And she says Kendall Wells is something different.
“Offensively, I’ve seen Jocelyn Alo. I’ve seen Lauren Chamberlain. This is something new, this is different,” the Oklahoma head coach said. “It is some of the most elite power I’ve ever seen from a young player and she came in like that.”
Wells, a right-handed-hitting freshman catcher from North Oconee High School in Bogart, Georgia, has 27 home runs in 38 games. She needs three more to tie the NCAA freshman record, shared by Alo, Chamberlain, and Hawaii’s Kelly Majam. With at least 18 regular season games remaining before any postseason play, the record is squarely in her sights.
The Numbers Are Historic
Look past the home run total and the full statistical picture is even more impressive. Wells is hitting .383 overall with 60 RBI and an OPS of 1.572. Her slugging percentage is 1.113. She has drawn 18 walks against just 14 strikeouts — a plate discipline profile that suggests she is not merely swinging for fences but actually seeing the ball and making decisions at a high level.
She is also doing it behind the plate. In 186 defensive chances — split between catcher and first base — Wells has not committed a single error in 2026.
She is having a freshman season that, by almost any measure, has no historical precedent at Oklahoma or in college softball broadly.
The Record Book at Stake
The NCAA freshman record of 30 home runs is jointly held by three names that carry enormous weight in college softball history. Jocelyn Alo hit 30 at Oklahoma in 2018 and went on to become the sport’s all-time home run leader. Lauren Chamberlain hit 30 at Oklahoma in 2012 and held the all-time record before Alo surpassed it. Kelly Majam hit 30 at Hawaii in 2010 and helped define the power surge in college softball during that era.
Wells is three away from joining all three of them at the top of the freshman record book — and she is doing it with roughly a third of the season still to play.
Beyond the freshman record, the all-time single-season NCAA record is 37, set by Arizona’s Laura Espinoza in 1995. At Wells’s current pace, that record — untouched for more than three decades — is theoretically within range if she maintains her production through the postseason.
Wells Refuses to Look at the Stats
Ask Wells about all of this and she deflects with a maturity that belies her freshman status.
“It’s a little surreal,” she said. “I don’t really look at the stats that much… Something I try to not focus on. If I try to hit home runs it’s not gonna happen. So I try to push that off to the side and not really worry about it.”
That mindset — focusing on process over outcome — may be part of what makes her exceptional. She arrived at Oklahoma rated as the No. 5 overall prospect in her class by Softball America. She delivered immediately, producing a home run in the season opener against Arizona State against a First Team All-American pitcher.
Since then, she has not stopped.
Oklahoma’s Broader Context
Wells does not exist in a vacuum. Oklahoma is 35-3, 8-1 in the SEC, and one of the most dominant offensive teams in the sport. The Sooners surpassed their own entire 2025 team home run total before the season was halfway through. They already shattered the SEC single-season home run record through 33 games with 123 team home runs.
Wells has been the centerpiece of that production, but the depth around her — Gabbie Garcia, Isabela Emerling, and the rest of the lineup — means pitchers cannot simply pitch around her all game. She sees hittable pitches, and when she sees them, she does not miss often.
What’s Next
Oklahoma hosts Missouri this week in SEC play. Wells needs four home runs to tie the NCAA freshman record and five to own it outright. Given that she homered in 20 of her first 33 games and is averaging roughly one home run every 1.4 games, history could arrive before April is done.
The record is in range. The player is ready. College softball is watching.
