Ranked third and fourth in the NFCA and USA Softball preseason polls, respectively, the three-time defending Big 12 champion University of Oklahoma softball team opens up the 2015 season this weekend at the Oceanic Time Warner Paradise Classic hosted by Hawaii. Oklahoma is 31-13 all-time in season openers and has won four of its past five season openers.

The trip to Honolulu is just the second in program history. The Sooners also opened the 2009 season with a trip to Hawaii, going 4-1.

The Sooners will play five games beginning with a matchup against #25/RV DePaul on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. CT. The Sooners have a 221-181 (.550) all-time record against ranked teams, including a 6-4 mark against the No. 25 team. The teams last met in 2012 with OU winning, 18-1, in five innings in Fullerton, Calif. Then-freshman Lauren Chamberlain was 3-4 with five RBI, including a grand slam, while Georgia Casey went 3-4 with a double, two RBI and three runs scored.

The Sooners then take on St. Mary's for the first time since 1987 on Friday at 6:30 p.m. before facing the event's host, Hawaii, at 11:00 p.m. The tournament concludes Saturday with games to be determined by bracket play.

WHAT'S AT STAKE IN 2015

Oklahoma is looking to win a fourth straight Big 12 title. Last season, OU became the first team in league history to win three in a row.

In addition, the team is looking for a fifth straight trip to the WCWS. No team has done that since Arizona made six WCWS in a row from 2005-10.

A CLASS OF THEIR OWN

The 2015 campaign marks the final seasons for five Oklahoma seniors: Georgia Casey , Lauren Chamberlain , Callie Parsons , Shelby Pendley and Jessica Vest . Since they stepped on campus three years ago (Pendley transferred to OU as a sophomore in 2013), no team in the country has more wins or a better win percentage than the OU seniors.

Team Wins Losses Ties Win Pct. Oklahoma 162 27 0 .857 Florida 161 34 0 .826 Alabama 158 36 0 .814 Oregon 151 38 1 .797 Tennessee 150 38 0 .798

Best Winning Percentage Since 2012

Team Win Pct. Wins Losses Ties Oklahoma .857 162 27 0 Louisiana-Lafayette .826 149 31 1 Florida .826 161 34 0 Alabama .814 158 36 0 Arizona State .808 149 35 1

CHAMBERLAIN, PENDLEY 1-2 IN ACTIVE CAREER HR

Entering the 2015 season, OU seniors Lauren Chamberlain and Shelby Pendley ranked first and second nationally among active players in career home runs.

Player Team Fr. So. Jr. Sr. Total Lauren Chamberlain Oklahoma 30 30 12 N/A 72 Shelby Pendley Oklahoma 19 22 19 N/A 60 Lauren Haeger Florida 14 18 20 N/A 52 Renada Davis N.C. State 5 26 19 N/A 50 Megan Baltzell Longwood 9 30 10 N/A 49

Chamberlain and Pendley have also combined for more career HR than any other teammates in the nation.

Player (Total) Player (Total) Team Total Lauren Chamberlain (72) Shelby Pendley (60) Oklahoma 132 Stephany LaRosa (46) Ally Carda (35) UCLA 81 Kory Hayden (48) Morgan Noad (30) Coastal Carolina 78 Chelsea Goodacre (47) Kellie Fox (30) Arizona 77 Amber Freeman (41) Haley Steele (35) Arizona State 76

THREE SOONERS ON USA SOFTBALL TOP 50 LIST

Lauren Chamberlain , Shelby Pendley and Kelsey Stevens were each named to the Top 50 Watch List for the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award.

Oklahoma is one of five schools, and the only Big 12 team, to have at least three student-athletes on the list. Arizona led all schools with four selections. The Sooners on the list are looking to become the second player in OU history to win the award as former Sooner Keilani Ricketts was a two-time winner in 2012 and 2013.

SOONERS PICKED TO WIN BIG 12 AGAIN

For the third season in a row, and the sixth time in the last seven years, Oklahoma has topped the Big 12 Coaches' Preseason Poll. The Sooners received six of the seven first-place votes. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team.

The Sooners led their fellow Big 12 teams with 36 points, while Baylor received the seventh first-place vote and ranked second with 30 points. Texas was slotted third by the coaches with 27 points, followed by Oklahoma State (19), Kansas (17) and a tie between Texas Tech and Iowa State with nine points each.

OU CONTINUES RECORD STREAK IN NATIONAL POLLS

With a preseason ranking of No. 4 in the NFCA Preseason Poll, Oklahoma has now been ranked in all 290 polls since it was created in 1995. No other team can make that claim.

Oklahoma's No. 4 ranking is tied for the fourth-best preseason mark in school history. The only start that was better came when the Sooners were ranked No. 2 in 2014, 2013 and 2001. OU, which finished fifth in the final 2014 rankings, has now been ranked fifth or better in the preseason poll in each of the last four seasons. OU got one of the 29 first-place votes.

In the USA Softball poll, OU opened up at No. 3, marking the third season in a row it has been ranked in the top three to start the year.

OKLAHOMA TO BE SHOWCASED ON TV 13 TIMES

The University of Oklahoma softball team is scheduled to have 13 of its games televised during the 2015 season. Of those contests, seven are assigned to a national audience, while the other six will be shown regionally courtesy of Sooner Sports TV.

Specific networks for Sooner Sports TV games will be announced at a later date, as will ESPN3's NCAA Division I softball schedule. Other Oklahoma home games not currently scheduled to be televised may be streamed online at SoonerSports.TV, but dates have yet to be determined.

A LOOK AT THE 2015 SCHEDULE

In 2015, the Sooners are scheduled to face 13 teams that reached the postseason last year, including five that advanced to the Super Regionals and two of the other seven teams that made it to the WCWS along with OU. The schedule features eight teams ranked in the NFCA preseason poll and two more that were receiving votes.

EIGHT HIGH SCHOOLERS TO PLAY FOR OU IN 2016

Seven high school seniors have signed NLIs to play for the Sooners in 2016: outfielder Fale Aviu (Oceanside, Calif.), pitcher Jayden Chestnut (Mustang, Okla.), infielder Caleigh Clifton (Wayne, Okla.), pitcher Brittany Finney (Wichita, Kan.), infielder Shay Knighten (Buena Park, Calif.), infielder Kylie Lundberg (Lakewood, Calif.) and infielder Sydney Romero (San Diego, Calif.). In addition, outfielder Raegan Rogers (Blanchard, Okla.) has agreed to an enrollment commitment.

Among the signees, Romero was chosen as one of 17 athletes named to the USA Softball Junior Women's National Team, which will compete in the summer of 2015.