STILLWATER — Oklahoma State softball coach Kenny Gajewski dipped into his team’s recent past to find the Cowgirls’ new pitching coach.

Gajewski announced Wednesday the hiring of former OSU pitcher Carrie Eberle to fill the position vacated when John Bargfeldt retired last month.

“There is no better person who understands Oklahoma State softball and the Cowgirl Way than Carrie Eberle,” he said in a statement. “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.”

Eberle pitched for the Cowgirls in the 2020-21 seasons, helping them to a Women’s College World Series appearance in her final year. She stuck with the team as a graduate assistant in 2022, then was hired as the pitching coach at Lipscomb University last summer.

“Oklahoma State has a special piece of my heart and to have the opportunity to come back is a blessing,” Eberle said in a statement. “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.”

A Charlotte, North Carolina, native, Eberle starred at Virginia Tech, earning ACC Pitcher of the Year honors in 2019 before transferring to OSU. She garnered the same honor in the Big 12 Conference in 2021.

Over her two seasons at OSU — the first of which was limited to 13 appearances because of the COVID-19 pandemic — Eberle had a 1.13 earned-run average with 224 strikeouts over 266 ⅓ innings pitched. She had an overall record of 36-4 while holding opponents to a .184 batting average.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Former Oklahoma State softball pitcher Carrie Eberle named assistant