Kenny Gajewski explains why he believes Kelly Maxwell is leaving Oklahoma State softball
Jenni CarlsonOklahoman
Kenny Gajewski spent much of Friday taking a Jeep tour in Colorado.
Yes, while the college softball world was losing its mind over the news that his ace pitcher, Kelly Maxwell, was entering the transfer portal and leaving Oklahoma State, the Cowgirls’ coach was trying to get in some vacation. So much for rest and relaxation.
But when I reached out to him hoping he might talk about her departure, he did something he didn't have to do: he paused his vacation and called me back.
Why?
“I want this to go away,” he told me.
By “this,” he meant the fervor, the uproar, the brouhaha.
“I want it to go away for our team, and I want it to go away for Kelly and just move on,” he said.
On what was arguably one of the toughest days at the end of one of the toughest stretches of Gajewski’s tenure as OSU's head coach, he decided to rip off the bandage. He wanted the story of the past few weeks to be told, so the future could become the focus.
He knows, after all, people want to know why.
Why is Maxwell leaving?
Gajewski believes it all started the day after OSU bowed out of the Women’s College World Series. The Cowgirls had exit interviews back in Stillwater, and one of the first people Gajewski saw was pitching coach John Bargfeldt.
He walked in and told Gajewski he was retiring.
“I was completely blindsided,” Gajewski said.
When he hired Bargfeldt four years ago, Gajewski knew Bargfeldt wouldn't be at OSU long term. He had already coached for many years, and when he left Tulsa after the 2019 season, retirement had been an option. But Gajewski convinced Bargfeldt to come to Stillwater in large part because he would be allowed autonomy in managing the pitching staff.
Gajewski said one of the few things he asked of Bargfeldt was some advanced notice before he was ready to retire and leave OSU.
“And he gave me none,” Gajewski said. “He just walked in and just retired. So, that was a tough one.”
Gajewski talked to Maxwell soon after. Bargfeldt, who she had grown exponentially with and become extremely close to, had already told her that he was leaving, and Gajewski remembers her emotions being strong and raw.
“At that point, it kind of crossed my mind, like, ‘Oh, crap, I wonder if she’s thinking (about transferring),’” he said. “I didn’t even broach that subject with her at that point.”
A week or so later, though, they did talk about it.
“Well, are you thinking about it?” Gajewski said.
“No,” he remembers Maxwell saying, “but it has crossed my mind.”
“So, you are thinking about it.”
Gajewski and Maxwell continued having conversations ― “I don’t think she was ever thinking about leaving until John departed, to be very honest,” Gajewski said. “I can’t speak for Kelly ... but that would have been a total shocker to me” ― and Gajewski sensed that once the idea was planted, it started to take root and grow.
He hoped people close to Maxwell would convince her to return to OSU.
Ultimately, in the final few days of June, she told him she had decided the best thing for her to do was to enter the transfer portal.
“You’ve been very successful here,” he remembers telling her. “You’ve obviously fulfilled your agreement here. It was a four-year deal, and you’ve given us five, and so I’m thankful.
“But I’m hurt.”
Gajewski said he thought he had built a strong enough relationship with Maxwell that she could trust him to hire a pitching coach who would be good for the program. Trust him, too, to do things in the best interests of her and every other player.
But as hurt as Gajewski was, he holds no ill will toward Maxwell.
“I wish Kelly the very best,” he said. “I hope she can go somewhere and achieve whatever it is … she wants to achieve that she hasn’t done here.”
Gajewski also hopes no one else holds any ill will.
“What I hope is that fans … don’t attack the person,” he said. “You don’t have to agree with her decision, but she’s not a bad person.”
That’s part of why Gajewski called me while he was in the middle of his vacation; he wanted to do his part to try to stop any vitriol that might spring up. He knows some was out there because even on vacation, he got texts and saw screenshots.
He knows, too, that the ugliness could get even worse depending on where Maxwell lands.
But Gajewski has a message for OSU fans.
“Let’s focus on who we do have,” he said. “Let’s focus on who can help us win now. And if we do that and we don’t waste energy on things we can’t control, we’ll be a lot better off.”
