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LAWRENCE, KS — In the minutes following Oklahoma baseball’s clinching of the final spot in the College World Series at Hoglund Ballpark and the Gatorade bath he received on the turf field, coach Skip Johnson’s phone never stopped buzzing.
He was bombarded with text messages from former Sooners he coached and pitchers he helped tutor after the Sooners’ 13-2 bulldozing of No. 15 overall seed Kansas on Monday to sweep the Lawrence Super Regional. Even future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw hit up his mentor after watching OU’s incomprehensible run through regionals and super regionals all the way back to Omaha, Nebraska.
“It makes me emotional,” said Johnson, who later this week will make his fifth overall trip as a coach to the center of the college baseball universe and second as the Sooners’ skipper.
What Johnson has accomplished in his nine seasons in Norman is nothing short of remarkable. Not only does he have OU in its second CWS in five seasons, but he’s helped shape a group that lost its last four regular-season series into one of the hottest teams in the country.
More: Who will OU baseball play next in College World Series? See updated CWS bracket
Just 23 days ago, there were even some speculating the Sooners needed to win their final regular-season contest to even make the NCAA Tournament.
Many questioned how the OU baseball program would fit in the SEC, a conference that owns the last six national champions and is sending five teams to this year’s CWS. OU endured a rocky conference slate, but won road series against bluebloods LSU and Vanderbilt in rowdy atmospheres.
Two seasons into their new conference, the Sooners are back in the CWS. What sums up the last month for Johnson, and the reason his team was able to pull this off, is the bond they’ve created.
“What makes me go — and I’ve said it a number of times — I love to win, there’s no doubt, but wins and losses don’t define who I am,” Johnson said. “I have a bigger purpose, my purpose is to help people. That’s what I really believe in. And when I stop doing that, I’ll just go fishing or hunting.”
OU was forced to overcome more challenges the past two days.
A nearly two-hour weather delay Sunday postponed the last six innings to Monday. Freshman right-handed starter Xander Mercurius cruised through three innings Sunday evening before texting Johnson on Monday morning, informing his coach he thought he had more left in the tank.
Mercurius gave OU a massive inning before being replaced by Nate Smithburg, who picked up the CWS-clinching win after 3 ⅔ one-run innings.
More: From Quebec to Oklahoma, Deiten Lachance has found his power for Sooners baseball
Between a pair of freshmen arms on the mound (lefty Cord Rager struck out six Jayhawks in six scoreless innings in Saturday’s Game 1) and an offense that has found its power over the last couple of weeks (18 home runs in seven postseason games), the Sooners look unrecognizable.
“We are swinging the bat well, everybody,” said senior first baseman Dayton Tockey, who has hit six home runs in his last nine games. “It’s been unbelievable and it’s been a really good time. We’ve had so much fun with each other, we’ve shown so much love for each other and that will continue through next week and what comes after that.”
Out of the five SEC teams in the CWS — the others being Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas — OU owned the worst conference record and had the toughest path of the postseason. The Sooners upset No. 2 overall seed Georgia Tech on the road before easing through No. 15 Kansas.
OU ranked 11th out of 15 SEC programs (Florida’s data was unavailable) in FY25 operating budgets, according to Matt Brown’s Extra Points table. The Sooners’ regular season reflected that as they finished 11th in the conference standings.
“The league is really, really hard,” Johnson said. “It’ll wear you down. It just prepares you for so much. It prepares you because of the environments you play in and you’ve got to be really good at the details of the game.
“That’s why you see five teams because every weekend, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing, it’s a tough weekend.”
Johnson has been vocal in the past about the need for administrative support and facility upgrades for his program.
Construction on the second phase of OU’s expansive $45 million baseball facility project — which features improvements to team facilities, seating bowl and fan enhancements — is expected to begin at the conclusion of this season. Brian and Kim Kimrey, the Sooners’ most generous donors, donated $10 million to the baseball program in the summer of 2024.
Johnson also received a contract extension this past fall that will last through 2030.
