Gajewski Talks About Love for OSU and Job, Credits Players for Extension

OKLAHOMA CITY – The pre-tournament press conference at the Women’s College World Series on Wednesday was the first chance the media had to question Oklahoma State softball coach Kenny Gajewski since he received a hefty five-year extension to keep him as the Cowgirls coach. Gajewski didn’t want the question to come up, but it was going to. He is much more concerned about his Oklahoma State (46-12) team opening with Arizona (37-20) at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday night (June 2). I asked the question in a team concept, that it was his players that were highly responsible for him reported becoming the third highest paid softball coach in the Big 12, one of the top paid coaches in Division I softball, and the highest paid coach of a women’s program at Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma State Athletics

The Cowgirls have become a national power again under Gajewski.

“I don’t understand why this is getting so much attention,” Gajewski started his response. “It is because of them (he motioned to the players) and my staff. They are the ones who win. I’m just trying to drive the ship and keep them on path. I talked Chad (Weiberg) a couple of weeks back and he said, ‘let’s talk when the season is over.’ I’ve been extended almost every year that I’ve been here. I don’t know if it is because a couple of jobs are open, and my name seems to get circulated out there a lot. I love OSU and this is where I want to be. People are going to continue to call if we win.”

The speculation, and in this court, it was more than speculation as Pokes Report had heard that in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Texas A&M supporters were circulating Gajewski’s name to top high school softball prospects as the Aggies next head coach.

It didn’t hurt the rumor mill that Gajewski’s wife is a Texas A&M graduate. Gajewski apparently has an “orange heart.”

NCAA

from left, Chelsea Alexander, Sydney Pennington, Kelly Maxwell, Gajewski.

“It feels good. It’s nice, but there is something about my job that is different than a lot of jobs,” he said. “I get to be home (six-minute drive from his office) and I get to coach one of the top teams in the country.”

His players at the podium, Sydney Pennington, Kelly Maxwell, and Chelsea Alexander all smiled as Gajewski spoke of why he wants to be in Stillwater and at Oklahoma State.

“Like he said, his name is in those conversations a lot, but I think that speaks to him as a coach and the success on the field,” Cowgirls leftfielder Alexander said of Gajewski. “We know how lucky we are to have him. When we hear those things that he could go I think, no way, I don’t believe that until I see it. Everybody at OSU knows how lucky we are to have him as a man, his character, and as a coach.”

“When we start talking about all this stuff, Robert, I’m appreciative,” Gajewski added. “I want to be here. When Chad said, ‘we need to talk,’ I said we could wait, but they wanted to jump out in front of it again.”

This time it probably needed the jump. The Aggies aren’t discouraged easily.