2022 Big 12 Conference Forecast

From January 3 through the beginning of the regular season, we’re going to take a look at every Division 1 conference and Forecast what to expect in each league this season. Today, we take a look at our first Power 5 conference of the year, the Big 12.

I. Conference Breakdown

The Big 12 is the smallest softball league among the Power 5s, sporting only seven teams. Those teams include Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, and Texas Tech.

Oklahoma was the cream of the crop nationally last season, beginning the season with a 29-run slaughter of a victory and ending the year as the last team standing and hoisting the national championship trophy. Three Big 12 teams – Oklahoma State and Texas, in addition to the Sooners – hosted Regionals and both OU and OK State hosted Super Regionals. Iowa State broke a decades-long drought to return to the NCAA tournament and Baylor was the fifth and final Big 12 club to earn a selection into the 2021 NCAA tournament.

II. 2022 Award Predictions

Player of the Year: Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma
Pitcher of the Year: Kelly Maxwell, Oklahoma State
Coach of the Year: Patty Gasso, Oklahoma
Conference Champions: Oklahoma Sooners

III. Who to Watch

Kelly Maxwell, Oklahoma State — The Cowgirls added a pair of high-profile transfer pitchers this offseason, but Maxwell is the one who has been there and is still there in Stillwater. Far from an afterthought, Maxwell may hold the biggest key to the Cowgirls’ plans this season. She has proven to be reliable during her career to this point, and she should be a steadying force both for a now-full Cowgirl bullpen and also for an OK State team that seems poised to take the next step toward a championship.

Texas — It was a busy fall for Mike White’s club; after a couple of lower-profile transfer additions during the summers, the Longhorns made out like bandits in the portal in the fall, nabbing reigning Mountain West Pitcher of the Year Hailey Dolcini, Arizona transfer Isabella Dayton, and inter-conference transfer & former Baylor Bear Lou Gilbert. Dolcini and Gilbert were both unexpected and late entrants into the portal, and both should have major impacts right away for the Horns. Forget not that the Horns still have the likes of Shealyn O’Leary, Janae Jefferson, and Mary Iakopo in the fold, as well. This team could be White and Company’s best shot at a WCWS berth since their skipper got to the Forty Acres.

Mikayla Ramos, Iowa State — With their biggest offensive juggernaut from last season now departed, Iowa State needs some of their other returning role players to step up into even-larger roles, and that includes Ramos. She quietly had an emergence of her own at the plate last season, breaking a school record with 57 RBIs and batting .365 with thirteen home runs. Look for her to be an offensive weapon that the Cyclones depend on.

Texas Tech — After finally reaching the NCAA tournament in 2019, the Red Raiders struggled a bit but still opened the 2020 season with a solid record before the rug was pulled out from under everyone very abruptly. Last fall’s controversial happenings and ensuing coaching change saw a fractured locker room that carried into the 2021 season and ultimately saw a lot of roster turnover this summer. A bevy of transfers came into the program, including former Nevada pitcher Kendall Fritz and ex-Oklahoma Sooner hurler Olivia Rains. The Red Raiders could make a run at 5th in the conference and a firm spot on the NCAA tournament bubble; the pieces are there.

IV. Coaching Moves

The Big 12 saw very little turnover on the coaching front this summer. No head coaching or full-time assistant coaching positions changed hands, though three schools did see new blood in their volunteer assistant roles. Iowa State added former Carroll College head coach Aaron Jackson as volunteer assistant; Oklahoma hired former Texas A&M-Corpus Christi head coach Kristen Zaleski as their volunteer assistant; and Texas added Nicole Parnell as their own volunteer assistant.

V. Storylines to Watch

> All three of the Big 12’s “top tier” teams have multiple new faces in the circle – Oklahoma with Hope Trautwein and freshman Jordy Bahl, Oklahoma State with Miranda Elish and Morgan Day, and Texas with Hailey Dolcini, Estelle Czech, and Logan Hulon. This is a very different pitching conference than it was a year ago.

> Six of the Big 12’s seven teams have reached the postseason since 2019. Kansas is the lone exception.

