Baseball Hosts Lehigh for Opening Weekend

Friday, February 14

2 p.m. CT

University of Oklahoma

Lehigh

Tickets

Baseball Hosts Lehigh for Opening Weekend

February 13, 2025 | Baseball

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NORMAN – Preseason No. 20/25 Oklahoma opens the 2025 season Feb. 14-15 at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman with a three-game series vs. Lehigh. The series can be seen via SECN+ and heard on 99.3 FM/1400 AM The REF. On the call for Friday will be Sooner play-by-play voice Toby Rowland and analyst/OU alumnus Rich Hills. Josh Helmer will step in for play-by-play with OU alum Blake Brewster serving as analyst for Saturday's contest.

The Sooners return 13 student-athletes from the 2024 team, including NCBWA All-American Easton Carmichael, 2025 Preseason All-SEC honoree and consensus preseason All-American, Kyson Witherspoon, and 2024 All-Big 12 selections Scott Mudler and Jaxon Willits. Also back in 2025 are outfielders Dasan Harris and Jason Walk, along with pitchers Dylan Crooks, Reid Hensley and James Hitt, among others.

Oklahoma won the program's first Big 12 regular season title a season ago, finishing 40-21 overall. The 2024 season was highlighted by a conference-record six series sweeps and No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament. OU hosted an NCAA regional in Norman for the first time since 2010 and won 40 games for the second time in three years.

OU enters its inaugural season in the Southeastern Conference, which features home series against Vanderbilt (2019 national champion), Mississippi State (2021 national champion), Ole Miss (2022 national champion), LSU (2023 national champion) and Texas.

Oklahoma vs. Lehigh
Date: Feb. 14-15
Times (CT): Fri. DH at 2 p.m., Sat. 2 p.m.
Location: Norman, Okla.
Arena: L. Dale Mitchell Park

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FIRST PITCH

• The Sooner pitching staff has been heralded throughout the preseason for its talent and potential heading into 2025. Looking to lead the way will be junior right-handed brothers Kyson and Malachi Witherspoon. The twins were electric for OU in 2024 with Kyson racking up 90 strikeouts and an 8-3 record as a starter, and Malachi embracing the closer role with five saves a season ago.

• OU's third starter on opening weekend will be lefty transfer Cameron Johnson from LSU. In limited action in 2024, Johnson struck out 13 in nine innings of work and will look to benefit from head coach and pitching coach Skip Johnson's tutelage in a Sooner uniform.

• In the batter's box, OU will look to be led by junior catcher Easton Carmichael. The NCBWA Third Team All-American in 2024, Carmichael is coming off a season in which he paced the Sooners with a .366 batting average, 93 hits and 64 RBIs. Also stepping into a leadership role will be sophomore shortstop Jaxon Willits. Willits, son of former Sooner and MLB veteran and current associate head coach Reggie Willits, blasted 10 home runs a season ago while making 54 starts.

• This weekend's matchup vs. Lehigh marks the first meeting in program history vs. the Mountain Hawks, located in Bethlehem, Pa. The team went 24-23-1 in 2024, finishing with a 9-16 mark in Patriot League play. Lehigh is led by Sean Leary in his 30th season as head coach.

FOR THE FANS

• Fans attending opening weekend at L. Dale Mitchell Park get the first glimpse of the 2025 Sooners and will be able to experience the new enhancements the park has to offer, plus much more.

• Friday's giveaway features the 2025 schedule poster. On Saturday, fans can pick up free Oklahoma Baseball schedule shirts upon entry.

PRESEASON ACCOLADES

• Junior right-handed pitcher Kyson Witherspoon has collected several preseason honors heading into the 2025 season, including preseason All-America nods from four different outlets: Baseball America (second team), D1 Baseball (second team), NCBWA (second team) and Perfect Game (first team).

• Witherspoon was also named to the Preseason All-SEC Team as a second team selection. He was one of nine starting pitchers named to the first or second teams.

• Witherspoon and junior catcher Easton Carmichael were both named to the 2025 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. The award, given annually to the best amateur baseball player in the nation, announced the 55-player watch list last week. Oklahoma was tied for second with two players on the list.

• The Sooners were picked to finish 11th in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll by the conference's 16 head coaches. Texas A&M was predicted to win the 2025 conference crown, while five different schools received first place votes.

