Go Boomer: OU softball lands LSU pitcher Sydney Berzon in transfer portal

OU softball doesn’t need a lot of pieces, but you felt pretty confident that one box that was going to be checked was a veteran pitcher.

So maybe it’s not a surprise the initial ‘Go Boomer’ of the transfer portal cycle is indeed that veteran in the circle.

Former LSU pitcher Sydney Berzon is staying in the conference and coming to the Sooners. She announced on her social media.

Berzon, a three-year star for the Tigers, was 18-8 last season with a 2.46 ERA. She had 19 complete games this and has been a workhorse at LSU the last three seasons.

Berzon has a 52-25 career mark with a 2.02 ERA. She has thrown 486.1 innings with 416 strikeouts.

Go Boomer time

Welcome to the ‘Go Boomer’ time of season for OU softball. Head coach Patty Gasso is ready to attack the transfer portal and get the missing pieces for 2026.

Maybe not nearly as many pieces this time around, as OU sure feels like it is stacked for the years to come with quality players across the board.

But there will be a few, for sure.

So the portal defection question becomes this: are some players willing to stick it out one more season and ‘wait their turn?’ There is no right or wrong answer – just whatever they decide to do.

All OU players who enter the portal are going to find a home. We’ve seen that in recent years. That trend is going to continue.

And yep, they might even come back and face the Sooners. Or might even come back and beat OU. That’s the nature of the beast.

Gasso? She’s OK with it.

“Quite honestly, getting players in your program that are 100 percent bought in, that are 100 percent behind the program, the coaches, teammates, et cetera,” Gasso said. “This day and age, I think there’s a lot of I’m not going to play — I’m not playing here, I’m going somewhere else. That’s fine. Didn’t bother me at all. I wish anybody — I’ve never tried to stop anyone if they’re trying to leave because I want them to find what they want.

“If it isn’t here, then it isn’t here. And I’m not trying to read into anything, I’m just saying that the right people need to be in your program giving everything they have.”

Transfer portal additions

Sydney Berzon (LSU)

OU was searching for a veteran arm in the circle. Berzon is absolutely that, having pitched three quality seasons for the Tigers. It was imperative to get this out of the way for the Sooners, really opens the door for whatever Gasso and OU wants to do next.

Transfer portal defections

Kadey Lee McKay

You could sort of see this one coming. As a freshman, McKay just didn’t make a massive impact and hard to see anything going beyond that moving forward. Between retention and the recruiting class, the writing was on the wall.

Hannah Coor

This one stung a bit because Coor has been the epitome of doing everything right on and off the field. The perseverance and determination and all that good stuff to get back on the field is admirable, if nothing else. She will have zero issues finding a spot for her final season.

Maya Bland

Once again, just a numbers game. At maybe 90 percent of the schools in the country, Bland is a perfect fit and every game player. OU, though, just isn’t one of them. That’s OK, and that’s OK that Bland wants to find a new home where she’ll get that sort of chance.

Corri Hicks

The initial defection, and a tale of what might have been. A fall ball injury never really let Hicks show what she could do. Add in what’s coming in recruiting, and catcher was getting very crowded in a hurry. Another player that will have a list of suitors and no issues going forward.