Oklahoma State University Athletics
Passion on the Line: How Lexi Kilfoyl’s Family Impacted Her Softball Journey
October 09, 2023 | Cowgirl Softball
Like many standout performers, Lexi Kilfoyl is accustomed to being in the spotlight, but it's how the spotlight illuminated her path to Oklahoma State that makes her story unique.
From Land O' Lakes, Florida, Kilfoyl began her softball career at eight years old. Starting in the little leagues while competing in cheer and dance, she didn't immediately love the game.
"I was a girly girl, I didn't want to get dirty," Kilfoyl said. "I told my dad I didn't want to play anymore and he was like, 'If I coach you next year, will you give it another shot?' and I said, yes. Obviously, I don't remember this, but this is what my dad says. He takes a lot of claims, saying I made her play another year, and then I enjoyed it, and he kept coaching me."
With her father coaching her, Kilfoyl came to know and love the sport of softball. He coached until she was 11, then decided to step away.
"He stepped back from that, and he's like, 'she needs to be coached by someone else,'" Kilfoyl said. "So that was one of the times I've actually seen my dad cry, was when he was telling my team that he was done coaching us; it was so sweet."
Coming out of high school, Kilfoyl was a highly sought after recruit after winning back-to-back state championships at Academy at the Lakes. She earned Florida Gatorade Player of the Year honors in 2018 and 2019.
Kilfoyl chose Alabama and was a three-year standout for the Crimson Tide despite battling through injuries. Along the way, she began to lose some of her love for the game.
"At one point softball became such a drag and I had talked to one of my friends about it," Kilfoyl said. "I talked to my family and they reminded me that I only get so many years in college."
With that, she entered her name into the transfer portal, seeking out a new challenge that would bring back her fire and love for the game.
Kilfoyl's connection with Oklahoma State head coach Kenny Gajewski dates to when she was in eighth grade. She first met Gajewski on a visit to the University of Florida, when her recruitment was just opening.
"He was actually the one who took me through my whole visit," Kilfoyl said. "My dad was always like 'Coach G, I really like Coach G,' So when I went into the portal, I reached out to him,
"It was a tough decision, deciding where I wanted to go, but something about here just felt like they had so much fun," Kilfoyl said. "At the end of the day, that's what I wanted - I wanted to compete at a high level, which we do that for sure. But it just looks and sounds like they have so much fun. And I will say that's very true. He, (Coach Gajewski) respects that we're college students, and we're going to go to football games and be college kids."
Oklahoma State and Coach Gajewski fit the bill of exactly what Kilfoyl was looking for when it came time to decide. The rest, as they say, is history.
In addition to earning All-America recognition in her first season as a Cowgirl, Kilfoyl went 15-6 with a 1.70 earned run average and struck out 130 batters in 139.2 innings of work. She ranked in the top six in the Big 12 in ERA, strikeouts, fewest hits allowed per seven innings, opposing batting average, saves and shutouts.
With Kilfoyl's two brothers competing in athletics at the collegiate level and her father cutting his playing career short, she considers her time in collegiate softball as a way of living out her dad's dream.
"You can definitely tell that he regrets some of the choices he made in the past, and he wants to make sure that we're fulfilling our dreams and not letting anything stop us," Kilfoyl said.
Homer Kilfoyl is the kind of diehard sports dad who moves around his work schedule so that he can fit in as many of his kids' games as possible.
"He drives an hour and a half to work every night and back just so he could have the weekends off to come see us kids play, which is really awesome," Kilfoyl explains. "He's dedicated, and he used to play sports and he never pursued it like he wanted, but he wishes he followed through and so he loves using us to chase our dreams because it is kind of like his dream. I mean he loves us to death."
Kilfoyl, going into her final season with OSU after being named to the All-Big 12 Second Team last season, has her eyes set on being Big 12 Pitcher of the Year.
"I definitely want to be All-American again and I think it would be awesome to be (Big 12) pitcher of the year," Kilfoyl said. "It's my last year and I have the opportunity as one of the older, more experienced girls. I have a lot of knowledge and I know the team as well."
Even though Kilfoyl only has one more season left, she sees something special and different in this year's team.
