What Oklahoma State Softball’s Latest Transfer Portal Ranking Means for 2027 Season

The Oklahoma State softball team knew it had to shore up areas of its team and did a great job of doing so through the transfer portal.

D1 Softball (subscription required) recently ranked the top transfer classes for this cycle. The Cowgirls were ranked No. 9 in that site's transfer portal rankings, a month after Softball America (subscription required) ranked their class No. 3 in the country, which was right after the portal window closed.

The teams ranked ahead of OSU by D1 Softball were Texas Tech, Texas, Arkansas, Florida, Texas A&M, Arizona, Nebraska and Arizona State.

That list is notable because Arizona and Arizona State are both in the Big 12 and Nebraska was the team that eliminated Oklahoma State from the NCAA Tournament in May.

Breaking Down OSU’s Transfer Portal Impact

Mississippi State's Delainey Everett is doused with water following a softball game. — Mississippi State's Delainey Everett. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The first job for head coach Kenny Gajewski and his staff in the portal was to find more pitching. The graduation of Ruby Meylan plus the defection of a couple of pitchers in the transfer portal left the Cowgirls with little in the circle.

He chose a volume approach in the hope that he can build a staff that can cover the innings Meylan took last season.

Gajewski addressed with a pair of SEC transfers — Mississippi State’s Delainey Everett and Ole Miss’s Payton Kennedy.

Everett received attention during super regionals when she started and won Game 3 against Oklahoma to send the Bulldogs to the Women’s College World Series. But she didn’t pitch much last season, as she went 3-2 with a 1.15 ERA in 12 games, with two starts. She struck out nine, but walked 10, in 24.1 innings.

Kennedy threw even less. She went 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in three games. But she was a Top 25 prospect coming out of high school so there is talent there that went untapped. Between those two pitchers Gajewski has a solid starting rotation. He can blend the pair with holdovers Makala Smith and Madison Hoffman, along with four-star incoming freshman Payton May.

He took in even more pitching with two-way players Maddie Hartley of Houston and Kendra Lewis of Wisconsin. The Cougars rarely asked Hartley to pitch as she evolved into an all-Big 12 hitter. Lewis pitched in 42 games in two seasons, but she was more impressive as a hitter and batted .408 as a freshman.

The other major position he needed to address was catcher, as he lost his starter and his backup this season. Oklahoma State landed Utah transfer Kennedy Proctor. She batted .338 with 14 home runs and 41 RBI last season, all of which were career bests. In 2025 she was a D1Softball First-Team Freshman All-American.

What's incredible is that Oklahoma State received such a high-ranking addressing essentially two key positions — pitcher and catcher. The Cowgirls have plenty of holdover talent going into 2027 as they hope to get back to the WCWS after a two-year absence.

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