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BY OU MEDIA RELATIONS
NORMAN — Oklahoma Softball was honored with eight selections to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Midwest Region Team as announced Thursday, May 15. OU’s eight picks are good for a region best, two more than the next closest total.
The Sooners tied a program record with eight honorees, doing so for the sixth time. Four OU players received first team nods while two apiece landed on the second and third team respectively.
Sam Landry, Gabbie Garcia, Kasidi Pickering and Ella Parker were all selected to the first team. Nelly McEnroe-Marinas and Cydney Sanders earned second team recognition and Abigale Dayton and Ailana Agbayani were tabbed to the third team.
The Sooners have produced 177 all-region selections since OU Softball’s inception, with 161 of those coming during head coach Patty Gasso’s tenure.
Landry has earned consecutive all-region first team honors after doing so last year at Louisiana. The 2025 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Newcomer of the Year was a first team all-league pick this year, tallying a 19-4 record and three SEC Pitcher of the Week honors. Landry was also an SEC First Team pick and SEC All-Defensive Team honoree, tallying 47 assists to lead the SEC’s pitchers.
Garcia earns all-region first team honors in her freshman season and is coming off the biggest swing of her young OU career. The shortstop hit a walk-off three-run home run to lift No. 2/2 OU past No. 6/7 Arkansas, 8-6, in the SEC Tournament Semifinals last Friday. Garcia earned Second Team All-SEC honors and SEC All-Defensive Team laurels a week ago. During the regular season she was named SEC Freshman of the Week twice, SEC Player of the Week March 18 and D1Softball Freshman of the Week March 11.
Pickering has been steady all year in her second year with OU, earning the first all-region honor of her career. The outfielder was a First Team All-SEC pick and is hitting .404 with 14 home runs and 45 RBIs in 52 starts. Pickering carried a season high 16-game hitting streak through the meat of the season and also reached base safely in 15-straight plate appearances between March 23 and March 30.
Parker was recently named to the SEC All-Tournament Team after clubbing two doubles and a home run during OU’s 2-0 weekend in Athens. The sophomore was named SEC Player of the Week twice this season and started the year on an 11-game hitting streak. Parker is close to reaching that streak again as she has hit safely in nine consecutive games, bringing her to a team high .417 batting average. This is Parker’s second all-region nod in as many years after being named to the third team in 2024.
McEnroe-Marinas earned all-region second team honors and has held down the hot corner all season as an SEC First Team honoree. The third baseman was named SEC Freshman of the Week April 29 and also earned a spot on the NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25 list. McEnroe-Marinas’ production really boomed in SEC play as she hit 11 of her 14 home runs in league competition, clubbing a home run in five of eight conference series.
Sanders, a 2022 NFCA First Team All-American, lands on the all-region team for the second time in her career and for the first time as a Sooner. Carrying a big bat and patient eye, Sanders ranks in the top ten in the county for career home runs among active players with 55. A 2025 SEC All-Tournament Team honoree, Sanders drove in three and launched a home run in OU’s 4-1 win against No. 9/10 LSU in the SEC Quarterfinals.
Agbayani rakes in all-region honors for the third straight year after being tabbed to the third team in 2023 and the second team a year ago at BYU. The junior has put together one of the best bodies of work among all infielders, making only one error all year across 154 chances. The second baseman has also produced some timely hitting, most recently hitting a solo home run in OU’s 8-6 win against No. 6/7 Arkansas in the SEC Tournament Semifinals. Agbayani made the SEC All-Defensive Team and was named Softball America Star of the Week and SEC Player of the Week April 29.
Dayton reels in the third all-region selection of her career after earning first team laurels last year and third team honors in 2023 at Utah. The junior has started all 52 games in the outfield for OU, hitting .314 with a team high 12 stolen bases to go with 43 runs and 28 walks. Dayton has been steady with the glove as well, posting a 1.000 fielding percentage with 57 putouts and two assists. Like Agbayani, Dayton has saved her home runs for timely moments, launching a homer in her first at-bat as a Sooner while tying the game against No. 10/9 Tennessee with a solo shot March 28.
NFCA All-American teams as well as NFCA Player of the Year, NFCA Pitcher of the Year and Rawlings Gold Glove honors will be announced May 28.
The Sooners begin play in the 2025 Norman Regional against Boston University Friday, May 16 at 5 p.m. from Love’s Field.
