Brophy had spent time as a quality control assistant and graduate assistant under Morris the previous two seasons at Incarnate Word and Washington State, but the move to UNT was Brophy’s first full-time college coaching job as the Mean Green’s QBs coach.

Back when he was recruiting West Texas for the Mean Green, Brophy would fly into Amarillo and would go out to high schools in Bushland, Amarillo, Plainview, Lubbock, Odessa, Midland and even made a trip out to Crane, a town of about 3,000.

“We’re not a lazy recruiting staff,” Brophy said. “We’re not just gonna go and circle 45 minutes on the airport and hit those schools. And that’s not to call anybody out specifically, but we’re gonna go and turn over every leaf that we can.”

Brophy was on The Left Hash Call podcast on Monday, where he discussed myriad things about his new job as Oklahoma State’s offensive coordinator. One of the things that got brought up was the new OSU’s staff’s views on high school recruiting, an element of the sport that has seen its role diminished with the implementation of the transfer portal. But — in lockstep with Morris — Brophy said the Cowboys are still going to take recruiting high schoolers seriously.

“I don’t think we ever want to be in a situation where we sign 60 or 70 transfers — however many it was,” Brophy said. “I don’t think that that’s sustainable. I don’t think it’s the way you want to build your program, but it was necessary. I think Coach Morris has made that pretty evident. …

“I think the blueprint going forward is going to be to continue to recruit high school kids. And you hear a lot of people say it. I think the method of you really just want to utilize the portal to add the pieces that leave, the older guys that leave. Maybe some place you have a deficiency, but the foundation needs to be laid through high school recruiting and bringing these kids in and developing them from the start.”

Texas has always been and will always be an important place as it pertains to the Oklahoma State football roster. There are 35 players on OSU’s current roster who played their high school ball in the Lone Star State. Morris and his staff have deep ties to that state, but the group also has ties to the state of Oklahoma.

“We’re not gonna not do our due diligence on every part of (Texas), and then the same thing goes in Oklahoma, as well,” Brophy said. “There’s a lot of really good football in Oklahoma, and there’s a buncha guys on our staff with Oklahoma connections — Coach (Patrick) Cobbs, our running back’s coach, is from Oklahoma, Robbie Gordon, our assistant linebackers coach, Julian Wilson, who played at OU, is from Oklahoma, G-Rich (Greg Richmond), who played at OSU, is from OKC — so we’re gonna go to all these schools and knock on all these doors and evaluate all these kids and just truly find the kids who love ball.

“We’ve gotta find the kids that want to be here and love football and want to compete and they’ve got a high competitive character and competitive drive to want to be the best because the guys that aren’t like that, they’re just not gonna fit here. That’s just not who we are. That’s not who our program’s about.”

Brophy said the plan is to take 20 to 25 high schoolers each year, saying it’s something Morris believes in. Brophy recalls that the staff might’ve overdone high school recruiting a bit early at North Texas.

The Mean Green started the 2024 season hot at 5-1 with their only loss coming to Texas Tech, but when a season’s natural attrition started to set in, a lot of UNT’s depth were freshmen after signing 31 high schoolers in the 2024 recruiting class (all but two of whom were from Texas). Those growing pains saw UNT finish the season at 6-7, but those growing pains also provided … well, growth. Guys like Wyatt Young and Miles Coleman were freshmen that year and used the 2024 season as a jumping off point to a big 2025.

Although the OSU staff seems to value high school recruiting more than what might be considered normal in 2026, that doesn’t mean the coaches are anti-portal. But OSU’s portal strategy might also be a bit unique.

Morris has harped since he arrived in Stillwater how much he values in-game experience — no matter the level.

“I think that we’re more of a production over potential kind of crew when it comes to attacking the portal,” Brophy said. “So we’re gonna try to go out there and find those kids that were productive, whether it’s D-II, D-III, FCS, whatever it is, lower level G5, over the potential of a kid who’s maybe coming from a place with a big logo on his chest.

“Because the reality is, unless you’re a quarterback or a kicker is that if you can’t play at a lot of those big schools, you can’t play for us or here or North Texas or wherever. A couple positions are different, but if you can’t even make it on the field in special teams, what’s to say you could play for us? And there’s always circumstances and one-offs, but we’re gonna attack production over potential and continue to build through the high school ranks.”

