Why OU softball coach Patty Gasso says Kasidi Pickering has bright future, present

NORMAN — OU softball coach Patty Gasso doesn’t give out this particular compliment lightly.

“You’ll be our future captain,” Gasso recently told Kasidi Pickering.

Pickering’s response was matter of fact.

“I know,” the freshman responded.

For now, that honor belongs to Kinzie Hansen and Tiare Jennings.

But soon enough, it’ll be Pickering’s.

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Pickering will look to continue her hot start when the Sooners play in the Cowgirl Challenge beginning Friday in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The Sooners, riding an NCAA-record 57-game winning streak that stretches back nearly a full year, will begin the event by taking on Central Arkansas at 3:30 p.m., followed by McNeese State at 6 p.m.

OU (4-0) will then take on Lamar at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and McNeese State again at 6:30 p.m. before wrapping up the event with another matchup with Central Arkansas at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Pickering’s OU career got off to a blistering start last weekend in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Pickering faced a big situation in her first collegiate at-bat, stepping to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the first inning against Utah Valley.

With a 2-1 count, Pickering can remember Hansen yelling encouragement from second base.

“I had to reset myself and took a breath,” Pickering said. “She said something to me then, I don’t remember word for word.”

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Whatever it was, it worked.

“OK, let’s go,” Pickering remembers thinking after hearing Hansen’s voice.

Pickering crushed the next offering for an opposite-field grand slam.

“I wouldn’t say I was nervous,” Pickering said. “Like we’ve prepared for this at-bat. We watched so much film on the pitcher that it was just another live AB. So I just went into it. … I saw the pitch and I swung and I knew it was over. There was no like thoughts of anything else.

“It was like ball, swing, home run.”

Pickering was far from done.

She finished the weekend 5 for 11 with three runs and seven RBIs. She had a hit in each of the Sooners’ four wins.

“She is a really mature hitter for her age,” Gasso said. “I can hear her talk at practice and she’s talking with the seniors and she’s talking their language. It’s pretty cool to hear that. She’s got a good feel for the ball. Her swing is a pretty swing. She can cover the plate really well. There are times where she’ll get a little outside the zone. But I didn’t feel nerves from her. I think she was very timely offensively.”

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High expectations aren’t anything new to the Humble, Texas, product.

Pickering was ranked No. 4 in the 2023 class by Extra Inning Softball.

Pickering has also embraced a leadership role that is unlike most freshmen, even highly touted ones in recent years that have put up major numbers.

“My select team I played on for eight years and I was the captain of that team," she said, "so just being able to take control and just talk everyone through it and keep everything composed is something I’m really confident in doing.”

That ability to not only soak up advice from the veteran players but engage them in a deep level has stood out to Gasso.

“Maturity,” Gasso said when asked what impressed her most of what Pickering has shown so far. “I think the ability to ask upperclassmen and listen to upperclassmen versus, ‘I’m afraid I don’t want to show what I don’t know.’ And she’s very honest. She will be our future captain. It’s very clear to me. … So it’s just a different style that’s unlike freshmen. She’s not scared of anything and it shows.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma softball freshman Kasidi Pickering has quickly made a mark