Sooners Women's Basketball to Face UCLA on MLK Day In New Jersey

Oklahoma women’s basketball has the last piece of the puzzle solved for their 2026-27 season schedule.

The Sooners will face reigning national champion UCLA in the 2027 Coretta Scott King Classic on Jan. 18, 2027, at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Tip is set for 11 a.m. CT on FOX, with the game falling on Martin Luther King Jr. Day as part of an event built around the legacy and values of Coretta Scott King and the King family.

Oklahoma was already set to face UCLA on that date, however, until the announcement on Thursday, it was not known where the game would take place. This is a strong setting for a program that has spent the last several years trying to live on both the scoreboard and the bigger stage.

The Prudential Center is the home of the NHL's New Jersey Devils, the Seton Hall Pirates, and the NJIT Highlanders. The venue also previously housed the New Jersey Nets and New York Liberty.

Jennie Baranczyk sounded like she understood exactly what the invitation means.

“We’re excited and honored to be invited to play in the 2027 Coretta Scott King Classic in Newark,” Baranczyk said.

“The opportunity to represent Oklahoma on a national stage while honoring the legacy of the King family is incredibly special. This event embodies so much of what we believe in when it comes to leadership, education, service, and empowerment. We’re grateful to be part of an experience that uses the game of basketball to inspire, bring people together and make a lasting impact.”

That fits the way Baranczyk has talked about this program since she arrived. Oklahoma has not just been chasing wins. It has been trying to build a roster and a culture that can handle bigger environments. A nationally televised game against the defending national champions in Newark qualifies.

It is also a rematch with some leftover business. Oklahoma and UCLA met last season on Nov. 10 in Sacramento, and the Bruins won 73-59. That game already showed the gap Oklahoma was trying to close against one of the sport’s best teams. Getting UCLA again, this time on a holiday national platform, gives the Sooners another measuring stick and a chance to show whether the roster has closed any of that ground.

Dr. Bernice A. King, daughter of Coretta Scott King and CEO of The King Center, framed the larger purpose of the event beyond the box score.

“The Coretta Scott King Classic continues to bring my family’s enduring legacy into spaces where young people can see, experience, and embody the values my mother held so deeply,” she said.

“Through the power of women’s basketball, this event creates an opportunity to celebrate excellence while encouraging the next generation to lead with courage, purpose, and a commitment to community.”

That is why this announcement feels bigger than a standard non-conference add. Oklahoma is not just filling a date. It is stepping into an event designed to connect the sport to leadership and service while still putting two high-level programs across from each other.

The timing also works for where the Sooners sit entering 2026-27. Oklahoma is ranked No. 14 in The Athletic’s preseason top 15 after a 26-8 season that included a second straight Sweet Sixteen trip and a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance under Baranczyk. The program is no longer asking for respect from the outside. It is trying to keep stacking the kind of opportunities that ranked teams are supposed to take on.

The roster should be equipped for that standard too. Oklahoma returns seven players from last season, led by reigning ESPN National Freshman of the Year Aaliyah Chavez and FIBA 3x3 gold medalist Sahara Williams. Five more returners who played a year ago are still in the mix, and the Sooners added a seven-player newcomer group with three freshmen and four transfers. That is enough continuity to keep the identity intact and enough new pieces to change the margins.

For Baranczyk, this is another sign the program’s profile is still rising. For Oklahoma fans, it is a January date worth circling early. A network television window, a defending national champion, a rematch, and an event with actual weight behind it. That is a good combination.

The Sooners will have plenty of basketball to play before Newark. Games like this are still the ones that tell you whether a program is just winning at home or ready to travel into bigger rooms and look like it belongs.

UPDATED 2026-27 Oklahoma Women’s Basketball Schedule

Sunday, Oct. 25 - vs. Southern Nazarene - Norman - Exhibition

Monday, Nov. 2 - vs. North Carolina - Paris, France

Sunday, Nov. 8 - vs. Morgan State - Norman

Tuesday, Nov. 10 - vs. San Jose State - Norman

Friday, Nov. 13 - vs. Oral Roberts - Norman

Sunday, Nov. 15 - vs. Southern - Norman

Tuesday, Nov. 17 - vs. Texas Southern - Norman

Thursday, Nov. 19 - vs. Northwestern State - Norman

Monday, Nov. 23 - vs. Virginia - Jacksonville, Fla.

Tuesday, Nov. 24 - vs. Montana State - Jacksonville, Fla.

Thursday, Dec. 3 - at Syracuse - Syracuse, N.Y.

Saturday, Dec. 5 - vs. Michigan - Brooklyn, N.Y.

Wednesday, Dec. 9 - vs. Southern Illinois - Norman

Saturday, Dec. 12 - vs. Oklahoma State - Oklahoma City, Okla.

Monday, Dec. 21 - vs. Louisiana Monroe - Norman

Thursday, Dec. 31 - at Ole Miss - Oxford, Miss.

Sunday, Jan. 3 - vs. Missouri - Norman

Thursday, Jan. 7 - vs. Georgia - Norman

Sunday, Jan. 10 - at Tennessee - Knoxville, Tenn.

Thursday, Jan. 14 - at South Carolina - Columbia, S.C.

Monday, Jan. 18 - vs. UCLA - Newark, N.J.

Thursday, Jan. 21 - at Mississippi State - Starkville, Miss.

Sunday, Jan. 24 - vs. Kentucky - Norman

Thursday, Jan. 28 - vs. Vanderbilt - Norman

Sunday, Jan. 31 - at Texas A&M - College Station, Texas

Thursday, Feb. 4 - vs. Alabama - Norman

Monday, Feb. 8 - vs. South Carolina - Norman

Thursday, Feb. 11 - at Arkansas - Fayetteville, Ark.

Sunday, Feb. 14 - at Florida - Gainesville, Fla.

Sunday, Feb. 21 - vs. Auburn - Norman

Thursday, Feb. 25 - vs. Texas - Norman

Sunday, Feb. 28 - at LSU - Baton Rouge, La.