Jocelyn Alo is the Sooners’ next superstar
Watching Jocelyn Alo dislocate another wrestler’s shoulder, Patty Gasso instantly knew she wanted the Hawaiian on Oklahoma’s softball team.
Alo already had a reputation as a solid softball player, but the raw strength she displayed in the state’s 184-pound high school girls wrestling championship made her a must-have for Gasso.
“I’m like, ‘OK, I don’t care if she hits or not,’ I thought that was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” Gasso said Sunday afternoon. “I want that stud on my team.”
And she got her, flipping Alo to the Sooners in October 2016 after a longtime commitment to California.
Alo hasn’t dislocated any shoulders since arriving in Norman last year, but she has unhinged plenty of jaws.
Maybe none more so than those of the crowd gathered at Hall of Fame Stadium for the Women’s College World Series.
In a weekend where OU’s stellar senior class saw their careers end short of a title three-peat, the next Sooner star launched the beginning of her own legend.
As a team, Oklahoma’s high-powered offense went cold from the very first game of the WCWS. The Sooners could get hits, but they couldn’t get the right hits, the run-scoring hits.
Alo changed that in the second game, sending a ball well over the right field wall on the first pitch of the third inning to break a scoreless tie. Later that day, Alo tied former OU power hitter Lauren Chamberlain’s NCAA freshman single-season record with her 30th home run in the first inning of a 2-0 win against Florida.
Oklahoma scored just four runs in the WCWS. Alo accounted for half of them.
“If you look at that video, you’ll see she’s extremely competitive,” Gasso said, referencing the Alo’s wrestling state championship. “Anyone that has that mentality fits on this team.”
As she hugged her family beside the team bus after Sunday’s loss, dozens of little girls hovered near by with neon softballs and Sharpies.
A lucky few got her autograph as she exited the stadium, but even more stuck around, hoping for another chance to get Alo’s signature. They didn’t leave until she got on the bus.
“Not many athletes come out of Hawaii, so just to represent Hawaii and being here on the biggest stage of college softball is awesome,” Alo said. “It just goes to show that ... kids from Hawaii can make it or kids from little towns anywhere, they can do this. This is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, and one of the best teams I’ve ever been on. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Alo put herself on the map from the minute she made her collegiate debut. She singled in her first collegiate at-bat and stole second.
Then, in the bottom of the fifth, she launched the first of her 30 home runs, drilling a solo shot over the left-field wall.
In the 61 games since, Alo shot to prominence in the softball world for her unreal power and ability to hit any ball thrown her way. A day before she made her WCWS debut, she was named the NFCA Freshman of the Year.
Along the way, she grew off the field, too.
Soft-spoken in her early media interviews, the laid back Alo gained more confidence throughout the season and infused interviews with a matter-offact sense of humor.
With her wild curls spilling over her white visor, Alo took her spot behind the microphone after Saturday night’s win against Florida.
She looked at the journalists packed in the room and grinned.
“Sup?,” she said with a nod, sending her teammates into a fit of giggles.
A day later, the mood was different, more somber with the Sooners’ season over. As the group was asked to reflect on their seasons — and some, their careers — Alo began to wax poetic.
“It’s been an amazing journey, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Alo said. “All the fitness tests, all the triathlons, everything.”
Two seats down, senior catcher Lea Wodach laughed through her tears and interrupted the freshman.
“What are you talking about?,” she said. “You have three more, dude.”