Listen to Brophy’s full interview here

Having a Kiwi center worked well for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and now the Cowboys are giving it a try.

Georgetown transfer 7-footer Julius Halaifonua committed to Oklahoma State on Monday. Out of Auckland, New Zealand, Halaifonua averaged 9.5 points, 4.4 boards and 1.3 assists a game last season for the Hoyas, his second with the program.

Halaifonua made his way to the states by way of the NBA Global Academy in Australia. 247Sports considered him the No. 60 player in all of the 2024 recruiting class.

He’s represented New Zealand at various age-level events. He took part in the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup, averaging 10.5 pints, 5.4 boards, two assists and 1.6 blocks across seven games. Halaifonua and the Kiwis took silver at the 2023 U17 Oceania Championship, where he averaged nine points and five boards. He earned a bronze medal at the 2022 U16 Asia Championship, putting up 12.8 points and 9.5 boards a contest. At the 2022 U17 World Cup, Halaifonua averaged 12 points and 7.5 rebounds a game.

He was injured in his first season with the Hoyas after just six games, where he averaged three points and two boards in about 13 minutes a contest before breaking out as a sophomore.

He started 28 of the 32 games he played in this past season. He scored in double figures 13 times including four games in the 20s.

He scored a career-high 22 points in a game against Saint Peters, a game he also ripped down nine boards and stuffed two shots in.

He had a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double against Villanova in a win at the Big East Tournament, and in a game at Marquette in December, Halaifonua had 21 points, six rebounds and four assists.

From an advanced analytic perspective, Halaifonua ranked 61st nationally in KenPom’s Offensive Rating/Possession Usage (ORtg). A ORtg of 100 is about the average, but Halaifonua’s was 130 this past season, per KenPom. He also ranked in the Top 100 nationally in 2-point percentage, hitting 65.2% of his 2-point shots.

Halaifonua becomes the fifth player the Cowboys have grabbed out of the portal joining 6-6 combo guard Luke Bogavac (North Carolina), C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Kashie Natt (Sam Houston), promising young point guard Jacob Walker (Sam Houston) and stretch forward Andrija Grbovic (Arizona State).

Halaifonua fills roster spot No. 13 of 15 for the Cowboys.

Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is checking into a treatment program for gambling addiction, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Sorsby transferred from Cincinnati to Tech this offseason, with 247Sports labeling him as the No. 2 player in all of the transfer portal.

According to Thamel’s reporting, Sorsby seeking treatment came after it was discovered he made thousands of online bets on a variety of sports, jeopardizing his eligibility in Lubbock.

Sorsby bet on Indiana while he was redshirting with the Hoosiers in 2022, according to Thamel, with the bet reportedly being on Indiana to win and none came in a game Sorsby played in. According to amended NCAA guidelines that came out in 2023, “student-athletes who wager on their own games or on other sports at their own schools” face “permanent loss of collegiate eligibility in all sports.”

The NCAA is investigating, according to Thamel.

It’s a sad deal that has unfortunately become more prominent as gambling laws have loosened and advertising for different methods have skyrocketed.

“We love Brendan and support his decision to seek professional help,” Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire told ESPN. “Taking this step requires courage, and our primary focus is on him as a person. Our program is behind Brendan as he prioritizes his health.”

The Red Raiders were (and potentially still will be) the favorites to win a second consecutive Big 12 title, but with Sorsby’s future up in the air, it definitely opens up that race a bit more. ESPN reported that Sorsby was set to make more than $5 million this season at Texas Tech.

After redshirting as a Hoosier in 2022, Sorsby played 10 games for Indiana in 2023, completing 57% of his passes for 1,587 yards, 15 touchdowns and five picks.

He then transferred to Cincy, starting two seasons for the Bearcats. In those two seasons, he completed 63% of his passes for 5,613 yards, 45 touchdowns and 12 INTs.

With no second portal window, if Sorsby isn’t able to play next season, Tech’s starting role would likely fall to redshirt sophomore Will Hammond. Hammond tore his ACL in October, but while filling in for an injured Behren Morton as a freshman, Hammond completed 63% of his 109 pass attempts for 680 yards, seven scored and three INTs.

