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Oklahoma softball: Should Sooners go hard after OSU transfer Kelly Maxwell?

By Chip Rouse

Oklahoma State's Kelly Maxwell (28) pitches during a Women's College World Series softball game between the Oklahoma State University Cowgirls (OSU) and the Florida Gators at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Saturday, June 4, 2022. Oklahoma State won 2-0.osusoft -- print1
Oklahoma State's Kelly Maxwell (28) pitches during a Women's College World Series softball game between the Oklahoma State University Cowgirls (OSU) and the Florida Gators at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Saturday, June 4, 2022. Oklahoma State won 2-0.osusoft -- print1 /
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Oklahoma softball lost one of the best pitchers in the country when Jordy Bahl elected to transfer. Oklahoma State veteran starter Kelly Maxwell announced she is transferring for her final year. Is there a potential connection here?

Maxwell is good enough to be a prime selection for any team in the country and may be the best pitcher in the transfer portal this offseason. She compiled a 58-20 overall record in four seasons at Oklahoma State and is likely looking to go somewhere with a good chance to win a national championship.

The neighboring Sooners certainly could fill that role, but so too could several other major programs, like Florida or Florida State and even Texas, which is where she is from (Friendswood,
Texas, near Houston).

Oklahoma still has senior-to-be Nicole May and second-year pitcher Kierston Deal, a former No. 1 pick, returning for 2024, and the Sooners added freshman Paytn Monticelli from Wisconsin this week from the portal. No one is going to replace Bahl, who still had two years of eligibility left, but adding someone like Maxwell would be what head coach Patty Gasso did by bringing in Hope Trautwein from North Texas in 2022 and Alex Storako last season from Michigan, both for just one season, to strengthen the depth of the Sooners’ starting rotation.

Maxwell is reported to have been upset by the sudden retirement of OSU pitching coach John Bargfeldt after this past season ended. Whether that was the tipping point in her decision to undergo a change of environment for the 2024 season is hard to know. It is also hard to read if the veteran starter would be willing to switch sides of the Bedlam battle lines and go against the school she played for the last four seasons.

What we do know, though, is Maxwell would be a perfect addition to Jennifer Rocha’s pitching staff at Oklahoma, giving the Sooners a pair of right-handers and two southpaws in the starting rotation. Maxwell throws from the left side, as does Deal.

No. 6 Oklahoma State made it into the Women’s College World Series this season but was eliminated by No. 4 Tennessee. Maxwell finished her redshirt senior season with a record of 16-7 and a 1.91 ERA, fifth best in the Big 12. The 2023 All-Big 12 First-Team selection and second-team All-American led the conference with 229 strikeouts this season, which ranked 14th best in the country.

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