Skip Johnson: This CWS Run Belongs To All Of Oklahoma

OMAHA, Neb. - Oklahoma baseball head coach Skip Johnson met with the media ahead of the Men’s College World Series final against North Carolina, and his comments showed exactly why this program has come so far.

The Sooners are playing for a national championship this weekend, and Skip made it clear where his focus is.

“Yeah, really excited about the finals. There’s no doubt about that. These guys have been through it all. It’s really about our players.”

That’s Skip Johnson in a nutshell. Even with his team two wins away from a national title, he’s putting the spotlight where it belongs, on the players.

This group has battled through ups and downs all year. They got punched in the mouth in the SEC, responded when a lot of people counted them out, and now they’re in Omaha playing for it all.

He continued: “I need to talk about our coaches because they’ve done a great job preparing our guys to do this. We’ve been through a lot. I think Trey (Gambill) said it best yesterday. We’ve been hit in the mouth, played really good early in our year, and then we went through the SEC. The SEC really molded us to be prepared for where we’re at.”

That’s one of the best parts of this run. The SEC schedule beat them up at times, but it clearly hardened them.

Going through that gauntlet prepared them for the grind of the NCAA Tournament. They’ve already knocked off tough teams like Georgia Tech on the road and Kansas in a Super Regional. Those experiences are paying off now.

Skip also had kind words for the upcoming opponent and took time to reflect on the bigger picture: “We’re facing a good opponent with North Carolina. I’ve known Scott Forbes a long time. There’s a lot of similarities in our programs. The culture is really big in that program. There’s a lot of things. I can remember when we were out there as assistant coaches out there on the trail recruiting against each other. Really proud of our team, and really proud of our fan support. Like I said, I really believe that our school is a family owned business and I’m really excited about that, and want a lot of our fans to come up here, and really excited for these guys, to go watch these guys play, stay out of their way, and go let them do what they do. I’m really excited about it.”

I love that Skip called OU a “family owned business.” That’s exactly what it feels like right now.

From Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops showing up to other OU coaches and administrators being in Omaha, the support has been awesome.

And Skip is right, he wants fans to show up big in Omaha and create an incredible atmosphere without getting in the players’ way.

This feels like a full-circle moment for the program. Skip Johnson has built something special in Norman. The culture, the fight, and the family atmosphere are all evident. They weren’t supposed to be here after a rough regular season stretch, but they kept believing and kept grinding.

Now they get a chance to finish the story against a very good North Carolina team. The Tar Heels are well-coached and have talent, but this OU team is playing with house money and has that championship swagger right now.

Skip Johnson’s press conference comments showed humility, gratitude, and excitement all at once. He’s proud of his players, proud of his coaches, and proud of the fanbase. That kind of leadership is why this team has come this far.

This is a special moment going on in Omaha right now that you don’t want to miss. The players have earned this stage, and having that crimson crowd rocking should give them even more energy.

This has been a fun, unlikely, and inspiring run.

Now it’s time for the final chapter.