The Oklahoma State Cowgirls have OU DNA.
The Oklahoma Sooners will play OSU on Wednesday night at Devon Park in Oklahoma City for the only scheduled Bedlam softball game of the season. And when the rivals meet, it will be a former Sooner coaching at third base for the Cowgirls.
OSU softball coach Kenny Gajewski is an Oklahoma alum who played baseball for the Sooners back before his coaching career began.
Cowgirl softball coach Kenny Gajewski an Oklahoma alum, former OU baseball player
Gajewski, from California like OU coach Patty Gasso, started his college baseball career at Cerritos College in Norwalk, California, then transferred to Cal State Dominguez Hills for two seasons. He then finally ended up at OU in 1994.
In that 1994 season, the Sooners won a national championship with Gajewski as a pitcher on the roster. That team also included Florida softball coach Tim Walton and the bat boy was Sunny Golloway, who was OU's head baseball coach in 2005-13.
OU then gave Gajewski his first coaching opportunity as a graduate assistant the next season. He was then a volunteer assistant at Kansas State for just one year before returning to Norman, but not for coaching.
Gajewski worked for Gasso's softball program and the baseball program as the Sooners' turf and maintenance director for 10 years. In 2001, the OU Softball Complex was presented the Field Maintenance Award by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and TURFACE sports field products.
From there, starting in 2007, Gajewski owned and operated three turf businesses in Norman.
Gajewski did not fully get back into coaching until 2013, when Walton, his former OU teammate, added him as an assistant on Florida's softball staff. He was with the Gators for three seasons, winning back-to-back national titles in 2014-15, before he got his first head coach job at OSU in 2016.
There's no question, despite the abnormal journey to becoming a Division-I head coach, Gajewski has risen the Cowgirls to new heights as yearly title contenders and has even narrowed the margin between OSU and the Sooners on the softball field.
However, considering he's nine years younger than Gasso, will Gajewski one day jump at the possibility to return to his alma-mater after Gasso's retirement if the opportunity is available?