Oklahoma Sooners baseball

Oklahoma Sooners baseball is the NCAA Division I collegiate baseball team of the University of Oklahoma based in Norman, Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Sooners
2021 Oklahoma Sooners baseball team
Founded1898
UniversityUniversity of Oklahoma
Head coachSkip Johnson (4th season)
ConferenceBig 12
LocationNorman, Oklahoma
Home stadiumL. Dale Mitchell Baseball Park
(Capacity: 3,180)
NicknameSooners
ColorsCrimson and Cream[1]
         
NCAA Tournament champions
1951, 1994
College World Series appearances
1951, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2010
NCAA Tournament appearances
1947, 1951, 1955, 1956, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018
Conference tournament champions
Big 12: 1997, 2013
Conference champions
Big Eight: 1930, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1939, 1940, 1946, 1947, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1986, 1992, 1995

The Oklahoma Baseball tradition is long and storied, with two National Championships in 1951 and 1994, along with numerous All-Americans. Dale Mitchell, Bobby Jack, Jackson Todd, Glen Castle, and Keith Drumright all include two-time All-Americans to play baseball for the University of Oklahoma Sooners baseball team. Their home field is L. Dale Mitchell Baseball Park, named after famed player Dale Mitchell. The baseball program was a source of recent controversy when the head coach, Larry Cochell, resigned after making racially insensitive remarks about one of the players on the team.

Prior to 2006, the Sooners hosted regionals at minor league parks in Oklahoma City, first All Sports Stadium and then AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. Scheduling conflicts with the Oklahoma Redhawks, the Class AAA affiliate of the Texas Rangers, led OU to bid for future regionals at its on-campus stadium.

History

The early years

Unlike many programs, such as LSU and USC, Oklahoma did not lack consistency among the coaching ranks in the early to mid 1900s. Bennie Owen is credited as the first head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners baseball program. Owen's first season is listed as 1906 and his final season being 1922. Owen coached the Sooners for a total of 17 years, compiling an overall record of 142–102–4. In 1923 Bill Owen took over as head coach and remained in the position for 4 years. During his tenure the program had a .764 winning percentage with a record of 42–13. OU named Lawrence Haskell the third head coach in the programs history in 1927. He led the Sooners for 15 years, compiling an overall record of 176–74–2.[2]

Jack Baer era

Jack Baer became the fourth head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners baseball program in 1942. In his 10th year as coach, Baer led the program to new heights, claiming the 1951 National Championship in baseball for the first time in school history. Baer went on to coach the Sooners until 1967. During his 26-year tenure as coach, Baer amassed 281 victories, a .529 winning percentage, and still remains OU's longest tenured baseball coach.

Enos Semore era

Enos Semore replaced Jack Baer in 1968. Semore became the 5th head coach in the program's history, and led the program through some of its most successful years. During his 22-year tenure as coach, Semore's teams averaged 38.5 victories a year, claiming 9 conference championships and 2 conference tournament titles. Under his direction, the Sooners claimed 4 straight Big Eight titles while also making 5 consecutive trips to the College World Series from 1972–1976. His 1976 squad set a school record that still stands today with 62 victories. The 851 victories he compiled while head coach of the Sooners still ranks first in the programs history. Semore compiled a record of 851–370–1 while at OU. Semore's career winning percentage of .697 ranks in the top 50 all-time in NCAA Division I history.[3]

Larry Cochell era

Semore resigned just days before the start of the 1990 season for medical reasons. Assistant Stan Meek was named interim coach for the 1990 season, during which the Sooners finished 31–26 overall and failed to make the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament for the first time since 1983.

To replace Meek, the Sooners traveled out west and hired Larry Cochell away from Cal State Fullerton. Cochell replaced legendary coach Augie Garrido at Fullerton when Garrido left for Illinois. During his three seasons at Fullerton, Cochell's teams went 109–68. Although Fullerton had long been considered a baseball powerhouse, OU offered Cochell a financial package that he could not turn down, and he became the seventh head coach in school history.

