MEET THE COACHES

PATTY GASSO | HEAD COACH

Recently completing her 28th season at the University of Oklahoma in 2022, NFCA Hall of Fame head coach Patty Gasso has molded the OU softball program into a national power and permanently placed herself among the elite college softball coaches in the country.

Oklahoma has won six national championships, winning in 2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021 and most recently in 2022. OU is one of just three programs in NCAA history to win more than two national titles. She’s reached the Women’s College World Series 15 times during her tenure, and in the process, advanced to the postseason in each one of her 28 seasons (no tournament in 2020).

With 32 seasons as a head coach to her name, Gasso has a career collegiate coaching record of 1,556-403-3 (.793) and holds an overall record of 1,395-344-2 (.801) at the University of Oklahoma.

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She has won more Big 12 games (376-87; .812) than any coach in the league’s history and has more than twice as many overall wins as any other coach in OU history. OU has claimed 14 Big 12 regular season titles, including an unprecedented 10 straight since the 2012 season, and seven championship titles under her direction. Gasso’s Sooner teams have finished second or higher 22 different times in the 26 years since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996.

Numerous Sooner players have prospered under Gasso’s tutelage and garnered national, regional and conference recognition. Most recently, Jocelyn Alo helped lead the Sooners to back-to-back titles en route to winning consecutive USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year awards in 2021 and 2022. Keilani Ricketts was also a two-time USA Softball Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013. Gasso has directed 70 All-Americans, 157 All-Region honors and 116 first-team all-conference selections. In the Big 12 era, Sooners have been named Big 12 Player of the Year a total of 14 times and Big 12 Pitcher of the Year seven times, while 10 have been selected as Big 12 Freshman of the Year and one as Big 12 Newcomer. In 2010, Amber Flores became the first player in league history to earn Player of the Year honors twice, Shelby Pendley joined her in 2015 before Alo claimed the honor in consecutive seasons in 2021 and 2022.

The OU softball success under Gasso has also spilled over into the classroom where the Sooners have been honored with 162 academic all-conference honors. Ten of those have gone on to become Academic All-Americans, including Lana Moran, the 2000 Academic All-American of the Year.

Gasso and her staff have consistently been recognized for their efforts on and off the field. The staff was awarded three consecutive Speedline/NFCA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year awards from 1999-2001 and received the national honor in 2000, 2013, 2016 and 2017. Gasso and staff have claimed the regional honor in 14 of their 28 seasons with the most recent award coming in 2022. In addition, Gasso has been named the Big 12 Coach of the Year 14 times: 1996, 1999, 2000, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.

JENNIFER ROCHA | ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH

Jennifer Rocha was hired as the program’s associate head coach and pitching coach in the summer of 2018, and recently concluded her fourth season with her alma mater in 2022.

Once a student-athlete (1996-98) and graduate assistant (1999-2001) for the Sooners, the former Jennifer Jaime led one of the most successful pitching staffs in the country in her first year on the coaching staff in 2019. She has assisted the Sooners to consecutive trips to the Women’s College World Series since her return to Norman, including the 2021 national title.

Throughout OU's dominant 59-3 campaign in 2022, Rocha mentored a pitching staff that paced the country in ERA (1.05) and shutouts (33) and recorded eight no-hitters on the season, including two perfect games. The 33 shutouts were good for a school record, while three Sooner pitchers ranked in the top five nationally through the season in ERA: senior Hope Trautwein, sophomore Nicole May and freshman Jordy Bahl.

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Bahl collected NFCA Freshman of the Year honors and NFCA First Team All-America honors for her dominant 22-1 campaign, including 205 strikeouts and 1.09 ERA. Trautwein was named All-Big 12 and to the WCWS All-Tournament Team after an impressive showing in OKC that included a 4-0 record in 22.1 IP and 16 strikeouts.

In 2021, the OU pitching staff recorded two perfect games, three no-hitters and 22 shutouts, while senior Giselle Juarez was named the WCWS Most Outstanding Player following a 5-0 record (three complete games), one shutout, 38 strikeouts and just four runs allowed (0.89 ERA) in the World Series. Juarez and fellow senior Shannon Saile were both All-Big 12 honorees and Saile was named NFCA First Team All-Central Region.

Under Rocha, the Sooners led the nation in ERA (1.40), shutouts (28) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.50) in 2019. Individually, all three of OU's primary pitchers ranked in the top 20 nationally in ERA, hits allowed per seven innings pitched, strikeout-to-walk ratio and strikeouts per seven innings pitched.

Juarez was named the 2019 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, and she was joined by Shannon Saile on the All-Big 12 Teams. Juarez and Mariah Lopez each earned NFCA First-Team All-Central Region honors, and Juarez went on to become an NFCA First-Team All-American. Rocha returned to Oklahoma after most recently spending 13 years at Florida, where she began in 2006 as an assistant coach and was elevated to associate head coach after the 2017 season. During her tenure, the Gators won two NCAA titles (2014, 2015) and made nine Women’s College World Series appearances (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018). Additionally, Florida claimed seven SEC regular season titles (2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) and four SEC Tournament tiles (2008, 2009, 2013, 2018) with Rocha on staff.

