OU Wins National Championship

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OMAHA, Neb.  — Oklahoma defeated North Carolina 13-2 Monday night to win the program’s third national championship and first since 1994. The Sooners scored in five straight innings and tacked on four more runs in the eighth inning.

Kyle Branch went 3 for 4 with a home run and six RBI and Jaxon Willits reached in all five plate appearances, going 3 for 4 with a double, two walks and two RBI. LJ Mercurius (7-7) pitched 5.2 innings in relief and earned the win. Jackson Cleveland pitched the ninth inning and recorded three strikeouts to close the game.

After a scoreless first, the Sooners scored in five straight innings to break open a 9-1 lead.

Oklahoma scored first for the ninth straight game, plating two runs in the second inning. Second baseman Kyle Branch singled to right field to score right fielder Dasan Harris. First baseman Dayton Tockey, who reached on a one-out single and went to third on Branch’s base hit, scored on a wild pitch.

The biggest defensive play during the early part of the game, when OU led 2-0, came in the bottom of the second inning. With runners on first and second and two outs, UNC designated hitter Rom Kellis V lined a single to right field. Harris fielded the ball and fired a strike to Camden Johnson at third base in time for Johnson to tag out right fielder Carter French trying to reach from first before first baseman Erik Paulsen could reach home plate from second base.

Designated hitter Brendan Brock singled home shortstop Jaxon Willits in the third inning to make it 3-0. North Carolina made it 3-1 in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by second baseman Gavin Gallaher.

The Sooners broke open the game with three runs in a pivotal fourth inning, taking advantage of five walks. Catcher Deiten Lachance drew the fourth straight one-out walk to score Branch. Jaxon Willits then notched his third hit in three at bats, singling home center fielder Jason Walk and Johnson to make the score 6-1.

Dayton Tockey led off the fifth inning with his ninth home run of the season – his sixth of the postseason and first in Omaha. Branch singled home two more runs in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 9-1.

After the Tar Heels made it 9-2 with a run in the bottom of the seventh, Oklahoma responded with four more runs in the eighth. Harris, who also made a diving catch on the warning track in right field in the sixth inning, singled home left fielder Trey Gambill. Branch then launched a three-run home run to left field to make the score 13-2. It was Branch’s fourth home run of the season.

Jaxon Willits, who hit .500 (13 for 26) with five doubles and seven RBI in the College World Series, was named Most Outstanding Player.

Pitchers of Record

Win: LJ Mercurius (7-7)

Loss: Jackson Rose (5-1)

College World Series All-Tournament Team (Oklahoma Players)

• Jaxon Willits – Most Outstanding Player
• Deiten Lachance
• Jason Walk
• Dasan Harris

Statistical Snapshot

• Kyle Branch | 3-for-4, HR, 6 RBI
• Jaxon Willits | 3-for-4, 2B, 2 BB 2 RBI
• Dayton Tockey | 2-for-5, HR
• Brendan Brock | 2-for-3, 2 BB, RBI
• Dasan Harris | 2-for-5, RBI
• Nick Wesloski | 2.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K
• LJ Mercurius | 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K
• Jackson Cleveland | 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

Notes

• Oklahoma won the program’s third national championship (also won in 1951 and 1994).
• Oklahoma made its fourth appearance in the College World Series finals and second in the era of three-game series. OU is now 4-3 in CWS finals games and has won the national title in three of its four CWS finals appearances.
• The Sooners finished the season with a 43-23 record.
• Junior Jaxon Willits was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2026 NCAA Men’s College World Series. In six games, Willits batted .500 (13 of 26) with seven RBI, five doubles, a home run, two walks and six runs scored.
• In the NCAA Tournament, Oklahoma defeated the No. 2 (Georgia Tech, twice), No. 3 (Georgia, twice), No. 5 (North Carolina, twice), No. 7 (Alabama) and No. 15 (Kansas, twice) national seeds.
• This was the eighth all-time meeting between Oklahoma and North Carolina. The Sooners lead the series 5-3. All eight meetings have come in the postseason (prior to this CWS finals matchup, OU won twice in the 2010 Norman Regional and UNC won two of three games in the 2025 Chapel Hill Regional).
• Oklahoma hit two home runs Monday night and hit at least one home run in 12 of its final 13 games of the season (multiple home runs in 10 of those games). OU hit 47 home runs in its final 19 games, dating back to May 9 at Arkansas, after hitting 48 homers in its first 46 games.
  • Oklahoma’s 95 home runs this season were its most since hitting 105 in 2010.
• Oklahoma pitchers totaled 11 strikeouts tonight. The Sooners recorded double-digit strikeouts in five of six CWS games and in all three finals contests.
• OU batters drew eight walks Monday, the most in a game since May 31 in the Atlanta Regional vs. The Citadel.
  • Oklahoma drew five walks during its three-run fourth inning. The Sooners drew 10 walks in their first five CWS games entering Monday.
• Oklahoma scored first in nine straight games to end the season, dating back to the Atlanta Regional final at Georgia Tech on June 1. The Sooners scored two runs in the top of the second inning today.
• Sophomore Kyle Branch drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single through the right side of the infield in the second inning. It was his second hit of the CWS finals (both of his hits in the College World Series were in the finals).
  • Branch had three hits in the game, including a two-run single in the sixth inning and a three-run home run in the eighth inning. He finished with a career-high six RBI (previous high was three RBI).
  • Branch posted his eighth multi-RBI game of the season and just his second with at least three RBI.
  • All four of Branch’s hits in the College World Series produced runs (all four hits came in the finals).
• With three hits tonight, junior Jaxon Willits recorded 13 hits in the CWS, which is the most hits by an Oklahoma player in the College World Series. He had nine hits through OU’s first four games, tying the mark set by Rick Gutierrez in 1994 (also in four games) and surpassed it with a double in Game 2 on Sunday.
• Senior Dayton Tockey hit his ninth home run of the season to lead off the fifth inning. It was his sixth homer in the NCAA Tournament and first in the CWS.
• True freshman Nick Wesloski made his second College World Series start, marking the sixth CWS game and eighth straight contest in which the Sooners have started a true freshman on the mound. He pitched 2.1 innings and struck out three batters and allowed a run on five hits.
• Junior LJ Mercurius (7-7) earned the win in relief, pitching 5.2 innings with five strikeouts and allowing one run on three hits and no walks.
• Senior Jackson Cleveland closed the game in the ninth inning. He allowed a leadoff single, then struck out three straight batters, the last two looking.
• Since trailing 8-2 in the fourth inning of the first Atlanta Regional final game at Georgia Tech, OU outscored opponents 90-28.
• OU scored 118 runs on 156 hits in its 13 NCAA Tournament games.
• Walk extended his team-leading hitting streak to 15 games. Walk reached base in 23 straight games to end the season and Jaxon Willits finished with a 19-game reached base streak.