Clickbait. Every single concern he raises applies to every collegiate sport of any standing and every competitive program within them. To single OU out is silly, especially given OU had fewer transfers on its team than most of the other teams in the WCWS (as he finally acknowledges deep into the article).
Also, he seems to be wholly unaware that softball has always allowed transfers. The "transfer portal" doesn't even apply to softball.
As for NIL, again, what he states applies in every sport: Successful programs have more fans and therefore will receive more money in NIL support. If nothing changes, will that mean less parity? Very likely--in every single sport. Again, to single out OU in this context is pure clickbait.
I noted that site doesn't allow comments. I can see why.
Yeah, these articles aren't worth reading. Especially the ones where they claim the team is cheering too much.
This offseason was an embarrassment of riches in the portal, where OU basically picked whoever they wanted. This is the first time, though, and it's still predominantly a non-portal team (Bahl, Jennings, Coleman, Lyons, Hansen, May, Boone). They're also not transferring here for NIL money -- it's about an opportunity to train with the GOAT.
Storako has been great, and may have been the best pitcher in the B10, but she's third on this team. There's absolutely no reason to think this season would have been different with Bahl, May, and Deal.
Sanders was a great addition, but she was actually pretty bad this year after an incredible freshman season. I'm sure she'll rebound, but she wasn't the reason behind this title.
Lee was a key player this season, but I wonder how much better she was than if we still had Zaida Puni. It was really funny to me that Tennessee was picked by many as the most likely team to knock us off, and two of their best players (Puni, Donihoo) were transfers from us. Transfer portal works both ways, and it's funny how these clickbait authors always skip over that.
We've had some really good players transfer out, and many of the best coaches in the countries have ties here either as coaches (Florida, OSU, Oregon) or players (FSU). There is no question what university is contributing the most to college softball currently.