Oklahoma State and Kenny Gajewski Agree To Contract Extension

(Oklahoma State athletics media relations contributed to this article)

STILLWATER – Huge news out of Stillwater Saturday afternoon as Oklahoma State and head softball coach Kenny Gajewski have agreed to a contract extension that will keep Gajewski in Stillwater through the 2027 season.

This news comes after the Cowgirls clinched their third-straight trip to the Women’s College World Series with a two-game sweep of Clemson in the Stillwater Super Regional.

"Coach Gajewski has built Cowgirl Softball into a perennial national contender", OSU Athletic Director Chad Weiberg said. "He has established Stillwater as a destination for elite softball players and model student-athletes. Consistent leadership is important to build a championship program the right way. Kenny wants to continue what he has started here and there is no one better to do so. We look forward to him leading OSU Softball for a long time.”

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Another he NCAA Super Regional title and trip to OKC and the Women’s College World Series.

Gajewski entered his seventh season at OSU this past spring and in that time the program’s produced 11 All-Americans, 29 all-region players and 32 All-Big 12 honorees. There have also been 80 academic All-Big 12, eight All-District and five Academic All-American honorees. The program has also seen a Big 12 Player of the Year in Vanessa Shippy in 2016 and 2018, a Big 12 Pitcher of the Year in 2021 with Carrie Eberle and Co-Big 12 Pitcher of the Year in 2022 with Kelly Maxwell.

Gajewski-led staffs have twice been named the NFCA Midwest Coaching Staff of the Year, receiving the honor in 2017 and 2019.

A storyline that’s been lingering for the past month has been Texas A&M moving on from its long-time softball coach, Jo Evans. There have been some Aggie boosters bragging for the past month that Kenny Gajewski was going to be the next head coach at A&M.

Well, Chad Weiberg, along with President Kayse Shrum and the Board of Regents, have officially taken care of that problem and secured a huge win for Oklahoma State over a powerhouse SEC program.

The next step for Cowgirl softball is one that’s been talked about extensively for the past several months: updates to Cowgirl Stadium and ultimately a new stadium. The official capacity of Cowgirl Stadium is set at 750 but has been expanded to over 1,300 with the outfield decks and standing room.

The capacity record was set on Friday evening of 1,384 for game two between the Cowgirls and Clemson.

However, with the success of Cowgirl softball, which includes a postseason berth every season since Gajewski’s arrival in Stillwater, hosting three NCAA Regionals, three NCAA Super Regionals, three consecutive trips to the Women’s College World Series and the program’s first tournament championship of the Big 12 era, it’s imperative that OSU drastically improve Cowgirl Stadium until the funds have been raised for a new stadium worthy of the program’s success.

Gajewski has also recently built a house in Stillwater, which is currently getting a pool installed, and there are some extenuating circumstances giving Gajewski reason to stay and have a long and successful career at Oklahoma State.

"My family and I are grateful for the opportunity to continue leading the Cowgirl Softball program because from the moment we arrived in Stillwater, we knew this was home," Gajewski said. "There is a shared vision between Chad Weiberg, Dr. Kayse Shrum and myself and this is another step toward showing the national audience that softball is important here at Oklahoma State."