Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gajewski, Cowgirls Discuss Upcoming Season at Media Day
January 30, 2018 | Cowgirl Softball
STILLWATER - Oklahoma State softball head coach Kenny Gajewski and select Cowgirls met with members of the media as part of the team's annual media day. Here's some of what they had to say:
Kenny Gajewski
Opening Statement:
""First of all, thanks for having us. We're excited to start another year kicked off here. I feel like this is probably our most talented team without a doubt. We've got talent up and down this roster. We've got experience. We've got youth. We've got a culture that just continues to change, and that's the most exciting thing for me as we start our third season. We've had a couple of nice years as we build. We can consider those building blocks to where we want to be, but we're nowhere close yet to our goal and what we have as expectations for us. We're just really excited to get started. We're as far along at this time of year as we've been. We've kind of changed up our practice schedule with more intrasquad games and that kind of stuff. I feel like we're in a better place to start. A part of that is our schedule. I believe it will be a top-five schedule in the country. I feel like this team needs to be ready from day one with the quality teams that we have."
On the team's position players:
""We've got some changes in the lineup and changes in the field for some kids. Vanessa Shippy is now going to play third base for us. She has caught the last two years. She is as selfless of a player as I've ever met to volunteer to catch when this team needed her. When your best player, and maybe one of the best to ever play here, is willing to make those kinds of changes for the betterment of us, I think it tells you enough about her. We're going to move Rylee Bayless to left field. We've got a battle at catcher. Other than that, we're returning a lot of the same kids. We're also excited about some new kids. Sydney Pennington would be one. She's a special, special talent. Maybe as talented as any kid in the country. She's finally playing softball full-time and not playing other sports like she did in high school. This is the first time she's playing softball full-time. She just continues to get better each day. She has the most power I've ever seen. I've been around a lot of big-time kids, but I've never seen this much power. I'll even put that with baseball, too. I've coached some really good baseball kids, and this power is wacky. It's different. She has one of the best arms I've ever seen. She's a shortstop by nature, and she's been in a dogfight with Randee O'Donnell all fall long. I just feel right now that O'Donnell gives me a sense of peace at shortstop that I'm not willing to give up yet and she's done nothing to lose her job. She's kept her job, and under a lot of pressure. Sydney is a highly touted kid, and Randee has known this. I'm proud of (O'Donnell) because she's stepped up to do what she's got to do to keep her job. Pennington, at this point, you could see her catch, you could see her at first, you could see her at (designated player). She's going to play from day one, and she's probably going to hit fourth. There's a lot of pressure on her, but the one thing we've always said is 'We're not afraid to play young kids here.' I think when they're young, they don't really know what's at stake yet, so I feel like we've got her in the right spot. We've got another young kid in Michaela Richbourg. She's a kid from Broken Bow, which is a tiny town with a tiny school. She played almost no travel ball, which in our sport is the main deal. This kid is as tough as I've been around. She's powerful, she's going to play first base, she's going to (play at the designated player spot). Brighton Gilbert who's another freshman who just continues to get better each day. She's a middle infielder. She was highly touted and was committed to another school, but with the changes she saw here, she liked us, so she was able to make that change. She had a rough fall, but I think the winter break helped her. When she got back, I was like 'Woah, this kid has changed.' She can really run and hits from the left side."
On the pitching staff:
""As far as pitching goes, I'm excited. This is as excited as I've been about a staff. They'll be led by two transfers. One of them is Samantha Clakley from the University of Texas at Arlington. She either won 25 or 28 games last year. I don't care where you're at, but that's a big deal. I know our girls don't like to face her, so that'll tell you enough there. She is really good and has a devastating changeup and a drop-curve that's tough. She's shorter, but she's jacked. The ball comes out hot and she gets a lot of outs. The other kid that's transferred in here is Emmie Robertson. She's from Pitt State. I think she's a two-time All-American there and player of the year in her conference. She isn't over-powering, but she knows how to pitch. Our girls love to play behind her because of the speed at which she works. She pitches inside, so if she's working in the river, she'll be a tough kid to hit, but if she misses in the middle of home plate, she'll be in trouble. The biggest surprise to me this year has been Whitney Whitehorn. She's finally healthy. I think mentally and emotionally she's healthy. She's been pain-free in both of her hips. She's had nothing but problems since she's been here, and last year was the first year she was free of that. It's been a fun fall to watch her. She's also killing it with her bat. She's going to hit. This will be her last year, even though she has one year left. We're going to try to make it the best one yet for her. Then you've got Logan Simunek, who is coming off a great first year here. She's got to control things. If she can eliminate walks and hit-by-pitches, she will pitch a ton. If not, it's going to be tough. Her stuff is nasty, but she puts herself in tough spots with the walks and hit-by-pitches. I'm excited by her work ethic and the way she's making a commitment to being really good. The last one is Kendal Judge. She is a transfer from Minnesota. What I like about our staff is that we have five girls that are different. They're all different for sure."