OSU Bullets

• The Cowboys completed their sweep of Texas Tech in Lubbock, really a must-sweep series as they fight for postseason – unsurprisingly, the Cowgirls kept rolling and swept Baylor (PFB)

• Landon Robideau continued his great year, winning the U20 US Open (PFB)

• The Cowboys were shut out of the NFL Draft (assuming you give zero credit for De’Zhaun Stribling) but got plenty of invites as undrafted free agents (TulsaWorld)

• ICYMI – the new wrestling center will be named after John Smith (OKState.com)

• All-time draft picks – surprised by how close OSU/TU are:

All-Time NFL Draft Picks for Each FBS Team 🏈 pic.twitter.com/GDpdy0RySI

— CFB Tracker (@MatchupTracker) April 26, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• The world’s most lucrative “baby race” • The European island investing $45m to get tourists back

This a fun question:

If you lived in a world where everyone made the exact same salary, what would you choose to do for work? James Clear

A month after winning an NCAA title as a true freshman, Robideau won the U20 U.S. Open on Sunday at 70 kg. He beat Seth Mendoza 8-2 in the final. Mendoza redshirted at Missouri this past college season.

Outside of that final, Robideau won with five techs and a medical forfeit.

The win means Robideau advances to the U20 World Team Trials finals, which is a best-of-three series against the winner of the U20 World Team Trials bracket next month. If he wins that series, he earns the spot on the United States’ U20 World Team.

Incoming OSU freshman heavyweight Dreshaun Ross was in the 125 kg final but dropped the bout to Coby Merrill, OSU wrestler Cody Merrill’s younger brother, 8-6. The younger Merrill will be a freshman at Iowa State next season.

Merrill won the bout by repeatedly pushing Ross out of the circle, which is worth a point in freestyle. Ross got a few takedowns late in the bout but couldn’t quite get the one more that would’ve given him the result.

Merrill moves to the World Trials finals, but Ross will be the favorite to get to him through the bracket. And you feel good about how Ross finished that match as he tried to figure out how to avoid all the pushouts.

Two other Cowboys placed at the event, with Ronnie Ramirez taking fourth at 61 kg and Kody Routledge taking fifth at 74 kg. Both of those guys took a redshirt this past season.

OSU commits Ladd Holman (third at 92 kg) and Tanner Hodgins (eighth at 92 kg) also placed. Those two wrestled each other on the backside of the bracket, with Holman winning 12-0.

Oklahoma State beat Baylor 8-1 on Sunday, taking all three games against the Bears in Waco this weekend. The Cowgirls scored six runs in the seventh inning to pull away late.

The inning started with Karli Godwin drawing a walk before Rosie Davis and Lexi McDonald hit back-to-back singles to load the bases.

After an Amanda Hasler pop out, Tia Warsop stepped to the plate and hit an infield single, scoring a run and keeping the bases loaded.

Big time insurance from Tia 👊#GoPokes | @tia_warsop pic.twitter.com/biKMnjnavE

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 26, 2026

Freshman Montgomery Henderson stepped in as a pinch hitter in the next at-bat and put a ball into centerfield to score another run.

The Texas native comes through 😮‍💨#GoPokes | @MontgomeryHend8 pic.twitter.com/e1NQ0IWgid

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 26, 2026

Then freshman shortstop Aubrey Jones really busted the game open with a double that scored a pair, making it 6-1 Cowgirls.

Give her all the Sauce. #GoPokes | @AubreyJones2025 pic.twitter.com/4VM8qVhWxF

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 26, 2026

For good measure, Claire Timm singled later in the inning to score another two.

The Timm Reaper™️#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/n64OoWF9Cp

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 26, 2026

It turns out the Cowgirls didn’t need any of those seventh-inning runs because Ruby Meylan is really good at softball. After getting Saturday off, Meylan returned to the circle Sunday and threw the complete game in 110 pitches, allowing the lone run off five hits while walking one and striking out three.

McDonald was probably the offensive MVP of the game, as she went 4-for-4 at the plate. Timm, Warsop and Jones all finished with multiple RBIs.

OSU is straight up rolling right now, having won five in a row and eight of its past nine. The Cowgirls still ought to finish strong, but at 34-13 (14-7 Big 12), they’re looking more and more like an NCAA Regional host.

