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THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: 3 for 'V' — Vanessa Shippy-Fletcher, the former Lake City High softball star, to have her No. 3 retired at Oklahoma State

| February 13, 2025 1:30 AM

The hints were there for Vanessa Shippy-Fletcher. 

There was no announced guest speaker for Oklahoma State’s annual preseason softball banquet in Stillwater recently — she was told they were trying to keep the banquet short. 

Her mom, Cheryl, was in town, but it was because she missed her grandkids, Vanessa was told. 

There was a gap on the new left-field wall where the softball program has honored three previous standout players, and the program’s first coach. 

“It’s really not easy to pull surprises over on me,” Shippy-Fletcher said. “I’m usually picking up on all the little things. I missed this one completely; I guess I just had my head in the sand, because I’ve been getting ready for the season, and wasn’t super-involved in the banquet planning this year, like I have been in the past. 

So it was quite the surprise to Vanessa Shippy-Fletcher when it was announced at the banquet that Shippy-Fletcher, who starred at Lake City High before become a three-time All-American at Oklahoma State, would have her No. 3 retired in March. 

“I’m crazy excited,” Shippy-Fletcher said recently, in a phone interview from Stillwater. “It’s a huge honor and a huge blessing. It’s something that I’ve worked for, not necessarily to get my name on the wall, but to be an integral part of Oklahoma State softball. That’s something I grew up knowing I wanted to make a difference wherever I ended up, and when I chose Oklahoma State, I knew I wanted to make a difference.”   


SHIPPY-FLETCHER is beginning her fifth season as an assistant coach at her alma mater. She is in her second season as the Cowgirls’ hitting coach and recruiting coordinator, after three years as a volunteer assistant.  

She was seated at her table, enjoying the banquet like everyone else, when up on the stage, Oklahoma State softball coach Kenny Gajewski said, in lieu of a guest speaker, there was a “special presentation.” 

On the video screen, one of Shippy-Fletcher's travel ball coaches was talking — but she didn’t think anything of it, as he had also played baseball at Oklahoma State. 

Then they showed an old recruiting video she had sent out when she was in high school — “Hi, I’m Vanessa Shippy from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho ... “ 

But she said some of the players had found that video on the internet recently, and thought they were playing some sort of trick on her. 

Then there was a shot of her roommate in college, talking about what it was like to play with Vanessa.  

“This is getting weird,” Vanessa thought. 

“I turned to my husband (Matt) and said, 'Is this what I think it is?’ 

“He said ‘Yes.’ 

“How long have you known?” 

“About a month.” 

“At that point, I was very overcome with emotions ... It was a complete surprise,” Vanessa said. 

Her No. 3 is scheduled to go up on the wall in mid-March, during a home series with Baylor. 


SHIPPY-FLETCHER was a two-time Big 12 Player of the Year at Oklahoma State, and she remains the Cowgirls career leader in runs, doubles, bases on balls and on-base percentage. 

After college, Shippy-Fletcher wasn’t sure if coaching would be in her future — or even her present. 

Not seeing any immediate openings on the Oklahoma State coaching staff, she took a job as assistant coach at Syracuse. 

“It really came out of nowhere,” she said. “My husband and I kinda took a leap of faith going to Syracuse, it’s where we felt God was guiding us ... what the heck, let’s go see where this goes.” 

The coach who hired her at Syracuse left for another job before the first season. She coached there for two seasons.  

Then “Coach G said we’d love to have you back,” Shippy-Fletcher recalled. 

She served as a volunteer assistant and first-base coach for three seasons at Oklahoma State. Last year, she was promoted to hitting coach and recruiting coordinator — good for her, bad for her fans in Idaho used to seeing her on TV, coaching first base. 

“I actually miss being out on the bases, too, but it’s not really conducive to getting the hitters prepared,” Shippy-Fletcher said.  

And recruiting is a little different these days with NIL, compared to when she was playing. 

“It does feel weird because it feels like you’re putting a dollar value on a human being, which is a really weird concept ... but that’s business,” Shippy-Fletcher said. “But recruiting is still finding the best talent and building relationships with them.” 

Gajewski was Shippy-Fletcher's coach her final three seasons in Stillwater, and the Cowgirls reached the regional round of the NCAA tournament each year. In her four seasons as an assistant coach, Oklahoma State has made the Women’s College World Series each year. 


WHY STILLWATER? 

“I love Coeur d’Alene, and I think Coeur d’Alene is the prettiest place I’ve ever been, and I tell people that all the time ... you have to go,” Shippy-Fletcher said.  

And Stillwater ... 

“I really just feel like it’s a completely different life that I have here, than I had there,” she said. “It’s like little different lives that I have when I go back, it’s a whole new different group of people, that have maybe never experienced Stillwater. 

“Even the recruits, we sell them ... you just have to be here to know,” she said. “You’ll feel it when you’re here. It’s really hard to describe Stillwater ... it actually doesn’t sound that great at all. There’s not a lot to do, there’s not a lot of food options, there’s not a lot of landscape ... but it’s the best place I’ve ever been.” 

She said she’s turned down offers from other Division I schools to be their head coach, saying she has her dream job right now. 

“It’s home, and it’s where my family loves to be, and recruits feel it when they come here,” Shippy-Fletcher said. “And I felt it the second I came here; it was home; this community is just unmatched. They bleed OSU, but they love, love, love the people. The people in Oklahoma are great, but the people in Stillwater are some of the best people you’ll ever meet, ... it’s just a place that will grab you, and it won’t let you go.” 

It’s where she met her husband — Vanessa and Matt will be married seven years in August. It’s where they want to raise their son, Luke, who will be 4 in July, and daughter Hallie, who will be 2 in April. 

It’s where her dad, Ron, now lives and where her mom visits. 

“I moved away to Syracuse for two years and we were like, ‘man, Stillwater’s home,’” she said. 

The gap on the wall that will be filled next month is another reason why. 


Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1205, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports. 

    Courtesy Oklahoma State Athletics Vanessa Shippy-Fletcher addresses the crowd at a Feb. 1 banquet after learning she would have her jersey number retired by the Oklahoma State softball program.
    Courtesy Oklahoma State Athletics Vanessa Shippy-Fletcher, holding daughter Hallie, and husband Matt Fletcher, holding son Luke, next to Vanessa's jersey No. 3, which will be retired by Oklahoma State softball in March.