Oklahoma
New faces are a big part of the story at Oklahoma this season. The arrivals include freshmen infielders Jayda Coleman and Tiare Jennings and pitcher Nicole May. Like UConn’s Paige Bueckers on the basketball court, Coleman brings star power that goes beyond being the nation’s No. 1 recruit. Also coming aboard is South Carolina transfer Jana Johns. How did adding a proven slugger in the infield work out when it was Shelby Pendley? Add those new arrivals to what we saw in 2020 from Jocelyn Alo, Kinzie Hansen and Grace Lyons and away we go. And yet it isn’t an arrival but Giselle Juarez’s return that promises to define the spring. Her first attempt at a final season undone by biceps tendon injury even before the pandemic halted play, Juarez will be rested and any rust long since dispatched by the postseason. Coach Patty Gasso told Rhiannon Potkey this could be one of Oklahoma’s strongest offenses, a list that has to begin with the 2013 national champions. A healthy