NORMAN — The University of Oklahoma Athletics Department announced Wednesday it will dedicate a statue honoring head softball coach Patty Gasso, on Friday, Sept. 13. It will be the school’s first statue honoring a female coach or athlete.
The ceremony, which will be open to the public, will begin at 4 p.m. in front of Gate 1 at Love’s Field. The public viewing area will be standing room only immediately south of Gate 1, with a free livestream of the event available on SoonerSports.com. Public parking for the dedication is available in the Lloyd Noble Center lot.
Gasso, OU President Joseph Harroz Jr., OU Vice President and Athletics Director Joe Castiglione and an OU Softball alumna will speak at the ceremony. Following the event, photo opportunities at the statue will be available to fans.
The statue was created by master sculptor Brian Hanlon of Hanlon Sculpture Studio.
In her 31st season at Oklahoma, Gasso, who is an NFCA Hall of Fame member, has molded the OU softball program into a national power, elevated the sport on a global level and permanently placed herself among the elite coaches in the history of the game.
OU has won eight national championships under Gasso, is the only NCAA softball program to win four consecutive national titles and is just one of three programs in NCAA history to win more than two national championships. Gasso has reached the Women’s College World Series 17 times during her tenure and has advanced to the postseason every season (no tournament was held in 2020).
With 34 seasons as a head coach to her name, Gasso owns a 1,676-411-3 (.802) career collegiate coaching record and is 1,515-352-2 (.811) at OU. She is the winningest active coach in NCAA history by both total wins and winning percentage and ranks third all-time in both categories.
She closed her time in the Big 12 Conference as the winningest coach — men’s or women’s — in league history and has more than twice as many overall wins as any other coach in OU annals. The Sooners claimed 15 Big 12 regular season titles, including an unprecedented 11 straight from the 2012 season through 2023, and nine conference tournament championships under her direction. Gasso’s teams finished second or higher 24 times in the 28 years since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996.
Numerous Sooner players have prospered under Gasso’s tutelage and garnered national, regional and conference recognition. Most recently, Jocelyn Alo helped lead the Sooners to back-to-back titles en route to consecutive USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year awards in 2021 and 2022. Former OU pitcher Keilani Ricketts was also a two-time USA Softball Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013. Gasso has recruited and coached 79 All-Americans, 145 all-region honorees and 192 all-conference selections at OU.
In the Big 12 era, Sooners were named Big 12 Player of the Year a total of 16 times and Big 12 Pitcher of the Year nine times, while nine were selected as Big 12 Freshman of the Year and one as Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. In 2010, Amber Flores became the first player in league history to earn player-of-the-year honors twice. Shelby Pendley joined her in 2015 before Alo claimed the honor in consecutive seasons in 2021 and 2022.
OU’s softball success under Gasso is also evident in the classroom, where Sooners have been honored with 180 academic all-conference awards. Twenty-three of those went on to become Academic All-Americans, including former pitcher Lana Moran, the 2000 Academic All-American of the Year.
Gasso and her assistant coaches 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, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2023 and 2024. Gasso and her staff have claimed the regional honor in 15 of their 29 seasons, with the most recent award coming in 2023. In addition, Gasso was named Big 12 Coach of the Year 15 times.
For updates and more information on Oklahoma Softball, follow the Sooners on Twitter/X and Instagram (@OU_Softball), and like Oklahoma Softball on Facebook.
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Publish date : 2024-09-05 06:34:00
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