Ignacio Jennings predicted the future.

In 2021, following OU softball’s first national title win in four years, players, families and coaches celebrated in the outfield of then-USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium — an annual tradition now.

The Sooners battled back to knock off Florida State in three games behind prolific play from superstar Jocelyn Alo and surprise standout freshmen Rylie Boone, Jayda Coleman, Kinzie Hansen, Nicole May and Ignacio’s daughter Tiare.

“Alright, three more after this,” Ignacio challenged the group of first-year players.

The idea of one class four-peating wasn’t discussed around the program again until Thursday night, three years later, when they reunited in the outfield of now-Devon Park. after they’d made history with an 8-4 win over Texas.

Not even within those at the top of the program.

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‘These guys will never, ever be forgotten’

As Cydney Sanders caught Alyssa Brito’s throw and gloves flew through the air, one of the first people OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. found in the crowd was his athletic director, Joe Castiglione.

The two were speechless as they stared at the dogpile of Sooners and the five four-year seniors in the infield in front of them.

All Castiglione could do was throw his hands in the air.

“Anytime a championship is won, it’s historic,” Castiglione told The Oklahoman postgame. “To win four in a row is just incredible. What’s the right superlative? It’s never happened before, it’s hard to find the right one. But for us, you start thinking about what goes into the journey to give yourself the best chance to do it and all of the different ingredients.

“An accomplishment like this is always bigger than any one person. We always think about the people who did something really important to help create the magic.”

The 2024 season was the most challenging of the four-year seniors’ national titles.

OU opened Love’s Field, the program’s new $47.9 million stadium that seats 4,200 people and is the largest on-campus softball stadium in the country, and had its 71-game winning streak snapped by Louisiana the same weekend. The Sooners dropped a three-game Big 12 series for the first time since the conference started playing three games in 2011 and lost another to close the regular season to Oklahoma State at home.

Head coach Patty Gasso’s team then had to face Florida in an elimination game earlier this week during the Women’s College World Series after falling to the Gators by six runs.

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“They all have wonderful things ahead of them,” Gasso said of the five four-year seniors during her postgame news conference. “They've cemented this program in history. They've cemented themselves in history. History can change, but these guys will never, ever be forgotten.”

Winning four consecutive national titles doesn’t come without struggles felt in the locker room throughout the season. Gasso repeatedly commented on the exhaustion and anxieties her club dealt with as the weeks went on.

“There were moments where we had to embrace the hard. It was hard,” Castiglione said. “There are so many times in sports where people talk about how adversity makes you stronger. How changes that aren’t expected, they force you to think about how to respond the right way, whether it’s people, strategy or a variety of things you can think of that help make people successful.

“Well, you still have to do it. You really have to step back and appreciate the true magnitude of what just happened.”

Associate coach JT Gasso, who is also Patty’s son, has witnessed all four consecutive championships up close and personal. As he held his daughter Grace in his arms on the field postgame, a wave of relief overtook him.

You can’t rank championships, but this one is different.

“They all mean a lot, they all include different people and every year is a grind,” JT told The Oklahoman. “This year was a grind for a lot of reasons. This one really was special because of how hard it was. This was really hard, this year was tough.”

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The core group of four-year seniors have been through a lot the past four years and it all culminated on the same field. They finished their OU careers with a 21-4 record in the WCWS.

A few feet away from the commotion, the Jennings family formed a prayer circle.

Tiare committed to Gasso and the Sooners because she liked the culture. During her recruitment in eighth and ninth grade, the thought of winning one national title never crossed her mind.

What means more to the Jennings family isn’t the hardware but the family they left with.

“The senior class, they’ll be with us forever,” Tiare’s mother, Maria Jennings, said postgame. “When people tell you it’s family, it truly is here. It’s an unbelievable moment. It’s emotional, where Tiare started and where she finished, I couldn’t ask for a better daughter. She doesn’t want to come home, she wants to stay here.”

Tiare, who has desires to coach, will stick around Norman next season as a graduate assistant, alongside fellow four-time champion Hansen, and pitcher Karlie Keeney. She also ended her playing career as one of the greatest players in the sport’s history.

“You accomplished all of your dreams,” Ignacio told Tiare, who had tears streamed down her face, as he hugged her.

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‘They earned every bit of this’

Former OU pitcher Giselle Juarez was in shock.

The WCWS Most Outstanding Player during the five four-year seniors’ first title in 2021 couldn’t fathom that her former teammates are four-time champions. Juarez knows as well as anyone how hard it is to win one national championship, let alone four.

“It’s actually insane for me because I was here when it first started with these seniors,” Juarez told The Oklahoman. “Now I’m here to watch them finish it. I have no words for how happy I am for this senior class. They earned every bit of this.”

