ESPN's Jessica Mendoza puts Oklahoma's 'historic' 2023 season into perspective after WCWS 3-peat

Oklahoma has become nothing short of remarkable on the softball field. Last night’s victory over Florida State capped off a three-peat for the Sooners at the Women’s College World Series and solidified their final record at 61-1 for the best winning percentage in the history of the sport.

At times, that kind of dominance can be too much to comprehend. Still, ESPN’s Jessica Mendoza joined Get Up this morning to try and put it into words. However, considering the emotions on the field in Oklahoma City last night, Mendoza started by pointing out how the Sooners accomplishing what they did must have felt like weight coming off of their shoulders considering the pressure upon them to achieve at the level that they have.

“I mean you think about the celebration. But not only Patty Gasso showing the emotion. We had Jordy Bahl, who won Most Outstanding Player. She was doing her interview with Holly Rowe in tears. But they weren’t these tears of joy. It was of relief,” Mendoza said. “I mean this is historic. We are seeing something we have never seen in the history of the sport. You even think about women’s sports, men’s sports. What this team has done has put them on a stage like nothing that we have ever seen before. And, because it’s three years in a row of national championships, it’s also three years in a row of fame, of having posters, going everywhere, the celebrations. But Jordy Bahl, after the game, in tears, not even so much from joy but of that relief.”

“The stress that they felt because of the pressure to be the greatest team? They know how good they are,” continued Mendoza. “But to actually win it and do it? It’s one of the most difficult things you could have to do in all of sports.”

The 3-1 win over the Seminoles on Thursday night took OU to yet another historic level. They became just the second program ever to three-peat alongside UCLA. This victory also allowed them to hoist their fifth trophy of the last seven years and sixth of the last decade. Now, with this title, only the Bruins and the Arizona Wildcats have more.

Still, Mendoza went on to say that this isn’t even the best iteration of Oklahoma. It wasn’t as talented as in years past but, even so, she pointed out their depth and balance as reasons why this championship was just as impressive as the others.

“I think it’s the best stretch of team because, to be honest, this year’s team wasn’t the best team. They had the most balance, if that makes sense,” said Mendoza. “Last year’s team had Jocelyn Alo, who broke the all-time home run record. And they had Jordy Bahl, they had this same team. But, this year, they felt like they had to come back but they didn’t have the same players. In fact, half their team were transfers, were new players. They had a figure out a way to mesh, a way to do it, a way to get the job done.”

“For them to piece that together? To bring it home, to know that they were good enough even though they couldn’t rely on the talent in the years past? That’s what impressed me the most,” Mendoza stated.

So, now what? At this rate, all Oklahoma could want for next season is to win it again and keep this run going. While that’s a mind-blowing premise, though, Mendoza doesn’t think it’s out of the question for Sooners. Heading into the next season, she’ll be looking at their roster moves but, in the end, she said the future of college softball is ‘Oklahoma’s to lose’.

“This is a powerhouse, power team,” said Mendoza. “We’ve never seen anything like this but especially because of the balance.”

“It’s Oklahoma’s to lose from here on out,” stated Mendoza. “I’m interested to see how many players are still on this team. We see transfers like crazy. How much does this team change? We’re gonna find out in the next few weeks. I think that’s going to be the storyline moving forward.”