No. 18 OU Returns to SEC Play at Mizzou

NORMAN – No. 18 Oklahoma (26-10, 7-8 SEC) returns to the road in SEC play to face Missouri (13-23, 0-15 SEC), April 17-19. The three-game series at Taylor Stadium in Columbia, Mo., can be seen via SECN+ with Max Thoma and Dylan Kelly on the call.

All games can be heard on the radio in Oklahoma on 99.3 FM/1400 AM The REF or nationwide on The Varsity app with Toby Rowland calling the action.

THE BASICS

• Oklahoma enters the weekend at 26-10 with a pair of top-10 non-conference wins and three SEC series on its resume. OU started the season 11-0, the program's best start since 2011. The Sooners are 3-2 in SEC series on the season, with both series losses coming to top-15 opponents. OU is coming off an 11-1 run-rule victory over in-state foe Oklahoma State Tuesday night. The mercy-rule win, courtesy of an eighth-inning grand slam off the bat of Jason Walk, was the first time OU has run-ruled OSU since 2006.

• The Sooners head into the matchup as a consensus top-25 team in the nation, ranking No. 18 in this week's D1 Baseball poll. The team holds its highest rank in the Baseball America poll at No. 12 and hold No. 16 in the NCBWA top 25 and the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and No. 21 in Perfect Game's rankings. Oklahoma currently sits at No. 25 in the NCAA RPI and holds the No. 29 strength of schedule.

• Longtime Big 8 and Big 12 foes which are now current SEC members, Oklahoma and Missouri have met nearly 250 times in the history of the two programs with OU holding the all-time advantage 148-101. Most recently, the Sooners beat the Tigers at the 2021 Frisco Classic, 16-6.

• Probable Pitching Matchups: TH: OU LHP Cade Crossland (6.17 ERA, 2-2) vs. MIZ LHP Brady Kehlenbrink (11.12 ERA, 0-3); FRI: OU RHP Kyson Witherspoon (2.08 ERA, 6-2) vs. MIZ RHP Kaden Jacobi (9.17 ERA, 2-5); SAT: OU RHP Malachi Witherspoon (5.74 ERA, 2-4) vs. MIZ TBA.

#18 Oklahoma at Missouri
Dates: April 17-19
Time (CT): 7 p.m./6 p.m./2 p.m.
Location: Columbia, Mo.
Ballpark: Taylor Stadium

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THE NUMBERS

• OU's pitching rotation is headlined by 2025 Preseason All-SEC RHP Kyson Witherspoon, who is 6-2 this season in nine starts with a 74-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Golden Spikes Midseason Watch List honoree has struck out a career-high 12 batters in two of his nine starts and recorded double-digit strikeouts in three.

• Twin brother, Malachi Witherspoon, holds a 2-4 record in nine starts with 48 strikeouts. Lefty Cade Crossland has made his debut in the rotation the last month. In nine appearances this season (six starts), Crossland has fanned 43 batters and walked 17.

• The pitching staff ranks 34th in the country with a 4.28 team ERA. Kyson Witherspoon ranks ninth in the country and third in the SEC in strikeouts with 74 and fifth in the conference and 20th in the nation in K/9 (12.81). The righty is first in the SEC with a 2.08 ERA which sits at 18th in the nation. His 0.88 WHIP is good for second in the league (11th nationally) and his six victories rank second in the SEC (16th nationally).

• The Sooners are outscoring opponents 250-174 and OU's pitchers have struck out 363 batters on the year. This season marked the first time in program history the Sooners have started a season 11-0 and held each opponent to five runs or less. OU has surrendered double-digit runs just five times on the year.

• Oklahoma is 17-6 at L. Dale Mitchell Park, outscoring the opposition 161-102 on its home field, including a 22-15 home run advantage in Norman.

• The Sooners have utilized 11 bullpen arms so far in 2025. Senior Dylan Crooks has taken on the closer role, ranking second in the SEC and third in the nation with nine saves in 15 appearances, striking out 20 and surrendering three runs (1.31 ERA) in 20.2 innings of work. James Hitt has been exceptional in his middle relief role, striking out 26 to just seven walks to go with a 2.42 ERA in 22.1 IP.

• In the batter's box, four starters are batting above .300 on the season. Sophomore Jaxon Willits leads the team with nine homers, while returning NCBWA All-American Easton Carmichael paces OU with 16 extra-base hits and 35 RBIs. Centerfielder Jason Walk has been the table setter in the leadoff spot, with hits in 26 of 35 games played and six homers on the year, already besting his season total of three from his freshman year a season ago.

• Freshman second baseman Kyle Branch has impressed in his first collegiate season, batting .301, good for fourth on the team, to go with 10 XBH and 20 RBIs. Redshirt sophomore Sam Christiansen leads OU with 38 walks drawn, good for third in the SEC and 12th in the country. Junior transfer Trey Gambill paces OU in batting average (.337) and on-base percentage (.512).

• Oklahoma has proven to be a menace on the base paths, stealing 89 bags on the year to rank first in the SEC and 14th in the country. Dawson Willis paces OU with 14 stolen bases, good for third in the SEC, while six Sooners have registered at least 10 on the year. OU is 89-for-106 on stolen base attempts.

• The Sooners have utilized the long ball, hitting 40 home runs on the year. The Sooners have homered in 25 of OU's 36 games, including 18 of the last 24 and have 11 multi-homer games.

KYSON COLLECTS ANOTHER SEC PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONOR

• Oklahoma junior right-handed pitcher Kyson Witherspoon was named SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week for his shutout performance vs. No. 17 Vanderbilt last Saturday.

