Sooners Announce Transfer Additions For 2024
Patty Gasso, the University of Oklahoma’s head softball coach, announced the arrival of four student-athletes via the transfer portal on Tuesday.
Karlie Keeney, a Liberty graduate right-handed pitcher, Riley Ludlam, a Furman graduate utility player, Kelly Maxwell, an Oklahoma State graduate left-handed pitcher, and Paytn Monticelli, a Wisconsin sophomore right-handed pitcher, will all join the three-time defending national champion Sooners for the 2023-24 season.
Keeney comes to Norman after a stellar junior season at Liberty, where she appeared in 48 games, threw 261 innings, and went 27-12 in the circle. She had a 2.03 ERA, struck out 153, and held opponents to a.229 batting average. She tossed five shutouts and 27 complete games in 2023, guiding the Flames to their third straight NCAA tournament participation, when they defeated No. 2 seed UCLA and advanced to the Los Angeles Regional final.
Ludlam, Furman’s Southern Conference Player of the Year and NFCA All-Region pick in 2023, batted.372 with 10 home runs and 41 RBIs last season while starting 49 games at catcher or designated player. The Fort Myers, Fla., native graduated from Furman with top-five finishes in school history for home runs (25) and doubles (45), as well as a.309 overall batting average and 117 RBI.
Maxwell, a two-time All-American who will remain in Oklahoma to play for the Sooners, joins them following a successful career at Oklahoma State. Maxwell, the 2022 Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Year, has helped the Cowgirls reach the Women’s College World Series in each of the last three seasons and has a 58-20 career record with a 1.58 ERA and 746 strikeouts. She received a unanimous first-team All-America selection in 2022, going 21-5 with a 1.22 ERA, and second-team All-America honours in 2023, when she placed second nationally with 11.2 strikeouts per seven innings. Maxwell was also named Academic All-America in each of the previous two seasons.
Monticelli, OU’s sole undergraduate transfer, comes to OU from Wisconsin, where she tossed 80 innings in 21 outings, making 13 starts and finishing 7-4 as a freshman. The Cedarburg, Wisconsin native ended her rookie season with a 2.71 ERA and a team-high 82 strikeouts.
In addition to the four transfer signees, Oklahoma returns 13 student-athletes from last year’s championship squad and welcomes four true freshman in 2023-24.
Follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Softball), and like Oklahoma Softball on Facebook, for updates and more information on the team.
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