OSU softball: Cowgirls pursuing WCWS-level sustainability

Coach Kenny Gajewski’s primary job is to oversee the present and future of Oklahoma State softball. But in his five seasons, he’s made sure to care for the past, too.

College softball players of today might not be old enough to remember it, but Oklahoma State has a proud history at the Women’s College World Series, which was scheduled to begin this week at Hall of Fame Stadium, until the coronavirus pandemic hit.

The Cowgirls have reached the WCWS eight times since the NCAA took over the event in 1982, including four appearances in six seasons from 1989-94. And OSU made the championship tournament of the AIAW, which preceded the NCAA as softball’s governing body, three times between 1977-81.

That’s the history Gajewski wants to integrate and emulate with his program.

The Cowgirls made the WCWS last season, winning their opening game before being eliminated. But one trip to the big show wasn’t what Gajewski set out in pursuit of. He wants to build a program that could continually add to the Cowgirls’ WCWS history.

“We wanted to become a sustainable program, and that’s getting to the Women’s College World Series on a routine basis,” Gajewski said. “That’s why we do what we do: to be there at the end and have a chance to playin that final game.”

Gajewski’s path to OSU is well-known, from his role as the groundskeeper during OU’s 2000 title run, to his assistant coaching job at Florida.

When he pursued the OSU job in 2015, he wasn’t looking at what the program had been the previous 15 years, when it made just one WCWS appearance.

“What made Oklahoma State so attractive to me was their history,” Gajewski said. “They had been that sustainable program for a period of time. That’s how we started. We said, ‘It can be done here. It has been done here.’

“I tried to take all these things from all the people I’ve been around, and then you find out how you want to do it your way.”

Gajewski’s appeal to the past has won over some alumni, including legendary pitcher and ESPN broadcaster Michele Smith. But Smith sees more than just the connection with history in Gajewski’s plan.

“I was extremely happy when he got the job,” Smith said. “I thought he was the right person for the job. He has a great personality. He’s a player’s coach, and he enables them to play free. He can lay down the law like any coach. I just love his passion for Oklahoma State.”

The gradual growth of the program has shown a track toward the sustainability Gajewski desires. After upsetting Florida State in the super-regional round to get to last year’s WCWS, OSU was off to a strong start against stout competition again this season.

All but one of the seniors have chosen to return for next year, including impactful graduate transfers like pitcher Carrie Eberle and first baseman Alysen Febrey.

The Cowgirls have added a couple more transfers to blend with their talented core players like Sydney Pennington, Kiley Naomi and others who have become the bedrock of OSU’s foundation.

“The foundational pieces for me are the right coaching staff, and then really good softball players who are really good people,” Gajewski said. “I don’t care how good of a softball coach you think you might be, you still have to have very talented athletes, and then those athletes have to be the type of people that have a service-type mentality, and are willing to serve each other..

“You need people who are totally invested in OSU and understand the mission here. It’s not about softball. It’s really not. These kids are so talented. It’s about them being able to get everything else in their lives in order, so they can play free and perform the way they want to.”

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