OU baseball roundup: John Spikerman participating in MLB draft combine, Ryan Lambert throwing gas in summer ball (2024)

Coach Skip Johnson’s Oklahoma baseball squad made a historic run in 2024, winning the Big 12 regular season championship for the first time in program history and hosting an NCAA regional at L. Dale Mitchell Park for the first time since 2010.

The Sooners were eliminated from the postseason sooner than they’d hoped as Connecticut won the Norman regional and moved on to face Florida State in a Tallahassee Super Regional. Florida State would ultimately win that matchup and advance to the College World Series in Omaha, which is what OU had been hoping to do for the second time in three years.

Instead, Oklahoma’s players are honing their craft in summer leagues across the country while the OU coaching staff has hit the recruiting trail. The Southeastern Conference, which OU will enter on July 1, doesn’t wait for anybody. It’s unequivocally the best conference in college baseball and is only getting better with the additions of the Sooners and Longhorns. With those two included, 13 of the 16 teams in the new SEC made the NCAA Tournament in 2024.

All eyes have turned to the offseason as the 2025 squad begins to take shape. Who will stick around from the 2024 team? Who looks like they’re poised for a significant leap next year? And who are the new faces Johnson will bring in to further improve the roster? Here’s an early look at the latest summer happenings for OU baseball:

Spikerman auditions at MLB combine

Oklahoma center fielder John Spikerman is participating in the 2024 MLB Draft Combine, which started Tuesday and runs through Friday at Chase Field in Phoenix.

Spikerman was the only OU player invited to the combine, meaning in theory, he’s the only Sooner with remaining eligibility who’s likely to be drafted high enough that the money offered him could potentially entice him to sign, instead of going back to school.

Spikerman delivered a strong 2024 campaign despite missing 19 games in the middle of the season with a hamate injury. He batted .367 with 12 doubles, four triples, three home runs and 32 RBIs in the 42 games he did play.

If Spikerman were to forgo his final season at OU and begin his professional career, there would be an entirely new outfield trio for the Sooners in 2025, as Kendall Pettis and Bryce Madron are both out of eligibility.

The Sooners are positioned to handle that if it becomes reality. They bring back Jason Walk who was a freshman revelation for OU this spring, stepping in while Spikerman was injured and batting .281 across 33 starts and 42 games. Oklahoma also returns Carter Frederick, who batted .343 in 13 games before breaking his thumb and missing the rest of the season.

Rocco Garza-Gongora is an outfield option if he doesn’t end up starting at first base. And a name to know is Dasan Harris, who only appeared in six games as a freshman, but has a chance to make a big jump this summer as he plays for the Ridgefield Raptors of the West Coast League.

Still, in an ideal world, Spikerman returns as a spark plug in the lineup and a leader in the locker room. Time will tell if one more year of college baseball is in his future. He’s currently No. 128 of 200 on MLB.com’s list of top 2024 draft prospects.

Lambert lighting it up

Right-handed reliever Ryan Lambert also appears to be a flight risk with the way he’s lighting up radar guns as the closer for the West Virginia Black Bears of the MLB Draft League.

Lambert was named the draft league’s pitcher of the week for June 10-16 as he threw three hitless innings and recorded five strikeouts and two saves in that span. In his outing last Sunday, he threw the fastest pitch in draft league history, clocked at 100.4 miles per hour.

It’s looking more and more like OU could lose Lambert earlier than anticipated. In 2024, Lambert registered a 2.57 ERA with 19 strikeouts and 12 walks in 21 innings after transferring to Oklahoma from Missouri State.

Carmichael coming back an All-American

One key player who is definitely returning for OU in 2025 is designated hitter Easton Carmichael, who was named a third team All-American by the National College Baseball Writers Association last week.

Carmichael started 60 of Oklahoma’s 61 games in 2024 and batted .366 with 19 doubles, five triples, seven home runs to go with team highs of 93 total hits and 64 RBIs.

He was also an All-Big 12 first team selection after leading the league in hits (52), RBIs (39) and triples (4) while batting .406 in conference play.

He’s the 67th All-American in program history, the first since 2022, and he’s certainly the kind of impact bat and vocal leader OU’s coaching staff will be glad to have back next season.

Big summer for Witherspoon Bros.

Twin brothers and fireballing right-handers Kyson and Malachi Witherspoon will also return to OU for the 2025 season. They were already important arms for the Sooners in 2024 but could be even more front and center next spring.

With that in mind, the Witherspoon twins are taking advantage of all their opportunities for development this summer. Both have been invited to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team training camp next week in Cary, North Carolina, where they will hone their skills with and against some of the best non-draft-eligible players in the country.

The brothers are also playing for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Kyson made his debut with the team on Monday, pitching four innings of one-run ball and striking out six.

After transferring to OU from Northwest Florida State College, both Witherspoons were integral members of Johnson’s pitching rotations this past season.

Kyson began the year in the bullpen but transitioned to the starting rotation and finished with an 8-3 record and a 3.71 ERA. He racked up 90 strikeouts to 40 walks in 80 innings.

Malachi settled in to a late-inning relief role and ended the year with a 2-2 record, a 5.64 ERA and a team-leading five saves. He struck out 29 and walked 10 in 22 ⅓ innings.

OU’s portal progress

According to D1 Baseball’s transfer tracker, 11 Sooners from the 2024 roster have entered the transfer portal.

Pitchers: Jace Miner (Wichita State), Brad Pruett, Gray Thomas, Myles Meyer, David Dean, Mason Strong, Ty Zahradnik

Position players: Isaiah Lane, Patrick Engskov, Dakota Howard, Houston Russell

So far, OU has landed just one transfer itself, but it’s an interesting one in ex-Sam Houston State reliever Logan Hewitt.

Hewitt registered a 2-2 record and 4.25 ERA in 48 ⅔ innings this season, striking out 55 and walking just 19 out of the Bearkat bullpen. He notably hurled four shutout innings to earn the save in Sam Houston State’s season-opening victory over Oklahoma State.

Perhaps Hewitt could be a candidate to move into the starting rotation for OU in 2025. The Sooners were successful with a similar move in 2024 as they plucked former Bearkat closer Braden Davis from the portal and turned the fiery lefty into a stud Friday night starter.

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