> Oklahoma returns almost their entire batting order from last season. Nicole Mendes is the sole departure.

> Miranda Elish will face her old Texas team for the first – and only – time as a Cowgirl in Stillwater in late April.

> Jocelyn Alo currently boasts 88 career home runs and is only 7 longballs away from tying and 8 dingers away from breaking Lauren Chamberlain’s all-time record.

VI. Wheeling and Dealing

Transfers Out: Brittany Jackson, Kansas –> NC State; Morgyn Wynne, Kansas –> Oklahoma State; Taylor Ellsworth, Texas –> Arkansas; Gabby Sprang, Oklahoma State –> Purdue; Ryleigh White, Texas –> Tennessee; Miranda Elish, Texas –> Oklahoma State; Lou Gilbert, Baylor –> Texas

Transfers In: Hope Trautwein, North Texas –> Oklahoma; Alyssa Brito, Oregon –> Oklahoma; Morgyn Wynne, Kansas –> Oklahoma State; Morgan Day, Illinois State –> Oklahoma State; Miranda Elish, Texas –> Oklahoma State; Bella Dayton, Arizona –> Texas; Estelle Czech, NC State –> Texas; Hailey Dolcini, Fresno State –> Texas; Lou Gilbert, Baylor –> Texas; Rachel Hertenberger, Houston –> Baylor; McKenzie Wilson, Fresno State –> Baylor; Kendall Fritz, Nevada –> Texas Tech; Molly Grumbo, Loyola Marymount –> Texas Tech; Olivia Rains, Oklahoma –> Texas Tech

VII. Burning Questions

* Which team will gain the most benefit from their transfer additions?
* Will Oklahoma State and/or Texas be able to give Oklahoma a true challenge for the conference crown?

VIII. Team by Team

Baylor – The late departure of Lou Gilbert leaves a hole that will be hard to fill. The Bears brought in a nice handful of transfers and overhauled much of their pitching rotation this offseason. They returned to the NCAA tournament last season after a year “away”, but start the season as a tournament bubble team for 2022. Name to Know: Emily Hott

Iowa State – Sami Williams was a big part of ISU’s breakthrough season last year, but wasn’t alone in helping the Cyclones get back to the NCAA tournament for the first time this century. There is still pop and production in the lineup, and Iowa State also showed last year that they won’t back down from a fight, even against top teams. Name to Know: Ellie Spelhaug

Kansas – Don’t let last-place fool you; the Jayhawks have talent. Getting over the hump of being in the conference cellar is a tough thing to do, though. A hearty non-conference schedule should give a showing early-on of what exactly the Jayhawks are made of this year. Name to Know: Shelby Gayre

Oklahoma – The favorites until someone actually knocks them out of that spot. The Sooners return almost their entire starting lineup from their championship season, boast a new-look pitching staff, and should see Jocelyn Alo break the all-time home run record this year. A lot of very positive things are still to come for the Sooners; they’re not done yet. Name to Know: Grace Lyons

Oklahoma State – A pair of WCWS appearances in two straight years have the Cowgirls trending upward with an even-higher trajectory. The Cowgirls once again loaded their roster with talent from the transfer portal, including Miranda Elish, who was a national Player of the Year contender the last time she took the circle in a college softball game. Name to Know: Kiley Naomi

Texas – Late transfers will bolster Texas’ roster, but it could also take the new-look roster some time to gel. Texas has performed to realistic expectations over the last few years, but loaded rosters and a top-shelf brand set those expectations even higher. This year’s Longhorns team has the makings to be the best shot yet at a Mike White-led berth in OKC. Name to Know: Janae Jefferson

Texas Tech – A team of many identities over the last several years, it remains to be seen which Texas Tech we’ll see in 2022. This is Sami Ward’s first full year as head coach and, combined with new faces in the form of both transfers and freshmen, the Red Raiders could make incremental progress, could take a huge leap, or could land anywhere in between. Name to Know: Kendall Fritz

IX. Projected Standings

1. Oklahoma
2. Oklahoma State
3. Texas
4. Iowa State
5. Baylor
6. Texas Tech
7. Kansas