2023 Oklahoma Sooners baseball team

The 2023 Oklahoma Sooners baseball team represented the University of Oklahoma during the 2023 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Sooners played their home games at L. Dale Mitchell Baseball Park as a member of the Big 12 Conference. They were led by head coach Skip Johnson, in his 6th season at Oklahoma.

Previous season The Sooners finished the 2022–23 season with a 45–24 overall record and a 15–9 record in Big 12 play. Coming in as the third-seed in the 2022 Big 12 Conference baseball tournament, the Sooners defeated their longtime rivals fifth-seeded Texas to win their third Big 12 conference tournament championship. Receiving an automatic bid for the 2022 NCAA Division I baseball tournament, the Sooners defeated Liberty, Florida, and Virginia Tech in the Blacksburg Super Regional. In the 2022 College World Series, the Sooners defeated Texas A&M in the first round and the semifinals, Notre Dame in the second round, before falling to Ole Miss in the finals, losing both games.

Offseason Departures Outgoing transfers+ Player Position Height Year New team Ref. Ben Abram RHP 6'7" Redshirt junior Oklahoma State Keegan Allen RHP/OF 6'0" Freshman West Virginia Cade Brown RHP 6'4" Redshirt junior Murray State Luke Carrell LHP 6'2" Freshman Northwest Florida State Brock Daniels INF 6'1" Freshman Missouri Luc Fladda LHP 6'1" Freshman Johnson County Mason Lowe INF 5'11" Redshirt junior Central Missouri Brayden Luikart LHP/OF 6'0" Freshman Johnson County Max McGwire INF 6'2" Freshman San Diego Hudson Polk C 6'1" Sophomore Arkansas Creed Watkins RHP 6'5" Redshirt sophomore NC State

Draft+ Round Pick Player Position Height Team Ref. 1 7 Cade Horton IF/RHP 6'1" Chicago Cubs 2 45 Jake Bennett LHP 6'6" Washington Nationals 2 51 Peyton Graham INF 6'4" Detroit Tigers 4 127 Jimmy Crooks C 6'0" St. Louis Cardinals 7 224 Blake Robertson INF 6'5" Tampa Bay Rays 10 290 Tanner Tredaway OF 6'0" Pittsburgh Pirates 10 297 Trevin Michael RHP 6'2" Detroit Tigers 11 325 David Sandlin RHP 6'4" Kansas City Royals 17 505 Chazz Martinez LHP/OF 6'3" Kansas City Royals 18 536 Javier Ramos RHP 6'6" Colorado Rockies 19 579 Jaret Godman RHP 6'1" Boston Red Sox Undrafted Brett Squires IF/OF 6'3" Kansas City Royals Cade Horton, Jake Bennett, and Peyton Graham's draft selections marked the first time the Sooners ever had three players selected in the first two rounds of the MLB draft. Under head coach Skip Johnson, the Sooners have produced three first-round draft picks in five years with Horton being selected seventh overall. Horton became the Sooner's highest draft pick since Jon Gray in 2013.

Additions Incoming transfers+ Player Position Height Year Former team Ref. Blake Bales RHP 6'5" Graduate student Virginia Will Carsten RHP 6'7" Junior McLennan Kale Davis RHP 6'3" Redshirt junior Oklahoma State Braxton Douthit RHP 5'10" Graduate student Lamar Dakota Harris IF 6'0" Junior Polk State Gray Harrison RHP 6'1" Junior McLennan James Hitt LHP 6'0" Redshirt sophomore Texas Tech Anthony Mackenzie IF 5'11" Junior Sam Houston Bryce Madron OF 5'8" Junior Cowley Peyton Olejnik RHP 6'9" Sophomore Triton Carson Pierce RHP 6'3" Junior Cowley Mason Strong C 5'11" Sophomore BYU Gray Thomas RHP 6'3" Sophomore TCU Adam Walker RHP 6'2" Junior Dodge City Aaron Weber RHP 6'4" Sophomore Cowley

Incoming recruits+ Player Position Height Hometown High school Ref. Easton Carmichael C 6'1" Prosper, Texas Prosper High School Camden Chalfant RHP 6'1" Edmond, Oklahoma Edmond Memorial High School Patrick Engskov IF 6'0" Little Rock, Arkansas Pulaski Academy Rocco Garza-Gongora OF/1B 6'2" Laredo, Texas John B. Alexander High School Julien Hachem LHP 6'7" Oak Park, Illinois Mount Carmel High School Gabe Murrell RHP 6'1" Edmond, Oklahoma Edmond North High School Caden Powell IF 6'2" Clinton, Oklahoma Clinton High School Carson Turnquist RHP 6'5" Paso Robles, California Paso Robles High School Eric Van Valkenburg RHP 6'2" Solana Beach, California Torrey Pines High School Tavion Vaughns OF 6'1" Grand Prairie, Texas Cedar Hill High School

Preseason

Big 12 media poll + Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place) 1 TCU 61 (5) 2 Oklahoma State 59 (4) 3 Texas Tech 48 4 Texas 43 5 Oklahoma 38 6 West Virginia 28 7 Kansas State 17 8 Kansas 16 9 Baylor 14 Source: 2023 Big 12 Baseball Preseason Poll

