Missouri ace Paige Lowary announced on Twitter that she will be transferring to Oklahoma to play softball.

Lowary finished this spring, her sophomore season, with a 25-8 record and a 3.25 ERA for the Tigers, who were 42-16 in Southeastern Conference. The Tigers fell just short of the Women's College World Series, losing in the Ann Arbor Super Regional to No. 2 Michigan. The program is undergoing an investigation from the school's Title IX office due to allegations of verbal abuse of players by head coach Ehren Earleywine.

Oklahoma returns Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player Paige Parker, who just completed her sophomore season in the circle. Parker tied the school record this spring with 38 wins, and finished the season with a 1.64 ERA. However, there's less certainty behind her.

OU loses veteran pitcher Kelsey Stevens to graduation this offseason, and freshman Brittney Finney announced earlier this summer that she is transferring to Ole Miss. That left just Parker and Jayden Chestnut as the only pitchers on the roster.

Now the bullpen might be getting a little crowded. In addition to Lowary, the Sooners have two incoming pitchers as part of the 2016 recruiting class, Mariah Lopez and Melanie Olmos. At one point, FloSoftball had Lopez as the No. 1 recruit in the country.

OU is the presumptive preseason No. 1 after winning the WCWS title despite fielding a lineup of mostly underclassmen. With the Sooners setting a school record with a 31 straight wins and having to replace just two starters, there's a sense the program could be bound for a fourth national championship next spring. Adding the ace of a top 15 team should only fuel those expectations.

John McKelvey

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jmckelvey@normantranscript.com

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