Alyssa Brito came to Oklahoma three years ago looking for guidance. She wanted to find people who could help her dive deeper into her faith, but it was not the main reason she chose the Sooners after spending a year at Oregon. Brito was joining the defending national champions and wanted to win.
Now, the third baseman is one of the leaders of Oklahoma’s Christ-centered softball program as the Sooners seek a fourth straight national championship. She found the spiritual guidance she was searching for, got baptized, and is passing along what she’s learned to her younger teammates.
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“Coming in, in the fall of that year when I transferred (2021), it was super hard because I just was really caught up in results, outcomes, like fitting in on this national championship team,” Brito told Sports Spectrum for a Spring 2023 magazine feature. “And then seeing where it took me and how He showed me to trust Him in my faith, that’s where I think I’ve seen the biggest growth for me.”
Brito started 50 games on the 2022 championship team and was a National Fastpitch Coaches Association first-team All-American in 2023. Her .412 batting average was second on the team, and she tied for the team lead with 17 home runs.
This season, Brito is hitting .406 with 18 home runs and 59 RBIs while leading the team in hits (71), OPS (1.324) and slugging percentage (.834). She went 3-for-3 with two home runs and a double in the first of Oklahoma’s two wins over Florida State in the Super Regionals.
𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐎 💣 𝐗 ✌️@alyss_33 crushes a two-run blast for her third multi-home run game of the season!#ChampionshipMindset pic.twitter.com/ZbOalRgFee
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) May 24, 2024
In addition to her contributions on the field, Brito has become one of the team’s spiritual leaders, as evidenced by her helping baptize pitcher Kierston Deal in March.
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“My trust in God has grown so much more and I feel like that’s shaped me as a person more now, knowing that I can just be who I am on the field and off the field,” she said in the magazine story. “And I just feel like getting the opportunity to be different and bring attention to the Kingdom and have conversations about Christ, I think that’s definitely made me feel more confident in my faith.”
On April 18, Brito and her boyfriend, Oklahoma football player Gavin Sawchuk, co-hosted a worship night for the school’s students called Ignite OU. She said in an Instagram post celebrating the event that she was “in awe” of the ways God had been at work.
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Just a couple years ago, Brito would have never seen herself playing such an important role in an event of that magnitude. She said on the Sports Spectrum Podcast in February that she used to watch teammates be bold in their faith and wonder how they did it.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought God would put me on a platform like this where people want to hear what I have to say through His work within me,” she said on the podcast. “I just never thought I could communicate that way. I never thought I could have the confidence to go on a stage and talk in front of people.”
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Before last season’s championship series against Florida State, a reporter asked Brito and teammates how they find joy with all the pressure they are under. They used the question as an opportunity to point to the Lord as their source of joy, and the video gained significant traction on social media.
“You can’t find fulfillment in an outcome, whether it’s good or bad,” Brito said during her answer. “And I think that’s why we’re so steady in what we do and our love for each other and our love for the game because we know this game is giving us the opportunity to glorify God. I just think once we figured that out and that was our purpose and everyone was all in with that, it’s really changed so much for us.”
The 54-6 Sooners are the No. 2 overall seed and face Duke at 2:30 p.m. ET on Thursday in their first game of the Women’s College World Series. As her final season of college softball winds down, Brito has tried to focus on the present instead of worrying about what’s next. That has not stopped her from thinking about her future though.
She is pursuing a master’s degree in counseling and said on the podcast she is seriously considering going into ministry.
“I’ve told so many people I want to go into ministry,” Brito said. “When I talk about Jesus, I feel so filled. Walking out of a room with other believers and just talking about Jesus … to me, that’s fellowship, and that’s a testament to who He is.”
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– SS PODCAST: OU softball’s Alyssa Brito on freedom in Christ, staying grounded
– OU softball completes historic 3-peat with eyes on Christ
– OU winning streak ends, team celebrates baptism of pitcher Kierston Deal
– OU softball’s Jayda Coleman finds contentment in Christ as Sooners seek 3-peat
– Saints QB Derek Carr ‘inspired’ by Oklahoma softball players’ faith in Christ
