By: Diamond Disciples | The Soul of the Game Series
When Maya Jenkins, a five-star recruit out of California, arrived at Oklahoma, she brought more than her bat and glove. She carried the weight of expectations, a fractured sense of identity, and a secret battle with anxiety that had nearly ended her career before it began.
“I was the girl who smiled for the cameras,” Maya says now, “but behind it all, I was falling apart.”
She had every reason to succeed—speed, power, range—but somewhere along the journey, she had lost herself. Coaches had yelled. Pressure had mounted. Confidence had crumbled.
Then came Patty Gasso.
—
“You’re Not Here by Accident”
Their first meeting wasn’t in a locker room. It was in Gasso’s office, soft lighting, Bible on the shelf, framed quotes lining the walls. Maya expected film breakdowns. Instead, she was met with eye contact and four words that changed her life:
> “You’re not here by accident.”
Patty didn’t lead with stats or strategy. She led with presence. She asked Maya about her family. Her dreams. Her why.
“She saw me before I even believed in myself,” Maya recalls. “And that scared me—in the best way.”
—
️ Coaching the Whole Person
In the weeks that followed, Maya began to heal—not because of reps in the cage, but because of space to breathe. Gasso invited her to team devotions. Shared stories of failure. Preached purpose over perfection.
“There was this moment after practice,” Maya remembers, “where I missed an easy grounder and just froze. The old me would’ve shut down. But Coach Gasso just walked over, smiled, and said, ‘Grace is greater than game.’”
That wasn’t just a nice quote. That became Maya’s truth.
—
The Comeback
By mid-season, Maya wasn’t just playing again—she was thriving. Game-winning hits. Unshakable confidence. But more than that, she was free. Not defined by performance. Not chasing approval. But rooted.
When the Sooners won the conference title that year, Maya stood on the field with tears in her eyes. Not because of the ring—but because she knew she had found home.
—
Legacy in Motion
Today, Maya is a starter, a leader, and a mentor for incoming players who now walk the same halls with the same doubts she once had.
“Coach Gasso didn’t just make me a better player,” she says. “She gave me permission to become a better human being.”
—
Final Word: A Different Kind of Win
Behind every trophy Gasso’s Sooners hoist, there’s a story like Maya’s—quiet, sacred, often unseen.
Because for Patty Gasso, the real victorie
s aren’t etched in scoreboards.
> They’re written on hearts.