• Witherspoon hurled a seven-inning complete-game shutout to secure the series vs. the Commodores for the No. 19 Sooners as OU run-ruled the Commodores, 14-0. It was Witherspoon's first career individual shutout and complete game performance.

• The Golden Spikes Midseason Watch List honoree struck out six in seven innings of scoreless work and surrendered just two hits and no walks. The righty allowed just one baserunner to move into scoring position in the game.

• Witherspoon ranks first in the SEC and 17th in the country with his 2.08 ERA and third in the league and ninth in the nation with 74 strikeouts, and first in the SEC in K/BB ration (6.73), walking just 11 on the year.

• The honor is Witherspoon's second SEC Pitcher of the Week selection of the season, previously earning the accolade following his 12-strikeout performance Feb. 21 vs. Minnesota.

THE BEST BASEBALL CONFERENCE IN AMERICA

• The OU baseball program looks to make a name for itself in the premier baseball conference in the country in its inaugural season 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 45-38 versus current members of the SEC (including Texas).

• OU won its first two conference series as members of the SEC. On SEC Opening Weekend at South Carolina, Oklahoma took the rubber match in Columbia by a final of 6-5 in 10 innings, erasing a two-run deficit with two outs in the ninth before Jason Walk launched a homer at the top of the 10th to give OU the win.

• The Sooners took two of three vs. Mississippi State at Mitchell Park in Norman, March 21-23. After falling in the opener despite 11 strikeouts from Kyson Witherspoon, OU turned around to win back-to-back games and clinch the series on its home turf.

• OU dropped its first conference series of the year at then-No. 12 Alabama in a highly-contested top-15 series. OU forced a rubber game with a Saturday win after falling 8-6 on Friday, and nearly completed a Sunday comeback after being down seven runs but couldn't finish the job and fell 8-6 to drop its first conference series.

• Oklahoma suffered its first conference sweep at Mitchell Park since 2021 when No. 7 LSU took all three games in Norman, April 3-5. A pitcher's duel in game one went LSU's way, 2-0, before a 10-2 loss in game two and narrow 3-2 result in Saturday's finale. The Sooners had the opportunity to win via walk off in the finale with the tying run in scoring position and go-ahead run at first base but a flyout squashed the chance.

• OU got back in the series win column this past weekend vs. No. 17 Vanderbilt, taking two of three from the Commodores in Norman. The Sooners took the first two games to secure the series by final scores of 9-4 and 14-0 (7 inn.) before falling in the series finale. Kyson Witherspoon was magnificent in OU's Saturday win as the ace had his start pushed back a day. Witherspoon threw a seven-inning complete-game shutout with six strikeouts to earn OU's third conference series win.

• 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.

• The Sooners travel to South Carolina, Alabama, Missouri, Georgia and Kentucky in 2025.

RANKINGS CHATTER

• Oklahoma jumped one spot to No. 18 in this week's D1Baseball poll after a ranked series win over No. 17 Vanderbilt. After starting the season unranked, Oklahoma has vaulted into the polls, including spending weeks in the top 10. The Sooners made their debut at No. 16 on Feb. 24 after the Round Rock sweep, and have since been ranked 13th, 12th and 10th, 9th , 10th, 19th and 18th this week.

• The Sooners are a consensus top-25 squad across the board, holding their highest ranking in the Baseball America poll (No. 12) and NCBWA and USA TODAY Coaches Poll ranks (No. 16). The Sooners hold No. 21 in the Perfect Game top 25.

• The remaining schedule for the Sooners features three weekend series versus teams currently in the D1Baseball top 25 (at No. 5 Georgia [4/24-26], vs. No. 11 Ole Miss [5/2-4] , vs. No. 1 Texas [5/15-17])

• The SEC leads all conferences with 10 of this week's D1Baseball top 25 teams, including four of the top five, six of the top 10 and 10 of the top 20.

• The Sooners are 5-7 in ranked matchups in 2025 after going 4-1 in such games throughout the regular season in 2024, with all four wins coming against top-15 opponents.

NEWCOMERS MAKING 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 newcomers have made an impact this season, with nine newcomer position players making starts and four freshmen or transfers making starts on the mound already in 2025.

• Freshman Kyle Branch and junior transfer Dawson Willis have started all 36 games at second and third, respectively. Fellow newcomer outfielders Trey Gambill and Sam Christiansen, and first baseman Dayton Tockey, have all recorded 30 or more starts. Gambill and Branch rank first and fourth on the team with respective .337 and .301 batting averages, while Tockey and Willis have each provided power at the plate with a combined 22 extra-base hits.

• On the bump, 10 Sooners new to the program in 2025 have made appearances with junior JUCO transfer Cade Crossland pacing the group with 43 strikeouts. Freshmen Michael Catalano (23 K) and Jaden Barfield (13 K) and sophomores Cameron Johnson (21 K), Jason Bodin (21 K) and Gavyn Jones (22 K) have been instrumental to OU's pitching success.

ALL THE ACCOLADES

• Junior right-handed pitcher Kyson Witherspoon recently collected a plethora of midseason accolades. The OU ace was named D1 Baseball's Midseason Top Pitcher and Perfect Game Midseason Pitcher of the Year. Witherspoon was also a unanimous midseason first team All-American by Perfect Game and midseason first team All-American by D1 Baseball.

• Witherspoon collected OU's first SEC weekly honor in program history on Feb. 24, being named SEC Pitcher of the Week following a career-high 12 strikeouts vs. Minnesota at the Round Rock Classic. Most recently, the OU ace earned SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week honors this week for his complete-game shutout performance vs. Vanderbilt last Saturday.

• Preseason honors heading into the 2025 season for Witherspoon included 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.

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