Kendall Wells' Offensive Start is 'Different,' Patty Gasso Says

The freshman catcher has shown rare power through her first 15 career games.

Oklahoma's Kendall Wells, shown rounding the bases during last week's Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, CA, has hit 10 home runs during her first 15 career games. | David Frerker-Imagn Images

NORMAN — The compliment is about the biggest one that could be given to a college softball player.

It came from the person most qualified to give it.

Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso has coached some of the sport’s most prolific hitters.

Gasso has coached three of the top four career home run hitters in the sports history — Jocelyn Alo, Tiare Jennings and Lauren Chamberlain.

The trio combined for 315 career home runs.

So when Gasso was asked about freshman catcher Kendall Wells’ performance through the first 15 games of her career, part of her answer was eye-popping.

“Offensively, I’ve seen Jocelyn Alo, I’ve seen Lauren Chamberlain — this is something new,” Gasso said. “This is different. It is some of the most elite power I’ve ever seen from a young player.”

Through 15 games, Wells has 10 home runs and 21 RBIs with a 1.457 OPS.

Gasso’s words on Wells are strong, but they’re born out by numbers.

Alo showed power from the beginning over her career, belting 30 home runs as a freshman in 2018 en route to hitting an NCAA career-record 122 home runs.

It took Alo 23 games to reach 10 home runs as a freshman.

Jennings is third on that career list, hitting 98 from 2021-24. Only Alo and Miami (Ohio)’s Karli Spaid (103) have more.

Jennings hit 27 home runs in 21 and was also productive from the start. 

She hit three home runs in her first career game, but it wasn’t until the 16th game of her career that Jennings reached double figures.

So Wells is outpacing three of the sport’s all-time greats.

Looking at the biggest other bats on this Sooners’ roster is even more eye-popping.

Gabbie Garcia needed 28 games to reach 10 homers as a freshman last season. Ella Parker needed 52 games in 2024. Kasidi Pickering didn’t hit her 10th home run until her 60th game that same season.

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The polished nature of Wells’ game was evidenced in the fall, when she excelled against her own pitching staff, and strengthened her reputation with those same pitchers she was hitting bombs against with her performance behind the plate.

“She came in like that,” Gasso said of Wells’ power stroke. “It’s not like we had to build her into that. She came in like that. Now, she is getting all the hows and whys from JT (Gasso) that is making a lot of sense to her. Hitting has become very easy to her.”

There are small things Wells needs to refine, Gasso said.

One of them is her approach with two strikes.

“She’s hard to strike out, but sometimes you can see her frustration get the best of her and she’ll waste that third swing,” Gasso said. “She learned a lot this weekend I thought. We faced some elite pitching, and so she got to see what that really looks like.”

Then there’s the way Wells handles things behind the plate.

“If you sat and watched her, you would never believe she was a freshman,” Gasso said. “She has some saltiness behind the plate. She’ll stand up and throw to third before an umpire has even called strike three. That kind of mentality, which I have to talk to her about that. Glad I said that, remind me I have to talk to her about slowing down with that. She has a good rapport with pitchers for her age.”

Wells said her confidence is ingrained in who she is.

“I think that’s just how I like to play the game,” Wells said. “I don’t like to get in my head too much so kind of that confidence is just what keeps me going and makes sure I keep my mentality right. 

“I know it comes across sometimes as maybe not the best of ways, but that’s just my way of not getting into my head too much or not letting the game control me. So that’s just the way I always play.”