When Ailana Agbayani arrived on campus for her OU visit, she did not expect to fall in love right away.
Agbayani’s ambition when she entered the transfer portal after two years at BYU was to surround herself with softball’s greatest coaches and players. Her father, Benny Agbayani, a five-year Major League Baseball veteran most known for his time with the New York Mets, instilled in her a love of competition and a strong desire to succeed.
After meeting with Sooners head coach Patty Gasso and her staff, who have won four national titles in a row, Agbayani made her decision quickly, announcing it on Instagram on June 25.
“As a dad, me and my wife, we’re pretty excited,” Benny Agbayani told The Oklahoman. “It’s a hard thing to pass up because you’re playing for one of the greatest coaches in softball.”
Ailana Agbayani fills a critical gap in OU’s middle infield, where Avery Hodge was scheduled to start before moving to LSU.
Agbayani hit.424 with five home runs, a.534 on-base percentage, and a.594 slugging percentage as the Cougars’ starting shortstop last year. She also had a 5.78 ERA as a pitcher, with 17 strikeouts in 23 innings.
Agbayani had four hits, including two doubles, and two RBIs in a 9-4 victory over the Sooners on April 12. Agbayani, who was always looking to better her game, decided to alter things up with two years of eligibility remaining.
“It was a hard decision for her,” Benny said, “because coming out of high school, she was in the critical year when a lot of these athletes were entering their fifth and sixth years. There was nothing out there, and I believe after two years at BYU, she felt the need to try something different.”
The native of Mililani Mauka, Hawaii, is the Sooners’ most recent Hawaii softball recruit. Former OU starlet and NCAA career home run leader Jocelyn Alo, who is from Hauula, and Agbayani grew up together.
In fact, Agbayani was present in Hawaii when Alo shattered the NCAA home run record.
Benny claims Jocelyn opened the path for softball players in Hawaii. Nelly McEnroe-Marinas, a current Oklahoma infielder, is from Waianae, Hawaii.
“I’m very happy for her, she’s a freaking great player,” Alo exclaimed. “She is a stud. OU couldn’t keep her off the bases when they played each other. But, I mean, Hawaii girls are taking over Norman, so you better watch out. “She’s an excellent athlete.”
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‘That’s who she is’
Mike Stith got texts at different intervals throughout the night.
The texts were usually from Ailana Agbayani and said something like, “I’m on a flight and I’ll be coming in.”
Agbayani, like many former Sooners, played club ball with Stith’s OC Batbusters in Southern California. However, unlike her teammates, she had to put in a special effort to get dressed.
Despite living in Mililani, Agbayani traveled to the mainland nearly every weekend for several years to fight against the greatest opposition and improve her skill, which is similar to why she committed to OU.
“At a very young age, she would go to the airport and sit on standby,” Stith told me. “She’d come in with red eyes at times, about 6 a.m., but she’d sit in there and do her homework and everything else she needed to do while waiting for a flight when one became available.
“She came out frequently. She flew to Southern California for the majority of the opportunities.”
Stith was present when Agbayani excelled against the Sooners. Not only did her batting stats improve, but she also started at shortstop and faced OU batters in the pitching circle without warming up.
“It doesn’t bother her at all,” Stith explained. “The strain of the game doesn’t matter to her because she’s so motivated. So integrating into a program like OU with coach Gasso will only restrict her emphasis.
Agbayani worked her way up the Batbusters organization by shadowing former Sooners superstar Tiare Jennings. Stith noticed how Jennings guided Agbayani throughout her tenure with the organization, and how the two became closer.
Agbayani had admired Jennings since she was young. The four-time national champion infielder will remain with the program as a graduate assistant and rejoin with Agbayani.
“It’s very unique,” Stith said. “It’s something that’s special and those are two of the best I can tell you, that amongst all of my kids, their ability to communicate at a different level. Tiare will help Ailana a great deal. There’s going to be a good line of communication there.”
Benny Agbayani added: “It’s one of those decisions where, wow you’ve got your idol that’s going to be coaching you while you’re playing at OU. It’s just like when she was at the Batbusters. Tiare guided her and helped her a lot when she was young and now she gets to do it again.”
‘A blue-collar worker’
When Ailana returns to Hawaii, Benny continues to work out with her and coach her.
The former professional smashes hundreds of ground balls for his daughter to field, and Ailana is always asking for more.
“She keeps me young,” Benny explained. “She’s a blue-collar worker that works hard coming out of Hawaii and she just loves the game, loves competition and wants to win.”
Ailana Agbayani posed with the Sooners’ eight national championship trophies during her visit. She believes that her commitment is the next step on the program’s route to No. 9.
Agbayani joins sister Batbuster and Utah outfielder Abby Dayton, North Carolina catcher Isabela Emerling, and Campbell pitcher Isabella Smith as OU portal commits looking to go on where the program’s core seniors left off. The Sooners still need to fill one roster position, and it is believed to be an ace pitcher to replace Kelly Maxwell, the 2024 WCWS Most Outstanding Player.
“You go into how many times she flew out to Southern California on her own, and all the things that were required of her just to be able to compete at the level she did,” Stith said concerning Agbayani. “That’s who she is, and that’s what will make it distinctive. She is quite determined.”
Agbayani, the ultimate competitor, made his decision to commit to the Sooners without hesitation.
Like the endless flights to California, the Hawaii native arrived in Norman hoping to play with the greatest players and be mentored by the best coaches, and she departed feeling like OU offered her that opportunity.
“There have been coaches poaching and this and that and whatever,” Alo told the crowd. “But girls know where to go when they want to win. They want to get involved and continue to improve every day.
“And what better place than Norman, Oklahoma?”
