Oklahoma's Kendall Wells Wins National Award

 Kendall Wells continues to rack up awards after an historic freshman season.

The Oklahoma catcher was named the winner of the Johnny Bench Award, recognizing the top catcher in college softball.

Wells is the first softball player to earn the honor as a freshman and the second Sooners catcher to earn the award, following Kinzie Hansen. Hansen won the award in 2023.

The award, announced jointly by Major League Baseball, the Cincinnati Reds and Johnny Bench.

The award will be presented July 7 during the Johnny Bench Awards Luncheon at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.

Wells hit .358 with 70 home runs, 39 home runs, 88 RBIs and a 1.028 slugging percentage this season as a freshman.

She set an NCAA freshman record for home runs and broke Jocelyn Alo's single-season program record in the category. She also had a .993 fielding percentage and allowed just three stolen bases all season.

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Wells had six multi-home run games and her RBI total was the second-most for a freshman in program history and the third-most overall in program history.

Wells hit a game-winning two-run home run in the sixth inning of the Sooners' season-opening win over Arizona State on Feb. 5.

The Bogart, Ga., product hit two home runs in the Sooners' Super Regional opener against Mississippi State, driving in a season-high six runs. She only went more than three games between home runs once.

The award was created in 2000 by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission, and in 2019 was expanded and permanently relocated to Cincinnati.

Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey won the baseball award. High school catchers from Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia are also honored at the ceremony.

Bench, a Binger, Okla., native, was a 14-time all-star who played the entirety of his career with the Reds.

Wells was previously named SEC Player of the Year, National Fastpitch Coachers Association Freshman of the Year and Diamon/NFCA Catcher of the Year. She was also named first-team All-American by the NFCA and first-team All-SEC as well as being a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 10 Finalists.

Wells joined Jessica Shults as the only catcher in program history to earn the Diamond/NFCA Catcher of the Year Award.

Wells helped the Sooners set a program record with 187 home runs this season.