Fresh Faces: Sophia Bordi Arrived at Oklahoma Early to ‘Listen’ and ‘Learn’
NORMAN — A major piece of Oklahoma’s 2026 team is going to get a head start this year.
Pitcher Sophia Bordi, who was planning to debut next year, arrived a year early.
The highly-touted right-handed pitcher reclassified this winter and enrolled in Norman to link up with Patty Gasso’s team.
“Sophia brings a lot to the table,” Gasso said when Bordi signed last November. “She is an elite pitcher, having won championships in both high school and travel ball. She is also elite offensively. She brings power from the right side and we expect her to be an integral part of our program. I’m very excited about Sophia’s future as a Sooner.”
And while the plan is for her to redshirt in 2025, Gasso is ecstatic about the experience she’s in line to gain this season.
“If we had an emergency, break the glass, bring in Sophia. That’s the only way we would ever do it,” Gasso said on Saturday. “I do want to maintain her redshirt unless we absolutely need her. But I think it’s great. I’m really excited about what her (progress). She’s going to be so ahead of her normal class that’s coming in next year. Think she could lead them, guide them with her experience as well.”
Graduating early to join the program a semester early is the norm in college football.
Porter Moser’s Oklahoma basketball team is currently enjoying the play from Jeremiah Fears, who reclassified to get to college a year early on the hardwood.
But speeding up the process a year is far from typical in softball.
Bordi’s situation wasn’t something Gasso had planned for, but it fell into place due to unique circumstances.
“She did graduate actually in I think June, a year in advance,” Gasso said. “I didn’t even know it. I’m not normally looking for that. She told me that she was gonna go in the spring and live in California and train with her travel ball team and get a job. And I’m like, ‘What if we could get you in here?’”