One of the uniquely special things for Juarez the past three years has been watching Nicole May’s growth since they were on the same pitching staff.

May, as confident as ever, entered Game 2 in relief and struck out four in 1 ⅔ innings. The right-hander was never the Sooners’ ace during her career and instead of jumping ship, she stayed and played a critical role in all four titles.

“Watching her from her freshman year to her senior year was incredible,” Juarez said. “She’s grown so much as a person and a player. I couldn’t be more happier for her, she’s been a great teammate and a great person throughout this whole process and she did everything could, balled out for this team and helped win a natty again.”

JT couldn’t help but reflect on their journey since the staff signed them out of high school.

“They were just trying to be great every day,” JT said. “They’ve had a lot of challenges in their careers with COVID, in the NIL space, with media attention, and they’ve handled it the best that they could. They’ve been great, they’ve pushed the sport forward and have been a shining example to the whole softball world of what it looks like to love what you’re doing.”

Another member of that 2021 team, Nicole Mendes, stood on the field postgame in amazement as the 2024 Sooners signed hundreds of autographs for screaming fans.

While Mendes never envisioned her teammates winning four national championships, she’s not surprised by their successes on and off the field and their contribution to the growth of the sport. Each season, the sport becomes more popular and there’s never been a senior class with a legacy in the sport like this one.

Not only with their play, but how they won together.

“It’s just a testament to how good this senior class was,” Mendes told The Oklahoman. “And how in-tune with each other they were and in-tune with their goals because life gets in the way so easily, especially with a sport like softball.

“And so the fact that they stayed together not just through one year, but four years and drowned out all the noise, I think it’s a true testament to the relationship and bond they have with one another.”

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‘This program is meteoric’

Within a day or two of Joe Castiglione’s arrival in Norman from Missouri in 1998 to become OU’s new athletic director, he met Patty Gasso and instantly knew she was going to be great.

The Sooners’ softball team was still practicing at Reaves Park and was forced to end practices early for the local men’s softball teams.

“This is Oklahoma?” Castiglione asked himself at the time.

But Castiglione sensed something in Gasso when he watched her endure those tough years.

“I could see what she was building when I got here,” Castiglione said. “I could see how she had to go through the early stages of building with not much to work with. Playing at the city park, not having a locker room, those kinds of things. Things people take for granted today.

“But you keep doing the right things to help the athletes and the coaches that teach them and bring them here in the first place. You keep doing the things that you can to help them be successful and that’s part of the joy of being in this role.”

And as the core four-year seniors’ era ends, another begins in the Southeastern Conference. The Sooners will be forced to replace a lot of talent and experience through the high school ranks and the transfer portal if they want to remain competitive at the top.

With one of the greatest coaches in the sports’ history on staff and coming off the heels of a season which saw record investment into softball from the university, the program doesn’t intend to slow down when the core departs.

“Softball isn’t just growing here or in the SEC, it’s growing nationally,” OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. told The Oklahoman. “What we’re seeing with viewership is indicative of what an amazing sport this is and the impact of Title IX 52 years later.

“The investment in this program will absolutely continue, a couple years ago Patty made the call for Love’s Field and it came true. This program is meteoric and it’s just going to continue.”

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OU isn’t going anywhere and neither is Texas. The two officially enter the SEC on July 1 and will certainly be among the sport’s powers for years to come.

Before Game 2 Thursday night, Castiglione and Harroz ventured over to the burnt orange section of Devon Park for a brief visit with athletic director Chris Del Conte. Hugs and jokes followed minutes before first pitch but when it was game time, the fun and games came to an end.

For Castiglione, there is added enjoyment that the two arch-rival programs ended this season together and will enter next season in a new conference together at the top of the sport.

“That’s my man, we are friends for life,” Castiglione said of Del Conte. “We’ve competed against each other quite a few times the last few years, four national championships in several sports but during the games, we’re in a no-talk zone.”

After tying Arizona’s Mike Candrea for the most national titles as a head coach, Gasso reaffirmed to no surprise she’ll be back for another season. Those who know her best said Thursday night she’s up for the challenge of the SEC.

The program will still be led by Patty, JT, pitching coach Jen Rocha, Castiglione and Co., but it’ll look a lot different without Coleman’s heroics in center field or Hansen’s consistency behind the plate.

Above all, Gasso said postgame that she’s going to miss being around the core.

They’ve set an almost impossible standard. A legacy Gasso is ecstatic to teach the future of the sport about and one filled with stories that will undoubtedly be told the next time OU is celebrating in the Devon Park outfield.

“I'm really excited,” Gasso said of the future. “They are, too. This group of seniors really left their mark. That's one thing you want them to do, is leave the program better than you found it. They really did a good job of training and teaching these young athletes what it's going to look like in the future.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How OU's four-year seniors helped 'create the magic' of WCWS four-peat