Where Sooners' 2026 Recruiting Class Stands

Welcome back to Sooner Lounge, a one-stop-shop for Oklahoma Sooners football fans.

Despite the age of NIL and the transfer portal, the recruiting trail is still essential to collegiate programs building and sustaining success. But first, let’s take a look at a roundup of diamond sports from this past week.

Sooners on Tap

• Sooners softball takes crushing 3-2 loss to end season

• OU baseball routed by North Carolina

• Both diamond sports dealing with transfer portal

• Where Sooners’ 2026 recruiting class stands entering summers

OU softball reloading after crushing loss

In the pursuit of a five-peat, the Sooners were eliminated from the Women’s College World Series at the hands of Texas Tech.

Even being in the conversation to win a fifth straight National Championship, simply put, is absurd. The dynasty isn’t over just because of one loss, though. The Sooners could very well be back next season.

Patty Gasso’s Sooners landed a commitment from LSU transfer Sydney Berzon, who is the top-rated pitcher in the portal, according to Softball America.

Gasso also happens to be bringing in a recruiting class that is headlined by two five-star talents and four four-star prospects.

Even with departures, OU and Gasso will be well-positioned with their high school recruits and transfer portal additions to make a run at the title next season.

Skip Johnson lands two big transfers

Gasso isn’t the only Sooner active in rebuilding a roster after a season-ending loss. Skip Johnson and OU baseball suffered a big loss to North Carolina to end their season last weekend.

First, Sooners baseball landed UNLV transfer right-handed pitcher LJ Mercurius, who posted a 3.57 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 53 innings pitched this past season.

They also added a local talent, as Nebraska transfer utility player Cayden Brumbaugh graduated in the OKC metro area. Brumbaugh batted .309 this past season with a .839 OPS, knocking in 33 RBIs and four home runs in 61 appearances.

The Sooners are set up well to make a run at Omaha next season, as they should have plenty of returning talent after an impressive season.

Sooners’ 2026 recruiting class roundup

The summer months will prove to be quite pivotal for Brent Venables and co. as plenty of prospects will take official visits now that school is out. There’s a major opportunity for Oklahoma to get a leg up in their recruiting efforts to land the top prospects in the class.

According to 247Sports, OU ranks just No. 42 in the nation with seven commitments to their 2026 recruiting class.

The class is headlined, right now, by four-star linebacker Jakore Smith from Bryant, AR, with Daniel Odom, a four-star talent from Bellflower, CA, trailing closely in the rankings.

Outside of the two blue-chip prospects, the Sooners have five commitments from three-star talents, including quarterback Jaden O’Neal, who currently resides in Mustang, OK. His commitment status could change, however, as Venables and OU continue to look at quarterback options in the upcoming class.

Venables and co. are coming up to a pivotal summer where they can improve their quality of class quite substantially.