Analyzing the Oklahoma softball transfer class

Patty Gasso and the Oklahoma Sooners are coming of their four straight national championships. However, Gasso had her work cut out for her this offseason, needing to fill the holes left by arguably the greatest single class of collegiate softball players. Gasso landed five keys names to form the Oklahoma softball transfer class and round out the Sooners’ 2025 roster.

Sam Landry (Louisiana) and Isabella Smith (Campbell) will spend their final season in Norman to bolster the bullpen. At the same time, a trio of rising juniors in Abby Dayton (Utah), Ailana Agbayani (BYU) and Isabela Emerling (North Carolina) take on key positions in Oklahoma’s lineup.

Oklahoma needed arms in the circle. And while the Sooners didn’t win the NiJaree Canady sweepstakes, Landry and Smith are more than capable arms to go with Kierston Deal and incoming freshman Audrey Lowry, Softball America’s third-ranked pitcher of the 2024 class .

Sam Landry

Landry has had a sub-three ERA every season and is coming off a career-best 2.08 mark. The senior righty can deliver a big strikeout and can pitch to contact.

She doesn’t overpower hitters with her velocity. However, Landry still uses her changeup effectively. According to Synergy Sports data, Landry’s rise ball averages around 62 mph, while her screw, drop and curve average at 66 mph. Meanwhile, her changeup comes in at an average of 52 mph. Her ability to mix speeds so drastically is why her change produced over half of her strikeouts last season.

In the clip below, you’ll see Landry strikeout Cal’s Elon Butler. Landry used her rise ball to get a swinging strikeout before throwing her changeup in a similar tunnel to earn the K. It’s easy to see why she can be so effective.

Isabella Smith

Smith messes with hitters’ eyes as she changes the levels she pitches at. The 2023 Big South and 2024 CAA Pitcher of the Year threw her drop ball 41% of the time last year and her rise 33%. Smith is probably best known for her outing in the Camels’ upset of Duke last season.

The North Carolina native had plenty of outings with double-digit strikeouts. Although, most of those were against CAA and fellow Mid-Major opponents. That win against Duke probably resembles more how she’ll succeed with Oklahoma. Smith will use her heavy drop ball to roll ground balls, which she produced at a 45% clip last year.

Smith has had 200-plus strikeouts the past two seasons. Based on her pitch chart below, the drop and rise clearly work well together.

Landry, Smith, Deal, who works as a crafty lefty with her curveball leading the way, and the upside of Lowry can be a good staff. Plus you have Jennifer Rocha putting them in favorable situations.

Abby Dayton

Nobody was ever going to replace Jayda Coleman but Dayton is an excellent addition to play center at Love’s Field. Dayton, the 2024 Pac-12 batting champ, batted .431 last season at Utah.

The former OC Batbuster, who played Mike Stith, made great steps in her development at the plate from freshman to sophomore year. She tripled her extra-base hit production (5 to 18) and doubled her walk total (11 to 27) while seeing her average improve .063 points. Dayton has struck out only 22 times in 284 at-bats.

Dayton truly is a very impressive hitter. She had at least four extra-base hits last season against drops, rises, curves and screws. Her ability to reach each quadrant of the plate makes her a pitcher’s worst nightmare when she’s hitting for power with her speed. The spray chart shows that the lefty swingy Dayton goes the other way quite often.

Dayton is also a very good defender. She has a strong arm, coming off a season with five assists and a perfect fielding percentage. Her speed is also a tool in the outfield as she displays her incredible range.

Ailana Agbayani

Sooner fans know Agbayani a little too well. The former BYU shortstop had a four-hit game in BYU’s win in Norman last season. Overall, Agbayani batted .424 with a 1.128 OPS last season. She had an impressive 7-to-30 strikeout-to-walk ratio after striking out 24 times to eight walks as a freshman.

Agbayani played well against the trio of Big 12 Women’s College World Series teams. In 10 games against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas, she had .481 batting average and 1.212 OPS. She can hang with the best of them, and why Oklahoma had an interest in bringing her over to the SEC.

Agbayani’s improvement at the plate last season had a lot to do with her ability to hit the drop ball. In 2023, Agbayani had a swing-and-miss rate of 32% – the most of any pitch – and only had a 212 batting average against drops. The average rose to .316 versus drop balls last season as swing-and-miss rate dropped 10%. She handles the rise ball very well. She had six extra-base hits and a .458 average against it.

There should be optimism that Agbayani, another OC Batbuster alum, still has room for improvement. She already took one step forward. Similar to Dayton, she saw improved power numbers while increasing her extra-base hit total. Agbayani can pitch too but seems more likely she focuses solely on hitting and likely playing shortstop for the Sooners.

Isabela Emerling

Rounding out the Oklahoma softball transfer class is Isabela Emerling. The North Carolina transfer likely serves as the replacement for Kinzie Hansen behind the dish, or at least one of the options. Incoming freshmen Corri Hicks and Riley Zache are other possible options. Emerling be the lone catcher with collegiate experience.

Emerling has a strong arm behind the plate to help her pitching staff in the run game. She’s caught 15 runners stealing the past two seasons. Emerling also only had three passed balls in 2024. She can play first base as well, position flexibility is a must in Norman.

After missing her first season due to an injury, Emerling saw a major production boost from 2023 to 2024. The Martinez, California native led the Tar Heels in home runs (14) and RBI (53) after only hitting .179 last season.

Emerling hit a majority of her home runs last season on curve and drop balls. All 14 of her blasts were also either over the middle of the plate or on the outer half when she was able to extend her barrel.

Patty and JT Gasso aren’t afraid of moving their lineup around to let the hottest hitters get more opportunities. There is still growth for Emerling. Consistency might be her biggest thing, knowing she only had a .231 average and five extra-base hits in ACC play last season.

Emerling has the potential to be an everyday starter, it’s about putting together her high-level play on the field every day that will be the biggest key.

The Oklahoma softball transfer group will have high expectations knowing who they are following. This group is talented and can help a younger Sooner group defend their four-peat.

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