Morgan Day Ready To Compete For World Series Bid With OSU

At a young age, Morgan Day didn’t think she’d become a pitcher. It wasn’t until she was 12 years old when she began to pitch for fun, and at age 14, she pitched in her first game.

“For me, starting later, I think was a bit of an advantage,” Day said. “And I had a bit of a tougher mental state that I was able to combat my lack of control, lack of velocity and that I didn't really care where the ball went.”

That advantage is still there today for Day. In her senior year at Illinois State, she finished with a 1.63 ERA and 247 strikeouts in 163.0 innings.

But, after her four-year career with the Redbirds, Day decided to enter the transfer portal this past offseason for her last year of NCAA eligibility.

“Pitching at Illinois State meant everything to me, I had the greatest four years there, and I wouldn't take back a thing,” she said. “And the relationships and bonds that I made over those four years are ones that I'll carry with me through my entire life. I don't regret a single thing.”

The decision to leave her home state was not easy and it was something Day had pondered during the shortened season in 2020 that gave her another year to play college softball.

“I don't think I was quite ready to leave softball yet,” Day said. “But I don't know if I would have felt fully fulfilled, had I taken this extra year at ISU. Ultimately, I think it was a tough decision for me. I'm leaving everything that I've known and established over the last four years there. I think this is my opportunity to compete for a World Series at another university.”

That opportunity led to signing as a graduate student at Oklahoma State.

“Fortunately, I think that I have had a pretty successful career, but I've never advanced further than the conference tournament in the postseason,” Day said. “And now the program that Oklahoma State has built and everything that Coach Gajewski has established here is really admirable and really stands out to me as a transfer.”

The addition of Day was a must-need for the Cowgirls with the loss of Carrie Eberle this offseason. Last season, the Cowgirls finished with a Big 12–best 1.80 team ERA and the second-most innings pitched in the conference.

In her short time with the team, she’s not only enjoyed getting to know her new teammates, but also their shared aspirations to be playing in Oklahoma City in early June.

“I’m excited for postseason and I'm excited to get to play in the Big 12,” she said. “The whole tone here is just so confident, it's so refreshing that there's no doubt the expectation is to advance that deep into the postseason. That's the expectation...we are going to get to the World Series, and we're going to win it.”

Although her career didn’t start out like many pitchers, it’s her journey to get to where she is today that shows how hard work can pay off.

“I didn't have the best spin, but I didn't really care,” Day said. “I had a goal to play Division I softball, and I was really driven to make that goal happen. I didn't commit to Illinois State until the summer before my senior year, and they were my only Division I offer. But I think that was the school that believed the most in me and my potential, and looking back, it worked out the way it was supposed to.”

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