Alysen Febrey has Become the Face of the Program
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State softball coach Kenny Gajewski is high on his staff and their ability to evaluate and find high school talent. Ask Gajewski and he will brag about their recruiting Chyenne Factor and the offensive and defensive prowess that the Yukon High School grad brings to the table. Gajewski will tell you that Moore product Karli Petty has more potential than any player on his roster. However, Gajewski is stout at picking up players on the rebound. The NCAA Transfer Portal in football is more what I consider a garbage disposal of recruiting mistakes, but the softball portal is “gold” for Cowgirl softball. Gajewski will look to those transfers like Carrie Eberle, Jordan Doggett, Reagan Wright, and Alysen Febrey to help lead the Cowgirls to wins over ranked opponents like #13-LSU and #9-Louisiana this weekend.
Gajewski has one of his top pitchers in Eberle that came to Stillwater after an All-ACC stint at Virginia Tech. New transfers this season include Doggett, continuing a pipeline from Georgia in the SEC, and the two-time All-Sun Belt Conference catcher Reagan Wright from Texas-Arlington. Both players are starting.
If you are looking for the top transfer, looking for the top Cowgirl, looking for the straw that stirs the drink so to speak, it’s Alysen Febrey. The first baseman that transferred from Georgia has been a supserstar. An All-American when she rocked the Big 12 last season in a shortened campaign where she hit .382 with a league leading and fourth nationally 11 home runs and a league leading 32 RBI.
What was Febrey looking for when she left a career at the school in her home state where she had been a starter since day one and had racked up some really good stats with a career average close to .320 and 21 home runs.
“Yeah, I, a big part of why I left is that I wanted to love softball again and I don’t think I was really at that (point) at Georgia,” Febrey explained. “Coming here softball was fun again and I think that has contributed a lot to my success.”
Her eyes getting wide and the smile on Febrey’s face tell me part of loving softball is being the face of the program. It didn’t start out that way. It took Febrey some time to become convinced she did the right thing coming to Stillwater.
“My first couple of months at OSU were horrid in that aspect of it and I was just trying to figure things out,” Febrey said. “I think Coach G (Gajewski) has done a good job with transfers and helping them figure it out.”
She said this season is not much different from last season. That is a good thing. It’s a good thing that her relationships are better.
“I don’t really feel that much of a difference, but I think I have a much better relationship with my coaches and in talking about how I play,” Febrey added. “Overall, I don’t see that much of a difference.”
Head coach Kenny Gajewski is really the face of Cowgirls softball. He is well-spoken and he throws out some good old-fashioned bravado. From a player standpoint Febrey is the face of the program. The numbers establish that as she already has a .533 batting average with three home runs and 14 RBI. She has a .900 slugging percentage.
“I feel like I’m getting more comfortable with my swing, but I’m not necessarily where I feel I should be yet with my swing,” Febrey said. “I think I am getting closer.”
Gajewski says the same thing about his first baseman.
“She’s hit the ball well, but she’s not at her best yet,” Gajewski said. “She is capable of hitting the ball better.”
I think he’s right, but we will find out more this weekend against the pitching that she and her teammates will see from LSU and Louisiana. At the end of last season’s pandemic spring, Febrey was on fire hitting home runs that looked like they were lasers. She finished on a hitting streak and that is now up to 14-games in a row. The team is on a 21-game win streak with a chance with a sweep of LSU on Friday to break the school record of 22-games won in a row. This weekend may tell us a lot and confirm something like who the straw is for the Cowgirls. When it’s over I think it will still be Febrey.