Cochell wasted no time bringing the team back into the national spotlight. In his first year, Cochell led the team to an overall record of 40–23 and a second-place finish in the Big Eight. The Sooners returned to the NCAA Tournament, but were quickly eliminated in regional play, losing their second game to eventual national champion LSU. The following year, the Sooners tied for the Big Eight conference championship, and once again were awarded with a spot in the post-season. The Sooners fared much better winning the NCAA Mideast Regional to earn their first trip to the College World Series since 1976. The Sooners tied for 5th in the 1992 College World Series winning 1 game and losing 2, but Cochell would use the 1992 season to catapult the Sooners to national prominence. The 1992 team finished the season 43–24 overall. After a rebuilding year in 1993, Cochell was poised to return the program to glory.

1994 national championship

In 1994, Cochell entered his fourth season at the helm of the Sooner program. The Sooners breezed through the 1994 regular season with a record of 42–17. They also posted a 21–9 mark in conference play, but that was only good enough to finish second in the conference. The Sooners were placed in the NCAA Central Regional along with Arkansas St., Stanford, and Texas. In their first game of the regional, OU defeated Arkansas St. 10–3, setting up a second round game with Stanford. Once again OU had no trouble putting runs on the board, defeating Stanford 10–4. After winning their first two games, OU was in the driver's seat for the remainder of the regional. With a berth in the regional championship on the line, the Sooners delivered; they defeated Texas 15–4. Texas avoided elimination to set up a rematch with OU in the championship, but the result turned out the same. The Sooners claimed the Central Regional championship, defeating the Longhorns 6–3. The Sooners were on their way to Omaha, earning their 8th trip to the College World Series.

The Sooners were the No. 4 seed in the 1994 College World Series, which set up a first-round game with the No. 5 seed Auburn Tigers. OU continued their winning ways, defeating the Tigers 5–4. The win placed the Sooners in the winner's bracket and set up a second-round game against Arizona St. Arizona St. surprised top-seeded Miami in the opening round 4–0 to advance to the winner's bracket. OU once again won by a single run, 4–3, to advance to the semi-finals. After defeating Miami for a second game and eliminating the Hurricanes, the Sun Devils were looking for revenge, but the Sooners rose to the occasion. Oklahoma eliminated Arizona St., 6–1, to advance to the championship round. The Sooners played Georgia Tech for the championship, who had also won its first three games in Omaha that year. OU's bats came alive in the championship game as OU defeated the Yellow Jackets 13–5 to claim the second national title in school history. Cochell guided the Sooners to a 50–17 overall record after winning the CWS.

Retirement and legacy

On May 1, 2005 Cochell submitted his letter of resignation to Oklahoma. Cochell resigned after making racial remarks during two separate interviews. Cochell used racially insensitive remarks to describe Joe Dunigan III who was a freshman outfielder and is an African-American. The remarks were not during taped interviews, but were brought to the attention of the university by ESPN after the fact. Cochell would later issue a public statement in which he apologized for the remarks, and the Dunnigan family would later state they forgave Cochell.[4]

Cochell, who had coached for 39 total seasons, was the keeper of the OU baseball program for nearly 15 full seasons. He led the program through one of the most successful eras of its history, including leading them to the 1994 championship, the first in over four decades, despite the quick exit that engulfed his departure, although he was invited back to the introduction of Pete Hughes as head coach in 2013. [5][6]

Sunny Golloway era

Sonny Golloway was promoted from associate head coach to interim head coach on May 1, 2005 following the resignation of Larry Cochell. Golloway held the interim tag for the remainder of the 2005 season posting a 12–6 record. The Sooners earned an berth in the 2005 NCAA tournament, but were eliminated in the Oxford regional finals by Ole Miss. Following the 2005 season, the interim tag was removed from the title, and Golloway became head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners baseball program.

Prior to becoming head coach at OU, Golloway returned to Norman for his second stint with the Sooners Program. Golloway was an assistant coach under Cochell from 1992–1995 before leaving to become the head coach at Oral Roberts. Golloway would coach a total of 8 seasons at Oral Roberts posting a 335–156 record. Following the 2003 season, Golloway left Oral Roberts to return to Norman as associate head coach.

