It should be a good year on the diamond for Oklahoma State.
D1Softball and D1Baseball released their preseason rankings on Tuesday, and the Cowgirls and Cowboys each garnered Top 10 praise. Kenny Gajewski’s Cowgirl squad came in at No. 3, and Josh Holliday’s baseball team came in at No. 7.
| Rank | D1 Softball Top 10 | D1 Baseball Top 10 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma | Texas |
| 2 | Alabama | Arkansas |
| 3 | Oklahoma State | Vanderbilt |
| 4 | UCLA | Mississippi State |
| 5 | Florida | Ole Miss |
| 6 | Florida State | Stanford |
| 7 | Washington | Oklahoma State |
| 8 | Arkansas | LSU |
| 9 | Texas | Florida |
| 10 | Missouri | NC State |
Coming off back-to-back Women’s College World Series appearances, the Cowgirls open their season Feb. 10 in the Kajikawa Classic in Arizona. The Cowgirls went 48-12 last season, going 1-2 in the WCWS.
The Cowgirls return the likes of Kiley Naomi, Chyenne Factor, Hayley Busby and Sydney Pennington, but Gajewski also took great advantage of the transfer portal.
Gajewski brought in Miranda Elish, a transfer from Texas. A pitcher, Elish was the shortened 2020 season’s Player of the Year, according to Softball America. In 2020, she went 11-3 with a 1.53 ERA and limited opposing batters to a .158 batting average.
Gajewski also brought back former Stillwater High standout Julia Cottrill. Cottrill spent the past two seasons at Florida. She was on the 2021 All-SEC Newcomer Team after hitting .294 with 26 RBIs and 23 runs scored for the Gators last season.
Across the street, Holliday has also brought in some highly touted talent to O’Brate Stadium.
The Cowboys had a Top 5 recruiting class that was headlined by a trio of players who decided against their MLB Draft selections. Roc Riggio, Ryan Ure and Zach Ehrhard were all taken in the first 16 rounds of the 2021 MLB Draft but chose to develop their skills at Oklahoma State.
Along with those freshmen, Holliday brought in some key transfers who could play a part in 2022. Griffin Doersching is a name to watch for at first base. A grad transfer from Northern Kentucky, Doersching hit 20 home runs last season. OSU also snagged a pair of pitchers from Kentucky in Jimmy Ramsey, a 6-foot-9 righty, and Dillon Marsh, a 6-1 lefty.
The Cowboys have three players in the Top 100 2022 MLB prospect rankings in Nolan McLean (No. 46), Miami transfer Victor Mederos (No. 71) and Justin Campbell (No. 85).
The Cowboys start their season with a three-game series against Vanderbilt in Nashville starting Feb. 18.
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