norman. Gasso was also inducted into the El Camino City College Hall of Fame in 2000.

In her first season at the helm, the Sooners recorded a 43-23 record, finished second in the conference and reached the regional final. Several Sooners received awards for their play during the 1995 season, including 11 players who garnered all-conference accolades (four on the first team).

Gasso and the Sooners reached new heights in 1996, recording a 50-20 record, a first-ever Big 12 Championship, and another regional final berth. OU dominated the inaugural Big 12 Tournament, putting five players on the all-tournament squad. Pitcher Jill Most was named the tourney MVP.

Gasso’s 1996 squad also became the first team outside of the states of California or Arizona to win the prestigious Pony Tournament. Gasso was recognized by her peers for her team’s performance, earning the Big 12 Coach-of-the-Year award. Again, Sooner players were mentioned as some of the league’s best with 10 players receiving All-Big 12 recognition.

Gasso continued the trend of reaching new heights in 1997 when the team recorded the then-second best record in school history (55-19). The season was highlighted by two impressive 12-game winning streaks that helped the team to a second-place finish in the Big 12. For the fourth consecutive year, OU advanced to a NCAA Regional. It marked the first time in school history that OU hosted the event.

The 1998 season was probably one of Gasso’s best coaching jobs. However, it wasn’t because of the number of wins and losses or the tournaments won by the Sooners. It was due to the fact the team featured six freshmen. Gasso led the young group to a 49-15 record, a second-place conference finish and a No. 1 seed in a NCAA Regional. Five Sooners were named to the all-conference squad and three players were named to the All-Midwest Region team.

In 1999, Gasso led OU to its sixth straight NCAA regional playoff appearance and her team continued to demonstrate that she is one of the top coaches in the country. Along the path to the regional playoffs in Baton Rouge, La., the Sooners seized several awards and honors. For the second time in the three-year history of the Big 12 Conference, OU was crowned regular season champion. The Sooners, who finished with a 40-16 overall record, won the Big 12 with an 11-3 record.

Oklahoma fell just short of its goal, the Women’s College World Series, but the Sooners proved once again that they were a national powerhouse. That year, OU defeated several top-25 teams including Louisiana State, Texas, Massachusetts, Oregon, Texas A&M, Missouri and Nebraska. In addition, the Sooners swept the four-game series with state rival Oklahoma State. The last victory against the Cowgirls in the regular season finale clinched the Big 12 title.

Not only were Gasso’s players honored for their accomplishments in 1999, but she was also recognized for her solid coaching effort. Gasso was named the 1999 Big 12 Coach of the Year and joined her staff as the Midwest Regional Coaching Staff of the Year.

The 2000 Sooners won their third Big 12 regular season title since the league began in 1996 and hosted their first NCAA Regional since 1997. Behind an explosive offense and a dominant defense, the Sooners rolled to a 66-8 record and won their final eight games of the season to capture the first softball national championship in school history.

Four Sooners earned All-America honors, with Lisa Carey and Ashli Barrett earning first team recognition. Outfielder Erin Evans and pitcher Stewart were both third team All-Americans and Jennifer Stewart was named the Most Outstanding Player of the WCWS. The accolades rolled in as Gasso was named the Dallas Morning News Big 12 Coach of the Year. She and her staff also earned the Midwest Region Coach of the Year award and Speedline/NFCA Division I National Coaching Staff of the Year.

Following the 2000 National Championship season, Gasso’s 2001 squad continued the string of success. The 2001 team went on to match many of the accomplishments of the previous year, including a return trip to the Women’s College World Series, a 50-win season and four All-America selections. The team also established its own successes by compiling a school-record 23-game win streak and the program’s first Big 12 Tournament title since 1996.

In 2002, Oklahoma went 49-16 and 14-2 in the Big 12. Taking their team motto “Triple Threat†to heart, the Sooners swept their third consecutive NCAA Regional and advanced to a third straight Women’s College World Series.

The 2003 squad was led by five seniors and sophomore hurler Kami Keiter. OU reached its fourth consecutive WCWS by becoming the first Sooner squad to claim a regional championship away from Norman. OU ended the season with a 47-14 record and won one game before being eliminated from the 2003 WCWS.

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Produced by Gary Leland. Gary is a new media producer of fastpitch softball information. For advertising information send him an email to GaryLeland@gmail.com, or visit his personal website site at http://GaryLeland.com for more information on Gary.

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