Next week marks the end of the regular season. OSU hosts Tulsa on Wednesday before welcoming Kansas to town next weekend for a three-game series.

Oklahoma State beat Texas Tech 11-2 on Sunday to complete a Big 12 series sweep.

The series-ending win for the Cowboys came with a handful of outstanding performances, but we’ll start with the Cowboys’ leadoff man.

Junior outfielder Alex Conover went 4-for-6 at the dish Sunday with three runs scored, an RBI, two doubles, a home run and two stolen bases.

He got things going early, starting the game with his 335-foot home run to left. It came on a 2-2 pitch and was Conover’s seventh homer of the season and second in as many days.

Strait out of the gate

Leadoff 💣 for @AlexConover36 #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/sKk2BRozBj

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 26, 2026

The Red Raiders will be glad to get Conover back to Stillwater. In the three games this weekend, Conover was 10-for-15 (.667) with eight runs scored and three RBIs.

Brennan Phillips was fantastic on the bump for the Pokes on Sunday, throwing 120 pitches across 8 1/3 innings where he allowed the two runs on seven hits while walking one, hitting one and striking out six. Kai Fyke came on and got the final two outs.

Kollin Ritchie proved he’s more than just a home run hitter, as he went 3-for-4 at the plate on Sunday with and RBI and a run scored. He had a double and two singles.

OSU hit three other home runs, the first of which came off Garrett Shull’s bat in the second inning. The solo shot was Shull’s 10th of the season.

And when the good times roll, let ’em roll

10th 💣 of the season for @gshull_8 doubles our lead#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/XqNeBcvVHR

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 26, 2026

Next came Sebastian Norman in the fourth — another solo shot. It was Norman’s fifth in his freshman season.

He’d like to have that one back@14sebastiann crushes a pitch over the LF wall#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/koOUIj3ztG

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 26, 2026

Collin Brueggemann closed the home run festivities in the sixth with a solo shot to center that went 435 feet from home plate. It makes a dozen home runs on the year for Brueggemann.

Living and Living Well

A dozen 💣💣 for Bruegge#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/65WOTQzdHf

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 26, 2026

OSU led 6-2 going into the ninth when it just got gross for the Red Raiders. OSU scored five runs in the frame. The first came off a Ritchie single. The other four came either from a bases-loaded walk or a bases-loaded hit by pitch.

This was an outstanding weekend for the Cowboys’ NCAA Tournament hopes. OSU is now 28-16 on the season and 11-10 in Big 12 play. This is the first time this season OSU is above .500 in the league.

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OSU Bullets

• The Cowgirls run-ruled the Bears to secure their fifth Big 12 series win. [PFB]

• The Pokes also picked up a series win on the road, topping Texas Tech in peculiar fashion. [PFB]

• Bill Haisten provides some context on apparent dysfunction within OSU’s athletic program. 

So, Oklahoma State really does or really does not want the 54-year-old Weiberg to continue as its athletic director?

He did get a new four-year contract, but at $750,000 annually Weiberg remains the Big 12’s lowest-paid athletic director. A coach can have a .500 season and get a raise. As an athletic director with a nice track record on hiring coaches, why hasn’t Weiberg gotten a raise? [Tulsa World]

• Several former Cowboys signed UDFA deals following the NFL Draft. [PFB]

• John Smith to follow in the footsteps of other great OSU coaches like Eddie Sutton and Ed Gallagher. [PFB]

• Captain America reigns.

Wyatt Hendrickson ends the night with a bang.

Hendrickson pins Demetrius Thomas in 30 seconds to win the U.S. Open title at 125 kg.

An electric finish from Wyatt, closing out the finals with one of the biggest statements of the night. pic.twitter.com/nxgPQhh2l3

— Saturday Night Lights (@WrestlingSNL) April 26, 2026

• A nice look at new Cowgirl commit Yuting Deng. [PFB]

Non-OSU Bullets

• Some of the #DraftDog captions are pretty good.

That dog went for the open couch space!!! 🤣😂 #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/bwA5afiAxx

— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) April 25, 2026

Although Oklahoma State didn’t have a player drafted, there were some Cowboys who signed post-draft deals.

