Former Oklahoma softball player Lonni Alameda leads FSU to WCWS Norman Super Regional

The NCAA Softball Tournament Norman Super Regional will be more than just a rematch of the 2021 and 2023 Women's College World Series.

Florida State softball coach Lonni Alameda returns to her old stomping grounds as a college player when the No. 15 Seminoles (46-14) take on No. 2 overall Oklahoma (52-6) with a chance to clinch a spot in the WCWS in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

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Now in her 16th season with FSU, Alameda took over the Seminoles before the 2009 season when the only other coach the program has had, JoAnn Graf, retired. Alameda has posted a 762-212-2 record with FSU, including making the regionals every year, reaching the WCWS three times, and winning a national championship during the 2018 season.

Here's what you need to know about Alameda and her connections to Oklahoma ahead of the Norman Super Regional:

Did Lonni Alameda play for Oklahoma?

Alameda transferred from NAIA St. Mary's, Texas, and played for the Sooners from 1990-92. In her time with OU, she earned two second-team All-Big Eight awards as an infielder under head coach Michelle Thomas. She also played volleyball and graduated from Oklahoma with a communications degree in 1992. In her final two seasons in 1991 and 1992, the Sooners went 36-23 and 40-26, respectively. She hit .359 as a senior in 1992.

With her playing in front of just 2,046 fans at Hall of Fame Stadium for the Big Eight Tournaments, Alameda has a deeper appreciation for keeping the WCWS in Oklahoma, where there is now a capacity crowd of over 12,000 at championship series games.

"I think I have a different opinion because I played at the University of Oklahoma. I ran summer camps at the Hall of Fame Stadium. I was definitely a part of the vision of Marita Hynes and Oklahoma being a sponsor of the World Series. And so what I try to educate our team on it all the time is, when you get someone that's really wanting to fund an event at a high level, you can't get upset about where it's at," Alameda said in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat last year.

"And Oklahoma, at the time, wasn't the powerhouse, and they just had this vision of growing softball, and then the city got behind it, so we haven't had another area step up like that. So just because they're 30 minutes from Norman or an hour and 15 from Stillwater doesn't mean there's an advantage if we don't look at it that way."

Who is Lonni Alameda?

Alameda played softball at Oak Ridge High before attending St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, and continuing her softball career. Alameda helped St. Mary's make the NAIA Tournament in her lone season with the program. She then transferred to Oklahoma before graduating in 1992. She played overseas professionally in the Netherlands in 1993.

She returned stateside as an assistant coach at Barry (1994-95) and Stanford (1996-2003) before taking a head coaching position at UNLV, where she posted a 157-158-1 record and once made the NCAA Tournament.

Alameda took over the FSU program when long-time head coach JoAnne Graf retired following the 2008 season. She also coached the USSSA Pride to runner-up finishes in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), a now-defunct professional league, in 2016-17. Alameda also serves as an assistant coach for the Canadian National softball team.

Lonni Alameda at Florida State

Alameda was hired as the second FSU softball coach on July 23, 2008. In her 16 seasons, she has led the Seminoles to a 762–212–2 record while developing a strong culture. FSU has reached the NCAA Tournament each season under Alameda, made the WCWS three times and won the program's first national championship in 2018.

Part of the draw of the FSU job for Alameda was how similar she viewed the Seminoles compared to Oklahoma, which had grown into power after Patty Gasso took over as the coach in 1995.

"Just finding the love and the passion for the game, and I think that is definitely what brought me here. I know Coach Graf felt that same connection, and we were able to blossom it," Alameda said in an interview with Tallahassee media Wednesday.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Former Oklahoma softball player Lonni Alameda leads FSU to WCWS Norman Super Regional