OU Hosts Tennessee in Bricktown for Regular Season Finale

NORMAN – Oklahoma (31-18, 13-14 SEC) hosts Tennessee (35-18, 13-14) for the final series of the regular season this weekend in Oklahoma City at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The three-game set begins Thursday with a 6:30 p.m. CT first pitch prior to another 6:30 p.m. contest Friday and 2 p.m. finale on Saturday.

The series can be seen via SECN+ with Toby Rowland and Blake Brewster on the call. All games can be heard on The REF 99.3 FM/1400 AM.

THE BASICS

• This weekend's series marks the first meeting as SEC foes between the Sooners and Volunteers and the first matchups between the two programs since 2024, a 5-1 OU win in Arlington at the season-opening Shriners Children's College Showdown. All-time the Sooners hold a 3-1 advantage. Most notably, Oklahoma beat Tennessee in 1951 to secure the program's first national title.

• OU is no stranger to playing in OKC, as the Sooners have played Bedlam games and Big 12 tournament contests in Oklahoma City. The program last played at Bricktown Ballpark in 2021 for the Big 12 Tournament.

• The Sooners enter the series at 31-18 and 13-14 in SEC play after dropping the series at No. 17 Arkansas last weekend. After falling Friday and Saturday, the Sooners salvaged the weekend with a 15-10 Sunday win where the team hit a season-high five home runs.

• Oklahoma is unranked in this week's D1Baseball Top 25 for the first time since the preseason poll. The Sooners hold their only top 25 ranking at No. 20 in the Baseball America Top 25. OU is receiving votes in the NCBWA poll and USA TODAY Coaches poll.

• On the season, OU is outscoring opponents 326-264 and the pitching staff has a team ERA of 5.23 with 491 strikeouts to 214 walks.

• The Sooners started the season with a program-record seven straight games scoring double digits and have scored 10+ runs in 12 games.

FOR THE FANS

• Weekend promotions at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark this weekend include Happy Hour for all three games where fans can purchase 16-oz. beers for $4 from the time gates open until first pitch.

• Friday is OU's annual "Go Mitch Go" game where the team honors the Go Mitch Go Foundation and the program's longstanding relationship with the Whitaker family who's son, Mitchell, passed away in 2007 due to Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. The team wears baby blue accents to honor Mitchell's eye color and the annual Mitchell Whitaker "Go Mitch Go" Award will be presented pregame to a Sooner who demonstrates outstanding character and leadership qualities.

• Tickets for the series 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.

OPPONENT OUTLOOK

• The Sooners meet the Volunteers for the first time as conference foes this weekend after the teams did not play during OU's inaugural season in the league a year ago.

• The last meeting between the teams came at the season-opening Shriners Children's College Showdown in 2024, a 5-1 OU win in 10 innings over then-No. 9 Tennessee.

• Most notably for the Sooners was the first matchup between the programs in 1951 as Oklahoma came from behind to defeat Tennessee, 3-2, in the 1951 College World Series championship game to become the first team in CWS history to claim the title after winning the double-elimination tournament in straight games without defeat.

• All-time OU holds a 3-1 advantage over the Vols, with the other two meetings coming in Houston in 2008 and 2022.

• The 2026 Vols, under first-year head coach Josh Elander, are led at the plate by Henry Ford's 16 home runs and Garrett Wright's .346 batting average. On the bump, sophomore RHP Tegan Kuhns holds a 3.13 ERA with 95 strikeouts and a 4-4 record.

SWINGING HOT BATS

• A number of Sooners have found their strides late in the regular season, highlighted by juniors Dasan Harris, Camden Johnson and Deiten Lachance.

• Since April 17 (13 GP), Johnson is hitting .389 (21 of 54) with 11 RBIs, 12 runs scored and six extra-base hits.

• Since April 9 (17 GP), Harris is hitting .380 (19 of 50) with eight RBIs, 12 runs scored and seven extra-base hits.

• Lachance has come out strong over the last 17 games, with all eight of the catcher's home runs coming in the last 17 games (since April 9). Lachance has homered in OU's last two games and four of the last five

IN LEAGUE PLAY

• OU is near the top of the SEC in numerous statistical categories in league play.

• The Sooners have turned 26 double plays in SEC play to lead the conference and the team is third in assists (237).

• As a team, OU is sixth in league play in batting average (.267) and the pitching staff ranks seventh in strikeouts (264).

• Individual highlights include Brendan Brock second in the league in stolen bases in conference play with 12. Camden Johnson and Dasan Harris are tied for first with a pair of triples in SEC play.

• Camden Johnson has 29 RBIs in SEC competition to rank third in the conference and tied for fourth with 38 hits in league play.

