Softball heart break as keilani ricketts husband divorce her to see …
When Keilani Ricketts boarded a plane bound for the United States a little over a year ago, she wondered if she was leaving behind not only Japan but also her professional softball career.
It was late 2021, and the powerful lefty had just finished pitching another season in Japan’s renowned pro league. But while overseas, she had discovered she was pregnant. She and husband, Sean Tumanuvao, would be having their first child in May 2022.
She played through the early months of her pregnancy, but when the former OU superstar finished the season and headed home to Norman, she wasn’t sure she’d ever play again.
“I didn’t want to announce a retirement or say that I was retiring just in case an opportunity came up where I wanted to play,” Ricketts said.
And such an opportunity did arise ― right in her own backyard.
Ricketts signed with the Oklahoma City Spark, the Women’s Professional Fastpitch team set to launch its inaugural season in June. While she is the sixth player and third former Sooner to ink with the Spark ― Jocelyn Alo and Lynnsie Elam are already on the roster ― Ricketts is the franchise’s first mom player.
Spark owner Tina Floyd hopes Ricketts isn’t the last.
