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DJ Gasso leaving Razorbacks to become Tulsa’s head coach
Winning big comes with a price.
For Courtney Deifel and the Arkansas softball program, that bill is coming due before the offseason’s even had time to settle and it starts with losing hitting coach DJ Gasso.
Reports surfaced Thursday that Gasso is set to be named the new head coach at Tulsa, departing Fayetteville after playing a central role in the Razorbacks’ first-ever trip to the Women’s College World Series.
It’s the kind of problem that comes with building something special. The Hogs built exactly that this past season.
Gasso’s name carries serious weight in the softball world. He’s a legacy coach and has been around national championship teams. Deifel probably wanted that around and he apparently was a big key.
He’s the son of Patty Gasso, the Oklahoma legend who won eight national championships and stands as one of the most celebrated coaches the sport has ever produced.
Brother JT and father Jim are also in coaching, making the Gasso name synonymous with the game at a lofty level. It’s never a bad sign for a coach do be surrounded by assistants with a winning pedigree.
Before joining that family coaching tree, DJ played college baseball at Bradley University, Hutchinson Community College and Central Oklahoma. When he turned to coaching, he made stops at Utah before landing in Fayetteville, where his reputation grew fast.
Over three seasons with Arkansas, Gasso helped turn the Razorbacks into one of the nation’s most dangerous offenses.
The Hogs set multiple program records under his watch, none bigger than this past season’s school-record 26 run-rule victories. The Hogs could hit … really hit.
He also helped develop some of the program’s best individual talent, including 2025 National Player of the Year Bri Ellis, an All-American who thrived in his system.
For Tulsa, landing someone with Gasso’s SEC-level experience and offensive track record is a significant hire. He arrives with proven credentials and a last name that carries instant credibility throughout college softball.
For Deifel, it means heading into the offseason with a key vacancy to fill on a staff that just reached the sport’s biggest stage. That’s the reality of reaching the Women’s College World Series.
That usually attracts the attention for job openings and the people who helped build it don’t always stay.
Deifel probably knew that. She’d likely take it again if it helps get the Hogs to Oklahoma City.
McElvain earns NCBWA Stopper of Year Award finalist nod
Ethan McElvain didn’t need much time to make himself one of the most dependable arms in the SEC.
The Arkansas left-hander is now getting national recognition to prove it.
The Razorbacks’ junior reliever has been named one of 14 finalists for the 21st annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, which goes to the nation’s best relief pitcher.
He’s one of three SEC pitchers on the list, sharing the finalist group with Georgia’s Caden Aoki, Texas’ Sam Cozart and Texas A&M’s Clayton Freshcorn.
McElvain’s numbers this year were tough to ignore. He went 6-0 with a 1.03 ERA across 19 relief appearances, covering 35.0 innings.
He struck out 52 batters while opponents hit just .163 against him. In those 35 frames, he gave up only 21 hits and 10 walks and just four total runs.
That kind of efficiency earned him All-SEC recognition from the league’s 16 head coaches, a testament to how consistently he shut down opposing lineups throughout the regular season.
Two outings in particular stood out down the stretch. On May 15 at Kentucky, McElvain punched out a season-high seven batters over three scoreless innings of relief.
On May 23 in the SEC Tournament against Auburn, he went a season-long 4.1 innings without allowing a run while striking out six more.
His final outing of the year came under different circumstances.
McElvain made a start against Kansas on May 31 in the NCAA Lawrence Regional, giving up four runs in 3.1 innings before the Hogs’ postseason run came to a close.
That start nudged his season ERA from 1.03 to 1.88 and his strikeout total from 52 to 55 across 38.1 total innings.
Even with that final outing factored in, his body of work over the full season puts him firmly in contention for the award.
The winner will be announced June 12 during a news conference at the College World Series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.
Arkansas knows that stage well. Kevin Kopps captured this same award during his dominant 2021 season with the Razorbacks, when he put together one of the most celebrated relief campaigns in college baseball history.
McElvain’s path through this season looked nothing like Kopps’ legendary run, but the junior has carved out his own identity in the Fayetteville bullpen.
A 6-0 record with a sub-2.00 ERA and opponents hitting under .165 against you tends to get attention and it clearly caught the eye of the NCBWA’s voters.
Whether he wins the award or not, the recognition confirms what Arkansas fans have watched all year that McElvain has been one of the most reliable relievers in the country.
The Hogs will find out if the voters agree when Omaha hands down its decision in just over a week.
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