More: How OU baseball sped up Cord Rager's rise into an ace with simple fix
“I’m thankful for the University of Oklahoma giving me an opportunity to be a head coach,” Johnson said. “From Tipton, to Roger Denny to Joe C giving me the opportunity to teach them, but I’m nothing without (associate head coach) Reggie Willits, (assistant coach) Todd Butler, (chief of staff) Ryan Gaines, (assistant coach) Russell Raley and (director of player development) Britt Bonneau.
“It shows you what the University of Oklahoma is all about. It’s about winning, it’s about tradition.”
From April 24 to May 19, the Sooners were 4-9 and seemingly headed for a fourth consecutive regional exit. But Johnson has steered a sinking ship into a group that believes it can win a national title.
OU begins its quest toward its ultimate goal against Alabama, a team it lost two out of three to in early April, at 2 p.m. Saturday at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
Johnson compared the Omaha bracket like opening a pack of BB bullets.
“When you dump it on the table and BBs go everywhere, that’s what happens in Omaha,” Johnson said. “But when you’re together, you become more powerful.”
Every season, all year long, Johnson preaches togetherness and brotherhood. It’s taken those things to get here.
Whether it’s watching his current group celebrate or seeing his phone light up with messages from alums, it’s what gives Johnson the most joy.
“Nothing’s really changed,” Tockey said. “We’re still the same team that got swept by Texas. The thing we’ve done better is we’ve played with each other, for each other and as a family. That’s really what Oklahoma baseball is about.”
Colton Sulley covers the Oklahoma Sooners for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
More: College World Series field is set: NCAA baseball super regionals winners and losers
Opening games at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska:
Game 1: Troy vs. No. 16 West Virginia, 1 p.m. Friday (ESPN)
Game 2: Ole Miss vs. No. 5 North Carolina, 6 p.m. Friday (ESPN)
Game 3: No. 7 Alabama vs. Oklahoma, 2 p.m., Saturday (ESPN)
Game 4: No. 6 Texas vs. No. 3 Georgia, 7 p.m. Saturday (ESPN)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU baseball sweeps Kansas as Skip Johnson, Sooners return to CWS
Continue reading...
He was bombarded with text messages from former Sooners he coached and pitchers he helped tutor after the Sooners’ 13-2 bulldozing of No. 15 overall seed Kansas on Monday to sweep the Lawrence Super Regional. Even future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw hit up his mentor after watching OU’s incomprehensible run through regionals and super regionals all the way back to Omaha, Nebraska.
“It makes me emotional,” said Johnson, who later this week will make his fifth overall trip as a coach to the center of the college baseball universe and second as the Sooners’ skipper.
What Johnson has accomplished in his nine seasons in Norman is nothing short of remarkable. Not only does he have OU in its second CWS in five seasons, but he’s helped shape a group that lost its last four regular-season series into one of the hottest teams in the country.
More: Who will OU baseball play next in College World Series? See updated CWS bracket
Just 23 days ago, there were even some speculating the Sooners needed to win their final regular-season contest to even make the NCAA Tournament.
Many questioned how the OU baseball program would fit in the SEC, a conference that owns the last six national champions and is sending five teams to this year’s CWS. OU endured a rocky conference slate, but won road series against bluebloods LSU and Vanderbilt in rowdy atmospheres.
Two seasons into their new conference, the Sooners are back in the CWS. What sums up the last month for Johnson, and the reason his team was able to pull this off, is the bond they’ve created.
“What makes me go — and I’ve said it a number of times — I love to win, there’s no doubt, but wins and losses don’t define who I am,” Johnson said. “I have a bigger purpose, my purpose is to help people. That’s what I really believe in. And when I stop doing that, I’ll just go fishing or hunting.”
OU was forced to overcome more challenges the past two days.
A nearly two-hour weather delay Sunday postponed the last six innings to Monday. Freshman right-handed starter Xander Mercurius cruised through three innings Sunday evening before texting Johnson on Monday morning, informing his coach he thought he had more left in the tank.
