JT Gasso enters his first season under the title of associate head coach following eight seasons as Oklahoma’s assistant coach. His primary responsibilities are focused on working with OU’s outfielders and the Sooner hitters.
During Gasso’s tenure, the Sooners have won seven Big 12 regular season titles and four Big 12 Tournament crowns (the tournament was not played during Gasso’s first season, finished in 2019 or played in 2020) while making seven Women’s College World Series appearances and winning five national titles.
Gasso’s lineup has produced nearly 7.8 runs per game over his eight seasons directing the hitters while posting a .350/.439/.613 slash line for a 1.052 OPS. OU has blasted 800 home runs over that span, has struck out in just 9.2% of their plate appearances and draws walks at an 11.6% clip during his tenure. His hitters have earned two USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year awards and have garnered six Big 12 Player of the Year honors.
The 2023 Sooners earned their third consecutive national championship by going 61-1 and recording the best winning percentage in NCAA Division I softball history at .984. OU won both the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles while leading the nation in batting average (.367), on-base percentage (.456), slugging percentage (.666), runs scored (501), runs per game (8.08) and home runs (117) while ranking second in doubles (116). The dominant run included an NCAA-record 53-game win streak, 29 wins by run rule and a 28-0 record vs. ranked opponents.
A nation-leading five Sooners were named NFCA First Team All-Americans, eight earned All-Big 12 accolades and five were named to the WCWS All-Tournament Team. Four OU hitters posted batting averages north of .400 while 10 qualifiers posted OPS marks above 1.000 in 2023.
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). Sophom*ore 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 eye, 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, sophom*ores 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. 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.
