OSU Softball Coaching Staff

Kenny Gajewski

(Provided by Oklahoma State Athletics Media Relations)

> In seven full seasons (plus the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign) as head coach at Oklahoma State, he has led the Cowgirls to four trips to the Women’s College World Series and has guided OSU to the NCAA Tournament every year.
> From 2021-23, Oklahoma State won 143 games, fourth nationally behind only Oklahoma, Florida State and UCLA.
> Oklahoma State has had a final national ranking of No. 6 or better in four of the last five seasons, with the lone exception being the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
> From 2021-23, Oklahoma State went a combined 15-1 in the Regional and Super Regional rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
> Gajewski enters the 2024 season trailing only Patty Gasso (Oklahoma) and Mike White (Texas) in career win percentage among active Big 12 coaches.
> Since 2019, Gajewski has led Oklahoma State to a 96-15 record at home (.865 pct).
> Brought OSU its first conference title in the Big 12 era with a win over No. 1 Oklahoma at the 2022 Big 12 Softball Championship.
> Has coached Oklahoma State to 17 wins over teams ranked in the top 10 of the NFCA poll, including three wins over the nation’s top-ranked team.
> His OSU staff was twice honored as the NFCA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year (2017 and 2019).
> His Oklahoma State student-athletes have earned 19 All-America honors, 36 All-Region honors and 39 All-Big 12 honors.
> His Oklahoma State student-athletes have earned 12 Academic All-America honors, 13 Academic All-District honors and 88 Academic All-Big 12 honors.

When it comes to on-field production, Oklahoma State has become a true national power during Gajewski’s tenure, advancing to the Women’s College World Series in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 and winning the Big 12 Tournament in 2022.

From 2021-23, Oklahoma State won 143 games, which is fourth nationally behind Oklahoma, Florida State and UCLA.

The Gajewski era has yielded single-season program records in just about every category of significance and in that same time frame, the Cowgirls have earned 19 All-America honors, 36 All-Region honors, two Big 12 Player of the Year honors, two Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors and 39 All-Big 12 honors. In 2022 and 2023 alone, Cowgirl Softball collected eight All-America honors.

In 2021, eight Cowgirls were named to the NFCA All-Region team and seven earned All-Big 12 recognition. That same season, OSU also posted a 15-3 record in conference play for its best record of the Big 12 era.

Since 2021, seven Cowgirls have been drafted to play professionally with Athletes United and five were drafted to play with Women’s Professional Fastpitch.

Before coming to Oklahoma State, Gajewski coached alongside Tim Walton at Florida, where the Gators won back-to-back national championships in his final two years. In 2015, Florida posted top-25 NCAA marks in earned run average (1.63), scoring (6.55 runs per game) and on-base percentage (.438), in addition to leading the nation in fielding percentage The Gators’ 60-7 record led the country in win percentage and marked the second-highest win total in school history.

Prior to joining the Gators, Gajewski spent a season as the director of baseball operations at Tennessee. With the Volunteers, he was in charge of managing UT’s camps, overseeing student managers and handling the day-to-day operations of the baseball program. Gajewski’s roots trace back to the University of Oklahoma, however, as he played for the Sooner baseball squad in 1994 that won a national championship and earned him his first coaching stint as a graduate assistant the following season.

Gajewski then served as a volunteer assistant at Kansas State in 1996 before returning to Norman, where he would begin a 10-year stretch as the Sooners’ turf and maintenance director. In 2001, the field at OU’s L. Dale Mitchell Park was named the Beam Clay Baseball Diamond of the Year. That same season, the OU Softball Complex was presented the Field Maintenance Award by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and TURFACE sports field products.

From 2007 onward, Gajewski was the owner and operator of three Norman, Oklahoma-based turf businesses - Champions Athletic Turf (athletic field renovation), Sooner Curb and Border (decorative concrete) and Ameriturf MidSouth (synthetic turf), but has since moved on from the projects to fully invest in his coaching career.

A native of Los Alamitos, California, Gajewski is married to Rachel, a Texas A&M softball alumna, and has two kids, Preston and Logan.

Carrie Eberle

Vanessa Shippy-Fletcher

Stacie Pestrak

Katie Norris

Chance Marek

Madi Sue Simpson