Mercurius gave OU a massive inning before being replaced by Nate Smithburg, who picked up the CWS-clinching win after 3 ⅔ one-run innings.
More: From Quebec to Oklahoma, Deiten Lachance has found his power for Sooners baseball
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Between a pair of freshmen arms on the mound (lefty Cord Rager struck out six Jayhawks in six scoreless innings in Saturday’s Game 1) and an offense that has found its power over the last couple of weeks (18 home runs in seven postseason games), the Sooners look unrecognizable.
“We are swinging the bat well, everybody,” said senior first baseman Dayton Tockey, who has hit six home runs in his last nine games. “It’s been unbelievable and it’s been a really good time. We’ve had so much fun with each other, we’ve shown so much love for each other and that will continue through next week and what comes after that.”
Out of the five SEC teams in the CWS — the others being Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas — OU owned the worst conference record and had the toughest path of the postseason. The Sooners upset No. 2 overall seed Georgia Tech on the road before easing through No. 15 Kansas.
OU ranked 11th out of 15 SEC programs (Florida’s data was unavailable) in FY25 operating budgets, according to Matt Brown’s Extra Points table. The Sooners’ regular season reflected that as they finished 11th in the conference standings.
“The league is really, really hard,” Johnson said. “It’ll wear you down. It just prepares you for so much. It prepares you because of the environments you play in and you’ve got to be really good at the details of the game.
“That’s why you see five teams because every weekend, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing, it’s a tough weekend.”
Johnson has been vocal in the past about the need for administrative support and facility upgrades for his program.
Construction on the second phase of OU’s expansive $45 million baseball facility project — which features improvements to team facilities, seating bowl and fan enhancements — is expected to begin at the conclusion of this season. Brian and Kim Kimrey, the Sooners’ most generous donors, donated $10 million to the baseball program in the summer of 2024.
Johnson also received a contract extension this past fall that will last through 2030.
More: How OU baseball sped up Cord Rager's rise into an ace with simple fix
You must be registered for see images
“I’m thankful for the University of Oklahoma giving me an opportunity to be a head coach,” Johnson said. “From Tipton, to Roger Denny to Joe C giving me the opportunity to teach them, but I’m nothing without (associate head coach) Reggie Willits, (assistant coach) Todd Butler, (chief of staff) Ryan Gaines, (assistant coach) Russell Raley and (director of player development) Britt Bonneau.
“It shows you what the University of Oklahoma is all about. It’s about winning, it’s about tradition.”
From April 24 to May 19, the Sooners were 4-9 and seemingly headed for a fourth consecutive regional exit. But Johnson has steered a sinking ship into a group that believes it can win a national title.
OU begins its quest toward its ultimate goal against Alabama, a team it lost two out of three to in early April, at 2 p.m. Saturday at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
Johnson compared the Omaha bracket like opening a pack of BB bullets.
“When you dump it on the table and BBs go everywhere, that’s what happens in Omaha,” Johnson said. “But when you’re together, you become more powerful.”
Every season, all year long, Johnson preaches togetherness and brotherhood. It’s taken those things to get here.
Whether it’s watching his current group celebrate or seeing his phone light up with messages from alums, it’s what gives Johnson the most joy.
“Nothing’s really changed,” Tockey said. “We’re still the same team that got swept by Texas. The thing we’ve done better is we’ve played with each other, for each other and as a family. That’s really what Oklahoma baseball is about.”
Colton Sulley covers the Oklahoma Sooners for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
More: College World Series field is set: NCAA baseball super regionals winners and losers
College World Series
Opening games at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska:
Game 1: Troy vs. No. 16 West Virginia, 1 p.m. Friday (ESPN)
Game 2: Ole Miss vs. No. 5 North Carolina, 6 p.m. Friday (ESPN)
Game 3: No. 7 Alabama vs. Oklahoma, 2 p.m., Saturday (ESPN)
Game 4: No. 6 Texas vs. No. 3 Georgia, 7 p.m. Saturday (ESPN)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU baseball sweeps Kansas as Skip Johnson, Sooners return to CWS
Continue reading...
