Oklahoma won the 1994 national title and last reached the College World Series in '95.

The Sooners are ready for the hiatus to end.

OU has done a nice job the past few seasons. It played Rice in the '06 Houston Super Regional and accomplished enough in non-conference and Big 12 play last season to earn a national seed.

The Sooners fell just short of Omaha last season, and are using that as extra motivation this fall.

It's safe to say OU has a plethora of holes to fill with the departures of several key cogs both at the plate and on the mound. But the team has the right mindset.

Perhaps that will count for something.

Oklahoma's five fall keys

1. Build off last season -- The Sooners entered last season with high hopes and were expected to make an NCAA regional. However, we didn't believe they would finish the season with a national seed and an impressive 43-20 record. Sure, the Sooners fell short of reaching a super regional last season. But the '09 campaign was a success and they should enter fall workouts believing they accomplished something special last season. OU doesn't have several key players from last year's team, but the few returnees are motivated.

2. Rebuild the pitching staff -- Oklahoma finished last season with an unimpressive 5.09 ERA and must find a way to replace some of its best arms from that unit. OU must replce ace pitcher Andrew Doyle in addition to Garrett Richards, Antwonie Hubbard and Chase Anderson. Doyle was 8-4 with a 4.21 ERA in 92 innings last season. Richards was 9-4 with a 6.00 ERA in 75 innings, Hubbard had a 4.84 ERA in 35 1/3 innings and Anderson had a 4.97 ERA in 50 2/3 innings. The Sooners welcome back some talented arms, but still have some gaping holes to fill on the mound.

3. Rebuild the offense -- This is the biggest chore for the Sooners. OU finished last season with an impressive .317 batting average, but must replace five leading hitters in J.T. Wise, Jamie Johnson, Bryant Hernandez, Aaron Baker and Matt Haraughty. Wise, Johnson and Hernandez finished the '09 campaign with batting averages over .350. Meanwhile, Baker and Harughty were big-time power producers. OU may find a way to adequately replace these guys, but accomplishing that goal will be extremely difficult.

4. Figure out the weekend rotation -- It'll be tough for OU to establish consistency without a set weekend rotation. That's why assembling the weekend rotation is an important goal this fall. The Sooners lost a total of 38 starts from last year's team with the departures of Doyle, Hubbard and Richards. That's tough to overcome. Pitchers that must rise to the occasion this fall include Michael Rocha, Jeremy Erben, Ryan Duke and J.R. Robinson. OU also will have some newcomers to watch.

5. Rise to the occasion at the plate -- The Sooners have some tough holes to fill at the plate, but there's at least some hope with the return of a couple key hitters. The Sooners expect productive falls from Garrett Buechele, Casey Johnson and Chris Ellison. Buechele hit .353 with four homers and 40 RBIs last season, Johnson hit .307 with seven homers and 44 RBIs and Ellison hit .316 in 117 at bats. OU has a solid nucleus of hitters, but many others must rise to the occasion if this team wants to take another step forward next spring.