Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS: Kansas Jayhawks HOST Oklahoma in Super Regionals After Sooners Down Georgia Tech

Episode Date: June 2, 2026

Kansas Jayhawks Baseball earn a thrilling opportunity to host the Super Regional as Oklahoma upsets Georgia Tech—can KU capitalize on history in the making at Hoglund Ballpark? Derek Johnson breaks down the Sooners’ recent hot streak, their gritty comebacks against Georgia Tech, and why Oklahoma poses a challenging matchup for Kansas despite a middling conference record. The Sooner lineup, powered by Deiten Lachance and Brendan Brock, while Kansas must counter with patience against high walk rates from Oklahoma’s starters. Key storylines include the Jayhawks’ recent struggles against Oklahoma, common opponents shared throughout the season, and the impact of playing on home turf. Can Kansas overcome lefty ace Cameron Johnson and claim their second-ever College World Series berth? Join Derek Johnson for expert analysis and everything you need to know ahead of KU vs. Oklahoma in the Super Regionals. Everydayer ClubIf you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub   Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast   FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get one-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game.   FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Well, the super regionals are set and Oklahoma upset Georgia Tech, which on one hand is a good thing for Kansas because they're going to be hosting in a super regional. But on the other hand, means another pesky opponent in the postseason that KU historically has struggled against. You are locked on Jayhawks. Your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. What's going on? Derek Johnson, this is Locked on Jayhawks. A little bonus episode for you as the Super Regionales are now set for KU, Oklahoma,

Uphlets, Upsetting Georgia Tech, and that means Kansas will be hosting Oklahoma. We'll find out if it'll be a Friday through Sunday series or if it'll be a Saturday through Monday series. That'll be happening on Tuesday morning, I believe, at 9 a.m. But how did we get there? What is the Oklahoma Scouting Report? All that and more on this episode of the show. Let's just start right here. So Kansas obviously had to win their regional to get to this point.

they knew that most likely, you know, Georgia Tech being the two seed at the other end of where the Super Regional would be. If Georgia Tech won their region, then Georgia Tech was going to be hosting in a Super Regional. And it looked like Georgia Tech was going to be able to, you know, I don't know, not coast necessarily, but that they were certainly going to win their regional. They win their first game 22 to 5 over Illinois, Chicago. Then they beat Oklahoma 9 to 3. And they're sitting at 2 and 0.

they're sitting in just needing to beat Oklahoma one more time. They lose 15 to 8 in what was kind of a come from behind win for Oklahoma. And then they get up 7 to 3 in, I don't know, the 6th or 7th inning against Oklahoma in an elimination game. And somehow Oklahoma crawls back. They end up forcing extra innings and they win on a walkoff home run 8 to 7 in the 10th inning. And so that's a little scary because you're playing a hot team now, right? That has had some of these recent comebacks. Though interestingly enough, you're looking at an Oklahoma team that,

you know, prior to this win over Georgia Tech was five and five in their last 10. So, you know, not even a case of them just like being hot at the right time. It was just two really good games, I guess, from them, right? Like, obviously they're a good team. They're out of the SEC. So it makes things more challenging with the schedule and everything. But this was certainly a big surprise. Like Georgia Tech, everywhere you look, like average on base percentage, slugging percent.

Like this was Georgia Tech was the best offense in the field, right? Like they were top three in like every category. home runs, they were third. This was a big shock that Oklahoma was able to pull off this victory. Georgia Tech looked good enough to win a national title. And instead, that's not happening. Instead, Oklahoma is moving forward. And it is interesting because from a baseball perspective,

Oklahoma has a lot more history and lineage here than Kansas does. And Oklahoma has a very prevalent series over Kansas. Oklahoma has won four straight games over Kansas. They've won eight of their last nine games against Kansas, and they've won, 14 of the last 16 against Kansas. And obviously some of those are, you know, pre-Dan Fitzgerald era or are when the Dan Fitzgerald had not fully taken off yet, like the 2024 team, it had kind of taken off.

