Patty Gasso of the University of Oklahoma is set to become the first female head coach of a U.S. Olympic softball team after being named national team head coach through the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Softball competition at the 2028 Olympics will be held at Devon Park in Oklahoma City — the same stadium where Gasso guided the Sooners to the last four Women’s College World Series titles.
“It is truly a remarkable moment in my career and a dream come true to be asked to coach Team USA,” Gasso said in a press release. “This is the highest honor I could ever receive, and I’m humbled by and thankful for the confidence USA Softball has in me. I have an intense passion to make Team USA the best it can be to help win the gold medal in 2028.”
Gasso is in line to become the fourth U.S. Olympic softball head coach after Ralph Raymond (1996 and 2000), Mike Candrea (2004 and 2008) and Ken Eriksen (2020).
Gasso starts her 31st season at the helm of OU this week, having won eight total national titles in addition to the current NCAA record streak of four in a row. Last September, a statue of Gasso was unveiled outside the Sooners’ stadium, Love’s Field.
Six previous women have been head coach of the U.S. national team outside of the Olympics — Rosalie Sorenson (1970), Marge Ricker (1982), Carol Spanks (1987), Shirley Topley (1991), Margie Wright (1998) and Heather Tarr (2021).
The U.S. is the most successful nation in Olympic softball history having made the final of all five tournaments. The Americans took gold in 1996, 2000 and 2004 and silver behind Japan in 2008 and 2020.
Softball was taken off the Olympic program after the 2008 Beijing Games, then returned for Tokyo 2020 at the local organizing committee’s request.
LA 2028 also proposed softball among sports to be added for its Games, which the IOC approved in October 2023.
Softball is not on the Olympic program beyond 2028, but Australian organizers could propose its inclusion for the 2032 Brisbane Games.
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