Kendall Wells Ties NCAA Freshman HR Mark as Oklahoma Finishes off Sweep of Kentucky

NORMAN — Kendall Wells doesn't show any signs of slowing down.

The Oklahoma freshman catcher blasted her 30th home run of the season in the fourth inning of Saturday's 12-2 run-rule victory over Kentucky at Love's Field to finish off the series sweep.

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The home run tied the NCAA and program records for home runs in a season by a freshman.

Oklahoma's Lauren Chamberlain (2013) and Jocelyn Alo (2018) and Hawaii's Kelly Majam (2010) are the only other freshmen in NCAA history with 30 home runs.

Wells figures to blow that record out of the water and is only four home runs from tying Alo's program record for homers in a season and seven from tying the NCAA record of 37 set by Arizona's Laura Espinoza in 1995.

The third-ranked Sooners were already up 3-0 in the fourth when Wells dug in with runners on first and second with one out.

Wells left no doubt, blasting Abby Hammond's 2-1 pitch 261 feet out to right center to tie the mark.

"Super cool," Wells said. "Honestly didn't know until they said it out loud. I think it's cool, just keep working hard. We have a lot of season left."

Lauren, Jocy, @KendallWells__ .

Sooner freshmen to hit 30 homers 📈 pic.twitter.com/osL8tHiZ9h
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) April 4, 2026

Wells has now homered in five consecutive games. Alo holds the program record for consecutive games with a home run with seven, set March 7-26, 2021.

Plenty of freshmen find fast success, but as pitchers adjust to them, there are typically growing pains.

Maybe Wells experiences that at some point, but through her first 40 games, Wells has been able to avoid long slumps.

She hasn't gone more than three games without a home run so far.

"I enjoy watching our team talk with each other," Sooners coach Patty Gasso said. "So JT (Gasso) will come in, say his thing, he'll walk away and (Kasidi) Pickering is at the plate, looking at Ella (Parker) and mouthing something and she's mouthing back. And they have this kind of sign language-type stuff, and Kendall is right in the middle of it and she knows exactly what they're talking about. It's not like, 'What? I don't understand.' She knows, she hears it, she uses it. So that's, to me, a smart hitter is wanting to get as much knowledge as they can and they listen. They listen a lot to each other and I think it's really helpful."

Parker and Pickering also homered for the Sooners (38-3, 11-1 SEC), giving the team 144 on the season. Oklahoma is three away from tying 2025 Ohio State for fifth on the all-time single-season home run list.

The Sooners hold the national record with 161 in 2021.

Wells' achievements were far from the Sooners' only strong points Saturday.

Parker blasted a leadoff home run on the first pitch she saw in the second to start the scoring, Sydney Berzon threw four no-hit innings before giving way to Kierston Deal, freshman Kai Minor delivered yet another highlight moment, and Gabbie Garcia made several excellent defensive plays.

Before Wells' blast, Minor had the moment of the day when she delivered what appeared to be a routine single up the middle in the third.

But with Minor, one of a group of sensational freshmen for the Sooners, not much is routine.

Even after delivering the hard hit up the middle, the speedy center fielder never slowed, taking second base and turning what appeared to be routine into the remarkable with her third-inning double.

a DOUBLE up the middle 🤯@KaiMoney2025 is speed 🏎️ pic.twitter.com/JykaftPyhz
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) April 4, 2026

Minor also stole a base after a leadoff single in the first, her team-best 15th of the season. She finished 2-for-3.

Berzon (5-1) was excellent, striking out just one and walking one in her four innings, getting 10 groundouts and not allowing a ball out of the infield.

"It's extremely big for her to come in and do what she did and feel the confidence," Gasso said. "... Happy that she did what she did. Feel confident that we can use any of our pitchers now this weekend, all of them got to throw this weekend, so next weekend, we'll be able to continue to use them."

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Minor's third-inning double helped open the door for Oklahoma to add on, as Wells and Parker drew walks to load the bases before Isabela Emerling delivered a two-run single to put the Sooners up 3-0.

After Wells' home run made it 6-0 in the fourth, Emerling delivered another two-out hit to drive in another run.

Garcia's top defensive play came with two out in the fourth when she made a nice stop in the hole and fired to first to retire Karissa Hamilton to keep the no-hitter intact.

"I love, love, love offense but I love defense and that play was special," Gasso said. "I mean, she's a special athlete with a lot of range and an attitude like, 'You can't beat us. You can't beat me. You can't hit anything by me,' kind of attitude. And I think that has resonated."

The Wildcats (22-19, 1-14) scored two in the fifth off Deal after Peyton Plotts broke up the no-hitter with a double to right center before Reaghan Oney and Carly Sleeman delivered RBI singles.

The Sooners scored on a wild pitch to make it 8-2 in the bottom half, bringing Wells to the plate with a chance to not only break the record but end the game.

But with runners on second and third, Kentucky didn't give Wells anything to hit.

Pickering then blasted a 210-foot grand slam to left to end the game.

Oklahoma returns to action at 6 p.m. Friday against top-ranked Texas in Austin in the opener of the Sooners' biggest series of the season.