STILLWATER – One of the best strikeout pitchers in America is coming to Oklahoma State as a graduate transfer.
 
Right-hander Morgan Day, a first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection who ranked in the top 15 nationally in strikeouts per seven innings, strikeout-to-walk ratio and shutouts in 2021 is eligible to compete for OSU in the 2022 season.
 
Day is one of the greatest pitchers in Illinois State softball history. She posted 51 complete games during her four years as a Redbird starter and struck out 620 batters – a mark that ranks third in school history despite the fact that she lost half of her junior season when COVID shut down college sports.
 
"I am really excited to join a top-tier program like Oklahoma State and play for Coach G," Day said. "As soon as I stepped on campus, I could immediately feel the sense of family and community - it was awesome."
 
Under head coach Kenny Gajewski, Oklahoma State has become a premium destination for Division I transfers. In 2021, three such Cowgirls earned All-America honors (Alysen Febrey from Georgia, Carrie Eberle from Virginia Tech and Hayley Busby from Virginia). In 2019, Samantha Show (a Texas A&M transfer) earned NFCA All-America recognition and was a Women's College World Series hero for OSU.
 
"The history OSU and Coach G have had with transfers absolutely factored into my decision, especially with how much success transfer pitchers have had," Day said.
 
The Cowgirls are coming off a 2021 season in which they qualified for their second consecutive WCWS and placed second in the Big 12.
 
"Morgan is all about OSU and what's exciting for us about her is that she has a lot of big-game experience," Gajewski said. "Being the ace of a staff for multiple years at Illinois State is going to really help her. She has a tremendous rise ball and big-time guts."
 
More on Morgan Day:
 
Morgan Day
Pitcher  |  5-10  |  Graduate  |  Tuscola, Ill./Tuscola/Illinois State
 
2018 Missouri Valley Conference All-Tournament Team
2019 Second Team All-Missouri Valley Conference
2021 Second Team NFCA All-Mideast Region
2021 First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference
2021 Missouri Valley Conference Softball Scholar-Athlete Team
2021 Illinois State Team Most Valuable Player
2021 Illinois State Team Most Valuable Pitcher
 
An all-time great pitcher at Illinois State, her 620 career strikeouts ranks third in school history.
 
Senior Year (2021): Earned first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors and was a second team selection to the NFCA All-Mideast Region team … Voted by her teammates as Illinois State's most valuable player and most valuable pitcher … A member of the Missouri Valley Conference Softball Scholar-Athlete team … A four-time selection as Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week … Led Illinois State to its first Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship since 2017 … Tossed a 16-strikeout no-hitter against North Dakota State, becoming the first Redbird to toss a no-no since Taylor Baxter did so against Central Connecticut State in 2011 … Posted a 1.63 ERA and 19-6 record in the circle … Tossed 19 complete games, including eight shutouts, in 163.0 innings pitched … Her eight shutouts led the Missouri Valley Conference and ranked 13th nationally … Her Valley-leading 247 strikeouts ranked 16th nationally … Ranked in the top 10 nationally with 10.6 strikeouts per seven innings (seventh) and a 7.06 strikeout-to-walk ratio (eighth).
 
Junior Year (2020): Led the Redbirds in the circle, posting a 7-5 record with 16 appearances and 12 starts … Posted a 2.76 ERA in 78.2 innings of work … Pitched eight complete games and two shutouts … Finished the season with a league-leading 123 strikeouts – the 12^th most in all of NCAA Division I … Ranked 11^th in NCAA Division I in strikeouts per seven innings (10.9), while leading the MVC in the category … Finished second in the Valley in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.73) … Tied the ISU single-game strikeout record after fanning 18 batters in a 5-0 complete game shutout of IUPUI (Feb. 28) … Recorded seven double-digit strikeout performances … Earned MVC Pitcher of the Week honor on Feb. 24 for her perfect 2-0 weekend at FAU's "Strike-Out Cancer" Tournament, posting a 0.00 ERA, allowing just two hits in 10.2 innings of work, while holding her opponents to a .065 batting average … Shortened season due to COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of events and championships by the NCAA.
 
Sophomore (2019): Appeared in 39 games with 25 starts in the circle for the Redbirds ... Earned All-MVC Second Team honors ... Pitched a team-high 12 complete games for the season-straight season to go with five shutouts ... Earned a win over nationally-ranked Indiana (March 2) ... Posted a 10-16 record with a 3.26 ERA in 154.2 innings of work ... Fanned a team-high 156 batters, the 10th most in a single season by a Redbird ... Earned MVC Pitcher of the Week on March 4 ... Struck out a career-high 12 batters versus Valparaiso (May 9) in the opening game of the MVC Tournament ... Fanned 11 Crusaders in the regular-season finale on May 4, becoming the first Redbird to strike out at least 10 batters since Regan Romshek struck out 10 in 2015. 
 
Freshman (2018): Earned MVC Newcomer of the Week on March 5 ... Placed on the MVC All-Tournament Team ... Appeared in 31 games with 21 starts in the circle as a true freshman for the Redbirds ... Pitched a team-high 12 complete games, including a team-best four shutouts ... Registered a pair of saves ... Posted a 9-11 record with a 3.22 ERA in 141.1 innings pitched ... Fanned a team-high 94 batters ... Made collegiate debut and first career start against nationally-ranked Florida (Feb. 9) ... Tossed a one-hitter at Southern Illinois (Mar. 25) ... Went the distance in 10-inning setback to then-No. 10 LSU (Mar. 2), giving up just one run while striking out six ... Struck out a career-high nine batters versus Evansville (Apr. 13) ... Started Illinois State's pair of MVC Tournament games. 
 
Tuscola HS: Earned four varsity letters as a pitcher/outfielder for coach Leonard Sementi … earned all-conference first-team and all-area first team honors … Central Illinois Conference Champion in 2017 … unanimous first-team all-conference selection as a senior … first-team 2A all- state and all-area honoree her senior year … News-Gazette and Harald & Review first-team all-area honoree in 2017 … 2017 Herald & Review Area Player of the Year … Broke several single-season records as a senior: wins (27), strikeouts (280), innings pitched (182.0), RBIs (62) … Garnered the team MVP and batting average award in 2017 … batted .526  with 10 home runs and .982 slugging percentage at the plate while holding a 1.07 ERA in the circle her senior year … helped her team to 2016 regional and sectional championships and a runner-up finish at the Johnston City super-sectional … batted .519 with  a .971 slugging percentage in 2016 … member of the 2016 Central Illinois Conference championship team … collected a 21-4 record in 2015 and 2016 with two career no-hitters as a pitcher …was a 2015 all-conference and all-region honorable mention … played travel ball for BNGSA Avanti's Angels … 2017 ASA/USA 18U Northern National and State Champion … 2017 USSSA 18U A State Champion … finished as the 2016 ASA/USA 16A State runner-up with travel softball team the Champaign Select Gold … also ran cross country at Tuscola, earning the bronze medal at the 2016 IHSA regional to qualify to for the sectional meet … member of National Honor Society and THS student council … held student officer positions of student council vice president, National Honor Society treasurer, and class secretary … four-year member of high honor roll.
 
Personal: Full name is Morgan LeAnne Day … daughter of Scott and Kirsten Day … sister to Griffin and Mason … born July 1, 1999 in Urbana, Illinois … Graduated from Illinois State with a degree in public relations … Working on a master's degree in mass communications from Oklahoma State.