Freshman phenom Kendall Wells chases history as the top-seeded Sooners launch their postseason quest in a high-stakes quarterfinal rematch against Georgia following a dominant conference title run
LEXINGTON, Ken. - The 2026 SEC regular season champion, the Oklahoma Sooners, begin their postseason journey in the SEC Tournament on Thursday, May 7, facing nine-seeded Georgia in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. CT.
Oklahoma swept Georgia in their final home series of the regular season with decisive scores of 10-2, 3-1, and 6-5. The Bulldogs advanced to Thursday’s matchup by defeating LSU in the SEC Tournament Second Round on Wednesday night, setting the stage for a rematch with the top-seeded Sooners.
Dominant Regular Season and Tournament History
OU enters the tournament as the clear No. 1 seed after claiming the 2026 SEC regular season championship with an impressive 20-4 conference record. This is just the Sooners’ second appearance in the SEC Tournament since joining the league ahead of the 2025 season.
In their debut last year, Oklahoma earned a share of the conference tournament title, defeating LSU in the quarterfinals and Arkansas in the semifinals. The 2025 championship game against Texas A&M was ultimately canceled due to weather, but the Sooners still claimed a piece of the crown.
The Sooners have been one of the most formidable teams in the country this season. They boast a 15-6 record against top-25 opponents, the second-most wins against ranked teams in the SEC, and lead the league with 16 road wins and the best road-winning percentage at .714.
Oklahoma played six series against top-25 teams, taking two out of three in five of them and sweeping No. 11/15 Georgia in the sixth. Notable road-series victories came at No. 17/18 Arizona, No. 20 LSU, and No. 4 Texas, while they also secured run-rule wins over No. 14/20 Duke, No. 23/RV Washington, and Georgia.
Ten of those 15 ranked wins occurred on the road or at neutral sites.Offensively, the Sooners have been unstoppable. They have won 32 games by run-rule, including nine in SEC play, and recorded double-digit scoring outputs in 27 games.
The team has tallied an impressive 566 runs through 55 games this season, compared to 454 runs in 61 games a year ago. The program record stands at 638 runs, set in 2021 over 60 games.
Standout Players and Freshman Phenoms
Kendall Wells has been nothing short of historic. The freshman sensation shattered the SEC single-season home run record on March 31 in just her 37th game.
She then broke the NCAA freshman single-season record on April 11 at Texas and surpassed Jocelyn Alo’s OU single-season mark (34) on April 24 against Georgia.
With 36 home runs currently, Wells needs just two more to claim the all-time NCAA single-season record.
The freshman class as a whole has been extraordinary. Lexi McDaniel, Kai Minor, Allyssa Parker, and Kendall Wells have combined for 65 home runs, 176 RBIs, 181 runs, and a collective .402 batting average.
Kai Minor leads the team with a .438 average and ranks among the top SEC freshmen in multiple categories. Allyssa Parker has 11 home runs in limited at-bats, while Lexi McDaniel has excelled as a pinch-hitter.Veterans and sophomores have also delivered.
Redshirt-senior Isabela Emerling nearly doubled her batting average from .212 to .390 this season and has a career-high 18 home runs. The Sooners are 25-1 in her career when she homers.
Sophomore shortstop Gabbie Garcia, a 2025 All-SEC Defensive selection, leads Division I shortstops with 66 RBIs and ranks second nationally among shortstops with 22 home runs.
She paces the team in multi-RBI games and continues to hit with power and consistency.In the circle, the sophomore duo of Audrey Lowry and Miali Guachino has been outstanding, combining for a 35-4 record.
Lowry leads the team in innings pitched and ERA, while Guachino boasts a stingy .216 opponents’ batting average and 99 strikeouts.
Freshman Berkley Zache has also contributed effectively with a 2.47 ERA.Team
Achievements and Momentum
Oklahoma has four players, Gabbie Garcia, Kai Minor, Ella Parker, and Kendall Wells, on the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 25 List, the most in the nation.
The team has posted a 22-game winning streak this season, one of ten such streaks of 20-plus games in head coach Patty Gasso’s illustrious career.
OU has seven players with double-digit home runs, three with 20 or more, and has won 10 straight three-game series since the end of the 2025 regular season.
The Sooners are 18-6 against teams with a top-25 RPI and rank among the national leaders in several categories, including having three players with 20-plus home runs.
Historically, Oklahoma stands at 61-19 in conference tournaments with 10 titles.With a victory on Thursday, the Sooners will advance to the SEC Tournament Semifinals on Friday, May 7, to face the winner of Ole Miss and Texas.
As one of the most complete and dominant teams in college softball, Oklahoma enters the tournament with championship aspirations and the talent to make another deep run.