Here’s a recap that we’ll add to if a few more announcements trickle out on Sunday.

Wes Pahl — Cleveland Browns

Fortunately for the Cowboys, they had a really good punter in 2025. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, they had to use him quite a bit.

Pahl inked a deal with the Cleveland Browns and new head coach/former OSU OC Todd Monken.

Pahl’s 46.5-yard average was second in the Big 12 in 2025, while his 23 punts of 50 or more yards led the conference by six. He also forced a Big 12-best 26 fair catches.

Parker Robertson — Denver Broncos

There couldn’t have been many better stories in college football this past season than that of Parker Robertson.

Starting his career as an undersized walk-on, Robertson closed his career by leading the Cowboys in tackles with 77 this past season. He finished second on the team in tackles for loss with 8.5 and tied for the team lead with a pair of interceptions.

Robertson had a great Pro Day, running a 4.47 40-yard dash while repping 225 pounds 17 times on bench.

The Broncos took safety Miles Scott (Illinois) in the seventh round, as well.

Terrill Davis — Baltimore Ravens

There must be something about an OSU receiver rocking No. 2 that leads to them getting picked up by the Ravens, with Davis following in Tylan Wallace’s footsteps.

For myriad reasons, the OSU passing game was anemic in 2025, but Davis finished second among Cowboys with 373 receiving yards on 29 catches.

This past season was Davis’ first as a Cowboy after he was a Division-II All-American at UCO in 2025.

The Ravens took a pair of receivers in the draft, taking Ja’Kobi White (USC) in the third round and Elijah Sarratt (Indiana) in the fourth.

Kenneth Harris — New England Patriots

Kenneth Harris battled through not getting to play a lot in his first few seasons after transferring from Arkansas State to becoming an impact player on defense this past season for the Cowboys.

He finished the year with 33 tackles, which ranked sixth on the team. He had two tackles for loss, a sack and a team-best six pass breakups.

Harris ran a 4.48 at OSU’s Pro Day and had 22 bench reps.

The Pats took one defensive back in the draft — fifth-round pick Karon Prunty (Wake Forest).

Old Friends

A pair of former Cowboys did get drafted this weekend.

Wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling transferred to Ole Miss this past season. The San Francisco 49ers took Stribling with the first pick of the second round.

Kendal Daniels crossed Bedlam battle lines going from OSU to OU. He was taken in the fourth round by the Atlanta Falcons.

Wyatt Hendrickson won the U.S. Open at 125 kg on Saturday night in Las Vegas. He pinned his finals opponent in just 27 seconds.

He took on Demetrius Thomas in Sunday night’s final, taking the former Pitt Panther down at the whistle, flipping him to his back and pinning him.

It marks the second straight year Hendrickson has won the U.S. Open. The result books his ticket to Final X, where he’ll take on the winner of the World Team Trails in a best-of-three series. The winner of that series will represent the United States at the World Championships.

Hendrickson was one of three Cowboy RTC finalists but the only to win.

Four-time OSU All-American Dustin Plott dropped a close final to Michael Macchiavello at 92 kg, losing 4-3. Plott scored on a chest wrap turn late in the match and kept that chest wrap in search of a some match-winning exposure points, but the clock ran out before he could get the second roll through.

Unfortunately for Plott, there isn’t a World Team Trail at 92 kg because Trent Hidlay took gold at last year’s Worlds, which means he auto-qualifies for Final X.

Joey McKenna was the other Cowboy RTC wrestler in the finals, but he dropped his match to high school phenom Bo Bassett 10-0 at 65 kg. McKenna injured his knee on Bassett’s first takedown, and it seemed to progressively get worse with some ensuing takedowns.

There will be no World Team Trials at this weight either, with Real Woods earning bronze at the World Championships last year.

Jax Forrest wrestled back for third at 61 kg, taking out Iowa’s Austin DeSanto in the third-place bout.

He’ll have to go through the trials to get back on the world team. Penn State’s Marcus Blaze beat Ohio State’s Ben Davino in the final after Davino beat Forrest on Friday. Those three freshmen came in first (Forrest), second (Davino) and fourth (Blaze) at the NCAA Championships last month, so this freestyle battle will only add to their budding rivalry.