In his first full season as head coach of the Sooners, Golloway led the team to a 45–22 record overall. The 2006 team finished 3rd overall in the Big 12, and earned its second straight NCAA post-season berth. In the post-season, Oklahoma was awarded a host site for the regional round of the tournament. After losing their first game to TCU, the Sooners would win 4 straight to earn their first regional title since 1995 and a berth in the super regional round for the first time. Oklahoma traveled to Houston to face the Rice Owls, with the winner earning a berth in the 2006 College World Series. Rice won the first game, but OU was able to come back with a victory in game 2 to force a rubber game. Rice, the No. 2 overall seed that year, was just too much in the pivotal third game of the super regionals, and ended OU's season.

After a promising first full season as coach, expectations for Golloway were increasing. Unfortunately in 2007, the Sooners never lived up to their potential finishing the season 34–24. They failed to make the post-season, but Golloway was determined to keep the program moving in the right direction. The following year, the Sooners finished the season 36–26–1 overall, and once again earned a trip to the post-season. The Sooners would make it all the way to the Tempe regional finals, before coming up short against Arizona St. to end the 2008 season.

In his fourth full year as head coach at Oklahoma, Golloway was once again able to keep the program moving in the right direction. OU finished second in the Big 12 posting a 17–10 record in conference play, only a half game behind Texas for the regular season title. After earning the No. 2 seed in the 2009 Big 12 Baseball Tournament, the Sooners posted a disappointing 1–2 record in pool play. Following the Big 12 championship, the Sooners had a record of 41–18. Despite their poor performance in the Big 12 tournament, they were still rewarded with a host site and the No. 7 national seed in the 2009 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. After winning their first game in the Norman regional, the Sooners fell to Arkansas in the second round. The Sooners would bounce back and defeat Washington St. in an elimination, but once again lost to Arkansas. The Sooners finished the 2009 season 43–20.

In 2010, the Sooners finished 50–18. The team swept through their regional and won the super regional against the Virginia Cavaliers 2–1. The Super Regional was highlighted by Cody Reine who had back to back multi-homerun games in games 2 and 3. The Sooners earned their 10th appearance in the College World Series where they won their first game against the South Carolina Gamecocks 4–3. The Sooners then lost to the Clemson Tigers and then lost on a walk-off hit to the Gamecocks in a rematch.

After the 2013 season, Golloway left for Auburn.

Pete Hughes era

In 2014, Pete Hughes, who had previously served as head coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies for the previous seven seasons. In his four seasons with the Sooners, he led them to over 30 wins three times, although his team advanced past the Second Round of the Big 12 Tournament just once (2015), with only one NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017, which ended with two losses in the Louisville Regional. After the 2017 season, he was fired by the program. [7]

Skip Johnson era

On June 19, 2017, Skip Johnson was announced as the new head coach of the Sooners. [8]

L. Dale Mitchell Baseball Park

L. Dale Mitchell Baseball Park is a baseball stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. It is the home field for the University of Oklahoma Sooners college baseball team. It is named after the former OU player Dale Mitchell who holds OU's career and single-season batting records. The park was originally constructed at a cost of $1.27 million and was dedicated in 1982. After two renovations, the current capacity is 2,700 people.

Conference affiliations

The Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association was not officially renamed until 1964. In 1964 it became the Big Eight, but was nicknamed the Big Six and Big Seven prior to its official renaming.

Head coaches

  • Records are through the end of the 2019 season
Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1906–1922Bennie Owen17142–102–4.581
1923–1926Bill Owen442–13.764
1927–1941Lawrence Haskell15176–74–2.702
1942–1967Jack Baer26281–250.529
1968–1989Enos Semore22851–370–1.697
1990Stan Meek131–26.544
1991–2005Larry Cochell15511–336–1.603
2006–2013Sunny Golloway5170–98–1.634
2014–2017Pete Hughes4128–107–1.544
2018–presentSkip Johnson271–48–0.597
Totals 10 coaches 116 2,612–1,519–13 .632

Year-by-year NCAA Division I results

Records taken from the 2017 Oklahoma Sooners baseball media guide page 64.[9]

