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Patty Gasso doesn't lean in on hyperbole.
When the legendary OU softball coach says things like "we're witnessing greatness" with freshman catcher Kendall Wells, it's best to listen up.
“Offensively, I’ve seen Jocelyn Alo, I’ve seen Lauren Chamberlain — this is something new,” Gasso said back in February. “It is some of the most elite power I’ve ever seen from a young player. and she came in like that. It’s not like we had to build her into that. She came in like that.
“Now she is getting all the how’s and why’s from (hitting coach) JT (Gasso) that is making a lot of sense to her. Hitting has become very easy to her.”
Gasso couldn't have been any more correct, and it shows on the 2026 USA TODAY Sports Network’s All-SEC team.
A panel of nine reporters who regularly cover the league selected Wells as the unanimous SEC Player of the Year.
REQUIRED READING: Kendall Wells is smashing records, redefining what a freshman can be for OU softball
Wells is hitting .367 with a school-record 36 home runs, 64 runs scored and 79 runs batted in. She enters the SEC Tournament — which gets underway Tuesday, May 5, in Lexington, Kentucky — just one homer away from tying the NCAA single-season record set by Arizona’s Laura Espinoza’s in 1995.
Three other Sooners join Wells on the team, including shortstop Gabbie Garcia and outfielders Ella Parker and Kai Minor.
The regular-season champion and top-ranked Sooners (48-7, 20-4 SEC) will face either eighth-seeded LSU or ninth-seeded Georgia on Thursday.
Alabama is heavily featured with Jocelyn Briski as SEC Pitcher of the Year and Patrick Murphy as SEC Coach of the Year.
Murphy led the Crimson Tide to a 47-6 record overall and 19-5 in league play.
Briski went 20-2 with a 1.46 earned-run average, striking out 167 batters in 129 ⅔ innings pitched.
Other award winners include Minor as SEC Freshman of the Year and Mississippi State pitcher Peja Goold as SEC Newcomer of the Year.
SEC softball tournament bracket: Full TV schedule, seedings for 2026 championship
*-Unanimous selection
Voters: Jenni Carlson, The Oklahoman; Mikey DiLullo, Lafayette Daily Advertiser; Cora Hall, Knoxville News Sentinel; Amelia Hurley, Tuscaloosa News; Joe Mussatto, The Oklahoman; Jeff Patterson, The Oklahoman; Noah Ram, Gainesville Sun; Colton Sulley, The Oklahoman; Sara Tidwell, Athens Banner-Herald
Jeff Patterson is the sports editor for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jeff? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @jeffpattOKC. Support Jeff's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: USA TODAY Sports Network 2026 All-SEC softball awards
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When the legendary OU softball coach says things like "we're witnessing greatness" with freshman catcher Kendall Wells, it's best to listen up.
“Offensively, I’ve seen Jocelyn Alo, I’ve seen Lauren Chamberlain — this is something new,” Gasso said back in February. “It is some of the most elite power I’ve ever seen from a young player. and she came in like that. It’s not like we had to build her into that. She came in like that.
“Now she is getting all the how’s and why’s from (hitting coach) JT (Gasso) that is making a lot of sense to her. Hitting has become very easy to her.”
Gasso couldn't have been any more correct, and it shows on the 2026 USA TODAY Sports Network’s All-SEC team.
A panel of nine reporters who regularly cover the league selected Wells as the unanimous SEC Player of the Year.
REQUIRED READING: Kendall Wells is smashing records, redefining what a freshman can be for OU softball
Wells is hitting .367 with a school-record 36 home runs, 64 runs scored and 79 runs batted in. She enters the SEC Tournament — which gets underway Tuesday, May 5, in Lexington, Kentucky — just one homer away from tying the NCAA single-season record set by Arizona’s Laura Espinoza’s in 1995.
Three other Sooners join Wells on the team, including shortstop Gabbie Garcia and outfielders Ella Parker and Kai Minor.
The regular-season champion and top-ranked Sooners (48-7, 20-4 SEC) will face either eighth-seeded LSU or ninth-seeded Georgia on Thursday.
Alabama is heavily featured with Jocelyn Briski as SEC Pitcher of the Year and Patrick Murphy as SEC Coach of the Year.
Murphy led the Crimson Tide to a 47-6 record overall and 19-5 in league play.
Briski went 20-2 with a 1.46 earned-run average, striking out 167 batters in 129 ⅔ innings pitched.
Other award winners include Minor as SEC Freshman of the Year and Mississippi State pitcher Peja Goold as SEC Newcomer of the Year.
SEC softball tournament bracket: Full TV schedule, seedings for 2026 championship
USA TODAY Sports Network All-SEC softball team
- Catcher: Kendall Wells, Oklahoma-*
- First base: Katie Stewart, Texas
- Second base: Keirstin Roose, Georgia
- Shortstop: Gabbie Garcia, Oklahoma-*
- Third base: Ella McDowell, Arkansas
- Outfield: Taylor Shumaker, Florida
- Outfield: Ella Parker, Oklahoma
- Outfield: Kai Minor, Oklahoma
- Designated player: Mya Perez, Texas A&M
- Pitcher: Jocelyn Briski, Alabama-*
- Pitcher: Karlyn Pickens, Tennessee
- Pitcher: Keagan Rothrock, Florida
- Coach of the Year: Patrick Murphy, Alabama
- Player of the Year: Kendall Wells, Oklahoma
- Pitcher of the Year: Jocelyn Briski, Alabama
- Freshman on the Year: Kai Minor, Oklahoma
- Newcomer of the Year: Peja Goold, Mississippi State
*-Unanimous selection
Voters: Jenni Carlson, The Oklahoman; Mikey DiLullo, Lafayette Daily Advertiser; Cora Hall, Knoxville News Sentinel; Amelia Hurley, Tuscaloosa News; Joe Mussatto, The Oklahoman; Jeff Patterson, The Oklahoman; Noah Ram, Gainesville Sun; Colton Sulley, The Oklahoman; Sara Tidwell, Athens Banner-Herald
Jeff Patterson is the sports editor for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jeff? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @jeffpattOKC. Support Jeff's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: USA TODAY Sports Network 2026 All-SEC softball awards
Continue reading...
