Home‑Run Queen Returns: Jocelyn Alo Joins Sooners Staff as Hitting/Pitching Coach
NORMAN, Okla. — In a move that has sent waves across collegiate softball, University of Oklahoma legend Jocelyn Alo has officially joined the Oklahoma Sooners coaching staff, stepping into a dual role as hitting and pitching coach—a historic shift marking the program’s next chapter under the continued leadership of Hall of Fame head coach Patty Gasso.
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A Triumphant Return to Norman
Alo, a Hawaiʻi-native who exploded onto the NCAA scene as a freshman in 2018, shattered records and expectations at every turn. She cemented her status as college softball’s all-time home-run leader with 122 long balls, collecting an astonishing array of accolades—including USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year (2021, 2022), Softball America Player of the Year (2021, 2022), and Honda Sports Award winner (2022) .
Her decision to return as a coach carries weight far beyond her prodigious playing achievements. Alo’s path has always been intertwined with Oklahoma’s evolution into a softball juggernaut. Under Gasso’s mentorship, she helped claim back-to-back WCWS titles in 2021 and 2022 and played a central role in a record-setting era, including a four-peat from 2021 to 2024 .
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The Coaching Role: More Than Just Hitting
While Alo earned her moniker as “Home‑Run Queen,” her responsibilities will encompass far more: guiding both hitters and pitchers. This is an unconventional but strategic choice, reflecting her broad understanding of the game’s dynamics.
As a hitter, Alo was legendary—hailed by Sports Illustrated as possessing a swing so powerful and precise that at-bats “felt inevitable” . But throughout her career, she also demonstrated profound baseball IQ: pitch recognition, plate discipline, and mental fortitude.
In fact, the offseason slump she endured in 2019—when Gasso pulled her from competition—revealed another dimension: Alo’s resilience, self-awareness, and ability to grow through adversity . These qualities position her as an ideal mentor not only for hitters striving for power but also for pitchers aiming to outthink batters.
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A Program Steeped in Offensive Firepower
Oklahoma softball has been defined by offense—an identity Alo helped shape. Under the hitting coaching stewardship of JT Gasso, the Sooners have averaged 7.8 runs/game in recent seasons, launching more than 900 home runs over nine seasons, while maintaining elite on-base and slugging percentages .
Some of the numbers speak volumes:
2021: Program-record 161 home runs; team batting average .405; OPS .778
2022: 155 homers, .371 average, .733 slugging percentage
2023: 117 home runs, nation-leading .367 average, .456 OBP, .666 slugging
Alo led the charge—twice topping the NCAA charts in home runs (34 in both 2021 and 2022), slugging, OBP, and total bases .
