OU Opens SEC Tournament vs. LSU Tuesday

Tuesday, May 19

Hoover, Ala.

8 p.m. CT

University of Oklahoma

LSU

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OU Opens SEC Tournament vs. LSU Tuesday

May 18, 2026 | Baseball

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HOOVER, Ala. – Oklahoma (32-20, 14-16 SEC) begins the SEC Tournament Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT with an 11-seed vs. 14-seed matchup vs. LSU (29-27, 9-21).

The game can be seen on SEC Network with Dave Neal and Lance Cormier on the call. All games can be heard on the radio via The REF 99.3 FM/1400 AM in Oklahoma and on The Varsity Network app. Toby Rowland, Greg Norton and Carly Murray will be on the radio call.

THE BASICS

• 2026 marks OU's second appearance at the annual Southeastern Conference tournament in Hoover. The Sooners went 2-1 in its inaugural appearance a season ago, advancing to the quarterfinals.

• The Sooners meet LSU for the fourth time this season on Tuesday. OU took the series from the Tigers in Baton Rouge, March 19-21. After falling in the opener, Oklahoma won the last two games of the series to win its first series over LSU in program history.

• The Sooners enter the tournament at 32-20 and 14-16 in SEC play after dropping the series vs. No. 23 Tennessee in Oklahoma City last weekend. OU took the series finale, 12-9, after falling in the first two games of the series. Junior Deiten Lachance paced OU in the win, becoming the first Sooner since 2000 to hit three home runs in a game.

• Oklahoma is unranked in this week's D1Baseball Top 25 for just the second time since the preseason poll. The Sooners are unranked in the Baseball America poll for the first time all season this week and are receiving votes in the NCBWA poll and USA TODAY Coaches poll.

• On the season, OU is outscoring opponents 349-291 and the pitching staff has a team ERA of 5.36 with 522 strikeouts to 227 walks.

• The Sooners started the season with a program-record seven straight games scoring double digits and have scored 10+ runs in 13 games, including two of the last four.

SECOND TRIP TO THE HOOVER MET

• OU makes its second appearance in Hoover this week for the SEC Baseball Tournament. The Sooners had a respectable showing in their inaugural appearance a season ago, going 2-1 at the tournament and making a quarterfinal appearance.

• In 2025, the Sooners defeated Kentucky 5-1 in the first round and upset fifth-seeded Georgia, 3-2, in the second round behind an eight-strikeout performance from MLB first round draft pick, Kyson Witherspoon. OU fell in the quarterfinals to eventual tournament champion, Vanderbilt, 6-1.

• OU is 6-9 in the state of Alabama in program history, most recently playing at Auburn, April 24-26, taking one game of the three-game series vs. the 11th-ranked Tigers.

• This year's tourney will be the 27th consecutive year and 29th overall that the event has been held at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. For the second straight season, all 16 league members will participate in the tournament, a change from years past where 12 of the previous 14 conference schools played in the event.

OPPONENT OUTLOOK

• The Sooners meet the Tigers for the fourth time this season after taking a series in Baton Rouge, March 19-21. OU fell 7-1 in the opener before winning the final two games, 4-2 and 4-3, to take the series.

• LSU leads the all-time series 13-6. As conference foes, the Tigers hold a 4-2 advantage after sweeping the Sooners in Norman in OU's first season in the league last year.

• Most notably, LSU beat OU in the 2013 Baton Rouge Super Regional to advance to Omaha.

• The 2026 Tigers enter the conference tournament at 29-27, finishing 9-21 in SEC play. After starting the season as the preseason No. 2, the Tigers fell out of the D1Baseball top 25 in April and have not returned to the national ranks.

• At the plate, LSU is paced by sophomore outfielder Derek Curiel's .345 average and sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide's 18 home runs.

• On the bump, sophomore righty and Tuesday starter William Schmidt leads the team with 85 strikeouts in his 13 starts, holding a 4.22 ERA.

POSTSEASON RESUME

• Following its showing in Hoover this week, Oklahoma looks to make its fifth consecutive and 43rd NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.

• The Sooners' 2026 resume proves worthy of a postseason bid, winning 14 games in the country's toughest conference and playing the No. 6 strength of schedule in the nation (as of 5/18).

• OU is No. 20 in the NCAA RPI (as of 5/18) with four SEC series wins, including one over top 10-ranked and No. 11 in the RPI, Texas A&M.

• The Sooners went 15-0 in Quad 3 and 4 games, went 18-4 in non-conference games and have 17 wins in Quad 1 and 2 contests.

• Oklahoma was ranked as high as No. 8 for two weeks of the season in the D1 Baseball Top 25 and were ranked 12 of 14 weeks among the top 25.

SWINGING HOT BATS

• A number of Sooners have found their strides late in the regular season, highlighted by juniors Dasan Harris, Camden Johnson and Deiten Lachance.

• Since April 17 (16 GP), Johnson is hitting .406 (26-of-64) with 14 RBIs, 14 runs scored and seven extra-base hits.

• Since April 9 (20 GP), Harris is hitting .403 (25-of-62) with 10 RBIs, 13 runs scored and 10 extra-base hits.

• Lachance has come out strong over the last 20 games, with all 12 of the catcher's home runs coming in the last 20 games (since April 9). Lachance has homered in two straight games and seven of OU's last nine games.

• In game three vs. Tennessee, Lachance hit three home runs, becoming the first Sooner since Chris Haggard vs. Iowa State in 2000 to accomplish the feat.

WALK NAMED TO SEC ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM

• OU outfielder Jason Walk was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team, the conference announced the annual end-of-year awards Monday.