ON THE BUMP

• OU has deployed five starters on the weekend throughout the season in RHP LJ Mercurius, LHP Cameron Johnson, LHP Cord Rager, RHP Trent Collier and RHP Kadyn Leon. The list will grow to six this weekend with projected Friday starter being freshman RHP Xander Mercurius.

• Johnson paces OU with a 6-1 record and 3.53 ERA to go with 67 strikeouts and has registered at least seven strikeouts in six of his 13 starts on the year, including three appearances with zero walks allowed. Four of his last seven starts the lefty has gone at least 5.0 innings and surrendered more than three hits in just two of those starts.

• UNLV transfer LJ Mercurius who was a part of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team this past summer, holds a 5.62 ERA with a team-high 77 strikeouts.

• In Mercurius' OU debut on opening weekend vs. Oklahoma State, the righty fanned a then-career-high tying 12 batters while allowing just one run on three hits. He set a career best with 13 strikeouts at Vanderbilt on April 9.

• Mercurius is 6-6 on the year and the righty has one complete game, a seven-inning one-hitter vs. Gonzaga on Feb. 28.

• Sunday starter and freshman Cord Rager out of Maypearl, Texas, has 61 K's to 18 walks on the season with a 3-3 record. The lefty left has six-plus strikeouts in six of his 11 starts and a pair of appearance with no walks.

• Sophomore transfer Kadyn Leon has made 21 appearances and two starts and allowed 11 runs in 26.1 IP to go with 28 strikeouts, a 1-0 record and 3.76 ERA. He also has two saves on the year.

• Along with the starting pitching, OU's bullpen has been impactful. Senior transfer Jackson Cleveland has taken on a closer role with seven saves. The Miami transfer has 19 appearances and has struck out 25 in his 27.0 innings.

• Junior Jason Bodin, who made 31 relief appearances in 2025 to rank second in the SEC, has made 17 appearances in 2026 and ranks third on the team with four victories (4-1). He has 32 strikeouts in 27.2 innings.

• Nineteen arms have seen the mound for Coach Skip Johnson, with six pitchers outside the weekend rotation making at least one start.

• The staff's 10.7 K/9 innings ranks 13th in the country, hits allowed per nine (7.84) sits at 18th and 1.39 WHIP ranks 43rd in the nation.

• The OU arms have registered six shutouts in 2026, eclipsing the three total the team had in 2025. The number ranks tied for fourth in the country.

AT THE PLATE

• Through 49 games OU is outscoring the opposition 326-264 (6.7 runs/game). The offense is batting .279 with 158 extra-base hits to opponents' 137.

• All seventeen Sooners that have made a plate appearance this season has registered a hit.

• Junior third baseman Camden Johnson paces the starters with a .320 batting average, while junior Deiten Lachance is close behind with a .318 average. Brendan Brock leads OU with 10 home runs while Camden Johnson has seven long balls. Twelve Sooners have combined for 57 blasts.

• The Sooners have homered in 30 of 49 games.

• OU ranks first in the SEC and 34th in the country with 14 triples on the season.

• The team started the season with a program-record seven straight games scoring double digits and have scored 10+ runs in 12 games.

RANKINGS CHATTER

• The Sooners come in at No. 24 in this week's D1Baseball top 25 and rank in the top 25 in four of five major polls (D1, Baseball America, NCBWA and the USA TODAY Coaches Poll). OU holds its highest ranking (No. 16) in the Baseball America poll.

• OU is 6-10 in ranked matchups in 2026 with two wins over top-25 Texas A&M, one over No. 16 Alabama, No. 11 Auburn and No. 25 Florida, and a takedown of then-No. 10 TCU on Opening Weekend. A season ago, OU went 11-15 in ranked matchups.

LAST TIME OUT IN SEC PLAY

• OU dropped two of three in Fayetteville last weekend to No. 17 Arkansas. The Hogs took game one in seven innings by a final of 12-2 before the Sooners held a late lead in the second game, relinquishing the lead in the eighth in an eventual 12-8 loss.

• The Sooners salvaged the Sunday contest, hitting a season-high five home runs in a 15-10 win. It was the most runs scored by the Sooners in the program's two seasons in the SEC.

• Sophomore Drew Dickerson hit two home runs, one of which was a grand slam, to pace the Sooners on Sunday.

UP NEXT

• OU makes its second visit in program history to the SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Ala. The Sooners will learn their seeding after this weekend's conference finale.

• The tournament is slated for Tuesday, May 19 through the championship game on Sunday, May 24. All games can be seen on SEC Network with the championship game to be aired on ABC.

• A season ago, OU went 2-1 in Hoover, advancing to the quarterfinals in the program's inaugural appearance at the prestigious tournament.

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