"We have a lot of new faces, so I think there's going to be a lot of change, for sure," Kilfoyl said. "But I think the team has been bonding really well. Everyone has been getting along amazingly. I think we're so much further ahead this year than we were last year."
From Land O' Lakes, Florida, Kilfoyl began her softball career at eight years old. Starting in the little leagues while competing in cheer and dance, she didn't immediately love the game.
"I was a girly girl, I didn't want to get dirty," Kilfoyl said. "I told my dad I didn't want to play anymore and he was like, 'If I coach you next year, will you give it another shot?' and I said, yes. Obviously, I don't remember this, but this is what my dad says. He takes a lot of claims, saying I made her play another year, and then I enjoyed it, and he kept coaching me."
With her father coaching her, Kilfoyl came to know and love the sport of softball. He coached until she was 11, then decided to step away.
"He stepped back from that, and he's like, 'she needs to be coached by someone else,'" Kilfoyl said. "So that was one of the times I've actually seen my dad cry, was when he was telling my team that he was done coaching us; it was so sweet."
Coming out of high school, Kilfoyl was a highly sought after recruit after winning back-to-back state championships at Academy at the Lakes. She earned Florida Gatorade Player of the Year honors in 2018 and 2019.
Kilfoyl chose Alabama and was a three-year standout for the Crimson Tide despite battling through injuries. Along the way, she began to lose some of her love for the game.
"At one point softball became such a drag and I had talked to one of my friends about it," Kilfoyl said. "I talked to my family and they reminded me that I only get so many years in college."
With that, she entered her name into the transfer portal, seeking out a new challenge that would bring back her fire and love for the game.
Kilfoyl's connection with Oklahoma State head coach Kenny Gajewski dates to when she was in eighth grade. She first met Gajewski on a visit to the University of Florida, when her recruitment was just opening.
"He was actually the one who took me through my whole visit," Kilfoyl said. "My dad was always like 'Coach G, I really like Coach G,' So when I went into the portal, I reached out to him,
"It was a tough decision, deciding where I wanted to go, but something about here just felt like they had so much fun," Kilfoyl said. "At the end of the day, that's what I wanted - I wanted to compete at a high level, which we do that for sure. But it just looks and sounds like they have so much fun. And I will say that's very true. He, (Coach Gajewski) respects that we're college students, and we're going to go to football games and be college kids."
Oklahoma State and Coach Gajewski fit the bill of exactly what Kilfoyl was looking for when it came time to decide. The rest, as they say, is history.
In addition to earning All-America recognition in her first season as a Cowgirl, Kilfoyl went 15-6 with a 1.70 earned run average and struck out 130 batters in 139.2 innings of work. She ranked in the top six in the Big 12 in ERA, strikeouts, fewest hits allowed per seven innings, opposing batting average, saves and shutouts.
With Kilfoyl's two brothers competing in athletics at the collegiate level and her father cutting his playing career short, she considers her time in collegiate softball as a way of living out her dad's dream.
"You can definitely tell that he regrets some of the choices he made in the past, and he wants to make sure that we're fulfilling our dreams and not letting anything stop us," Kilfoyl said.
Homer Kilfoyl is the kind of diehard sports dad who moves around his work schedule so that he can fit in as many of his kids' games as possible.
"He drives an hour and a half to work every night and back just so he could have the weekends off to come see us kids play, which is really awesome," Kilfoyl explains. "He's dedicated, and he used to play sports and he never pursued it like he wanted, but he wishes he followed through and so he loves using us to chase our dreams because it is kind of like his dream. I mean he loves us to death."
Kilfoyl, going into her final season with OSU after being named to the All-Big 12 Second Team last season, has her eyes set on being Big 12 Pitcher of the Year.
"I definitely want to be All-American again and I think it would be awesome to be (Big 12) pitcher of the year," Kilfoyl said. "It's my last year and I have the opportunity as one of the older, more experienced girls. I have a lot of knowledge and I know the team as well."
Even though Kilfoyl only has one more season left, she sees something special and different in this year's team.
"We have a lot of new faces, so I think there's going to be a lot of change, for sure," Kilfoyl said. "But I think the team has been bonding really well. Everyone has been getting along amazingly. I think we're so much further ahead this year than we were last year."
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