Completed Event: Baseball versus (2) Georgia Tech on May 31, 2026 , Win , 15, to, 8
Final
Baseball
15
vs (2) Georgia Tech
8
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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Bushyhead and Sooners Meet Media
February 13, 2012 | Baseball
Feb. 13, 2012
NORMAN, Okla. -- Caleb Bushyhead sat at his locker during Oklahoma's media day Monday.
He shook his head and just smiled.
"You have no idea," said the Sooner senior shortstop.
Probably not, but we do know is Bushyhead is back for his senior year. And heading into Friday's season opener, he's also healthy for the first time in a year, no longer slowed by that bulky knee brace that covered his right knee since he injured it last fall during practice.
"It feels way better," he said. "I felt comfortable last year. I felt good, but it did slow me down. Wearing that big brace hindered my ability. I didn't get to work out in the fall and I wasn't as strong. I wasn't as fast. It's been big for me to be able to come back."
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Bushyhead missed the first 14 games, returning just five months after the ACL injury. He hit .288 on the season, but wasn't the same player he was as a sophomore.
"He feels like he's the best baseball player he's been in his whole life," OU coach Sunny Golloway said. "That's saying a lot because he was pretty special as a sophomore.''
As a sophomore, Bushyhead hit .327 with six home runs. He hit none last year. Bushyhead also drove in 40 as a sophomore and just 18 last season.
"We're just glad he's back," said second baseman Jack Mayfield, who filled in for Bushyhead at shortstop last year. "Just great leadership from him and I know he feels better than he's ever felt."
The difference will be seen on defense, too. Mayfield can return to his more-natural position of second base while Bushyhead is healthy at shortstop.
"I'm just a piece of the puzzle," he said. "But I am glad to be back and I think it will have a significant influence on the club and help us go a long way."
OU went 41-19 last year a season after making the College World Series in 2010. This year, with 11 players gone from last year's team, Bushyhead will be counted on even moreso, as he's a fourth-year senior.
But more important than that, Bushyhead is just happy to be pain-free and worry free.
"I'm not going to the training room every day having to stress if it's a good day or a bad day," he said. It''s hard when you have to stress. It's been relaxing this year knowing I can come to the yard and be ready to play."
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