'Elite' Freshman Kai Minor is Fueling the Offense as Oklahoma's Leadoff Hitter

NORMAN — Oklahoma might have the nation’s best tone-setter in freshman Kai Minor.

The OU outfielder has started things off with doubles in three of the Sooners’ four postseason games thus far, giving her team instant offense and energy from the first at-bat.

She’s settled into her role as the team’s leadoff hitter, and she inspired her teammates to follow her lead.

“I just think it kind of sets the tone and brings a presence and a fire,” OU shortstop Gabbie Garcia said on Sunday. “Obviously, you see Kai, she’s so fast and she’ll beat out doubles and stuff. She’s like flailing her arms out and screaming. I just think it gets everyone hyped and pumped up.”

Minor is a force in the box, on the basepaths and as a defender in center field.

She’s leading the team with a .446 batting average, and she has 17 doubles and three triples on the year to go with her 11 home runs. Minor has driven in 45 runs herself and scored 67 times, and she’s getting on base 47.9% of the time.

Had teammate Kendall Wells not tied Laura Espinoza’s mark of 37 home runs, Minor would have assuredly been SEC Freshman of the Year, and she’s a top 10 finalist for the NFCA Freshman of the Year.

“She is elite and she puts in the work and she listens to JT (Gasso),” teammate Nelly McEnroe-Marinas said in an appearance on the Franchise Morning Show. “She talks to JT all the time. She is just an out-of-this-world player, and I am so happy she is on our team.”

Patty Gasso said last month that Minor’s voice has steadily grown behind the scenes, but the move to the top spot of the lineup has been a natural transition for the freshman.

“(I’m) just staying loose and staying relaxed. Letting everything handle itself. Just trusting my training,” Minor said.

Her growth has been apparent to her teammates, too.

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“To be able to see her grow from the beginning of the season and just to see what she’s doing now is just literally so amazing,” McEnroe-Marinas said.

Minor will lead the way for the Sooners again this weekend as they battle Samantha Ricketts’ Mississippi State Bulldogs, and Garcia is ready to follow the freshman on Friday and Saturday (12 p.m.).

“For me, it gets me ready,” Garcia said. “I’m like, ‘OK, let’s go. We’re ready to go right now.’ It’s like going to war almost, and I think Kai has done an amazing job at setting that presence for us.”

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