But interestingly enough, the final Big 12 tournament that Oklahoma was in in 2024, they played Kansas twice and they represented both of the losses. That was when the tournament was still a double elimination. They beat Kansas both times, including 8 to 6, which was the final game of the 20th. 24 Kansas Jayhawks, which represented the most recent year that they missed the NCAA tournament, albeit they were close. So you almost get like a, on one hand, like history has not been kind to you in this series, but on the other hand, history had not been kind to you from just an athletics perspective

against Arkansas and you found a way to take down the razorbacks. Would it be poetic or fitting to be able to do the same thing against Oklahoma to try to get to a college world series? So let's get to the Oklahoma scouting report next because this is a great opportunity for KU, but still a really good opponent. We'll get to that. This episode is brought to you by Indeed, workplace chaos, deadline stacking up, inbox overflowing, and the one position you have to fill is still sitting open. When the pressure's on and you need the right hire, this is a job for Indeed, sponsor jobs,

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Terms and conditions apply need to hire. This is a job for indeed sponsored jobs. Thanks yet for joining us. Don't forget you and join the everyday air club locked on Jayhawks. Dot supercast.com to get the ad free version of the show. Okay, so Oklahoma, an interesting team, 37 and 22 on the season. They had a losing record in conference play. Obviously, we know the SEC is, they've won, what, six straight national titles on the baseball field.

They were fifth in strength of schedule. So that obviously helps them here. And you look at some of the numbers on the year, like in comparison with some of the other field, maybe more toward the middle here, but then maybe once you take into account the schedule, it becomes, you know, more prevalent and everything. It is interesting because there are some common opponents on the schedule. Oklahoma opened up with three straight Big 12 opponents, and they beat all of them. Texas Tech 10 to 3, which Tech ended up being bad this year.

Oklahoma State, who ended up being good 10 to 1, and then they beat TCU, who also wound up being bad this year, 12 to 2. They end up playing Arizona State, another big 12 team in two games, and they lose one, 15 to 3. They win the other 4 to 3 is a little inconsistent there with the two big 12 games. Then you have to surf all the way down to April 14th when they take on another common opponent for KU. And they take on Oklahoma State again, who they lose to seven to three. We know that KU ended up going three and one against Oklahoma State this season. Kansas beat Missouri both times.

They played them this year pretty easily. Oklahoma swept Missouri. They just weren't very good this year. And then the Arkansas series, Kansas just went two and oh against Arkansas. Oklahoma only won one of the three games against Arkansas. Now, this is the interesting thing. Like a lot of times when they're winning some of these games. Like you look at them winning the first game against Georgia Tech 15 to 8. They only won one of the three against Tennessee when they won 12 to 9. They win one of the three against Arkansas when they went 15 to 10. It's like they have like a blowup game in terms of their scoring runs.

Like they'll have a big output game and then they'll have another game in there with like, you know, the first game of the series against Arkansas, they only score two runs. The second game in the series against Tennessee, they only score four runs. The first game against Georgia Tech, they only scored three runs. So they're a little more inconsistent, I think would be the way of putting them. You just hope that they are on the downside of the inconsistency when you play them as opposed to maybe kind of the upside there, right? When you look at their rankings among the rest of the tournament field, so again, this is everybody, even the teams who have already been eliminated. So based on a 64 team scale, so that would mean if you're 32nd, 33rd at something, you're basically average compared to this elite field at it.

30th in both batting average and home runs. So right around average there. 29th in OBP, 28th and slugging. They're between 27th and 34th in the all-encompassing stats like OPS, WBA, WRC Plus. The big thing that this offense does for Oklahoma that, you know, all those things are at least average. Like they're not bad at anything. It's just you're kind of like average there, but maybe give a slight boost for the schedule. The area where they are very good at is stealing bases.

ninth among the 64 team tournament field coming in in stolen bases. So that's going to be something KU has to deal with. You had to deal with it against Northeastern. You did a great job of it, right? But there were other teams this season that KU had to deal with who have high steel totals and maybe they cause them problems. They think of like a West Virginia, for instance. So that'll be an interesting matchup here.

You look from the pitching perspective for Oklahoma. They are 41st in the RA, so a bit below average, you know, among the 64 teams here. They are 24th, though, in Sierra, which would tell you that, you know, maybe they're pitching a little better than that ERA indicates. Now, it is interesting if you divvy it up, their starters among the field rank 50th in ERA, but their relievers 29th. So it's a better bullpen maybe than it is a starting rotation for Oklahoma. And when you look at the starters, I think that kind of makes sense.

The three starting pitchers for them, the three guys who have pitched over 50 innings on the season for the Sooners. You're looking at a 505 ERA, a 574 ERA, and a 436 ERA. Now, the guy with the 436 ERA, and actually all of them have good strikeout rates, but the guy with the 436 ERA, probably the most dangerous. That would be Cameron Johnson. He's a lefty. We've seen KU struggle a bit more with lefties in the regional, whether it was the reliever who started for Arkansas on Sunday night, whether it was Dietz starting for Arkansas. And again, those are really good players. It's not just that they're lefties, but Northeastern changed the game when they threw a lefty in there. Well, Johnson is a lefty, so that's a little scary there.