Cowboy RTC Senior Placements: 

Wyatt Hendrickson (125 kg) — 1st
Dustin Plott (92 kg) — 2nd
Joey McKenna (65 kg) — 2nd
Jax Forrest (61 kg) — 3rd
Cameron Amine (74 kg) — 5th
Cody Merrill (92 kg) — 7th
Dean Hamiti (79 kg) — 8th
Caleb Fish (74 kg) — DNP

U20s Get Started

The Cowboys are also well represented in the U20 U.S. Open brackets, which started Saturday.

I think I have everyone accounted for, but there are so many guys in these brackets that it feels like picking needles out of a haystack. Here’s how each guy did:

Luke Hamiti* (79 kg) — 1-2
Beau Hickman (70 kg) — 3-2
Tanner Hodgins# (92 kg) — 2-0
Ladd Holman# (92 kg) — 2-0
Ronnie Ramirez (61 kg) — 4-0
Landon Robideau (70 kg) — 4-0
Michael Romero# (70 kg) — 3-2
Dreshaun Ross* — (125 kg) — 2-0
Kody Routledge — (74 kg) — 4-0

*Notes Class of 2026 Signee
#Notes 2027 commit

Oklahoma State announced Saturday night that it will name the new Cowboy wrestling facility after John Smith — a long time Oklahoma State coach and two-time NCAA champion. The new facility will be on the north side of Gallagher-Iba Arena.

“It is nearly impossible to overstate what John Smith has meant to Cowboy Wrestling and the sport of wrestling around the world,” OSU AD Chad Weiberg said in OSU’s release. “There is not a more appropriate way to celebrate all he has done for Oklahoma State than to have his name on the building that future generations of OSU wrestlers will walk into every day.”

As a wrestler, Smith won six straight world championships from 1987 to 1992, which included gold medals at the 1988 and 1992 Olympics. He finished 100-5 in international competition and was 77-3 in domestic freestyle bouts.

He was a three-time Big Eight champ and a two-time NCAA champ, standing atop the national podium in 1987 and 1988. He went 152-8-2 as a Cowboy.

He was a two-time Oklahoma state champ as a high schooler at Del City, going 105-5 in his high school career.

So, if you’re keeping up, Smith competed 458 among high school, college and freestyle and won 436 of those matches.

But he didn’t stop there. Smith was the Cowboys’ coach for 33 years, winning five NCAA team titles and leading 33 individuals to national titles. He had 490 dual wins, coached 153 All-Americans, won 23 team conference titles, had 132 individual conference champs and two Hodge Trophy winners.

The Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents approved construction for the training center in December. The project is “not expected to exceed $16 million,” all of which will be from private donors. Here’s the mockup OSU released back in 2023 with the OSU Vision Plan:

The new facility will feature a 16,000-square-foot practice gym with six mats, a dedicated training area and grandstand seating. It’ll also feature a 2,000-square-feet space for the existing coaches’ locker room and includes the the transformation of Lot 4 into a landscaped plaza. It’s expected to be 62,000 square feet in total.

Back in December, it was said that construction will begin when the funds were fully committed.

“The sooner the better, of course, because it takes a while to build,” OSU President Jim Hess told PFB after a December Board of Regents meeting. “You’re probably looking at a 12-to-18-month build time — at least 18 months, probably. But the sooner we can secure all the private money, the $16 million, some of which has already been received. But we have pledges for all of it. As soon as the money’s in, they’ll start construction.

“Given our long-standing traditions in wrestling, it was important for us to make capital improvements to invest in wrestling. Our coach, as you all know, is phenomenal — I think the best wrestling coach in the United States, or anywhere. We wanted to support wrestling and the coaching effort. This will help do it.”

The Cowboys got a much-needed series win in West Texas.

Oklahoma State defeated Texas Tech 9-8 on the road to secure its third Big 12 series win, despite trailing 6-3 after six and being out-hit 14-12.

The Red Raiders struck first on a Tracer Lopez two-RBI double, but the Cowboys took the lead with a three-run third inning.

Tech added a run in the fifth and then opened up a 6-3 lead with three more in the bottom of the sixth, including a Kyeler Thompson homer.

