The Oklahoma Sooners softball team has kicked off the 2025 season with a roar, and sophomore sensation Ella Parker is at the heart of the excitement. Her blistering .647 batting average through the first weeks of the season has fans whispering a familiar name: Jocelyn Alo, the NCAA’s all-time home run leader and a legend in Norman. Parker’s hot start isn’t just turning heads—it’s evoking memories of Alo’s dominance, hinting at the potential for another historic career in crimson and cream.
Parker, a left-handed slugger from Southern California, arrived at Oklahoma with high expectations after a stellar freshman campaign in 2024. But this year, she’s taken her game to another level. In the Sooners’ home opener against Tulsa on Saturday, Parker went 3-for-4 with a towering home run, driving in four runs and showcasing the same effortless power that made Alo a household name. Her ability to hit to all fields, combined with a keen eye at the plate, has drawn inevitable comparisons to the former OU star, who terrorized pitchers from 2018 to 2022 en route to 122 career home runs.
Coach Patty Gasso, no stranger to coaching generational talents, has praised Parker’s poise. “Ella’s got that special something,” Gasso said after the Tulsa game. “She’s not chasing stats—she’s just playing her game, and it’s a beautiful thing to watch.” Like Alo, Parker blends raw power with a calm demeanor, a rare combination that’s already making her a fan favorite at Love’s Field.
For Sooners faithful, the parallels are uncanny. Alo’s freshman year saw her hit .420 with 30 home runs, setting the stage for her record-breaking career. Parker’s early 2025 stats—11 hits and three homers in just six games—suggest she could follow a similar trajectory. While it’s too soon to crown her Alo’s successor, the buzz in Norman is palpable. With Oklahoma sitting at 12-0 and Parker leading the charge, the Sooners look poised for another deep postseason run. If she keeps swinging like this, Ella Parker might just carve her own legend—one swing at a time.
