The Crazy Story of How Kenny Gajewski Landed Preseason All-American Outfielder Megan Delgadillo

STILLWATER — While on a recruiting trip in Colorado this summer, Kenny Gajewksi was talking to a travel ball coach when he noticed someone on that travel team’s staff was wearing an orange pair of shorts. Little did Gajewski know, he was about to land a preseason All-American.

“Nice shorts,” Gajewski said.

The conversation with the coach, Sean Brashear, continued. They then parted ways before Brashear returned and asked if Gajewski knew who that was wearing the orange shorts. It was Megan Delgadillo.

Being a part of the All-American committee, Gajewski knew who Delgadillo was. Known as Cheese, Delgadillo led the country in stolen bases last season at Cal State-Fullerton. She hit .417. New OSU assistant Greg Bergeron was also familiar with Delgadillo, as Bergeron spent the past four seasons at Cal State-Northridge.

Gajewski said he asked Brashear where Delgadillo ended up, and Brashear told him that she hasn’t yet. Delgadillo was waiting to hear back if she’d be eligible. Here college career started in 2020 before the pandemic shut it down 24 games into Fullerton’s season. In 2023, Delgadillo played in only 20 games before suffering a season-ending injury.

Delgadillo was an early entrant into the portal. She said she entered in April. It was now late June. She still hadn’t heard anything definitive of her eligibility. Gajewski said “everyone” wanted her but teams weren’t fully willing to pull the trigger without knowing if she’d be able to play. That’s where Gajewski found an in.

Just a few days before this interaction, Gajewski said he was meeting with his staff as to whether there was anything else the 2025 Cowgirls were in need of. They came to the conclusion that they could use a senior leadoff hitter. Now, here one was standing right in front of him.

Brashear sent Delgadillo to talk with Gajewski who asked her if she would consider Oklahoma State. She said she would, and with Delgadillo standing right there, Gajewski said he called Katie Norris, the Cowgirls’ director of operations, to start setting up an official visit. Within a few hours, Gajewski noticed an orange article of clothing and now had a flight and hotel ready for Delgadillo in Stillwater.

“The story of her recruitment is wild,” Gajewski said. “It’s just the way things work. Like, if you’re not willing to work fast, you’ve got no shot in this day and age in college sports, right?”

Gajewski then set up a presentation in his hotel room. Delgadillo and the travel staff she played for (and now coaches with) were there, and her parents Zoomed in. At the core of Gajewksi’s pitch was that OSU was going to take her whether she received the extra year of eligibility or not. Gajewski said if it wasn’t granted, she could come on as a student coach. She was already helping coach her old travel team, and Gajewski at OSU’s media day Monday raved about how smart she is.

“She’s got an IQ that’s through the roof,” Gajewski said. “I think if everybody on our team had this IQ, we wouldn’t even have to coach. Like, she’s coaching people.”

Delgadillo went on her visit to Stillwater and did so without telling her parents. She said she called her brother to let him know but that she wanted to go on this visit by herself. She said she let her parents know when she was already in Stillwater.

She committed.

“When Coach G said that he’ll honor my scholarship and I’ll be a GA and I’ll help anyone, I was like this is the type of man I want to play for,” Delgadillo said. “Because he’s gonna make me a better human, and then by luck of the draw, probably a week before I came out here, I got an email from my old compliance officer, and she was like, ‘Hey, you got the year back. Good luck. Go compete.'”

Delgadillo is now set to start in center field for the Cowgirls this season. Softball America tabbed her as a Preseason All-American. And it all started with a pair of orange shorts.

“Even when I came on the visit, I brought them because my coach was like, ‘You gotta bring them. You gotta have them with you,'” Delgadillo said. “I never looked back. Those orange shorts changed my life. I brought them with me here.”

Where Does ‘Cheese’ Come From?

Delgadillo said her mom is the only person who calls her Megan anymore. Everyone else calls her cheese.

Even when discussing OSU’s outfield early in Monday’s news conference, Gajewski said, “I’ll refer from this point on Delgadillo as Cheese.”

Before her college career, Delgadillo said her and some friends were hanging out at a camp one day and were coming up with nicknames for each other. She was always smiling, so she was tabbed as Cheese. It’s been that way ever since.