Oklahoma State Softball Announces New Hitting Coach For The 2024 Season

Oklahoma State softball has its new hitting coach. 

OSU head coach Kenny Gajewski has promoted Vanessa Shippy-Fletcher to hitting coach for the 2024 season. This comes after the Cowgirls parted ways with Whitney Cloer, who was in charge of the role for the 2023 season. 

“It’s tough making tough decisions, but that’s what OSU has hired me to do,” Gajewski said to The Oklahoman on Thursday. “I have and will always continue to do what I feel is best for this proud program, and most importantly, our amazing student-athletes. They deserve nothing less from me.”

Shippy-Fletcher has spent the last three seasons as a volunteer assistant for the Cowgirls and was eventually promoted to a full-time assistant this past summer. 

Cloer in her one season as the hitting coach led OSU to a .324 batting average and a trip to the Women's College World Series for the fourth consecutive season. 

Shippy-Fletcher has previously served as an assistant coach at Syracuse for the 2019 and 2020 season. Before that, she was a star at Oklahoma State.

She is one of only two three-time All-Americans in Oklahoma State history, including being the Cowgirls only three-time Academic All-American. She was also the Big 12 Player of the Year in 2016 and 2018. 

Shippy-Fletcher remains atop a variety of lists in program history, including runs, doubles, walks and on-base percentage. 

Gajewski will still have one spot to fill on its coaching staff. That spot will be focusing on the outfielders, for that is what Shippy-Fletcher was helping with.