Preseason Big 12 Awards Position Player Class All-Big 12 Team Jackson Nicklaus IF Sophomore John Spikerman OF Sophomore Source: 2023 Big 12 Baseball Preseason Awards

Roster and personnel

Roster {| class="toccolours" style="border-collapse:collapse; font-size:100%;" |- | colspan="7" style="background:#841617; border-bottom:#DDCBA4 4px solid; text-align: center;"| |- |width="15"|  |valign="top"| Pitchers 13 – Peyton Olejnik – Sophomore (6'9", 174) 17 – Aaron Calhoun – Sophomore (5'10", 165) 21 – Carson Pierce – Junior (6'3", 215) 22 – Aaron Weber – Sophomore (6'4", 222) 23 – Braxton Douthit – Graduate (5'10", 200) 29 – Jett Lodes – Junior (5'10", 172) 32 – Colton Sundloff – Sophomore (6'5", 200) 34 – Carson Atwood – Junior (6'0", 195) 35 – Gray Thomas – Sophomore (6'3", 212) 37 – Carson Turnquist – Freshman (6'5", 224) 40 – Kale Davis – RS Junior (6'3", 217) 41 – Gray Harrison – Junior (6'1", 165) 45 – Will Carsten – Junior (6'7", 226) 50 – Gabe Murrell – Freshman (6'1", 178) 52 – Griffin Miller – RS Senior (6'2", 187) 55 – Adam Walker – Junior (6'2", 184) 58 – Camden Chalfant – Freshman (6'1", 204) 99 – Eric Van Valkenburg – Freshman (6'2", 189)

|width="15"|  |valign="top"| Catchers 2 – Easton Carmichael – Freshman (6'1", 189) 19 – Mason Strong – Sophomore (5'11", 183)''' 31 Kade Fletcher – RS Junior (6'1", 196)Infielders 3 – Anthony Mackenzie – Junior (5'11", 182) 6 – Wallace Clark – Sophomore (6'0", 192) 9 – Patrick Engskov – Freshman (6'0", 182) 10 – Dakota Harris – Junior (6'0", 197) 15 – Jackson Nicklaus – Sophomore (6'0", 182) 18 – Caden Powell – Freshman (6'2", 208)Outfielders 7 – Kendall Pettis – RS Junior (5'11", 190) 8 – John Spikerman – Sophomore (6'0", 177) 11 – Sebastian Orduno – RS Junior (5'10", 190) 12 – Bryce Madron – Junior (5'8", 175) 16 – Tavion Vaughns – Freshman (6'1", 208) 20 – Rocco Garza-Gongora – Freshman (6'2", 167)Utility Players' 1 – Diego Muniz – 5th (5'8", 205)|width="25"| 

Personnel   Skip Johnson – Head coach Reggie Willits – Associate head coach Clay Overcash – Assistant coach Russell Raley – Volunteer assistant Ryan Gaines – Director of operations Britt Bonneau – Director of player development Reggie Willits was promoted to associate head coach after joining the Sooners staff as a volunteer assistant during the 2022 season. After five seasons as an assistant coach for the Sooners, Clay Van Hook was named head coach of the UT Arlington baseball program.

