Guess Who's Back

BY: CHRIS PLANK

Sooner Softball senior Kinzie Hansen faced something last season she had not dealt with in her career. While rolling through the early part of the season and putting up her typical numbers, Hansen suffered a serious injury and, despite her best efforts, she just could not get back into her usual gameplay.

Now, healthy and happy, Hansen is ready to recapture her swagger.

“She’s got her face back,” Head Sooner Softball coach Patty Gasso said of Hansen during fall ball. “You can see in her body language and her facial expressions that she’s feeling much better. We figured out a few things, but rest was important too. She’s so pumped to get back into it and be back to the player that she was.”

The player that Hansen “was” and “is” would best be described as a problem for opponents and one of the best catchers in college softball. With unquestioned power at the plate, she brims with confidence, enthusiasm and unbridled energy.

During her first two seasons, Hansen had put together incredible numbers, even with the 2020 season cut short due to the pandemic. Hansen had 92 career runs batted in after her freshman and sophomore campaigns and had a career average of .430.

The talented catcher was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2021 Big 12 Tournament and was on the Women’s College World Series All-Tournament team after helping lead the Sooners to the National Championship.

But that confidence and enthusiasm were shaken in 2022 when Hansen suffered a serious injury. Before the injury, Hansen was her typical dominating self. Through the first 15 games, Hansen was hitting .456 with four home runs and 11 runs batted in and was in the midst of an 8-game hitting streak. But, on March 9, Hansen was injured and missed four straight games in Hawaii.

That knee injury cost Hansen more than just the fourgame series on the island. She did not start another game until later in the month, but it wasn’t just the missed games that took its toll, she just could not find her swing.

“It was very difficult,” Hansen said. “Most of those things come naturally to me. I can go suit up and go hit and be fine and then last year I go out and suit up and I hit .200. I wasn’t present for myself, and it was difficult.”

Hansen hit just .150 the rest of the season after the incredible start and the challenging injury. It was a rough and unique time for the typical domination that Hansen had shown at the plate.

“I’ve had knee problems for a while and that was a moment where something happened in Hawaii,” Hansen said. “It was hard going through the pain, but the men- tal side of it was difficult and not a lot of people talk about that challenge. At the end of the year, I came out of it and that’s when it really matters, so the timing was pretty good.”

As the postseason started, Hansen started to look more like her typical self. In the Championship clinching win over Texas, Hansen had her first multiple-hit game since March and hit a 3-run home run that all but sealed the program’s sixth National Championship. Hansen had that look back. There was a light at the end of the tunnel heading into the off-season.

“Working through it, I wasn’t going to give up. I knew that,” Hansen said. “I’ve never been one to give up. I kept going and I kept working. Even though it hurt, I hit extra.”

The Norco, California product enters her fourth season healthy and still has another year of eligibility available. Patty Gasso has confidence that Hansen is ready for a breakout season.

“Any time I’ve had an athlete, and that includes Lauren Chamberlain, Jocelyn Alo and others, when they did not have a very good year and they are elite players, once they get out of that down year, they explode the rest of the way,” Gasso said. “I think Hansen is in that space right now. I think she is about to explode offensively like she did when she got here. If we can keep her injury free, if we can keep her healthy, I think she is going to go crazy.”

As Hansen prepares for the 2023 season, there is a relatively new role that she has been charged with - team leader. During her previous three seasons, Hansen shared the catching position with three-time captain Lynnsie Elam. Now, Hansen is an established star who is counted on to lead and provide mentorship to younger players. Hansen has always been a vocal presence in the dugout and on the field, but now she has learned how to use it better.

“She has grown maturity and leadership wise. She has a good voice on the team,” Gasso said. “She would tell you it used to be more barking orders. Now she’s changed her tone and is getting a lot more response and respect from that.”

Through the process of getting healthy this offseason, Hansen started to also embrace and understand the importance of rest. With as many as four different catchers who could play at any time, the catching depth is as solid as the Sooners have had in many years.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Hansen joked. “We have four catchers at practice. It’s really awesome to see. I’ve been teaching Jocelyn Erickson a lot of stuff I know and things to help her.”

While serving as a leader and mentor, Hansen also embraces the competition.

“It pushes me to not be complacent,” Hansen added. “I don’t take anything for granted. It’s another factor to keep pushing me to get better and better and better.”

The Sooners feature a roster with eight newcomers and four talented portal additions. As competitive as practice is, the Sooners seem primed to have another championship run behind one of the most talented rosters in college softball. A healthy Hansen is a major cog in the Sooner engine.

“Everybody makes it fun. The team chemistry is so fun to be around,” Hansen said. “There is no pressure in it. We have so much depth that everything is competitive… you could lose your spot in the lineup, your spot on the field. It’s so competitive, but nobody acts like it. Everyone has so much fun with each other so it’s impossible to not have fun with this team.”

Kinzie Hansen is healthy, happy and ready to roll. Her freshman season was cut short because of COVID, and injuries cost her a lot of her effectiveness during her junior season. During her only full, healthy season in a Sooner uniform, Hansen had career highs with a .438 batting average, 24 home runs and 66 runs batted in. Now, Hansen is ready for the challenge of bouncing back.

“I’m like a horse chomping at the bit… at the gate, ready to run. That’s how I feel right now,” Hansen said. “I’m going into this season knowing that I can do anything I put my mind to. That’s really it… this past summer, I went into it thinking I’m going to play hard and see what happens. I’m going into it with joy in my heart.”– 19SM