College Softball's Home Run Race Will Spill Over Into Oklahoma's Postseason Run

The Sooners and the Bruins enter the postseason chasing each other after making history in the regular season.

Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso high-fives catcher Kendall Wells after she hit a home run at Love's Field. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2026 home run race will spill deep into the postseason. 

Both Oklahoma and UCLA have surpassed the 2021 Sooners, who hit 161 home runs, and this year’s OU squad will enter the SEC Tournament on level terms with the Bruins. 

UCLA hit four long balls on Sunday to bring their total for the year to 173, which is the exact same as Oklahoma left College Station with. 

The Sooners captured the top overall seed in the SEC Tournament with their pair of victories against Texas A&M to secure two byes in Lexington. OU will next be in action on Thursday night against either 9-seed Georgia or 8-seed LSU. 

UCLA will also begin its conference tournament on Thursday. 

The 3-seeded Bruins will meet the winner of 11-seed Penn State and 6-seed Northwestern on Thursday at 6 p.m.

The maximum number of games either the Sooners or the Bruins could play this week is three, as both teams will start in the quarterfinals of their respective conference tournaments. 

The team home run record isn’t the only race that will spill over into the postseason. 

OU catcher Kendall Wells failed to hit a home run for the first time in an SEC series over the weekend against Texas A&M, though she wasn’t given much opportunity. 

Wells was walked six times across the three games, which was often a decision made by the Aggies to pitch to Kasidi Pickering behind Wells as opposed to a strategy to deny her of the home run record. 

As was the case, Wells enters the postseason sitting on 36 home runs, which is one shy of Laura Espinoza’s single-season record that the former Arizona star set in 1995.

Both of UCLA’s standout sluggers are looming behind Wells. 

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Megan Grant clubbed 35 home runs during the regular season for the Bruins, and teammate Jordan Woolery enters the postseason with 33 long balls to her name. 

Postseason stats count toward NCAA records, so the trio of hitters will all have chances to pass Espinoza both in their respective conference tournaments and in the NCAA Tournament. 

Both teams have all but locked up hosting spots for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, and barring a major shock on Selection Sunday, both teams have put themselves in line to host a potential Super Regional should they advance through regional play.