The Cowgirl Way: Dre McKee

Many student-athletes find out who they truly are in college. They experience what seems like a brand-new world on their own for the first time, and they learn how to navigate the ups and downs of being a student-athlete as they grow during their time at school.

Cowgirl softball alumnus Dre McKee is like so many other college student-athletes in how her time at OSU and as a part of the Cowgirl softball program made her who she is today.

McKee struggled with losing her love and passion for the game while at Oklahoma State and was almost ready to be done with softball after her junior season, until one thing changed her entire attitude and ultimately the path to where she is today - the arrival of coach Kenny Gajewski.

"I feel like Coach G coming to OSU changed the culture of the softball team," McKee said. "It made me so much stronger."

McKee remembers Gajewski coming in and providing a new sense of leadership, which all began with their demeanor. From day one, Gajewski told them that they were going to carry themselves like winners. That meant carrying themselves like they were on a winning team, which included dressing nice not only on the field, but when representing the team and university while in class. McKee describes his attitude as a 360 compared to what the team was used to.

"We were so hungry for change and we wanted to win, so we really bought into that," McKee said. "It carried on and now he's making it to the Women's College World Series, and I think the girls really buy into what he says and he commits himself to the team which makes it easier for the girls to buy in to."

While it is easy to see now how the change worked out well for McKee and Cowgirl softball, the transition wasn't the easiest process for someone like McKee who had already been there for three years and was spending her last season with a new coach and building that new relationship.

McKee says the process was like any transition, that many of the players were timid at first and just unsure of what playing under Gajewski would be like. For McKee, she sat back patiently and tried to get a feel for his coaching style. The process was not all smooth and McKee admits that she and Gajewski didn't always see eye to eye.

"He had thoughts and assumptions about who I was and what kind of person I was until we got a little deeper into the season and he realized I was for him," McKee said. "I had his back just like he had ours."

A couple of weeks into the season, McKee said the team finally clicked and decided to just have fun. From then, McKee felt like it was a good time. There was a lot of messing around and joking once they really understood what the dynamic was going to be like.

Like any sport, there are challenging times that mold student-athletes as well. When describing her time as a member of the Cowgirl softball program and what it means to play the Cowgirl way McKee uses the words passionate and confidence.

"You have to love it," McKee said. "You have to love the grind. You have to love the hard parts of being involved in the softball program. The offseason and getting through those tough times make you confident. You know you can get through the hard stuff and it makes you more confident in the end."

McKee credits Gajewski for his leadership and believes everything stems from the top. He allows his players to be themselves and instills confidence in his team.

"Coach G made me fall back in love with softball and the energy he brought to our team," McKee said. "I was ready to be completely done with softball after my junior year, but he gave me love for the game again, and I knew I wanted to stay involved in sports in some way."

That confidence McKee gained from not only the lessons she learned from Gajewski, but also the confidence that the game itself instills in student-athletes led McKee to where she is today.

One day when out at a restaurant, McKee ran into someone who worked for USA Softball, and approached her and asked about an internship. The conversation landed McKee the internship and she now serves as the Director of Marketing for USA Softball.

In her role as the Director of Marketing, McKee is in charge of networking and making connections with companies and people that want to get behind women in sports and partner with USA Softball. In her time with USA Softball, Major League Baseball has partnered with the organization and softball was voted back into the Olympics. The current USA Softball team and the organization will head to the Tokyo Olympics later this summer to compete for a gold medal once again.

"If I didn't have the confidence to walk up to someone I had never met before, this never would've happened," McKee said.

Listen to the full interview here: Dre McKee Interview

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Related News

Related Videos