North Oconee High School Softball Player Kendall Wells Named ITG Next Georgia Female Athlete of the Month for July 2023
Our ITG Next Georgia Female Athlete of the Month, presented by Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance, for July – as well as “One to Watch” for 2023 – is North Oconee softball player Kendall Wells. She was one of four nominations who were submitted for consideration as Athlete of the Month and “Ones to Watch,” and she certainly fit that bill as she enters her junior season.
Kendall was surprised and humbled upon learning she had won the award.
“It is a big honor to be voted on by others for this accomplishment, especially when I am surrounded by other great athletes on the list,” she told ITG Next.
Asked what she hopes to accomplish in her final two seasons at North Oconee, Wells said, “I want to help my team advance as far as we can through the state playoffs, all while still working hard and continuing to get better.”
Wells has been a two-year starter for the Titans, but she suffered a preseason injury that sidelined her for much of her sophomore year. Still, she was able to battle back and play the final 10 games, putting up some incredible numbers in that short stretch. She batted .652 with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs, and 12 RBI. She also scored 12 runs, earned 13 walks, and was 1-for-1 in stolen base attempts.
In her freshman season of 2021, Kendall played 32 games and finished 48-of-97 at the plate for a .495 batting average. She set a school record with 14 HRs in one season, while also driving in 48 runs. She had 2 doubles and 2 triples, scored 41 runs, and drew 26 walks, 21 of which were intentional. She was a perfect 19-for-19 in stolen base attempts. Wells’ performance earned her First Team All-State and Region Co-Player of the Year honors for the 2021 season.
North Oconee head softball coach Billy Dooley said Wells played catcher in 2021, then was moved to shortstop as he came back from her injury last season.
“She can play just about anywhere, but this next season she’ll play some third base and shortstop, as well as catcher,” Dooley said.
Dooley recalled the first time he saw Kendall play.
“She was about 9 or 10 years old,” he said. “I was coaching a T-ball softball team that her sister, Kourtney, played on. I saw Kendall hitting in the batting cages, and you could tell then that she knew what she was doing.”
The coach added that Kendall is one of the hardest-working players he’s ever coached, and that she also has a lot of “God-given ability to go along with that work ethic.”
Together, those two qualities has made the North Oconee standout one of the true rising softball stars in Georgia, and with that, college programs have taken notice.
“They really can’t start talking to her until September 1st of her junior year, but you can bet they already know who she is,” Dooley said. “She’ll be getting a lot of attention over these next couple of seasons.”
Kendall also plays for the Georgia Impact 18U Premier team, which is part of the Premier Girls Fastpitch national travel softball organization. The team is competing in the PGF Nationals Summer Tour, which includes a trip to California.
Extra Innings Softball ranks Kendall as the #3 overall player in the class of 2025. She also is a Top 5-rated national player by Extra Innings Softball.
Congratulations to North Oconee junior Kendall Wells, the ITG Next Georgia Female Athlete of the Month for July.