The one thing, though, he has a 17% walk rate, which is, like, incredibly high. So Kansas is usually a patient team. We'll see if they can take advantage on that end of things, right? But they're 26th and whip, 27th and K rate. And speaking of the high walk rate, like, that is probably the biggest bugaboo for the Oklahoma pitching staff. Because as a team, they are 59th in walk rate pitching among the 64 team field. So if you can be patient, work the count and work your walks, you can take advantage in a very big way. And that's obviously a good thing for Kansas because they are a team, I think, that does that for the most part.

So just be you in this series. And that's going to be really helpful for KU. All right. Let's get to some players to keep an eye on for Oklahoma and why this is such a great opportunity for Kansas. This is Locked on Jayhawks. Once again, you can join the everyday club, Lockdownjahawks. com to get the ad-free version of the show. Okay, some players to keep an eye on for Oklahoma.

We mentioned, you know, one of the pitchers there with Cameron Johnson, who probably the starting pitcher to watch here. They do have another lefty and court rager, but 5-7-4ARA. It does have really good strikeout numbers, though, but you look out of the bullpen and Austin Stoker, certainly somebody to watch 2.68 ERA for him over the course of 37 innings pitched. He's got a 1.1 whip. He's been really good for them as a pitcher.

You also look just in general, like the bullpen, like I said, has a good depth of arms. I think for them, they just have a lot of guys they can kind of go to, whether it's a Trent Collier or a Nick Wasloskey, or you can at least get, you know, some innings from some of your other bulk relievers. They just have a lot of arms. I feel like they can kind of go to, which can be helpful in some of these regionals and series, especially when you're playing on short, you know, like you don't have time to the guy you started in the first game. you're not going to be able to start them in game three, right? Like, you don't have that opportunity, whereas, you know, maybe the MLB playoffs,

you might have some days off in between. That's not as much the case here. From a hitting perspective for Oklahoma, interestingly enough, not like a ton of power. There's some guys who have some power, right? Dayton Lechance, 13 home runs. That's a good number. Brendan Brock with 12, a good number. They've got a bunch of guys around the five, six, eight range for home runs.

It's not as much power as Kansas, but again, as I mentioned, a lot more stolen bases. You're looking at having five guys who have 14 or more steals this year. you've got two guys with 26 steals on the season. It's a team that just has a well-balanced lineup, which pretty much everybody does at this point if you're making it this far. If you're looking at maybe the engine that drives them, you'd probably look to La Chance, who is second on the team in average. He is up there in OBP.

He leads the team in slugging. He leads the team in OPS. He leads the team in home runs and RBIs. He's not as much of the steel guy, but that would be probably the name to watch there. But this is a big opportunity for Kansas, right? Like it's not just the Georgia Tech thing. I mean, it is.

Like, that allows you to have the opportunity to host in Hoagland Ballpark, where it has felt like this has been a real difference maker for KU providing energy. And, like, there was even a moment in that Arkansas game where one of the new pitchers came in and, like, walked in a run. And that felt like a Hoagland Ballpark run scored. And so it's, and like Oklahoma is not going to be, if there's any players on this Oklahoma a team who were in the big 12 when Oklahoma was playing Kansas, they're not going to recognize this version of Hoagland Ballpark.

They're just not. And so it's an opportunity because, you know, ideally you're going to have more super regionals. You're going to have more, you know, opportunities with Dan Fitzgerald at the helm to make a college world series, to go deep in an NCAA tournament. But even as bright of a future as I expect this team to have with Dan Fitzgerald, you know, it still takes a lot to get to this point. Sometimes you can, like, look at the top two teams.

UCLA was the number one seed, Georgia Tech was the number two seat, and neither one's playing in a super regional. It's like theoretically next year, you could have an even better regular season, but not playing a super regional like you are now. And it's not just that you get to play in one. You're playing a good opponent, but you get to host them. So go take advantage of this opportunity. Go take advantage.

Go make your second college world series in program history. I am so excited for this weekend of KU Baseball, and I hope you are too. We'll be breaking it down all throughout the week here on Locked on Jayhawks, get you more ready for Kansas against Oklahoma in a best of three series. That'll do it for this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. You can find our show anywhere you get your podcast, including on our YouTube page of a KU basketball episode coming out tomorrow. And see you then right here with LOJ.