College World Series Preview: Oklahoma Sooners

Flashback to the opening weekend of the 2026 season. Oklahoma made quite the first impression as it blitzed three Big 12 teams in a flawless weekend at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington.

Omaha felt like a worthy destination then. As fate would have it, that’s indeed where the road will end for the Sooners this month.

To be frank, OU never put together another regular season weekend as impressive as that one in the Lone Star State. A pair of wins at home vs. Texas A&M to kick off SEC play were nice, but for essentially the entire year, it defeated the teams it was clearly superior to and lost to the teams it was clearly inferior to.

The Sooners lost each of their final four regular season series, plummeting toward a disappointing finish to the season. They finished 11th in the SEC standings with a 14-16 record in league play. A fourth regional exit in a row felt inevitable for ninth-year head coach Skip Johnson — especially when it was revealed that his team had to go to Atlanta and battle No. 2 overall seed Georgia Tech.

Instead, the Sooners harkened back to that weekend in Arlington. That offense that pushed across 32 runs in those three games made a jaw-dropping return and barged its way through The Flats. Hungry for more, OU went to an old Big 12 stomping ground and continued its onslaught.

Oklahoma was picked to finish 14th in the SEC by the league’s preseason coaches poll. Instead of becoming SEC fodder, it decided to ride an unforeseen heater all the way to the College World Series. The last time it got this far, it reached the 2022 title game.

Journey to Omaha

Conquering the Atlanta regional felt like a rigorous challenge for Oklahoma. The Citadel and UIC were among the softer three and four seeds in the field, but it all centered around the thought of defeating No. 2 overall seed Georgia Tech not once, but twice.

Rain forced OU’s opener vs. The Citadel from Friday evening to Saturday morning. It avoided any first-game drama and won 8-3, setting up the first bout with the daunting Yellow Jackets for later that night. That game was tied 3-3 through six innings, but the inevitable GT offense emerged late en route to a 9-3 win.

The Sooners rolled past The Citadel once more and, for the second day in a row, had to face the Jackets for their second game of the day. Oklahoma trailed 7-2 after three innings, and it looked like the end was nigh. Not so fast.

OU flipped the switch and drilled three home runs in the fourth inning, scoring 8 runs in a flash to take the lead. Righties Gavyn Jones and LJ Mercurius then battened down the hatches, firing six scoreless innings of relief. The final score read 15-8, and all of a sudden, it was time for winner-take-all action on Monday.

The Sooners punched first with a three-run top of the first. Tech stormed back, took the lead in the fifth, then poured on 3 more runs in the sixth to lead 7-3. OU still didn’t quit, instead scraping across runs late against the Jackets’ top arms. An RBI single from Jaxon Willits in the ninth tied it up. To extras they went.

Then came the swing. After RHP Jackson Cleveland threw up another zero, veteran first baseman Dayton Tockey led off the bottom of the 10th, worked a full count, then blasted a 454-foot walk-off home run to dead center. Somehow, Oklahoma eliminated the No. 2 overall seed on its home field.

It then rode that high up to Lawrence for a super regional bout vs. old Big 12 foe Kansas, which just swept its home regional in impressive fashion. Once again, the Sooners were considered the underdog. Once again, they silenced the doubters.

Kansas was never in the fight. Freshman lefty Cord Rager threw six scoreless, and the OU bats homered three times in game one, winning 8-1. Game two got ugly much earlier. It was 8-1 in the third inning when rain forced the game to finish on Monday. It didn’t matter. Four more home runs led to a 13-2 whooping, sending the Sooners back to Omaha.

Expectations for the College World Series

While Oklahoma is enjoying its recent foray into the world of slug, that is not the M.O. or identity of this team. Its 83 home runs are now tied for 45th in Division I.

This is a team that’s leaned on its ‘ChaOUs’ mindset. Get on base, make the opponent make mistakes, steal bases and capitalize on the moment. Get ’em on, get ’em over, get ’em in. The Sooners have stolen 124 bags, a top-30 mark nationally. They will strike out their fair share, but make no mistake, all 27 outs will be a grind.

This may feel like a “house money” situation for Oklahoma, considering the path it forged to get back to Omaha, but Johnson won’t feel that way. Four years ago, his program was one of the last two teams standing but didn’t finish the job. These opportunities can be few and far between, so while it may be nice to play like you’ve got nothing to lose, you’ve already made it this far, so why not go and win the whole thing?

That said, the underdog role has suited the Sooners nicely the last two weekends, so they surely won’t mind that moniker sticking around for a while longer.

Oklahoma is in the all-SEC side of the CWS bracket. It will open play against Alabama on Saturday afternoon, with the winner taking on the winner of Georgia vs. Texas. The Crimson Tide took two of three games when they squared off in Norman at the beginning of April. Texas swept the Sooners the week prior.

Johnson and his staff are going to lean on his savvy veterans, but two of the most important pieces to the puzzle on the mound are freshmen. The Schwab plays big, so while Oklahoma has shown they can really belt it as of late, it will want to lean on what it has become known for in recent memory.

Players To Watch

C Deiten Lachance

Deiten Lachance could barely speak English when his college baseball career began. Now he’s the three-hole hitter for an SEC program that’s on the cusp of history. The junior out of Québec has gone deep three times in the tournament and now has 15 bombs in his last 28 games after hitting zero in his first 31. He’s up to 62 RBI on the year and is also a tremendous catcher. Lachance sure feels like the go-to guy for OU right now.

SS Jaxon Willits

The switch-hitting, slick-fielding junior has 10 hits in seven tournament games. Batting cleanup right behind Lachance, the brother of 2025 No. 1 overall pick Eli Willits steers the ship for arguably the best defensive infield in the CWS. It would mean a little extra for the Fort Cobb, Okla. native to send the Sooners to the top of the mountain, and he’s certainly capable of providing a big moment with the bat and the glove.

RHP LJ Mercurius

The junior UNLV transfer made 12 starts for Oklahoma this season, but he’s transitioned into a high-leverage long relief role this postseason. Leaning on an elite heater, he’s been dynamite in three tournament appearances, allowing just one run on six hits across 10 innings. When and where the Sooners use Mercurius will be among the most important decisions they make this weekend.

LHP Cord Rager

Oklahoma’s standout freshman lefty just authored the best start of his young college career in game one of the super regional vs. Kansas, throwing six scoreless innings while allowing just one hit on the road with the stakes as high as ever. He’s now made 14 starts and struck out 81 over 64 IP. If his nerves of steel remain intact the rest of the way, Rager could be the ultimate X-factor for the Sooners.