The Oklahoma City Spark play home games at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium — a fitting venue, given the future Hall of Fame caliber talent that makes up the club's inaugural roster. 

Featuring local college star and the NCAA all-time career home-run queen Jocelyn Alo, the Spark promise to make their case for the inaugural Women's Professional Fastpitch championship. 

Background

Officially announced on July 27, 2022 as the third franchise of WPF, the Oklahoma City Spark sprouted from local roots. 

Owners Tina and Robert Floyd are businesspeople in the state, and Tina championed Oklahoma's nurturing of softball as at the heart of the Spark's formation. 

"As the softball capital of the world," Tina Floyd said in the club's launch announcement. "I cannot dream of a better fit for a professional softball team than Oklahoma City."

The Oklahoma roots go further. 

The Spark's first commissioner, Lauren Chamberlain, set the NCAA home-run record during her standout career at the University of Oklahoma. 

And, fittingly, fellow Sooner Alo was the player to break that record, doing so as the star of Oklahoma's repeat national championship run in 2022. 

Alo's presence with the Spark was announced in November, establishing immediately credibility not only as a locally constructed franchise, but also declaring the Spark championship contenders before a WPF pitch was thrown. 

The queen will reign in OKC!👑🥎⚡️@78jocelyn_alo @wprofastpitch pic.twitter.com/NMR1mmCcFJ

— OKC Spark Softball (@okcityspark) November 3, 2022

Personnel

Alo has company in representing the Oklahoma amateur scene on the Spark's inaugural roster. 

Various generations of Sooners softball appear on the OKC lineup, including 2013 alumna Keilani Ricketts, a national player of the year in her time in Norman. 

After Oklahoma, Ricketts embarked on a pro career that included contributing to the Spark's current WPF counterpart, the USSSA Pride, winning championships in National Pro Fastpitch.  

Lynnsie Elam joined Alo on the 2021 and 2022 Women's College World Series-winning Oklahoma lineups, and this spring's draft brought 2023 Sooners into the Spark mix, with the addition of Haley Lee and Alex Storako. 

And it's not just Norman flavor in the OKC lineup. Oklahoma State products Chelsea Alexander and Rylee Bayless come together under the Spark banner, along with Tulsa Golden Hurricane standout Emily Watson. 

University of Arkansas graduate Chenise Delce — the 2022 SEC Pitcher of the Year and 2022 All-American — played prep softball at Carl Albert Hight School in Oklahoma City. 

Southmoore High School grad Sydney Sherrill, an All-American at Florida State, brings her outstanding defensive presence to the Spark infield. 

Combined with the bevy of local talent, Houston native and Pitt Panthers product Yvonne Whaley and former Atlantic Coast Conference counterpart Keely Rochard add to the team's dynamic. 

Rochard was a first-team All-American in 2022, producing a 1.89 ERA in 204 innings pitched for Virginia Tech. 

Draft Picks

Oklahoma City selected first in the 2023 WPF draft, taking OU's Alex Storako. 

The right-handed pitcher transferred into Oklahoma after four exceptional seasons at Michigan, in which she posted ERAs of 1.05 and 1.71 in 2021 and 2022. 

On Oklahoma's historically dominant 2023 squad, Storako worked 103 2/3 innings and posted a 1.15 ERA with 108 strikeouts. 

The club traded its second pick to Smash It Sports Vipers, then further built out its pitching staff with the third-round selection of Chenise Delce. 

The 2022 All-American and 2023 first-team All-SEC honoree won 40 games at Arkansas after transferring from Tulsa, where in her first two full seasons, she recorded ERAs of 1.63 and 1.56. 

In the fourth round, the Spark selected OU-via-Texas A&M standout Haley Lee. 

The prolific hitter Lee batted .370 in 2023 with 14 home runs and drove in 51 runs. 

South Carolina Gamecocks standout Donnie Gobourne joined OKC in the fifth round, and Yvonne Whaley went in the sixth round.