Taylor Lynch
On strides made during Kenny Gajewski's tenure as head coach:
"With him, we're striving for the best of everything - from the locker room, to the field and all of that. Him signing a five-year contract recently makes it really cool to see that he's going to stick around and keep doing what he's been doing for our teams so far. I think it's exciting and I'm excited for the young kids that will be coming in. I'm always stuck between being so happy that I'm a part of his first four years here and getting this program back to the top, but part of me still wants to be one of the eighth graders now that's going to be here when this team is competing for a spot in the Women's College World Series every year. It's just awesome to see what this place is becoming and what it's going to become."
Maddi Holcomb
On the team's new locker room:
"We're so thankful for everything the Greenwoods and Coach Gajewski have done for us. They've done so much for us, and everything they're doing is helping us now and for the future with recruiting and things like that. I'm just really excited to see where things go and everything that is going to come with it."
Rylee Bayless
On the turnaround of the OSU softball program:
"People know who Oklahoma State is again. This is only my second year here, and hearing stories from the seniors that have been here for four years now - the program was kind of run down and not a lot of thought was put into softball at all. Now, I feel like softball is on the rise again as one of the main sports here that gets talked about. Coach Gajewski completely flipped this program around. They went to regionals in Georgia and then we went to Gainesville last year and beat the No. 1 team in the country. It's just going to be good from here and I'm excited to see where it goes. I'm honestly kind of jealous because we're building it up, but this is my last year. The mindset has definitely changed here because of Coach Gajewski. We're hungrier and we want to face the best competition we can."
Kenny Gajewski
Opening Statement:
""First of all, thanks for having us. We're excited to start another year kicked off here. I feel like this is probably our most talented team without a doubt. We've got talent up and down this roster. We've got experience. We've got youth. We've got a culture that just continues to change, and that's the most exciting thing for me as we start our third season. We've had a couple of nice years as we build. We can consider those building blocks to where we want to be, but we're nowhere close yet to our goal and what we have as expectations for us. We're just really excited to get started. We're as far along at this time of year as we've been. We've kind of changed up our practice schedule with more intrasquad games and that kind of stuff. I feel like we're in a better place to start. A part of that is our schedule. I believe it will be a top-five schedule in the country. I feel like this team needs to be ready from day one with the quality teams that we have."
On the team's position players:
""We've got some changes in the lineup and changes in the field for some kids. Vanessa Shippy is now going to play third base for us. She has caught the last two years. She is as selfless of a player as I've ever met to volunteer to catch when this team needed her. When your best player, and maybe one of the best to ever play here, is willing to make those kinds of changes for the betterment of us, I think it tells you enough about her. We're going to move Rylee Bayless to left field. We've got a battle at catcher. Other than that, we're returning a lot of the same kids. We're also excited about some new kids. Sydney Pennington would be one. She's a special, special talent. Maybe as talented as any kid in the country. She's finally playing softball full-time and not playing other sports like she did in high school. This is the first time she's playing softball full-time. She just continues to get better each day. She has the most power I've ever seen. I've been around a lot of big-time kids, but I've never seen this much power. I'll even put that with baseball, too. I've coached some really good baseball kids, and this power is wacky. It's different. She has one of the best arms I've ever seen. She's a shortstop by nature, and she's been in a dogfight with Randee O'Donnell all fall long. I just feel right now that O'Donnell gives me a sense of peace at shortstop that I'm not willing to give up yet and she's done nothing to lose her job. She's kept her job, and under a lot of pressure. Sydney is a highly touted kid, and Randee has known this. I'm proud of (O'Donnell) because she's stepped up to do what she's got to do to keep her job. Pennington, at this point, you could see her catch, you could see her at first, you could see her at (designated player). She's going to play from day one, and she's probably going to hit fourth. There's a lot of pressure on her, but the one thing we've always said is 'We're not afraid to play young kids here.' I think when they're young, they don't really know what's at stake yet, so I feel like we've got her in the right spot. We've got another young kid in Michaela Richbourg. She's a kid from Broken Bow, which is a tiny town with a tiny school. She played almost no travel ball, which in our sport is the main deal. This kid is as tough as I've been around. She's powerful, she's going to play first base, she's going to (play at the designated player spot). Brighton Gilbert who's another freshman who just continues to get better each day. She's a middle infielder. She was highly touted and was committed to another school, but with the changes she saw here, she liked us, so she was able to make that change. She had a rough fall, but I think the winter break helped her. When she got back, I was like 'Woah, this kid has changed.' She can really run and hits from the left side."
