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OU Softball Reaches Incredible Milestone, Led by Freshman Kendall Wells

Well also homered in her first at-bat at Love's Field on Thursday.
Nicole Reitz|
Oklahoma catcher Kendall Wells (1) hits a home run during the home opener softball game between Oklahoma and Alabama State at Love’s Field in Norman Okla., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026.
Oklahoma catcher Kendall Wells (1) hits a home run during the home opener softball game between Oklahoma and Alabama State at Love’s Field in Norman Okla., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. | NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It’s no secret that the Oklahoma softball program has seen some of the best bats come and go throughout the years. 

Lauren Chamberlain broke the NCAA softball home run record in 2015 with 95 bombs. Jocelyn Alo came through 7 years later, surpassing Chamberlain with 122, and Tiare Jennings is a Women’s College World Series (WCWS) record-holder for RBIs (29) and home runs (5). 

That trio combines for 315 homers. 

Is it even possible for the home run record to be smashed once again?

Head coach Patty Gasso seems to think freshman Kendall Wells is on her way to being a cornerstone of the program. 

“Offensively, I’ve seen Jocelyn Alo. I’ve seen Lauren Chamberlain. This is something new, this is different. It is some of the most elite power I’ve ever seen from a young player, and she came in like that.”

Through 16 games, Wells has 12 home runs and 24 RBIs with a batting average of .373. The catcher from North Oconee High School produced 127 hits, 55 homers, 184 RBIs, 162 runs scored, and 62 stolen bases throughout her career. 

What makes Wells stand out from Chamberlain, Alo, and Jennings is that she came into this program already an elite hitter and didn’t need much teaching. It’s a breeze for hitting coach JT Gasso. 

“If you sat and watched her, you would never believe that she is a freshman,” Gasso said during the press conference. “She came in like that. It’s not like we had to build her into that. Now she is getting all the hows and whys from JT, which is making a lot of sense to her. Hitting has become very easy for her.” 

For reference, it took Alo 23 games to reach 10 home runs as a freshman, and Jennings, who is third on the all-time home run list, hit 27 homers total her rookie season. Wells is on pace to pass both.

It’s not just Wells who is holding together the lineup, either. This new wave of young Sooners is doing incredible things to the scoreboard. During Thursday night’s 32-0 win against Alabama State, OU was one of three teams to combine to score a total of 84 runs. 

Gabbie Garcia put up a homer with five RBIs, Wells went 2-for-3 with four runs, two homers, three RBIs, and Aliana Agbayani went 2-for-4 with three runs and three RBIs. 

Earlier in February, the bats were one run shy of breaking the program record for most runs scored in a 34-0 win over UTEP. The team has already surpassed 200 runs for the year, and it’s not even March. 

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Nicole Reitz
NICOLE REITZ

Nicole Reitz graduated from Indiana University Indianapolis with a degree in sports journalism in 2022 and has been writing about softball and baseball since 2018 .Her work has been published in various publications like Softball America, the Indianapolis Star, and SoxOn35th.

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