Baseball Opens Home Slate at Kimrey Family Stadium

NORMAN – No. 21 Oklahoma opens the home slate vs. Coppin State Friday-Sunday at Kimrey Family Stadium in Norman. First pitch for Friday's home opener is set for 4 p.m. CT before a 2 p.m. start on Saturday and 11 a.m. finale Sunday morning.

The weekend action can be seen on SECN+ and heard on 99.3 FM/1400 AM The REF with OU play-by-play voice Toby Rowland and Josh Helmer calling the action.

The Sooners are coming off a 4-0 opening weekend that saw the team take the crown at the Shriners Children's College Baseball Showdown. OU took down Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and No. 10 TCU to win the tournament, outscoring the opposition 32-6. On Monday at Globe Life Field, OU capped a 4-0 opening week with a 10-6 win over New Mexico State.

HOT START

• Oklahoma made a loud statement on opening weekend with its Shriners Showdown sweep, highlighted by dominant pitching and a revamped lineup that put up 32 runs across the three Showdown games.

• The pitching staff had a combined 48 strikeouts through the first four games. The staff has allowed 10 earned runs on 20 hits (2.65 ERA).

• Oklahoma's offense combined for 42 runs on 41 hits through four games. Thirteen Sooners have registered a hit in the early season, paced by senior Trey Gambill's .444 average. Three Sooners (Gambill, Brendan Brock, Camden Johnson) are batting over .400. Gambill leads OU with a pair of home runs. Five Sooners have combined for six blasts.

• On the mound, OU's opening weekend rotation impressed with a combined 31 strikeouts from Cameron Johnson (6.0 IP), LJ Mercurius (5.1) and Cord Rager (5.0). Mercurius fanned 12 vs. OSU in his Saturday start after opening day starter Johnson racked up 11 K's. The true freshman, Rager, struck out eight in his first collegiate appearance.

• Eleven relievers saw action throughout OU's first four games, paced by sophomore Michael Catalano's four strikeouts in 2.2 IP.

FOR THE FANS

• This week's home-opening weekend will feature a 2026 schedule poster giveaway each day of the series.

• Happy Hour at the ballpark continues for every home Friday game starting two hours before first pitch up until first pitch featuring $4 16oz. beer while supplies last.

• Season and single game tickets for the 2026 season are available now on SoonerSports.com/tickets. For more information about Oklahoma baseball tickets, contact the OU Athletics Ticket Office at 405-325-2424, by email at outickets@ou.edu or by visiting SoonerSports.com/tickets.

• Oklahoma Baseball officially opens the newly-named Kimrey Family Stadium this weekend after a Board of Regents resolution in the fall of 2025 approved the renaming of L. Dale Mitchell Park in honor of the Kimrey family and their transformational gift to the program. Also approved were numerous renovation projects, including updates to the outfield wall, batter's eye, bullpens, exterior fence and spectator areas beyond the outfield wall.

• Project 2 of the Kimrey Family Stadium Project has officially moved forward, featuring significant expansion and improvements to team facilities, seating bowl upgrades and fan enhancements, including new concessions, restrooms and a dedicated fan plaza.

MERCURIUS, RAGER CLAIM SEC WEEKLY HONORS

After helping Oklahoma to an opening weekend sweep at the Shriners Children's College Showdown, pitchers LJ Mecurius and Cord Rager were named Co-Pitcher and Co-Freshman of the Week, respectively.

• In his OU debut, the junior right-handed pitcher Mercurius went 5.1 innings and struck out a career high-tying 12 batters in the Sooners' 11-1 win over rival Oklahoma State at the Shriners Showdown. The UNLV transfer surrendered just one run on three hits with two walks. The junior struck out the side in two of his 5.1 innings pitched and registered two or more K's in four innings.

• Oklahoma's Sunday win vs. No. 10 TCU for the Shriners Showdown title was highlighted by the debut of freshman lefty Rager. He went 5.0 innings and struck out eight while surrendering just one run on two hits with three walks. In his first inning as a collegian, Rager struck out the side in order.

• The weekly honors are the first of the season for the Sooners and the first since Drew Dickerson claimed Freshman of the Week honors a season ago (4/21/25). Mercurius is the second Sooner to be named a pitcher of the week after 2025 MLB Draft first-rounder Kyson Witherspoon earned the honor twice last year.

• Mercurius shared the accolade with Dylan Volantis of Texas, while Rager splits the frosh honors with Cash Strayer of Florida.

RANKINGS CHATTER

• The Sooners enter the season at No. 19 in the Baseball America Preseason Top 25 and are receiving votes in both the NCBWA and USA TODAY Coaches preseason polls. OU is unranked in the other two major polls, D1Baseball and Perfect Game.

• The Sooners went 11-15 in ranked matchups in 2025, including a 6-10 mark vs. top-10 opponents.

UP NEXT

• OU continues its 17-game homestand with a two-game midweek set vs. Arizona State in Norman, Tuesday-Wednesday, Feb. 24-25. First pitch for both contests will be 4 p.m. CT. The games can be seen on SECN+ and heard on 99.3 FM/1400 AM.

• The games will be OU's annual $2 Takeover on Tuesdays, and the deal will be extended into Wednesday's game.

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