Oklahoma Duo Kai Minor and Kendall Wells Named Finalists for Major Award

Teammates Kai Minor and Kendall Wells were honored for their outstanding contributions to the Sooners as freshmen on Thursday afternoon.

Kendall Wells and Kai Minor were named finalists for a major honor ahead of Oklahoma's Super Regionals matchup with Mississippi State. | Carson Field / Sooners on SI

On the eve of opening Super Regionals, two key Sooners were named finalists for a massive award.

Kai Minor and Kendall Wells were both announced as top three finalists for NFCA Freshman of the Year alongside Nebraska's Alexis Jensen.

The inclusion of Wells and Minor marks just the third time ever that two teammates were named in the top three. Oklahoma has had it happen once before, however, as both Tiare Jennings and Jayda Coleman were finalists for the award in 2021.

Throughout the season, both Minor and Wells have made their presence felt at the plate and in the field.

Minor leads the Sooners with a .446 batting average and has thrived as the Sooners' leadoff hitter. She is tied for 18th nationally with six triples, and Minor has also hit 17 doubles to pair with her 11 home runs and 45 RBIs. She has successfully stolen 17 bases on 22 attempts, and she has a perfect fielding percentage in the outfield.

Wells' 37 home runs tied Laura Espinoza's mark that stood as the single-season record in the sport since 1995. She only trails UCLA slugger Megan Grant, who enters the weekend with 40 home runs, and Wells is sixth in the country with 81 RBIs entering this weekend.

The catcher is batting .351 on the year and leads Oklahoma with a 1.508 OPS, and Wells has drawn a team-high 40 walks and is getting on base 47.8% of the time.

Behind the plate, Wells has also caught three runners trying to steal as she's served as OU's everyday catcher.

Wells was named SEC Freshman of the Year on May 8.

If either Minor or Wells wins the award, it would mark the fifth time one of Patty Gasso's Sooners would have captured the honor.

Pitcher Jordy Bahl, now Jordy Frahm, was the last Oklahoma player to win NFCA Freshman of the Year in 2022. She followed Jennings, who won the award in 2021.

Jocelyn Alo, the NCAA career home run leader, won Freshman of the Year in 2018 and left-hander Paige Parker was the first OU player to win the award in 2015.

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Oklahoma will be back in action this weekend with a spot in the 2026 Women's College World Series on the line.

The Sooners host Mississippi State in Super Regional action at Love's Field.

The weekend's first contest will begin at 12 p.m. on Friday, and Game 2 is scheduled for 12 p.m. on Saturday.

If a winner-take-all Game 3 is necessary, that game will play on Sunday.