It's official — OU softball's three seniors will be back in 2021.
When the season was canceled in mid March, coach Patty Gasso said she expected Giselle Juarez, Nicole Mendes and Shannon Saile to return if the NCAA granted eligibility relief to spring sport student-athletes. That decision came Monday when the NCAA Division I Council approved a blanket waiver to grant all spring sport athletes an extra year of eligibility.
Juarez, Mendes and Saile made their return official on Thursday night. The announcement came from a joint statement they all tweeted out.
They started by pointing out the struggles of the 2020 season — Juarez was injured, Mendes was working her way back from an ACL injury and Saile was leading the pitching staff.