Four Sooners Named Player of the Year Top 25 Finalists

NORMAN — Four Oklahoma Softball student-athletes were named 2022 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 25 Finalists, USA Softball announced the list on Wednesday.

Redshirt senior Jocelyn Alo, freshman Jordy Bahl, sophomore Jayda Coleman and senior Grace Lyons combine for the most representatives from one school. Oklahoma leads the way with four finalists while UCLA and Arizona State are the next-highest with two finalists each.

The reigning USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Jocelyn Alo, has had another season for the record books in 2022. Alo broke the NCAA career home run record in early March in her home state of Hawaii, hitting career No. 96 vs. Hawaii on March 12. The Hauula, Hawaii, product now has 109 career home runs and a nation-best 21 on the season to go with 49 RBIs and 11 doubles. She ranks first in the country with her .490 batting average, 1.245 slugging percentage and .643 on-base clip, drawing 35 walks on the year. Alo has five multi-homer games on the year including one game with three blasts.

One of two freshmen on the list, Bahl, has taken college softball by storm in her first-year campaign with the Sooners. In 99.1 innings pitched, Bahl has a 0.85 ERA with 162 strikeouts to 22 walks. Her earned run average ranks sixth in the country while her strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.4) ranks 11th. She has allowed just 12 earned runs on the season (17 runs total) and is allowing opponents to bat just .140. Bahl has surrendered 11 extra-base hits, with only three being home runs. The Papillion, Neb., product has one individual perfect game and one solo no-hitter on the year, along with combining on one perfect game and two no-hitters. Additionally, Bahl has six double-digit strikeout performances, including a career-high 16 vs. Tennessee on Feb. 26 and a 15-K game at Texas (4/14).

The second-year centerfielder, Coleman, has brought the energy for the Sooners once again in 2022. An all-around performer for OU at the plate and on defense, Coleman is batting .456 on the year, good for 10th in the country, to go with a .617 on-base percentage that ranks third in the NCAA. She leads the team with 10 stolen bases on 12 attempts and has hit six home runs and an additional three extra-base hits. In the outfield, Coleman has started all 39 games in center field and holds a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 19 putouts and two assists.

The defensive anchor for the Sooners, Lyons has had a career year at the plate. The shortstop has hit 17 home runs, good for seventh in the country and a single-season career high. The Peoria, Ariz., native has two multi-home run games including one game with three blasts. She's batted in 44 runs with a .425 batting average, 1.0000 slugging percentage and .500 on-base clip. Lyons is second on the team with six stolen bases on six attempts and holds a .923 fielding percentage with 33 putouts and 39 assists. She has also assisted in turning eight double plays.

OU's four finalists rank as a program high for the USA Softball Top 25 list, while the Sooners have had at least two representatives on the list for five straight seasons. It marks Alo's second time being a Top 25 finalist and first for Bahl, Coleman and Lyons. Coleman was a top-three finalist for NFCA DI Freshman of the Year a season ago.

Alo won the award in 2021, joining Keilani Ricketts as the only Sooner to win the award, with Ricketts winning the prestigious trophy in consecutive seasons in 2012 and 2013.

The Top 25 Finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be narrowed to 10 on May 4 before the three finalists will be revealed May 18. The 2022 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be announced prior to the NCAA Women's College World Series, slated for June 2-10 at USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City.

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