The Oklahoma Sooners are the 2026 Men’s College World Series champions, and the Willits family had three generations present to celebrate.
Jaxon Willits is the Sooners’ shortstop, his father, Reggie Willits, serves as associate head coach, and Jaxon’s daughter, Gracee, was in the stands. Jaxon and his wife, Abby Willits, welcomed Gracee to the world on March 30, 2026.
“It’s something you’ll never forget, it’s a God thing,” Reggie told Hurrdat Sports of winning the title with Jaxon. “I feel blessed just to be here and be a small part of the journey that he’s going through and watch him now that he’s a dad, he’s got a wife, and I’m just proud of the man he is probably as much or more than as the player he is. Just to watch him go about his business on a daily basis and how he prepares and how he works, but how he compartmentalizes — that and how good of a dad and husband he is, it’s been remarkable.”
Abby said Jaxon had some struggles early on, but Gracee’s birth changed the course of his season.
“When Gracee was born, his season wasn’t really going the best,” Abby said. “He would hit the ball really hard for outs, and that just seemed to be how it continued to go. Now that we’ve been here and we’ve kind of overcome it, and she gets to be here and experience his success, it’s been really awesome.”
Jaxon’s success carried into the MCWS. The junior helped lead the Sooners to their first baseball national title since 1994, and third overall.
Oklahoma beat the North Carolina Tar Heels 2-1 in the best-of-three championship series. The Sooners won game one 9-3 and game three 13-2. There only blemish came in a 6-2 loss in the second contest.
“Whether we were playing well or not, we believed that we had the talent in the room to go out and win a national championship,” Jaxon said in the postgame press conference. “I feel like we were able to just take it one pitch at a time. When things weren’t going our way, we took it one pitch at a time, and when things were going our way, we took it one pitch at a time. At the end of the day, we had success with it and we kind of got hot at the right time. Now, we’re national champions.”
Jaxon Willits takes a swing against North Carolina during the Championship Series. Photo by Brandon Tiedemann.
Jaxon went 6-for-13 at the plate with three doubles and three RBIs in the Championship Series, including a 3-for-4 performance in the clinching game on Monday. He broke the Sooners’ record for total hits in Omaha with 13 and earned Most Outstanding Player recognition.
“I’m just trying to soak it all in now,” Jaxon said. “Looking back on it, it’s something I’ll never forget. To be able to do it here with my dad, with everybody that we have on this squad, it was a special group of guys. We were a close group of guys, and to be able to go out there and have the success we had is something that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life. I’m going to look back on the last couple of weeks and just remember those memories forever.”
Jaxon’s mother, Amber Willits, said she’s enjoyed experiencing the season with her son.
“The journey has definitely been a ton of hard work, years and years of just putting in the work and spending the time and grinding every day, but it’s been a blast,” Amber said. “He’s been a Sooner since he was born. He has always loved OU baseball, and I’m going to make myself cry, but it’s been wonderful. It’s a blessing.”
The Sooners’ path to the championship wasn’t easy. SEC voters picked them to finish 14th in the preseason polls. They concluded the year in 11th place and beat several ranked teams on their way to the championship.
“Jaxon Willits getting the MVP was really fitting, because he’s one of our hardest workers, and he’s our best leader,” said Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson. “When you have your team with one of your best leaders as your hardest worker, and then he does that, I don’t have to say much. That’s called attitude, and that’s really what it’s about, having a great attitude.”
Johnson also hired coaches with positive attitudes. He added Reggie to the Sooner staff in 2022 and encouraged a family environment.
“We got to hire Reggie, and I said, ‘Hey Reggie, I want your kids to be around, I want everybody’s kids to be around,’” Johnson said. “That’s what it’s about, I want those people around. They care a lot about each other, because that’s what’s important to me. The Willits family is very important to me, there’s no doubt.”
Though he’s only worn the uniform for three years, Jaxon has been a Sooner for far longer than that. The shortstop grew up an Oklahoma fan and committed to the team in eighth grade.
“He did one camp, and Coach Johnson just said, ‘You’ve got to be a Sooner,’” Amber said. “He’s like, ‘I want nowhere else to go.’”
Seven years later, he’s helped add more hardware to the Oklahoma trophy case. The Sooners finished 43-23 this season, including 11-2 in the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s wonderful,” Amber said. “It’s so exciting. It’s so much fun, and every one of these boys has put in all the work, and all of them are fun to watch, whether they’re in the dugout or on the field. All the people in the stands, it’s so much fun, and I’m just so thankful we get to be here for the ride.”