Stormy Rhodes got the start on the bump for the Cowboys, allowing nine hits and five runs while walking four and striking out three. After that Thompson home run, OSU went to Drew Blake, but he only lasted two batters (a walk and a strikeout) before Jake Kennedy entered the fray and gave up a two-run double.

A returning Noah Wech got some burn in the seventh and eighth before Hudson Barrett came in to earn the W, though it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

The Pokes regained the lead with a pair of RBI doubles by Campbell Smithwick and Colin Brueggemann following Alex Conover’s solo home run to start the seventh inning.

Think he hit this one out of the blue clear sky 🚀#GoPokes | @AlexConover36 https://t.co/apPXaDxaib pic.twitter.com/TCB9lOGj4K

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 25, 2026

Kollin Ritchie drilled a two-run bomb deep over the left field wall to push OSU’s lead to 9-6 in the top of the eighth.

It’s in the trees 🌳

Ritchie’s third hit of the day is a 2-run 💣#GoPokes | @RitchieKollin pic.twitter.com/4Px27ZZTsa

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 25, 2026

But the Red Raiders weren’t going down without a fight.

In the bottom of the eighth, Tech’s Jace Souza and Logan Hughes each added RBIs against Barrett to pull within 9-8. But Barrett turned around and retired the next two, stranding two Red Raiders (the leading run).

Tech went with Jorden Espinoza to try to keep things close, and he was good for a 1-2-3 ninth inning, leaving it up to Barrett to close it out. But things started to look dicey for the Cowboys.

Tech’s Matt Quintanar drilled a lead-off single to center field. Then Barrett walked the next Red Raider in four pitches to put the winning run on base with no outs. But Barrett struck out Ryan Coleman on a bunt before things got weird.

Tech’s Kyeler Thompson was back at the plate with a chance to walk it off, but an interference call on Quintanar ended the game somewhat unceremoniously.

The Red Raiders catcher slid past third taking out the legs of Aidan Meola who took exception. The two were separated by coaches and officials. The play was reviewed and, by rule, not only was Quintanar out at third, his interference resulted in an automatic out of Thompson and ended the game.

With the win, the Cowboys earn their third Big 12 series win. They’re 27-16 on the year and 10-10 in conference play. The series finale was pushed up to 11 a.m. Sunday in Lubbock, with inclement weather expected.

A pair of Cowgirls were responsible for most of the scoring as OSU secured its fifth Big 12 series win of the season.

No. 16 Oklahoma State defeated Baylor 9-1 by mercy rule in six innings.

Amanda Hasler and Karli Godwin were at the plate for the Cowgirls’ first eight runs, including a dramatic start.

The Cowgirls got off to a hot start thanks to Hasler’s grand slam to put OSU up 4-0 in the first. It was her 12th home run of the season, a team lead.

Into the wind? No problem for Karli 🚀#GoPokes | @karligodwin2 https://t.co/4ZZS4ReQCe pic.twitter.com/WTNdQVk5KW

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 25, 2026

In the second, Godwin hit her sixth homer of the year, a solo bomb to make it 5-0.

Into the wind? No problem for Karli 🚀#GoPokes | @karligodwin2 https://t.co/4ZZS4ReQCe pic.twitter.com/WTNdQVk5KW

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 25, 2026

But that pair wasn’t done. Hasler added an RBI double in the fifth. In the sixth, Godwin doubled to deep left sending Libby Jaques from first to third before Jaques ran home on a wild pitch by Baylor pitch Sadie Ross.

Jayden Jones was the only other Cowgirl credited with a RBI. She pushed the lead to 9-1 in the top of the sixth, grounding out to send Godwin across home plate.

Preslee Downing (now 5-0) got the start and pitched three scoreless innings before getting into a jam. In the fourth, Baylor scored on an error leaving two runners on base.

RyLee Crandall, who formerly played at Baylor, came in and struck out the final Bear looking to end the inning with just one Baylor run. She would close it out in the fifth and sixth, allowing three hits and striking out three Bears.

With the win, the Cowgirls take the series and improve to 33-13 and 11-6 in the Big 12. OSU has won six of seven including ranked wins over Oklahoma, Arizona (2-1) and Texas. They’ll go for the sweep at 1 p.m. Sunday in Waco.

