Cowgirl Like Me: Kiley Naomi Is One of a Kind

On her own and a long way from home, Kiley Naomi surveyed her surroundings and wondered if this was really the path she wanted to travel. 

The teenager was in Wichita, Kansas, more than 700 miles from everyone and everything that was familiar to her in Louisiana. Staying the summer with a host family, strangers to her, she had come north to play softball for the Wichita Mustangs travel program. 

She went because people who knew about these things told her she needed more than the competition available in her hometown of Maurice, Louisiana, not far from Lafayette. A standout sprinter, point guard and shortstop back home, she dominated local competition by sheer athleticism. But that wasn’t enough. To be more than a local legend, she needed to compete against athletes who matched her stride for stride. You don’t get better when you’re comfortable . 

So there she was in Wichita, far from home and even further from her comfort zone. 

For a few days, maybe even a week, she had second thoughts. Maybe familiar was better. But an independent streak never far from the surface emerged. She made herself meet people and go places. She adapted. She needed to find out how good she could be. 

If the rest of the world remains slow to catch on to what she discovered, well, Oklahoma State’s senior shortstop always was quicker than most. 

“She’s the best player that nobody ever talks about, in my opinion,” Oklahoma State coach Kenny Gajewski said. “It’s a joke, it’s frustrating.”

An All-American Resume

As the season gets underway, Naomi is not among the 50 players included on USA Softball’s Player of the Year watch list. She is not a reigning NFCA first-team All-American. Or a reigning second-team All-American. Or third-team All-American. She was not among the 54 players named to those three teams. 

Never mind that among returning Big 12 players in 2022, only six accumulated more total bases than she did in 2021. 

Never mind that she is the only returning Big 12 player who reached double digits in home runs (14) and stolen bases (15) a season ago. Or that no other player in the Big 12, Pac-12 or SEC, returning or otherwise, had at least 14 home runs and 14 stolen bases. 

Never mind that by just about every scouting report, including her own, she’s even better at preventing runs than producing them. That athleticism comes in handy with the glove. 

And never mind that she started every game for the Cowgirls en route to the World Series in the only two seasons played to their completion during her time in Stillwater. 

Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso knows something about overshadowed shortstops. In a state with two of them, she’s understandably partial to the one she works with every day, Grace Lyons. But after facing Naomi eight times, she knows all too well what a lot of people seem to miss. 

“Naomi is just an all-around great athlete,” Gasso said. “What really stands out me, besides great defense, is she has really become an outstanding hitter. She’s tough to stop. She’s really got a hunger for the game. She’s a good leader for her team. She’s really an extreme competitor. I’ve always felt that about her, but mainly felt that mostly her last season. Just the way she goes about herself, pretty calm but determined. She’s a spark for her team.”

The Quintessential Cowgirl

She plays with confidence in who she is, even if others remain in the dark. It’s well-earned confidence. Earned from the years in Maurice working on the field with her dad, Roald, a retired firefighter. From the experiences in Wichita, when she learned from current Oklahoma State assistant Jeff Cottrill. Confidence earned from long commutes in high school to play for the Texas Bombers travel program — always the youngest player on those teams, often by a lot, she said little and observed much in how her elders went about their business. 

Cottrill recalled a teenager who arrived in Wichita with potential that was as unlimited as it was unpolished. She could made great plays — but often tried to make great plays when all she needed was a routine one. She didn’t have the experience to know that she didn’t need to unleash a laser to first base on a hard one-hopper from a right-handed hitter, that she had time to set her feet. She had the athleticism and she wanted to use it every play. She wanted to be great. She just needed to learn how.

“She’s hard-headed, but a lot of great players are,” Cottrill said. “She was stubborn at time. We had tough talks even then — we’ve had tough talks since she’s been at Oklahoma State about what I need out of her if she wants to get to the next level. But she’s one of my favorite kids. I’d much rather have a kid where you’re having to get them to back off a little bit than always having to push them.”

It made her a perfect fit for one of Gajewski’s early recruiting classes in Stillwater — a player who imbued a uniform with confidence and credibility, rather than the other way around. 

“I knew at the time Oklahoma State wasn’t the program it is now,” Naomi said. “But as an athlete, I wanted to be able to help build that. I saw that this was a place that I could help bring to life. He told me he was going to bring in players like me to help build this program.”

It’s a stretch to say she struggled as a freshman. Starting all 62 games for the World Seres-bound Cowgirls, she posted an .820 OPS and totaled 19 stolen bases and 18 extra-base hits. A lot of teams would take four years of those numbers from a shortstop with as much skill as she has in the field. But we also wouldn’t be talking about Naomi now if she was still hitting .258, as she did that season. 

There were difficult weekends for the freshman, but she didn’t doubt herself. She knew what she did well, and she focused on that. 

“For me, it’s more about confidence,” Naomi said. “I like to tell myself ‘Think about being just as good in the batter’s box as you are at defense.’ Defense is my strong suit, I think. I feel most comfortable there.”

She was hitting .355 with a 1.173 OPS, eight home runs and 12 stolen bases when the 2020 season was called off after 24 games. And she only built on those offensive numbers when softball returned in 2021. Yet even now, when she accumulates a few poor plate appearances in a series or struggles in the cage, she tells herself to go back to the mindset she knows best. And she is never more herself than when she’s in the field. 

When it comes to building a championship-caliber program in the shadow of Bedlam rival Oklahoma, Gajewski says he leans into being the less glamorous operation. He wants a team with a chip on its shoulder, saying “There’s no need to fight that. Just embrace it and love it.”

That can, admittedly, begin to sound a bit contrived for a top-five program that keeps making it to the World Series. But another way to look at it is that it’s less an attempt to wriggle into the increasingly ill-fitting clothes of the underdog. And more a mentality of not measuring yourself against anyone else. 

“Regardless of whether I get accolades or not, I always play with a chip on my shoulder,” Naomi said. “I feel like that’s when I play my best. I always want more. Some people see it, some people don’t. But that’s what keeps me working harder. I don’t need the big crowd. All I know is that I’m working hard and doing everything that I can for my team.”

Naomi long ago decided that softball is the path she wants to follow as far as it will take her. 

“She was a winner when she showed up at the Mustangs,” Cottrill said. “That never left her, that self-confidence. Besides her athleticism, that’s really what separated her from everybody else.”

Not an NFCA All-American? She know she is someone her teammate can rely on. Not on the Player of the Year Watch List? She knows she will be the first in her immediate family to graduate from college. 

She knows who she is. The rest of the world will figure it out eventually. 

For their sake, hopefully soon. 

“She was a little upset that she didn’t make anyone’s All-American teams,” Gajewski conceded. “I’ll be honest, I agree with her. But when she told me, my inside were lighting up. When you piss off a player like that, you can’t wait to see what happens next. 

“So I can’t wait to see what happens next.”