Leading the Gators’ pitching staff, Rocha coached seven All-Americans.

In 2015, Rocha was named NFCA Assistant Coach of the Year. She was part of five NFCA Southeast Region Coaching Staff of the Year selections and the 2015 NFCA DI National Coaching Staff of the Year.

Prior to her time at Florida, Rocha was an assistant coach at Wichita State University from 2003-05. She was an assistant at Oregon for one year before joining the Shockers. Beginning her playing career at Long Beach City College in 1995, Rocha transferred to Oklahoma in 1996 and was a three-year letterwinner. She finished her Sooner career with a 43-17 record (.721) and a 1.46 ERA.

Rocha played professionally for the Virginia Roadsters in the Women’s Professional Softball League in 1998 before returning to Oklahoma as a graduate assistant coach from 1999-2001. Overall, Rocha was part of six straight NCAA Regional appearances with the Sooners, three Big 12 regular season crowns, two Big 12 Tournament titles, two WCWS appearances and one national championship.

Rocha earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from OU in 1999 and a Master of Arts in human relations in 2001. She married Paul Rocha in November 2006, and the couple has one daughter, Eliana.

JT GASSO | ASSISTANT COACH

JT Gasso has spent the past seven seasons as Oklahoma's assistant coach. His primary responsibilities are focused on working with OU's outfielders and the Sooner offense.

During Gasso's tenure, the Sooners have won six Big 12 regular season titles and three Big 12 Tournament crowns (the tournament was not played during Gasso's first season, finished in 2019 or played in 2020) while making six Women's College World Series appearances and winning four national titles.

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Under Gasso’s guidance, the 2022 Sooners picked up where the 2021 team left off, leading the nation in batting average (.371), home runs (155), slugging percentage (.733) and on-base percentage (.474). The team also paced the country in scoring, averaging 9.34 runs per game for a total of 579 runs, ranking third in NCAA history. The Sooners’ 155 homers ranked third all-time, just three shy of second place and six shy of OU’s first-place mark of 161 from 2021. The team finished with three more marks in the all-time top-five including 1,137 total bases, a 2.50 home runs-per-game average and its .733 slugging clip.

With the help of Gasso’s offensive expertise, redshirt senior Jocelyn Alo concluded her career as arguably the best hitter in college softball history. Alo claimed her second straight USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, among countless other accolades including being a unanimous NFCA First Team All-American and the WCWS Most Outstanding Player. Alo hit a nation-best 34 home runs and broke the NCAA career home run record during the 2022 season, finishing with a career total of 122 blasts, 27 better than second place. Alo also paced the NCAA in slugging percentage (1.212), on-base percentage (.646) and total bases (200). She ranked in the top five in the country in six additional categories, including second in RBIs (85) and batting average (.515). Sophomore Tiare Jennings beat out Alo for the RBI crown in 2022 with 87 while also ranking third in homers (29) and fifth in slugging (.940) and total bases (171). As a team, the Sooners had three players rank in the top 10 for home runs, two in the top five for on-base percentage, three in the top 10 for RBIs, slugging percentage and total bases, and a pair rank in the top 25 in batting average and hits. Behind OU’s powerful offense coupled with stellar pitching, the Sooners won their second consecutive and sixth overall national title.

Under Gasso's offensive coaching, the 2021 team rewrote the record books. The offense hit an NCAA-record 161 home runs and set NCAA records for team batting average (.405), slugging (.778), on base percentage (.490), runs scored (638) and total bases (1,279). The team also averaged a record 10.63 runs per game and 2.68 home runs per contest. Gasso helped senior Jocelyn Alo to her own record-shattering season, hitting a program-best 34 home runs en route to winning 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. Freshman Tiare Jennings completed the Sooner slugger sweep by winning NFCA National Freshman of the Year honors while hitting an NCAA-best and program record 25 doubles to go with 27 home runs. The Sooners hit 34 home runs in the shortened 2020 season, tied for seventh-most in the nation. OU's 1.42 HRs-per-game average was also good for seventh in the country.

Gasso developed one of the nation's most potent offenses in 2019 as the Sooners led the country in the following statistical categories: batting average (.344), home runs per game (1.83), on-base percentage (.435) and slugging percentage (.639).

A program-record six student-athletes earned NFCA All-America accolades, including five position players in Caleigh Clifton, Sydney Romero, Falepolima Aviu, Jocelyn Alo and Grace Green. Romero was also tabbed the Big 12 Player of the Year while Green was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

In 2018, Gasso coached the Sooners to a nation-leading .532 slugging percentage. Additionally, Oklahoma ranked second nationally in scoring average (6.66 runs/game) and on-base percentage (.424), fourth in home runs per game (.1.32) and ninth in batting average (.321).

