NORMAN — Oklahoma freshmen Kendall Wells and Kai Minor have been among the best players in college softball this season.

So it’s no surprise that the pair are both included on the NFCA Freshman of the Year top 10 list.

Wells is one home run away from tying the NCAA single-season home run record. She sits at 36 home runs entering the SEC Tournament.

Top-ranked Oklahoma (48-7) opens the tournament against Georgia at approximately 7 p.m. Thursday. The game will be braodcast on the SEC Network.

Wells is hitting .367 with 79 RBIs and 64 runs scored.

She broke the NCAA record for home runs by a freshman with her 31st home run April 11 at Texas, then broke Jocelyn Alo‘s program record with her 35th home run April 24 vs. Georgia.

Sooners coach Patty Gasso has also praised Wells’ defense at catcher.

“Her hustle is at another level,” Gasso said. “… If you watch the quickness that she picks up bunts, I mean, she is jumping out. She is making some phenomenal defensive plays, and I care as much about that as I do about the way she’s hitting the ball.”

Minor is hitting .438, best among OU’s regulars. She leads the team with 71 hits, and has 13 doubles, six triples and eight home runs. She’s also stolen 17 bases.

She’s also been a plus defender, with no errors and an assist in 56 chances in centerfield.

In last weekend’s series win at Texas A&M, Minor had an RBI triple to break a late tie in the Sooners’ 4-3 win to clinch a share of the SEC regular-season title and then hit a leadoff home run in the series finale to help them win the title outright.

Gasso has called her the team’s tone setter at the top of the order.

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Three finalists will be announced May 20, with the winner named May 26 ahead of the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

Four Sooners have won NFCA Freshman of the Year honors since the award was introduced in 2014.

Paige Parker was the first OU winner in 2015, followed by Jocelyn Alo in 2018, Tiare Jennings in 2021 and Jordy Bahl in 2022.

Florida’s Taylor Shumaker won the award last year.

Minor and Wells are the ninth and 10th Sooners to be on the top 10 list with the most recent being Ella Parker in 2024.

EDMOND, OK − An 18-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday, May 6, in connection with a mass shooting that left one woman dead and 22 others injured at an “unsanctioned party” by an Oklahoma lake, police said.

Jaylan Davis, of Oklahoma City, was arrested on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon in response to the shooting, according to police. Gunfire erupted during a nighttime party on May 3 at Arcadia Lake near the Scissortail Campground in Edmond, a suburb of north Oklahoma City.

During a news conference on May 6, Edmond Police Chief J.D. Younger said the initial charge against Davis was in the process of being upgraded to felony murder after an 18-year-old woman died from injuries sustained during the shooting. Police identified her as Avianna Smith-Gray.

Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna confirmed in a news release that Davis will be charged with felony murder in the first degree over the shooting death “at the unsanctioned gathering.” His bond had been set at $1 million on a complaint of assault and battery with a deadly weapon.

Investigators believe the incident began with a “disturbance” between two people attending the gathering and escalated into an altercation between rival gang members, Younger said. Authorities also believe that there is at least one more suspect in the shooting.

“During the altercation, multiple subjects produced firearms and discharged in excess of 80 rounds, striking numerous individuals,” Younger said at the news conference.

What happened in the Oklahoma party shooting?

The shooting took place shortly after 9 p.m. local time on May 3 at Arcadia Lake, according to police. Officers were already responding to an 8:51 p.m. call on May 3 of loud music at a party at the lake when the shooting occurred, Younger said.

A total of 23 victims had gunfire-related injuries, including six “juveniles as young as 15 years of age,” according to the police chief.

Police previously said the incident occurred during an “unsanctioned party that began after dark and was advertised across multiple social media platforms, drawing a large crowd of young adults from across the metro area.” The party was not a permitted or reserved gathering, according to police.

Authorities had received multiple 911 calls reporting shots fired and responding officers located multiple people with injuries “ranging in severity,” police previously reported.

A person of interest in the shooting told investigators that Davis was “the primary aggressor,” a police detective said in an arrest affidavit. The person of interest said Davis was a member of the North Highland Piru gang and had recently gotten into a fight with “a known member of Hoover,” according to the affidavit.

The person “advised that this fight caused havoc between Jaylan and the Hoover gang members in Oklahoma City,” the affidavit states. The person also said a shooting victim, Daviion Wyckoff, told him in a phone call that Davis, also known as 3zzy, “arrived at the party and started shooting,” according to the affidavit.

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Police previously identified suspect in shooting as member of a gang

In a May 4 search of the suspect’s home, police found ammunition that was the same brand as spent casings recovered from the crime scene, according to the affidavit. His mother said he had left on May 3 to attend a party at Lake Hefner with two of his friends, the affidavit states.

Davis has been arrested before, including after drive-by shootings in Oklahoma City in 2023 and 2024, court records show. Oklahoma City police described him in a 2024 court affidavit as a member of the North Highland Park Blood gang.

He has been prosecuted in Oklahoma County District Court both as a juvenile and as a youthful offender, the court records show. A March 27 “treatment and service plan” filed in court called for him to “explore positive alternatives to living a gang lifestyle.”

He turned himself in on the morning of May 6 to the U.S. Marshals Service, officials said. He was taken to the Edmond Police Department and was arrested.

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Victim remembered as a ‘loving’ and ‘caring’ person

Police had confirmed on May 5 that “an 18-year-old young woman has passed away from injuries sustained in the Arcadia Lake shooting.” The chief medical examiner confirmed her body was being examined on May 6.

“Our thoughts are with her loved ones, as well as all those affected by this tragic incident,” police said in a statement on Facebook.

The victim was identified by police and on a GoFundMe page as Smith-Gray. On the GoFundMe page, Smith-Gray’s sister described her as a “loving” and “caring” person.

“She was good with kids doesn’t matter the age they all just happen to love her, she loved to dance, do hair, sing & so much more,” the online fundraiser states. “My sister was so talented a very good athlete and she was so so smart.”

“Avianna was so full of life and loved spending time with her family, friends, her boyfriend,” Smith-Gray’s sister wrote on the GoFundMe page. “She was 18 years old, just graduated and was waiting to walk that stage!”

The Oklahoma Sooners look to build upon the best recruiting class they’ve had in the Brent Venables era with another offer in the 2027 recruiting class. This time, the Sooners join the pursuit for three-star wide receiver Taurean Rawlins.

Rawlins, out of Sandy Springs, a suburb of Atlanta, has seen his recruitment take off this offseason, in particular in the last month. He received his first offer from Boise State in January and, in the last couple of weeks, has received offers from Florida State, Miami, Nebraska, Ohio State, Georgia, and now Oklahoma. He’s also received offers from South Carolina, Mississippi State, Kansas, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, and West Virginia.

Currently ranked No. 475 in the On3 Industry Rankings, Rawlins is likely to see a rise in the rankings over the next six months ahead of the early signing period.

Rawlins has elite speed and can create big plays every time he touches the ball. He’s a good route runner with excellent hands. He fights through tackles to gain yards after the catch. He’s a shifty player who is able to make players miss in the open field.