Five Sooners Named First Team All-Americans

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Five Oklahoma softball student-athletes were named 2022 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Americans, the organization announced the honors Wednesday.

Jocelyn Alo (DP), Jordy Bahl (P), Jayda Coleman (OF), Tiare Jennings (2B) and Grace Lyons (SS) were all named to the first team, the most recipients by one school. Alo and Jennings were two of four unanimous choices to the first team.

This marks the ninth time in the last 10 seasons that Oklahoma has had at least three representatives on the NFCA's All-America teams and the fourth consecutive year with three First Team selections.

Alo joins the four-time All-America club, one of just three four-time recipients in 2022. Coleman, Jennings, and Lyons each collect their second career All-America nod while Bahl earns her first in her first-year campaign.

The back-to-back USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, 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 117 career home runs and 29 on the season to go with 72 RBIs and 11 doubles. She ranks second in the country with her .497 batting average, first in the NCAA with a 1.163 slugging percentage and .634 on-base clip, drawing 49 walks on the year. Alo has five multi-homer games on the year including one game with three blasts.

In NCAA postseason play, Alo is batting .643 with four home runs and 10 RBIs, slugging 1.500 with a .750 on-base percentage. She has not struck out in five postseason games and drawn five walks and one HBP. Alo has homered in four of OU's five postseason games and six of OU's last eight games.

Recently collecting her second straight Big 12 Player of the Year honor, Alo also claimed All-Big 12 First Team accolades for the fourth time of her career and NFCA All-Region accolades for a fourth time.

Bahl, the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year, has taken college softball by storm in her first-year campaign with the Sooners. In 132.1 innings pitched, Bahl holds a 0.95 ERA with 199 strikeouts to 29 walks. Her earned run average ranks fifth in the country. She has allowed just 18 earned runs on the season (23 runs total) and is allowing opponents to bat just .137. Bahl has surrendered 16 extra-base hits, with only three being home runs.

In conference play, Bahl held a 1.30 ERA in 53.2 IP to go with 71 strikeouts to 13 walks. She surrendered nine extra-base hits in Big 12 play, and no homers for a .157 opponent BA.

The Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Co-Pitcher of the Year and All-Big 12 First Team selection 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).

Coleman, an all-around performer for OU at the plate and on defense in centerfield, is batting .429 on the year to go with a .590 on-base percentage that ranks third in the NCAA. The All-Big 12 First Team selection for the second straight season leads the team with 13 stolen bases on 15 attempts and has hit seven home runs and an additional seven extra-base hits with 37 RBIs. In the outfield, Coleman has started every games in center field and showcased diving catches and throwouts, holding a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 32 putouts and three assists.

In Big 12 play, Coleman held a conference-best on-base clip of .614 with 17 walks, four stolen bases and 21 runs, including one homer, a pair of doubles and eight RBIs.

In NCAA postseason competition, Coleman is batting .600 with one home run three doubles and seven RBIs. She is on base at a .700 percentage and slugging 1.000 to go with four walks, one HBP and one stolen base.

Jennings has picked up where she left off as a freshman. Jennings is batting .385 in 2022 with 24 home runs, good for fourth in the nation, with an additional seven extra-base hits and 72 RBIs that is tied for third in the NCAA. She's slugging .882 with an on-base clip of .505, drawing 38 walks and stealing eight bases on nine tries. In the field, she holding a .982 fielding percentage, turning 14 double plays with 46 putouts and 63 assists to two errors.

In NCAA postseason play, Jennings is batting .438 with a pair of home runs and four RBIs, totaling 15 bases and two walks for a .526 on-base clip. She's also perfect in the field in postseason, turning two double plays at second base and registering nine putouts and five assists.

The back-to-back Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Lyons has had a career year at the plate and been a force at shortstop. The First Team All-Region selection has hit a single-season career high 21 home runs and holds a .957 fielding clip with 58 putouts, 74 assists and has turned 12 double plays. The Peoria, Ariz., native has three multi-home run games including one game with three blasts. She homered twice in OU's Super Regional win over UCF to clinch the Sooners spot in the WCWS.

She's batted in 62 runs with a .418 batting average, .899 slugging percentage and .489 on-base clip. Lyons is second on the team with eight stolen bases on nine attempts.

In Big 12 play, Lyons batted a conference-best .451 with 17 RBIs on five home runs and two doubles. She was two for three on stolen bases with a .540 on-base clip and .784 slugging percentage. In the field, she registered 27 putouts and 23 assists to one error (.980). She turned seven double plays in Big 12 competition.

In NCAA postseason competition, Lyons is batting .438 with three home runs, two doubles and nine RBIs for a 1.125 slugging percentage and .444 on-base clip.

The top-ranked and top-seeded Sooners are set to play in their sixth consecutive Women's College World Series beginning Thursday at 1:30 p.m. CT versus nine-seed Northwestern (45-11). The game can be seen on ESPN and heard in Oklahoma on 107.7 The Franchise and nationwide on The Varsity app.

Single-session tickets for the 2022 WCWS are still available via NCAAtickets.com.

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