Year-by-year results
Year Head coach Overall Winning % Conference Winning % Conf. finish Notes
1898No coach2–1.667
18992–1.667
19001–3.250
No teams from 1901 to 1903
1904No coach4–5–1.450
19051–3.250
1906Bennie Owen10–6.625
190712–5.706
No team in 1908
1909Bennie Owen13–4.765
191011–9.550
191111–6.647
19126–6–1.541
191311–6.647
191412–7–1.625
191517–4.810
19167–9.438
No team in 1917
1918Bennie Owen10–6.625
19196–7.462
19205–8–1.392
19216–9–1.406
19225–10.333
1923Bill Owen12–4.750
19249–3.750
192511–2.84610–1.909MVIAA Champions
192610–4.7148–4.667MVIAA Champions
1927Lawrence Haskell12–5.70612–5.706MVIAA Champions
19287–9.438
19299–7–1.5595–6.4554th
193011–4–1.7199–3–1.731t-1stBig 8 Champions
193110–1.9096–1.857t-1stBig 8 Champions
19325–7.4171–3.2505th
193311–5.6883–2.600t-1stBig 8 Champions
193415–3.8334–2.667
193514–3.8247–01.0001stBig 8 Champions
193618–3.8576–01.000t-1stBig 8 Champions
193713–5.7226–1.8576th
193812–6.6676–2.7502nd
193914–5.7379–1.9001stBig 6 Champions
194016–5.7629–1.9001stBig 6 Champions
19419–6.6006–2.7502nd
1942Jack Baer17–7.7086–1.8572nd
No teams from 1943–1945 due to World War II
1946Jack Baer17–3.8505–1.8571stBig 6 Champions
194715–13.5367–4.6361stBig 6 Champions
19487–14.3335–9.3576th
194910–10.5007–5.5832nd
195014–8.6367–5.5833rd
195119–9.67910–1.9091stBig 7 Champions
CWS Champions
19527–14.3334–7.3646th
195311–11.5007–2.7781stBig 7 Champions
195412–8.6008–4.6672nd
195513–10.5659–1.9001stBig 7 Champions
195611–7.6117–2.7781stBig 7 Champions
195710–8.5569–6.6002nd
195812–8.60011–5.6883rd
195912–11.5227–10.4125th
196013–10.56512–7.6323rd
196110–15.4009–10.4745th
19629–17.3468–13.3817th
196314–10.58313–5.7222nd
196417–10.63013–8.6192nd
19657–20.2596–15.2868th
196613–11.54211–6.6472nd
196711–16.40711–9.5503rd
1968Enos Semore13–14.48110–8.5563rd
196923–10.69717–4.8102nd
197020–17.54110–9.5264th
197124–11.68613–8.619T-2nd
197235–17.67312–8.6001stBig 8 Champions
197348–12.80017–4.8101stBig 8 Champions
197443–8.84318–3.8571stBig 8 Champions
197552–10.83915–3.8331stBig 8 Champions
197662–19.7654–2.6672nd
197737–11.7719–1.900T-1stBig 8 Champions
Big 8 Tournament Champions
197839–20.66110–2.8331stBig 8 Champions
197936–27.57112–8.600T-3rdBig 8 Tournament Champions
198033–24–1.5788–10.4445th
198140–15.72711–13.4585th
198235–25.58311–6.6473rd
198339–20.66118–6.7502nd
198442–15.73714–4.7782nd
198555–14.79718–6.7502nd
198644–21.67719–3.8641stBig 8 Champions
198742–20.66717–7.7082nd
198845–21.68216–8.6672nd
198944–19.69818–6.7503rd
1990Stan Meek31–26.5449–15.3757th
1991Larry Cochell40–23.63513–11.5422nd
199243–24.64217–7.708T-1st
199331–24.56413–14.4815th
199450–17.74621–9.7002ndCWS Champions
199542–16.72421–7.7501stBig 8 Champions
199632–25.56114–12.5383rd
199739–20.66118–11.6214thBig 12 Tournament Champions
199842–20.67717–11.6074th
199930–29.50812–18.3338th
200041–23.64120–10.6673rd
200125–33–1.43213–16–1.4507th
200235–27.56515–12.5564th
200323–31.42610–17.3707th
200438–24.61319–8.7042nd
2005Cochell/Golloway35–26.57414–13.5195th
2006Sunny Golloway45–22.67217–10.6303rd
200734–24.58611–16.4077th
200836–26–1.5799–17–1.3528th
200943–20.68317–10.6302nd
201050–18.73515–10.6002nd
201141–19.72114–11.5603rd
201242–25.62713–10.5654th
201343–21.67213–11.5424th
2014Pete Hughes29–29.5008–16.3338th
201534–27.55713–11.5423rd
201630–27–1.52611–13.4585th
201735–24.59312–11.5223rd
2018Skip Johnson38–25.60314–10.5834th
201933–23.58911–13.4586th

