With seniors Zach Schmit and Tyler Keltner both graduating, the Sooners were heading into calendar year 2025 with only one returning kicker on the roster in freshman Liam Evans.

However, they've bolstered their depth via the transfer portal with an addition from a school that's become quite familiar. Redshirt senior kicker Austin Welch has become the third former Kennesaw State Owl to transfer to Oklahoma this offseason, joining punter Jacob Ulrich and tight end Carson Kent.

Welch, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound Georgetown (Ky.) native, originally enrolled at Eastern Kentucky in 2021. He spent three years with the program, but didn't attempt a kick and ultimately elected to seek a transfer following the 2023 campaign. He landed at Kennesaw State and promptly won the kicking job, going 14-for-18 on field goal attempts with a long of 49 yards in 2024.

His accolades on the season included two C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week selections.

Welch has one year of eligibility remaining, and sources tell OUInsider.com that both he and Ulrich have been placed on full scholarship. Ulrich is currently the only punter on Oklahoma's roster, while Welch is set to battle with Evans — who made his lone extra-point attempt and didn't try a field goal in 2024 — in what promises to be an intriguing competition for the starting job at kicker.

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