'This place is so special:' Gasso thankful for roots at EOSC ahead of Hall of Fame induction

Nov. 10—Southeastern Oklahoma will always have a special place in JT Gasso's heart.

The former college baseball player and current Oklahoma Sooners assistant coach was named as one of Eastern Oklahoma State College Alumni Association's Hall of Fame inductees for 2023, and spoke Friday to fellow alumni and current students inside EOSC's Mitchell Auditorium.

"I'm so excited to be here, because I am you guys. I am you, meaning I sat in the same chairs, listened to the same things, going to the same school, the same grind," Gasso said. "So I can appreciate and respect everything that you guys are doing."

Looking back to his time as a Mountaineer, he admitted there was an overwhelming experience of culture shock moving from the Oklahoma City metro to rural southeast Oklahoma.

"That was a big thing for me...when I came in, I found out right away that there's city, and there's country," Gasso laughed. "It was eye-opening, it was cool. But the thing that I got out of it the most was the sense of community, the sense of team.

"The thing about junior college that some people don't really think about is — for the most part — the people that are here, are here for a reason," he added. "You're here to do something, to better your career, your life, and move on from here....and there are a lot of good things that come out of it."

And Gasso talked of his own experience, saying Eastern started him on a trajectory that forever changed his life.

"This place is so special to me," Gasso said. "We learned how to work, grind, how to do all that — time was on our side.

"You have the opportunity to step into the weight room, step on the court, step on the field — if you want to learn how to do it, now is the time to do it," he added. "If you want to learn how to do anything beyond here, right now is the time you have for that opportunity."

Gasso earned an associate degree from Eastern in 2009, and a bachelor's degree in exercise science from East Central University in 2011, as well as a master's degree in administrative leadership from the University of Oklahoma.

But he noted that he first started learning the coaching ropes from his baseball coach at Eastern, Aric Thomas.

"He's now ironically coaching softball in Florida," Gasso said. "He took me under his wing and said 'if you want to learn how to coach, you're going to learn how to do it here.'

"And in coaching, you learn it's more about the relationships than it is the x's and o's."

Gasso's coaching prowess has left a major mark on the world of softball. He has spent seven seasons as the assistant coach for the University of Oklahoma alongside his mother Patty Gasso. His responsibilities have centered on working with OU's outfielders and driving the Sooner offense to new heights.

Under Gasso's guidance, the Sooners have secured six Big 12 regular season titles and three Big 12 Tournament championships, in addition to six Women's College World Series appearances and four national titles.

"I'm very lucky to have a very supportive family...lucky I get to work with my mom at the University of Oklahoma. We coach together, and we've created a pretty special thing," he said. "But the things that we do at OU, she had a really good foundation where she grew up, and it was very in line with the values and culture that's here (at Eastern).

"A lot of the stuff we do at OU, I'm telling you, came from this place."

Gasso's coaching journey also includes successful stints at Michigan State University and Purdue University. He has been a lead instructor for the Sooner Softball camps the last 10 years, and is certified as a level 1 coach in Crossfit and has trained various athletes — including those at lntenCity, for which he has been a hitting instructor and strength and conditioning coach since 2008.

But it's his time in Wilburton that Gasso said has left some of the biggest impacts on his life.

"My best friends in the world game from this place," he said. "And we take those lessons to not just helping you play, but it's going to help you raise your family, it's going to help you in your work, it's going to help you in your life.

"My time here, I was so grateful for it. I loved it so much I spent three years instead of two," Gasso laughed. "It was awesome."