Schedule Legend:      = Win      = Loss      = Canceled      Bold = Oklahoma team member Regular season (30–24)February (4–4) Date Time (CT) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance OverallRecord Big 12Record Sources Feb. 17 3:00 pm ESPN+ vs. California Baptist* — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK W5–2 Davis(1–0) Mattox(0–1) Calhoun(1) 1,405 1–0 — StatsRecap Feb. 18 2:00 pm ESPN+ vs. California Baptist* — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK L2–5 Downer(1–0) Harrison(0–1) Olsen(1) 1,261 1–1 — StatsRecap Feb. 19 2:00 pm ESPN+ vs. California Baptist* — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK L3–6 Wilson(1–0) Calhoun(0–1) Delgado(1) 1,635 1–2 — Stats Feb. 20 3:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Air Force* — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK W8–6 Pierce(1–0) Peters(0–1) – 1,250 2–2 — StatsRecap Feb. 22 6:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Abilene Christian* — Globe Life FieldArlington, TX L3–4 Huffling(1–0) Thomas(0–1) – — 2–3 — StatsRecap Feb. 24 3:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Rider* — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK L3–6 Sachais(2–1) Campbell(0–1) Kirwin(2) 377 2–4 — StatsRecap Feb. 25 1:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Rider* — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK W7–2 Carsten(1–0) Doelling(1–1) Pierce(1) 378 3–4 — StatsRecap Feb. 26 1:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Rider* — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK W11–1 Douthit(1–0) Young(0–1) – 908 4–4 — StatsRecap March (10–9) Date Time (CT) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance OverallRecord Big 12Record Sources Mar. 1 6:30 pm — vs. UT Arlington* — Clay Gould BallparkArlington, TX Canceled due to weather and field conditions. Mar. 3 2:00 pm D1Baseball vs. California* — Dr. Pepper BallparkFrisco, TX W9–5 — 5–4 — Stats Mar. 4 1:00 pm D1Baseball vs. Mississippi State* — Dr. Pepper BallparkFrisco, TX W15–9 — 6–4 — StatsRecap Mar. 5 3:00 pm D1Baseball vs. Ohio State* — Dr. Pepper BallparkFrisco, TX L9–12 — 6–5 — StatsRecap Mar. 7 1:00 pm ESPN+ vs. UNLV* — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK W11–6 301 7–5 — StatsRecap Mar. 8 1:00 pm ESPN+ vs. UNLV* — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK W8–7 304 8–5 — StatsRecap Mar. 10 6:30 pm ESPN+ vs. Houston* — Schroeder ParkHouston, TX W13–1 1,150 9–5 — StatsRecap Mar. 11 6:30 pm ESPN+ vs. Houston* — Schroeder ParkHouston, TX W8–3 1,483 10–5 — Stats Mar. 12 1:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Houston* — Schroeder ParkHouston, TX W7–6 1,439 11–5 — StatsRecap Mar. 14 6:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Wichita State* — Eck StadiumWichita, KS L2–6 1,784 11–6 — StatsRecap Mar. 17 6:30 pm ESPN+ vs. TCU — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK L5–13 1,591 11–7 0–1 StatsRecap Mar. 18 4:00 pm ESPN+ vs. TCU — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK W3–1 1,704 12–7 1–1 StatsRecap Mar. 19 2:00 pm ESPN+ vs. TCU — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK W7–5 1,479 13–7 2–1 StatsRecap Mar. 21 6:30 pm ESPN+ vs. Dallas Baptist* — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK L6–8 1,093 13–8 — StatsRecap Mar. 24 6:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Kansas State — Tointon FamilyManhattan, KS L1–7 1,389 13–9 2–2 StatsRecap Mar. 25 1:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Kansas State — Tointon FamilyManhattan, KS L6–7 1,626 13–10 2–3 StatsRecap Mar. 26 1:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Kansas State — Tointon FamilyManhattan, KS L7–8 1,337 13–11 2–4 StatsRecap Mar. 28 6:00 pm — vs. Wichita State* — Riverfront StadiumWichita, KS L7–8 2,094 13–12 StatsRecap Mar. 30 6:30 pm ESPN+ vs. Stanford* — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK L11–23 1,434 13–13 StatsRecap Mar. 31 6:30 pm ESPN+ vs. Stanford* — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK W2–0 1,669 14–13 StatsRecap April (10–7) Date Time (CT) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance OverallRecord Big 12Record Sources Apr. 1 4:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Stanford* — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK W6–5 2,031 15–13 — StatsRecap Apr. 2 1:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Stanford* — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK L5–16 1,604 15–14 — StatsRecap Apr. 4 6:00 pm — vs. Oral Roberts* — J. L. Johnson StadiumTulsa, OK W12–2 1,941 16–14 — StatsRecap Apr. 6 6:30 pm ESPN+ vs. Baylor — Baylor BallparkWaco, TX L6–10 1,619 16–15 2—5 StatsRecap Apr. 7 6:30 pm ESPN+ vs. Baylor — Baylor BallparkWaco, TX W6–3 1,835 17–15 3—5 StatsRecap Apr. 8 2:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Baylor — Baylor BallparkWaco, TX L3–5 2,176 17–16 3—6 StatsRecap Apr. 11 6:30 pm ESPN+ vs. Wichita State* — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK W8–1 1,751 18–16 — StatsRecap Apr. 14 6:30 pm ESPN+ vs. Texas Tech — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK L7–13 2,577 18–17 3—7 StatsRecap Apr. 15 4:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Texas Tech — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK L5–9 3,074 18–18 3—8 StatsRecap Apr. 16 2:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Texas Tech — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK W12–2 2,426 19–18 4—8 StatsRecap Bedlam Series Apr. 18 6:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Oklahoma State* — O'Brate StadiumStillwater, OK L8–19 6,769 19–19 – StatsRecap Apr. 21 7:00 pm LHN vs. Texas — UFCU Disch–Falk FieldAustin, TX W2–1 7,156 20–19 5—8 StatsRecap Apr. 22 2:30 pm LHN vs. Texas — UFCU Disch–Falk FieldAustin, TX W9–6 7,345 21–19 6—8 StatsRecap Apr. 22 6:30 pm LHN vs. Texas — UFCU Disch–Falk FieldAustin, TX W6–4 7,887 22–19 7—8 StatsRecap Apr. 25 6:30 pm ESPN+ vs. Oral Roberts* — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK Canceled due to inclement weather. Apr. 28 12:30 pm ESPN+ vs. Kansas — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK L2–8 501 22–20 7—9 StatsRecap Apr. 29 3:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Kansas — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK W11–6 1,876 23–20 8—9 StatsRecap Apr. 30 2:00 pm ESPN+ vs. Kansas — Mitchell ParkNorman, OK W7–4 1,894 24–20 9—9 StatsRecap