OU softball notebook: Patty Gasso says no team captains in 2026

OU softball is literally just around the corner, with the season opener Thursday at Arizona State. And though head coach Patty Gasso seems incredibly confident about what 2026 is going to bring, there is a change.

A noticeable change for this season. There aren’t going to be any labeled captains for OU this time around.

No player vote, nothing. A by-committee approach. Gasso explained why.

“I’m not putting a captain patch on anyone,” Gasso told SoonerScoop. “We’re doing this by-committee because there’s not one person that really stands out. Nelly doesn’t say a lot, and so you think of a captain is like, ‘OK everyone, let’s come over here. Let’s do this. Let’s do that.’ They just kind of naturally do it. There’s no one voice.

“Abby Dayton is someone that has got the voice, but she’s in the outfield, so sometimes you don’t hear her as much. Gabbie Garcia talks a lot, but she doesn’t want to be that captain. She’s like, ‘No, thank you. I don’t want to be in that.’

“So I’m using KD on the mound as kind of like the leader of the bullpen. Bela Emerling has really come forth with her voice. And there’s some people, Ella and Nelly both said, ‘I want to help.’ So we have about five or six that I call the voices as captains, but not one that is our… Maybe that’ll blend and show itself out this season, but right now, I wouldn’t name one person as that captain.”

Nelly McEnroe-Marinas was a captain as a redshirt freshman in 2025. And Garcia explained her logic to what Gasso said.

Garcia is going to talk, don’t worry. A captain, however, is something different.

“I just feel like when I step on the field, I’m playing ball,” Garcia said. “Even my freshman year, I had a big voice, and I’m going to continue to have a big voice. I just can’t help it. I get competitive. So, it’s like, ‘Let’s ball out.’ When it comes to a captain role, I feel like that is something that is chosen by the team.

“I feel like it’s not something that anyone can just be placed into. I think it’s overall somebody the team overall respects in that manner. And I feel like if my teammates call on me to fill that role, then I will fill it. If they call on another person, then by all means, I’m with them. I’m gonna back whoever fills that role.”

First base?

There aren’t a lot of questions for this year’s OU group. However, you might circle first base. Not because nobody can do it, but because so many can.

Will one emerge? Will one have to emerge?

And what Gasso does one game might look completely different the next. Gasso, as everybody knows, plays the matchup game as much and as well as anyone in softball.

“Not yet. I’ve got lots of options, probably six or seven in line waiting,” Gasso said. “That’s going to come down to the matchups against pitchers that we’re facing.”

Mailo to redshirt

Freshman Ori Mailo is indeed on the roster, but you won’t see her in 2026. A Class of 2026 five-star prospect by Softball America, Mailo has arrived at OU early.

A year to get her feet wet and be ready to attack things in 2027.

“She’s going to redshirt, without question,” Gasso said. “She’s literally a senior in high school that is trying to catch up with us. That’s why the redshirt. But when she’s coming into August for the next season, she will be a different kind of player. She will be a different type of player so this makes a lot of sense for her.”

Mailo was ranked No. 4 overall for the OU 2026 class by Softball America.