Patty Gasso calls Oklahoma assistant Jennifer Rocha 'the voice of calm and reason'

Oklahoma softball coach Patty Gasso is a big fan of associate head coach Jennifer Rocha and what she does for the pitching staff.

Ahead of the Big 12 Tournament, as anyone knows, pitching wins championships. Just like the defense wins championship adage.

With Rocha on Gasso’s staff, the legendary head coach can rely on a veteran voice to keep the pitching staff in line.

“She is definitely the voice of calm and reason,” Gasso said. “Which is what every pitcher needs, I think, from a pitching coach, someone that can talk them down. We just had a good conversation today and she is really excited, as much as you could look at the outcomes. She’s very excited with some of the things that she saw. There were signs of really good pitches and really good innings. 

“And we believe and she believes that we’re moving and trending up at the right time. But she has a real good sense of how to speak to pitchers because she was a pitcher and they respect her and they believe her, they listen to her. So I believe her too. I’m really excited after talking it over, about the direction of the staff.”

Oklahoma opens the Big 12 Softball Tournament against Kansas at 2:30 p.m. ET Thursday.

Patty Gasso talks final Big 12 season

It’s a little bittersweet for Gasso and company. Oklahoma and Texas make the move to the SEC next spring while the fall sports kick off the new era in a few months.

Oklahoma will surely be ready for it, being the best softball program in the country currently.

“It’s good that you asked that because I mean all the talk is SEC, SEC,” Gasso said. “And we’re gonna be excited about it. We’re gonna prepare, try to be as ready as we can for it. But my whole life has been in the Big Eight, and the Big 12. And so, my best memories come through this conference, and you know, hope to create more memories going into the SEC.”

Gasso, 61, seemingly has no end in sight to her coaching career that began in 1990. She’s been with Oklahoma as the head coach since 1995 but looking back on the old Big 12, and Big 8 of course, had her pondering the future when she eventually leaves.

At that point, Oklahoma might be well established in the SEC.

“But back when Nebraska and A&M and those teams were in the conference, it was a really good conference,” Gasso said. “It was just different. It wasn’t so many people paying attention and following and coaches would love on each other and say, ‘You made me better.’

“And I say ‘you made me better.’ It was that kind of friendly competition and now it’s just completely different where you’re just like, wow, okay, so, it is what it is and all I care about is that I leave the Sooners the right way.”