Lauren Espinoza hit 37 home runs for Arizona in 1995. For 31 years, no college softball player has matched that total. It is the most durable individual record in the sport.
Kendall Wells needs one more.
The Oklahoma freshman hit her 36th home run of the season Sunday in the No. 1 Sooners’ 3-1 victory over No. 11 Georgia at Love’s Field in Norman. It was another line-drive swing, another ball launching over the fence, another entry into what is becoming one of the most remarkable individual seasons in college softball history.
Wells is 36 home runs into a career that started in February. She is the only freshman in NCAA history to hit 31 home runs in a season — a mark she set on April 11 against Texas. Now she stands one swing away from becoming the only player in 31 years to reach 37.
The Record She’s Chasing
Espinoza’s 37-homer season in 1995 has been among the most celebrated power-hitting records in college sports for three decades. It predates much of the growth of the women’s college game, and it has survived the sport’s most dominant teams and sluggers — including multiple national championship rosters at Oklahoma, Alabama, and UCLA.
What Wells is doing is different not just in quantity but in context. She is a freshman, facing college pitching for the first time, on the nation’s No. 1 team, under maximum scrutiny. Every at-bat is documented. Every home run adds to the story. And yet she keeps hitting.
Oklahoma’s pitching staff has been equally exceptional. Miali Guachino threw a gem against Georgia Sunday, earning the win to improve to 13-1. Earlier this month, on April 22, Guachino combined with Kierston Deal and Berkley Zache for a staff no-hitter against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a 9-0 run-rule win. The Sooners tied the NCAA single-season team home run record (161) that same week.
What It Means for Oklahoma
Oklahoma enters Monday at 45-6 overall and 17-3 in SEC play, leading the conference standings by 1.5 games over Alabama. The Sooners have effectively clinched the top national seed in all but name, and their path to the Women’s College World Series — opening May 28 in Oklahoma City at Devon Park — looks as clear as anyone’s.
But the Wells record chase adds a layer of drama to the final weeks of the regular season that goes beyond wins and losses. If Wells breaks the record at home in Norman, the crowd will be the loudest the venue has seen all year. If she breaks it on the road, it becomes an away-crowd moment that replays will show for the next decade.
Oklahoma has five regular-season games remaining. Wells has shown no signs of slowing down.
What’s Next
Oklahoma continues its schedule this week with an eye toward finishing the regular season strong before the SEC Tournament begins May 5. For Wells, every at-bat is now a potential history-making moment. The 31-year-old all-time record is within reach — and college softball is holding its breath waiting to see if she gets there.
