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OKLAHOMA CITY — Normally, Patty Gasso is exhausted by the end of the season.
The Sooners typically end their season on the very last game of the year. And each of the past four years, they ended their runs by hoisting the national championship trophy. The moments are unforgettable, and the championships have been historic, but the seasons are long, and there's usually some relief that it's over.
But as Gasso sat at Monday's postgame press conference, just a few moments after the Sooners' season came to an end with a 3-2 loss to Texas Tech in the Women's College World Series semifinals, she wished the season was still going.
"It's been a joyous ride," Gasso said. "And if you would have ever asked me -- I think I've already said this a million times -- but we're standing at the World Series as one of the top three teams left, with a team of 14 newcomers, and I just shared with them in the locker room how much fun I had with them coaching them, watching them grow, watching them be hungry, watching them never quit."
The loss to the Red Raiders was an unfortunate end to the Sooners' storied, dynastic run, but it was one of the most enjoyable seasons for the program's long-tenured coach.
The biggest reason was the growth throughout the year.
The Sooners graduated one of the most successful senior classes in softball history last offseason. Between the freshmen and transfer classes, the Sooners had 14 newcomers on the roster when the season began. There were a lot more questions than the Sooners — who've been to the WCWS every year since 2016 — typically face, and they didn't have the championship experience to lean on.
It didn't stop them from enjoying another year of tremendous success. The Sooners finished as the SEC regular season champions in their first year in the conference. They were selected as the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and swept their way through the regional and super regional tournaments, making it to the WCWS for the 19th time in program history. They finished with a 52-9 record and just four wins away from the program's ninth national championship.
The Sooners saw a ton of growth from several freshmen. One of those freshmen, Sydney Barker, went 3-for-3 at the plate against generational pitcher NiJaree Canady in the loss to the Red Raiders.
"It was miraculous how we all came together and we were able to play together in such a way we did and have the relationships we did on and off the field," Barker said. "Regardless of what happened on the field, I think what me and my class and a lot of the young players on this team will remember is how well we all gelled together and how we used our differences and our superpowers to work together."
It was an unexpected run back to Oklahoma City for Gasso. And it included more iconic moments, like Ella Parker's walk off home run in the opening WCWS game against Tennessee and Abigale Dayton's two-run home run against Texas Tech that tied it in the seventh inning.
There were tough moments through the season, but they just kept growing.
"If you would have seen it in September/October — we started to kind of gel a little more in November — but it was still so new, so many things to learn," Gasso said.
"And (it) just seemed like time flew so fast, and it just kept going. I can't even believe the season is over. Normally I'm like, thank God. This was, no, let's keep going, let's keep going, because it really was fun to watch them work together and believe together. They never ever, ever thought that they would lose, ever, and a lot of times they didn't. So it's been a wonderful time."
The best news for Gasso? There's a lot of excitement for the future.
The Sooners graduate just three seniors from this year's team — Sam Landry, Cydney Sanders and Isabela Emerling. They return most of the key contributors and will also bring in a 2025 recruiting class that ranks first nationally. While the Sooners finished just short this season, there could be a long runway for more trips to Oklahoma City in the near future.
Gasso can't wait to get started again.
"As much as I need a break, I'm really ready to have them come back and start over again because I think we learned so much and we're going to be that much better, lessons along the way," Gasso said. "But what I hope is that they learned lessons about themselves, and turning from girls to women is really important to this program and giving them life lessons and versing them in things that will help them throughout life.
"So it was an emotional, amazing, one of my favorite years of all time, I must say."
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