On the pitching staff:
""As far as pitching goes, I'm excited. This is as excited as I've been about a staff. They'll be led by two transfers. One of them is Samantha Clakley from the University of Texas at Arlington. She either won 25 or 28 games last year. I don't care where you're at, but that's a big deal. I know our girls don't like to face her, so that'll tell you enough there. She is really good and has a devastating changeup and a drop-curve that's tough. She's shorter, but she's jacked. The ball comes out hot and she gets a lot of outs. The other kid that's transferred in here is Emmie Robertson. She's from Pitt State. I think she's a two-time All-American there and player of the year in her conference. She isn't over-powering, but she knows how to pitch. Our girls love to play behind her because of the speed at which she works. She pitches inside, so if she's working in the river, she'll be a tough kid to hit, but if she misses in the middle of home plate, she'll be in trouble. The biggest surprise to me this year has been Whitney Whitehorn. She's finally healthy. I think mentally and emotionally she's healthy. She's been pain-free in both of her hips. She's had nothing but problems since she's been here, and last year was the first year she was free of that. It's been a fun fall to watch her. She's also killing it with her bat. She's going to hit. This will be her last year, even though she has one year left. We're going to try to make it the best one yet for her. Then you've got Logan Simunek, who is coming off a great first year here. She's got to control things. If she can eliminate walks and hit-by-pitches, she will pitch a ton. If not, it's going to be tough. Her stuff is nasty, but she puts herself in tough spots with the walks and hit-by-pitches. I'm excited by her work ethic and the way she's making a commitment to being really good. The last one is Kendal Judge. She is a transfer from Minnesota. What I like about our staff is that we have five girls that are different. They're all different for sure."
Taylor Lynch
On strides made during Kenny Gajewski's tenure as head coach:
"With him, we're striving for the best of everything - from the locker room, to the field and all of that. Him signing a five-year contract recently makes it really cool to see that he's going to stick around and keep doing what he's been doing for our teams so far. I think it's exciting and I'm excited for the young kids that will be coming in. I'm always stuck between being so happy that I'm a part of his first four years here and getting this program back to the top, but part of me still wants to be one of the eighth graders now that's going to be here when this team is competing for a spot in the Women's College World Series every year. It's just awesome to see what this place is becoming and what it's going to become."
Maddi Holcomb
On the team's new locker room:
"We're so thankful for everything the Greenwoods and Coach Gajewski have done for us. They've done so much for us, and everything they're doing is helping us now and for the future with recruiting and things like that. I'm just really excited to see where things go and everything that is going to come with it."
Rylee Bayless
On the turnaround of the OSU softball program:
"People know who Oklahoma State is again. This is only my second year here, and hearing stories from the seniors that have been here for four years now - the program was kind of run down and not a lot of thought was put into softball at all. Now, I feel like softball is on the rise again as one of the main sports here that gets talked about. Coach Gajewski completely flipped this program around. They went to regionals in Georgia and then we went to Gainesville last year and beat the No. 1 team in the country. It's just going to be good from here and I'm excited to see where it goes. I'm honestly kind of jealous because we're building it up, but this is my last year. The mindset has definitely changed here because of Coach Gajewski. We're hungrier and we want to face the best competition we can."
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