OSU softball adds new pitching coach, promotes volunteer assistant to full-time assistant

By OKSTATE.COM

STILLWATER — Two-time All-American and professional standout Carrie Eberle is returning to Oklahoma State as pitching coach for the Cowgirls softball team, which also promoting Vanessa Shippy-Fletcher, who has been elevated into the role of full-time assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

Eberle spent the 2023 season as pitching coach at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn.

The Charlotte, N.C., native pitched for the Cowgirls from 2020-21, earning All-America honors both years. In her two seasons in Stillwater, she went 36-5 with a 1.13 earned-run average, posted 224 strikeouts in 266.1 innings of work and held the opposition to a .184 batting average. The 2020 season was cut short due to the COVID pandemic, but in her lone full season with OSU, she was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and helped lead the Cowgirls to the 2021 Women’s College World Series.

After that, she joined the professional ranks with Athletes Unlimited, earning Rookie of the Year honors in 2021.

Eberle was a student assistant under Gajewski for the 2022 season that produced a Big 12 Tournament Championship and another WCWS appearance. She completed her master’s degree during that time as well.

Eberle originally transferred to OSU in the fall of 2019 after graduating from Virginia Tech in three years. Her career with the Hokies was highlighted by 2019 ACC Pitcher of the Year honors after she went 25-8 with a 1.84 ERA that season.

“Oklahoma State has a special piece of my heart and to have the opportunity to come back is a blessing,” Eberle said. “OSU created such a positive environment for me during my playing career and the family atmosphere along with the winning culture that attracted me then are the same reasons why I am so excited to be back now.”

In addition to her on-field success, Eberle was a strong performer in the classroom, earning CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades in 2021. She was honored as ACC Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2019 and was an ACC All-Academic selection in 2017 and an Academic All-Big 12 honoree in 2021.

Gajewski said pitching coach is as important as any role within the organization and he prioritized finding someone who fit the program for the long term.

“There is no better person who understands Oklahoma State softball and The Cowgirl Way than Carrie Eberle,” he said. “I had a firsthand look at her as a player and then as a graduate assistant, and the personal and professional growth she displayed made her a very easy choice for our program.”

Before her promotion, Shippy-Fletcher was a volunteer assistant for the Cowgirls from 2021-23, focusing primarily on hitting and base running and working closely with the OSU outfielders.

“Vanessa is one of the greatest Cowgirls of all time and an easy choice to join our staff,” Gajewski said. “She has been relentless in establishing our program in the national spotlight. Nobody is better-suited for this role.”

In three years as a volunteer assistant, Shippy-Fletcher helped the Cowgirls to three straight appearances in the WCWS and helped OSU outfielders to six All-Big 12 and six NFCA All-Region honors.

She was particularly effective in aiding younger players in their transition to the major college level, helping Tallen Edwards to NFCA Freshman All-America honors in 2023 just a year after helping sophomore Katelynn Carwile become the first OSU outfielder since Olympian Jaime Foutch in 1996 to earn All-America honors.
A star in her playing days, Shippy-Fletcher is one of only two three-time All-Americans in OSU history. She is OSU’s only three-time Academic All-American. The Big 12 Player of the Year in 2016 and 2018, Shippy-Fletcher finished her career with an impressive .404/.532/.585 slash line and her name remains atop the OSU career records list for runs, doubles, bases on balls and on-base percentage.
She played in the National Pro Fastpitch league for a season after graduating from OSU and served as an assistant coach at Syracuse for the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

She and her husband Matt have a son, Luke, and a daughter, Hallie.

“Stillwater and OSU Softball are home to us,” Shippy-Fletcher said. “My family and I are thankful for the opportunity to continue the work we’re doing here with the team we love.”