Go Boomer: OU softball lands UNC catcher Isabela Emerling
It had been a crazy week in the softball transfer portal, but OU was still relatively quiet. That all changed with one social media post Friday.
Head coach Patty Gasso let the world know it was time for a ‘Go Boomer’ and that OU had landed its first transfer portal commitment.
Who is it? You knew the Sooners needed a catcher for the 2025 season. That box is checked off. Former North Carolina catcher Isabela Emerling announced her commitment to OU on Friday evening.
Emerling will have two seasons of eligibility remaining and is coming off a fantastic sophomore season. Emerling hit .323 with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs. And she’ll have some guidance from a former catcher as Kinzie Hansen is staying in Norman as a grad assistant.
The first one is in the books. OU is certainly going to be adding more in the days to come.
Who’s leaving? Who’s returning?
We’ve said it repeatedly, but again, 2025 is going to be incredibly different. There are so many names OU fans and softball fans have been accustomed to hearing that are gone.
That senior class went 235-15 with the four national championships.
“This generation, they’ve taught me a lot about coaching,” Gasso said. “They taught me how to accept who they are and how it looks. I mean, I think that has a lot to do with a lot of things, that I just allowed them to be them. It’s hard sometimes because some of it I’m like, oh, no. But it’s important to them. They’ve taught me how to coach better.”
OU lost 10 seniors. Then add another three in the portal (Avery Hodge, Quincee Lilio, SJ Geurin). OU has eight players coming back and is adding eight freshmen. Based on the usual OU numbers, you can assume around five spots are there.
It’s time to have some fun.
