For the first time since 2022, the Sooners were preparing to play for their season.
The OU softball team faced an elimination game against Florida in the Women’s College World Series semifinals on Tuesday. A loss would have ended their three-year reign as national champions and concluded the careers of their legendary senior class.
The stakes were high, but when OU’s players gathered at the team hotel on the morning of the game, they were met by a surprise guest.
It was Shay Knighten, the former softball star who won two national titles with OU from 2016-2019. She delivered a pregame speech to prepare the Sooners.
“I just told them what it’s like,” Knighten said. “It’s hard. … But just go out there and do what you do. God is behind you. He’s all around you. So just take your abilities and be free with them.”
The Sooners did just that.
OU clinched a 6-5 victory over Florida, advancing to the championship series against Texas. On Thursday, the Sooners secured their fourth consecutive national title with an 8-4 win over the Longhorns.
It’s a storybook ending for OU, whose players kept Knighten’s message in mind as they completed their championship run.
“I will never forget that meeting for the rest of my life,” senior Jayda Coleman said. “(Knighten) has been through this before. Anytime we are on the field, if we want to look up to her, she can give us 30 seconds of encouragement. I use that very, very often, ever since she told me that. It was just a surreal moment.”
Coleman, who has admired Knighten since the seventh grade, fittingly gave her best Knighten impression to send the Sooners to the championship series.
One of Knighten’s standout moments with OU came against Florida during Game 1 of the 2017 WCWS finals, when she hit a three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to secure a 7-5 win.
When OU found itself tied at 5-5 with Florida in the bottom of the eighth inning on Thursday, Coleman mirrored that moment by hitting a walk-off home run.
“Going around the bases, I lost it, just started crying,” Coleman said. “It was an incredible feeling.”
Coleman’s heroics set up a Red River Rivalry rematch between OU and Texas in the championship series.
The Longhorns, the No. 1 seed, were eager to win their first national title in program history, having won a 2-1 series against the Sooners during the regular season.
But Knighten wasn’t concerned about that, especially after seeing the competitive fire in the Sooners’ eyes when she delivered her speech earlier in the week.
“It looked familiar,” Knighten said. “That’s the look the teams I was on that won had. Just the look in the eye of, ‘I’m not getting denied no matter what anybody has to say or what the score is. If we still have outs left on the board, we’re going to win.’ I could feel that from them. There was no doubt in my mind that they were going to win it.
“I didn’t care if it went to a Game 3, but I wanted it done in two.”
Knighten’s wish was granted.
OU swept Texas in the best-of-three championship series, and Knighten witnessed both games from the stands at Devon Park. She could be seen enthusiastically cheering as the Sooners lifted the championship trophy for the fourth consecutive year.
OU made history as the first team in college softball to achieve a four-peat. It’s an accomplishment that’s difficult to put into words, but Knighten attempted to express it.
“It’s challenging enough to win one,” Knighten said. “It’s even more challenging to win two. I can’t even imagine going for three because I’ve never experienced it. But to accomplish what they have is truly remarkable. They’ve put in so much hard work. Their passion for the game is evident, and it’s clear that their dedication has paid off.”
