Oklahoma reportedly approves extension, raise for baseball coach Skip Johnson

Oklahoma locked up its head baseball coach on Thursday. The Board of Regents approved a new contract for Skip Johnson, and it includes a pay raise.

Johnson’s new deal goes through 2026 and he’ll make $750,000 this season — a $220,000 increase, according to the Tulsa World’s Eric Bailey. The Sooners made it to the national championship this year, where they fell to Ole Miss, and Johnson’s pay raise is a reward for that accomplishment.

Oklahoma went 45-24 overall in 2022, including a 15-9 record in Big 12 play. The Sooners defeated Texas to win the conference championship before rattling off their run to the College World Series title game.

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It was part of a huge year for Oklahoma athletics. Oklahoma softball won the Women’s College World Series over Texas — the Sooners’ second straight title and the sixth of Patty Gasso’s tenure in Norman. In fact, despite Johnson’s raise, he’ll make $900,000 less than Gasso this year, according to D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers. That puts the Sooners softball team’s success into perspective, although Johnson looks to have something special on the baseball side, as well.

In fact, Johnson acknowledged the possibility of winning both the CWS and WCWS.

“Well, that’s what University of Oklahoma is known about. There’s only one. We talk about that, and Patty has done a great job,” Johnson said. “She reminds me of Coach Garrido, and just being around her and her presence has been incredible.”

“If we get the opportunity to do the same thing, we’re here. If it happens, that’s great, If it doesn’t happen, what are we going to do, go fishing? That’s the way I look at it. Go recruiting.”

After the season, leading hitter Tanner Tredaway was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft and home run leader Peyton Graham headed to the Detroit Tigers. But another big name also left the program after the season when Max McGwire — son of Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals legend Mark McGwire — entered the transfer portal in June, On3’s Matt Zenitz reported.