Gasso also mentored NFCA Freshman of the Year Jocelyn Alo, who led the country with 30 home runs in 2018 to match the NCAA freshman record and the Oklahoma single-season record. Alo and Sydney Romero were both named NFCA First-Team All-Americans and were joined by Nicole Pendley, Shay Knighten, Caleigh Clifton, Kelsey Arnold and Nicole Mendes on the All-Region teams.

His first two seasons in Norman couldn't have gone any better as the Sooners won both the 2016 and 2017 national championships. He and the OU staff were named the NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year for their efforts in 2016 and 2017.

In 2017, sophomores Caleigh Clifton and Shay Knighten were each named second-team All-Americans, while Knighten was the Big 12 Player of the Year and Nicole Mendes was tabbed Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Along with Clifton, Knighten and Mendes, Falepolima Aviu, Nicole Pendley and Sydney Romero were given All-Region honors.

The Sooners ranked ninth in the country with 6.26 runs per game, 19th in slugging percentage (.471), 21st in on-base percentage (.393) and 22nd in average (.311). The team's 605 hits and 99 doubles were fourth most in program history, while the 438 runs and 916 total bases were fifth, the 172 extra-base hits were eighth and the 211 walks were 10th most.

During the 2016 campaign, senior Erin Miller was named a second team All-American and became the first outfielder in league history to be named Big 12 Player of the Year. Shay Knighten was also tabbed a second-team All-American as she took home Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors. In addition, to Miller and Knighten, Kelsey Arnold, Caleigh Clifton, Lea Wodach, Sydney Romero and Fale Aviu all earned All-Region honors.

The team's batting average of .351 and hit total of 631 ranked second in both OU and Big 12 history; the 631 hits were 16th most in NCAA history. The offense posted the third most doubles (100) and total bases (967) in school history; the doubles total also third most in Big 12 annals. The on-base percentage of .427 ranked fourth in school and Big 12 annals, while the slugging percentage of .538, 435 runs scored, 183 extra-base hits and 14 sac flies were fifth highest in OU single season history; the runs scored ranked fifth in Big 12 history and slugging was eighth highest. OU also hit 70 home runs and walked 208 times, ranking 10th in school annals in each.

Gasso joined Oklahoma after spending one season as an assistant at Michigan State. While working with the Spartans, his primary responsibilities were focused on defensive play in the infield and hitting, while being heavily involved in recruiting and overall player development.

While with the Spartans, he helped the program record its best offensive season since 2007. The team improved its win total by almost 60 percent from 2014 to 2015, while the offense improved greatly in nearly every offensive category.

Michigan State's home run total grew by 90 percent, while the batting average jumped 60 points to represent the fifth best improvement in the country in that category. Additionally, the team's slugging percentage went up over 100 points, while on-base percentage jumped almost 50 points.

Like the Spartans' batting average growth, the team's run production improved by over 90 percent from 2014 to 2015, and their amount of extra-base hits increased by over 70 percent.

Prior to Michigan State, JT Gasso was a part of a first-year coaching staff which helped guide Purdue to a spot in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals in 2014. The program placed five players on the All-Big Ten postseason teams and a program-record six Boilers earned All-Region honors.

JT Gasso spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma, where he was responsible for compiling scouting reports, game day and practice set up and assisting in hitting instruction and game planning for the team, including its 2013 national championship and 2012 national runner-up seasons. His coaching pedigree also includes time as a camp coach with national championship programs at LSU and UCLA, and at the IntenCity Sports Training Academy in Norman.

A collegiate baseball player at Eastern Oklahoma State and East Central University, Gasso has been a lead instructor for the Sooner Softball camps the last 10 years. He is certified as a level 1 coach in Crossfit and has trained various athletes, including those at IntenCity, for which he has been a hitting instructor and strength and conditioning coach since 2008. In his time as a private instructor, he has tutored five athletes who have gone on to play Division I softball.

In addition to his experience at Oklahoma and at IntenCity, the East Central University alum coached the Sulphur Orioles 18-and-under baseball team in 2010 and was the head instructor at the Chickasaw Nation softball camp in 2007.

Gasso holds an associate's degree from Eastern Oklahoma State College, a bachelor's degree in exercise science from East Central University and a master's degree in administrative leadership from the University of Oklahoma.

The son of Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso, he is married to the former Andrea Harrison, a former two-time All-American at UCLA. The couple has two young children, Joseph and Grace.

Patty Gasso Softball Camps is monitoring the COVID-19 situation in conjunction with the University of Oklahoma. Campers should follow @pattygassosb on twitter or email pattygassosoftballcamps.com for updates regarding changes in camps (locations, dates, times, overnight, etc.). Please be advised that as the situation is ever changing, camps maybe altered or even cancelled. In the event of camp changes, campers will be contacted with appropriate next steps. The safety and health of campers, camp staff, and the community are paramount.

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