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Oklahoma Rides Wave to Improbable MCWS Victory

The Oklahoma Sooners are Men's College World Series Champions, a sentence that would've sounded impossible just weeks ago.

Sports • June 24, 2026
Written by ZACH ROBERTS
Photography DYLAN WIDGER-IMAGN IMAGES


The Oklahoma Sooners are Men’s College World Series Champions, a sentence that would’ve sounded impossible just weeks ago. Sometimes, a team just gets hot at the right time and rides the wave all the way to the title. The Sooners did just that, reaching an almost unfathomable level of hot at the plate, and they blasted their way to a title.

Oklahoma’s surge ends with NCAA title

It was supposed to be strength on strength, but only Oklahoma had the strength when it was all said and done. Their red-hot offense demolished one of the best pitching staffs in the entire country. They scored 23 runs in three games, and that includes a 6-2 loss to force the third game on Monday night.

The Sooners had 48 home runs in their first 47 games this season. That’s a fairly normal pace. Then, they exploded. Over the next 19 games, they hit another 47 home runs. Every player up and down the lineup suddenly became capable of putting the ball over the fence at a moment’s notice.

Even the number nine hitter, Kyle Branch, got hot when it counted. He had six RBI, including a game-sealing three-run home run, in the finale. “Pure joy. Pure joy for our team,” Branch said. “I had a teammate tell me I was going to do something special, and for him to tell me that with the way things have been going, it has to be a God thing.”

“They got really confident the last month,” Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson said in a massive understatement. “Care about each other. They didn’t want to give in. They were selfless.” Now, they’re national champions for the third time ever and first time since 1994.

UNC runs out of gas

The North Carolina Tar Heels had arguably the best pitching staff in the sport, and they had arguably the best pitcher in the sport. They had been 29-0 when Caden Glauber pitched, and he had been instrumental with five shutout innings with one hit in Game 2 to stave off elimination.

But when head coach Scott Forbes brought him back in, it proved to be one time too many. The freshman, who should be a college senior, was rattled by the umpire cutting his warmup short and a subsequent pitch-clock violation, and he lasted just seven pitches with the Tar Heels then down 6-1.

Neither Glauber nor Jackson Rose (nor anyone who followed) was able to even remotely stifle the Sooner bats. “We ran out of gas when all is said and done,” Forbes said. The bats had largely been quiet, but with the staff the Tar Heels had, it hadn’t mattered. On Monday, the relied-upon unit was nowhere to be found.

“This group loved each other all season and took us on a ride and came up just short,” Forbes added. “I’d take that ride every day of the year. While we’re sad, the sadness will go away. We talk about joy. Joy doesn’t go away. These guys have given me, our coaching staff, our fans, administration, everybody, a ton of joy and a ton to be proud of.”

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Zach Roberts
By Zach Roberts
Zachary Roberts has written in the sports industry for over four years. He's covered the Carolina Panthers, Charlotte Hornets, Seattle Seahawks, and wider coverage of the NFL, pro golf, NHL, MLB, and NBA. He has worked with ComicBook, Sportskeeda, The Sporting News, and the On SI Network. In his free time, Zachary loves playing video games, watching movies, or reading books.

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