STEPPING INTO LEADERSHIP ROLES

• Following the departure of numerous veterans from the 2024 squad in Kendall Pettis, Jackson Nicklaus, John Spikerman, Bryce Madron, Carter Campbell and Carson Atwood, among others, the 2025 squad will lean on new leadership as the team embarks on its first season in the SEC.

• The brothers Witherspoon, Kyson and Malachi, will look to pace the pitching staff in their starter roles, while returning seniors RHP Dylan Crooks, LHP Jamie Hitt and RHP Reid Hensley also bring a veteran presence.

• As for position players, junior catcher Easton Carmichael, sophomore shortstop Jaxon Willits, senior catcher Scott Mudler and sophomore outfielders Jason Walk and Dasan Harris will play major roles for the Sooners across the field in 2025. The five combine for 234 OU starts in their careers.

NEWCOMERS LOOKING TO MAKE NOISE

• Looking to replace 22 lost letterwinners from 2024, the Sooner coaching staff hit the transfer portal and recruiting trail hard to bring in 28 newcomers for 2025.

• Of those 28, 16 are transfer student-athletes, including 11 from junior colleges, a testament to OU assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Todd Butler and the OU staff's expertise at the JUCO level.

• The Sooners added a trio of Division I transfers in RHP Jason Bodin (Texas A&M), INF/OF Brayden Horton (Liberty) and LHP Cameron Johnson (LSU).

• Factoring into the starting mix will be numerous transfer names: 6'4" infielder and 2024 D-II Defensive Player of the Year, Dawson Willis, along with outfielder Brandon Cain from Mississippi State Gulf Coast CC, first baseman Dayton Tockey from Weatherford Junior College, two-way product Gavyn Jones from McLennan CC, outfielder Trey Gambill out of Salt Lake CC and INF/OF Sam Christiansen from South Mountain CC. Liberty transfer Horton and UT-Permian Basin addition Mason Hamlin should also be looking for playing time across the infield and outfield.

• Expected to be factors in Skip Johnson's rotation and bullpen include the likes of JUCO transfers LHP Cade Crossland and Beau Sampson and RHP Dylan Tate.

• Freshmen that look to play significant roles include Kyle Branch (2B) and Drew Dickerson (INF/OF), both Perfect Game Top-200 players out of high school at Lovejoy (TX) and Lee's Summit (MO) high schools, respectively. Other frosh additions that should see work include two-way righty Jackson Kircher, RHP Michael Catalano and lefty pitcher Jaden Barfield.

THE BEST BASEBALL CONFERENCE IN AMERICA

• Announced in 2021 was Oklahoma and Texas' move to the Southeastern Conference. The transition became official July 1, 2024, and the OU baseball program will look to make a name for itself in the premier baseball conference in the country in its maiden voyage in 2025.

• The Sooners are no strangers to competing against their new conference foes. Since head coach Skip Johnson's hiring in 2018, OU is 38-30 versus current members of the SEC (including Texas).

• The Sooners will play 30 conference games this season, highlighted by five home series versus four of the past five national champions (Vanderbilt [2019], Mississippi State [2021], Ole Miss [2022], LSU [2023]), and a home regular season finale vs. rival Texas.

• OU plays its first conference series as SEC members March 14-16 at South Carolina. The Sooners will also travel to Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Missouri in 2025.

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

• OU's 54-game slate is highlighted by 31 home games at L. Dale Mitchell Park in 2025, including conference series vs. LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Texas.

• On the schedule are 13 teams that made the 2024 NCAA tournament, including four Super Regional participants and two CWS teams from a season ago, Kentucky and Virginia.

• In the non-conference slate, OU will face preseason No. 2 Virginia and preseason top-10 Oregon State at the Round Rock Classic, Feb. 21-23 at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas.

• Oklahoma will play familiar foes and tournament contenders Dallas Baptist and Oral Roberts twice each on midweeks and meet 2024 tourney team Louisiana Tech for the first time since 1993 on a Wednesday at Mitchell Park.

RANKINGS CHATTER

• The Sooners enter the season at No. 20 in the Perfect Game USA Preseason Poll and No. 25 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll. The Sooners are the fifth team out of the top 25 in the NCBWA poll and enter the season unranked in the other two major polls: Baseball America and D1 Baseball.

• The Sooners went 4-1 in ranked contests throughout the regular season in 2024, with all four wins coming against top-15 opponents.

For updates and more information on Oklahoma baseball, follow the Sooners on X/Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Baseball) and like Oklahoma Baseball on Facebook.