• Walk, OU's everyday centerfielder, has started 47 of OU's 52 games and holds a .965 fielding clip. The Acworth, Ga., product has 76 putouts and seven assists to just three errors and has helped turn one double play on the season. The junior has proved to be versatile in 2026, making 41 starts in center along with four starts at second and a pair at third base.

• With over 130 career starts in his three seasons at OU, Walk has shown off his defensive prowess year after year, erasing base hits with catches at the wall and diving grabs in the outfield. His seven assists in 2026 are a career high, besting his two from a season ago. On his career, Walk holds a .975 fielding percentage, committing just seven errors to over 250 putouts.

• Walk is OU's first SEC All-Defensive Team honoree in program history as the Sooners completed their second regular season in the league on Saturday. Walk joins Kyson Witherspoon (2025 First Team), Easton Carmichael (2025 Second Team) and Kyle Branch (2025 All-Freshman Team) as all-conference selections throughout OU's two seasons in the SEC.

IN LEAGUE PLAY

• OU is near the top of the SEC in numerous statistical categories in league play.

• The Sooners have turned 27 double plays in SEC play to lead the conference and the team is fourth in assists (256).

• As a team, OU is sixth in league play in batting average (.273) and the pitching staff ranks seventh in strikeouts (295).

• Individual highlights include Dasan Harris pacing the conference with three triples in league play, followed by Camden Johnson and Deiten Lachance's two to rank tied for second. Brendan Brock is second in the league in stolen bases in conference play with 13.

• Camden Johnson has 43 hits in SEC competition to rank tied for fifth and his 32 RBIs also rank tied for fifth in the conference.

ON THE BUMP

• OU has deployed six starters on the weekend throughout the season in RHP LJ Mercurius, LHP Cameron Johnson, LHP Cord Rager, RHP Trent Collier, RHP Kadyn Leon and RHP Xander Mercurius.

• Johnson paces OU with a 6-1 record and 4.02 ERA to go with 72 strikeouts and has registered at least seven strikeouts in six of his 14 starts on the year, including three appearances with zero walks allowed. Eight of his 14 starts the lefty has gone at least 5.0 innings and surrendered more than three hits in just three starts.

• UNLV transfer LJ Mercurius who was a part of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team this past summer, holds a 5.52 ERA with a team-high 79 strikeouts.

• In Mercurius' OU debut on opening weekend vs. Oklahoma State, the righty fanned a then-career-high tying 12 batters while allowing just one run on three hits. He set a career best with 13 strikeouts at Vanderbilt on April 9. Mercurius is 6-6 on the year and the righty has one complete game, a seven-inning one-hitter vs. Gonzaga on Feb. 28.

• Sunday starter and freshman Cord Rager out of Maypearl, Texas, has 67 K's to 18 walks on the season with a 3-3 record and 5.88 ERA. The lefty left has six-plus strikeouts in seven of his 12 starts and three appearances with no walks.

• Sophomore transfer Kadyn Leon has made 21 appearances and two starts and allowed 11 runs in 26.1 IP to go with 28 strikeouts, a 1-0 record and 3.76 ERA. He also has two saves on the year.

• Along with the starting pitching, OU's bullpen has been impactful. Senior transfer Jackson Cleveland has taken on a closer role with eight saves which rank second in the SEC and 33rd in the nation. The Miami transfer has 20 appearances and has struck out 27 in his 28.1 innings.

• Junior Jason Bodin, who made 31 relief appearances in 2025 to rank second in the SEC, has made 21 appearances in 2026 and ranks third on the team with five victories (5-1), four of which have come in SEC play. He has 35 strikeouts in 30.2 innings.

• Nineteen arms have seen the mound for Coach Skip Johnson, with six pitchers outside the weekend rotation making at least one start.

• The staff's 10.6 K/9 innings ranks 12th in the country, hits allowed per nine (7.91) sits at 18th and 1.39 WHIP ranks 46th in the nation.

• The OU arms have registered six shutouts in 2026, eclipsing the three total the team had in 2025. The number ranks second in the SEC and seventh in the country.

AT THE PLATE

• Through 52 games OU is outscoring the opposition 349-291 (6.7 runs/game). The offense is batting .282 with 173 extra-base hits to opponents' 151.

• All seventeen Sooners that have made a plate appearance this season has registered a hit.

• Junior catcher/first baseman Deiten Lachance paces the starters with a .337 batting average, while junior Camden Johnson is close behind with a .323 average. Lachance leads OU with 12 home runs, followed by fellow junior Brendan Brock's 10 blasts and Johnson's eight. Twelve Sooners have combined for 65 blasts.

• The Sooners have homered in 33 of 52 games.

• OU ranks first in the SEC and 15th in the country with 17 triples on the season.

• The team started the season with a program-record seven straight games scoring double digits and have scored 10+ runs in 13 games.

LAST TIME OUT

• OU dropped two of three to Tennessee last weekend at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.

• After OU narrowly dropped the opener 7-9, Tennessee took the series with a 9-4 win in game two, a contest that was suspended in the seventh and finished as the first game on Saturday.

• The Sooners took the finale by a final of 12-9, highlighted by a three-homer outing from junior Deiten Lachance. He became the first Sooner to hit three home runs in a game since 2000.

UP NEXT

• After OU's time in Hoover at the SEC Tournament is completed, OU will await its NCAA postseason fate. The selection show takes place Sunday, May 25 at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2.

• Oklahoma will look to play in its fifth straight and 43rd NCAA Tournament all-time.

• A season ago, OU advanced to the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional Final vs. No. 5 national seed North Carolina, forcing a winner-take-all Monday game before falling to the Tar Heels.

• OU has made 42 NCAA Tournament appearances, 11 trips to the College World Series in Omaha and won two national titles (1951, 1994).

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