Patty Gasso reacts to SEC championship game cancellation: 'There's too much at stake'

As Oklahoma and Texas A&M waited more than two hours for the rain to pass the Athens area, the two teams and the SEC came to a decision. The 2025 SEC softball tournament championship game would be canceled, and the two teams would be co-champions.

OU coach Patty Gasso detailed the conversation she had with Texas A&M’s Trisha Ford about whether they should play the title game. The top two teams in the country, Gasso said the two coaches weighed whether there’d be any advantage to playing Saturday’s game, which was already moved up from its original start time.

Ultimately, they opted to be co-champions of the 2025 SEC softball tournament. Gasso pointed out the stakes of the looming NCAA Tournament compared to the title game in the rain.

“Both coaches just got together and said, ‘What is this worth?’” Gasso said, via The Oklahoman’s Ryan Aber. “We’re co-champions. … It doesn’t give us a big advantage one way or another. We just want to get on our charter flights before the weather gets worse and try to get home at a good hour because there’s too much at stake to play in this right now.”

Texas A&M headed into Saturday ranked as the top team in the country while Oklahoma came in at No. 2. The Aggies also sit No. 1 in the RPI with the fifth-toughest strength of schedule, along with a 19-8 record vs. Top-25 RPI teams. The Sooners, meanwhile, sit No. 5 in the RPI and have the No. 16 strength of schedule, as well as an 18-6 record against the RPI Top 25.

Patty Gasso’s comments were similar to Trisha Ford’s regarding the decision to cancel Saturday’s game. The tarp never came off the field at Jack Turner Stadium, and Ford pointed out the need to ensure everyone got home safe and sound.

“There’s just a lot of factors [that went into it],” Ford said, via The Eagle’s Robert Cessna. “It hasn’t stopped raining since about noon today. It [didn’t] look like we’d get a window big enough for us to be able to play a game. So with just the field conditions and then for everybody being able to get home safely [it was] just one of those unfortunate things.”

Both the Sooners and Aggies will find out their NCAA Tournament fate during Sunday’s selection show. The bracket reveal is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.