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Oklahoma's Kendall Wells Wins National Award

The freshman catcher set a program record with 39 home runs.
Ryan Aber|
Oklahoma catcher Kendall Wells
Oklahoma catcher Kendall Wells | Carson Field / Sooners On SI

NORMAN — Kendall Wells continues to rack up awards after an historic freshman season.

The Oklahoma catcher was named the winner of the Johnny Bench Award, recognizing the top catcher in college softball.

Wells is the first softball player to earn the honor as a freshman and the second Sooners catcher to earn the award, following Kinzie Hansen. Hansen won the award in 2023.

The award, announced jointly by Major League Baseball, the Cincinnati Reds and Johnny Bench.

The award will be presented July 7 during the Johnny Bench Awards Luncheon at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.

Wells hit .358 with 70 home runs, 39 home runs, 88 RBIs and a 1.028 slugging percentage this season as a freshman.

She set an NCAA freshman record for home runs and broke Jocelyn Alo's single-season program record in the category. She also had a .993 fielding percentage and allowed just three stolen bases all season.

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Wells had six multi-home run games and her RBI total was the second-most for a freshman in program history and the third-most overall in program history.

Wells hit a game-winning two-run home run in the sixth inning of the Sooners' season-opening win over Arizona State on Feb. 5.

The Bogart, Ga., product hit two home runs in the Sooners' Super Regional opener against Mississippi State, driving in a season-high six runs. She only went more than three games between home runs once.

The award was created in 2000 by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission, and in 2019 was expanded and permanently relocated to Cincinnati.

Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey won the baseball award. High school catchers from Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia are also honored at the ceremony.

Bench, a Binger, Okla., native, was a 14-time all-star who played the entirety of his career with the Reds.

Wells was previously named SEC Player of the Year, National Fastpitch Coachers Association Freshman of the Year and Diamon/NFCA Catcher of the Year. She was also named first-team All-American by the NFCA and first-team All-SEC as well as being a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 10 Finalists.

Wells joined Jessica Shults as the only catcher in program history to earn the Diamond/NFCA Catcher of the Year Award.

Wells helped the Sooners set a program record with 187 home runs this season.

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Ryan Aber
RYAN ABER

Ryan Aber has been covering Oklahoma football for more than a decade continuously and since 1999 overall. Ryan was the OU beat writer for The Oklahoman from 2013-2025, covering the transition from Bob Stoops to Lincoln Riley to Brent Venables. He covered OU men's basketball's run to the Final Four in 2016 and numerous national championships for the Sooners' women's gymnastics and softball programs. Prior to taking on the Sooners beat, Ryan covered high schools, the Oklahoma City RedHawks and Oklahoma City Barons for the newspaper from 2006-13. He spent two seasons covering Arkansas football for the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas before returning to his hometown of Oklahoma City. Ryan also worked at the Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and the Muskogee Phoenix. At the Phoenix, he covered OU's national championship run in 2000. Ryan is a graduate of Putnam City North High School in Oklahoma City and Northeastern State University in Tahlequah.

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