National championships

Year Coach Record Result
1951Jack Baer16–9Beat Tennessee, 3–2
1994Larry Cochell50–17Beat Georgia Tech, 13–5
Total national championships 2

OU in the NCAA tournament

Year Record Pct Notes
1947 0–1 .000 Lost in Western Playoff bracket
OU did not make the tournament from 1948 to 1950.
1951 4–0 1.000 College World Series Champions
OU did not make the tournament from 1952 to 1954.
1955 1–2 .333 Lost in District 5 series to Oklahoma St.
1956 0–1 .000 Eliminated by North Dakota State in NCAA District Tournament
OU did not make the tournament from 1957 to 1971.
1972 3–2 .600 NCAA Tournament District Champions
College World Series (5th Place)
1973 4–2 .667 NCAA Tournament District Champions
College World Series (5th Place)
1974 3–2 .600 NCAA Tournament District Champions
College World Series (5th Place)
1975 7–3 .700 Won the Midwest Regional
College World Series (3rd Place)
1976 3–3 .500 Won the South Central Regional
College World Series (7th Place)
1977 1–2 .333 Eliminated by Michigan in NCAA South Central Regional
OU did not make the tournament in 1978.
1979 1–2 .333 Eliminated by Hawaii in the Midwest Regional
OU did not make the tournament in 1980 or 1981.
1982 2–2 .500 Eliminated by Eastern Michigan in NCAA Central Regional
OU did not make the tournament in 1983.
1984 0–2 .000 Eliminated by Lamar in NCAA Central Regional
1985 2–2 .500 Eliminated by Lamar in NCAA Central Regional
1986 1–2 .333 Eliminated by Tulane in NCAA South I Regional
1987 0–2 .000 Eliminated by Texas in NCAA Central Regional
1988 0–2 .000 Eliminated by Arizona St. in NCAA West II Regional
1989 1–2 .333 Eliminated by Loyola Marymoun in NCAA WEst I Regional
OU did not make the tournament in 1990.
1991 0–2 .000 Eliminated by LSU in NCAA South Regional
1992 5–3 .625 Won NCAA Mideast Regional
College World Series (5th Place)
OU did not make the tournament in 1993.
1994 8–0 1.000 Won NCAA Central Regional
College World Series Champions
1995 4–2 .667 Won NCAA Midwest II Regional
College World Series (7th Place)
OU did not make the tournament in 1996.
1997 0–2 .000 Eliminated by LSU in NCAA South I Regional
1998 2–2 .500 Eliminated by Auburn in the Atlantic II Regional
OU did not make the tournament in 1999.
2000 2–2 .500 Lost to UCLA in the Oklahoma City Regional Finals
OU did not make the tournament in 2001.
2002 0–2 .000 Eliminated by Wichita St. in the Wichita Regional
OU did not make the tournament in 2003.
2004 1–2 .333 Eliminated by UCLA in the Oklahoma City Regional
2005 2–2 .500 Lost to Ole Miss in the Oxford Regional Finals
2006 5–3 .625 Won the Norman Regional
Lost to Rice in the Houston Super Regional
OU did not make the tournament in 2007.
2008 2–2 .500 Lost to Arizona St. in the Tempe Regional Finals
2009 2–2 .500 Lost to Arkansas in the Norman Regional Finals

Player awards

All Americans

The following is a listing of first team selections. Other selections are available at Oklahoma's official web site.[10]

All College World Series

The following is a listing of first team selections. Other selections are available at USC's official web site.[11]
^ denotes player was named MOP of the College World Series

All-Conference teams

Selections from 1958 were affiliated with the Big 7 conference, selections from 1976–1996 were affiliated with the Big 8 conference, and selections from 1997 on were affiliated with the Big 12 conference.
^ and ^^ respectively denote Big Eight and Big 12 Conference Player of the Year
* and ** respectively denote denotes Big Eight and Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year

Conference All-Tournament teams

Selections from 1976–1996 were affiliated with the Big 8 conference, and selections from 1997 on were affiliated with the Big 12 conference.
^ denotes player was selected as the MVP of the tournament.

See also

References

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