Oklahoma Star Kendall Wells' Ability to Handle Attention and Expectations has Impressed Patty Gasso

The Sooners' star has continued to thrive despite eyeballs across the country tuning in throughout her historic season.

Oklahoma catcher Kendall Wells celebrates after hitting a home run in a Bedlam contest at Devon Park. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NORMAN — Oklahoma freshman Kendall Wells has stayed in the news for all the right reasons. 

The freshman star is shattering home run records, and on Wednesday, Wells was one of four Sooners named to the top 25 list for USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year award. 

Wells will be in the running for numerous awards as the season winds down, but OU coach Patty Gasso has been impressed with her catcher’s ability to stay focused throughout the year and continue to improve despite all of the national attention. 

“She's a young person managing a lot of attention right now, which is not the easiest and always the thing you love as a coach, so we try to just minimize it the best that we can,” Gasso said on Tuesday. 

Wells’ next home run will be her 37th in 2026, which will tie Laura Espinoza’s single-season NCAA record that was set in 1995.

She already has set OU’s program record for long balls in a single season, the SEC record and the NCAA freshman record, but Gasso is most excited about the growth that is still to come for Wells. 

“I think Kendall's just so natural,” Gasso said. “She still will tell you she has a lot of things to work on but she just her ease of the swing and understanding what she can hit and what's not good to hit, I think she's learning that as well. 

“She's gonna keep getting better. She's gonna keep getting better and that's the beauty of it.”

She's hitting .377 with a 1.599 OPS and a 1.113 slugging percentage. Wells has 79 RBIs to go with her 36 homers, and she's drawn 31 walks while striking out on 26 occasions.

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The No. 1 Sooners will close the regular season this weekend in College Station against No. 14 Texas A&M. 

OU needs just one win to repeat as SEC regular season champions and head into the SEC Tournament with the top overall seed. 

Oklahoma will also host a Regional in the NCAA Tournament at Love’s Field and will host a Super Regional should the Sooners make the second weekend of the tournament once the field is official following conference tournaments, so OU fans will have plenty of opportunity to cheer Wells on as she continues her historic season. 

“There's just no denying what she's doing right now,” Gasso said. “Just got to keep her feet on the ground, keep her humble and keep her swinging.”