Oklahoma State announced the addition of Baylor transfer Yuting Deng on Saturday morning. Listed as a 6-foot-2 guard, Deng averaged 6.6 points, 1.9 boards and 0.9 assists a game for the Bears last season while shooting 37% from 3.

𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐳𝐞 ✔️
𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 ✔️
𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐫 ✔️
𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞 ✔️
𝐂𝐨𝐰𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 ✔️#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/PtXWEtZ9P5

— OSU Cowgirl Basketball (@OSUWBB) April 25, 2026

Deng is a native of the Hunan Province in China.

She started her college career at Auburn, playing in a dozen games and making eight starts late in the 2024-25 season. She averaged 11.8 points and 2.5 boards as a Tiger while shooting 37% from deep. She scored in double figures in eight of those contests, including a 27-point outburst against Vanderbilt where she was 4-for-10 from 3 and also ripped down nine boards.

She had seven double-digit scoring outings at Baylor this past season, dropping 22 on Texas Tech in December in a game she went 4-for-5 from 3 in.

Deng joins a star-studded transfer class that Jacie Hoyt has assembled. The transfer hauls includes the portal’s top two players in Audi Crooks (Iowa State) and Liv McGill (Florida). Hoyt has also added Division-II Player of the Year Talexa Weeter, Okie sharpshooter Ellie Brueggemann, former five-star prospect LA Sneed, Rutgers breakout Nene Ndiaye and Missouri State transfer Zoe Canfield.

Three Thoughts

• Is OSU catching up to Texas Tech with resources? It’s held that boosters were withholding during late Mike Gundy era – could the amount held back really be enough to catch Tech? (Open for Business)

• Gold-star Friday night for diamond sports – Cowgirls fought back to open the series with a win over Baylor, Cowboys blasted Texas Tech (PFB)

• How fascinating – one of Chad Weiberg’s contract stipulations is revenue increases annually: 

Weiberg must operate the athletic department not only with a balanced sheet, but he must also increase total revenue available each fiscal year relative to the immediately preceding fiscal year. [TulsaWorld]

Two Quotes

• So. Many. Yards. 

The top returning passers in 2026! pic.twitter.com/poJgDwnTOG

— College Football Zone (@CollegeFBonX) April 23, 2026

• It’s hard to find OSU-relevant datapoints around this NFL Draft – but De’Zhaun Stribling fills that void as an OSU-ex drafted at the start of Round Two by the 49ers: 

So, why were the 49ers so enamored with Stribling?

Because he checks about every box they look for in a wide receiver. [Niners  Wire]

One Question

• Would anyone pick stripe-out over blackout?

Stripe out or blackout? You can only pick one.

Poll in the comments pic.twitter.com/ALGxHfAARD

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) April 23, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• How a trade 19 years ago is helping OKC compete for a title  

• Don’t just read the Bible, study it (faith-based)

Ruby Meylan did that thing where she pitched the whole game and led her team to a win again, and her offense woke up just in time.

Oklahoma State started its series against Baylor with a 4-2 win on Friday night in Waco.

All of the Cowgirls’ runs came in the top of the seventh inning, as they trailed 2-0 going into the final frame.

Rosie Davis got to the plate with one out and the bases loaded when she singled off the wall in right-center. It looked for a second like the fielder might catch the ball, which led to just one run scoring.

There’s one 👀#GoPokes | @_RoseDavis2023 pic.twitter.com/Ijd3mc8xR5

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 25, 2026

But then Lexi McDonald kept it going with a sacrifice fly that scored Macy Graf and tied the game at 2.

Then Amanda Hasler gave the Cowgirls their first lead with a two-RBI triple to right that nearly got out. It was certainly a clutch piece of hitting with two outs.

JUST. LIKE. THAT.

COWGIRLS LEAD 🤠#GoPokes | @amandahasler3 pic.twitter.com/VqSaRByD52

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 25, 2026

Meylan then slammed the door in the bottom of the seventh, using just nine pitches in the inning to get the three outs she needed. She did get some help by way of this web gem from freshman center fielder Jayelle Austin:

FULL STRETCH JAYELLE #GoPokes | @austin_jayelle pic.twitter.com/CEP2DNfL4Q

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 25, 2026

Meylan moved to 22-6 on the year after throwing 103 pitches against the Bears, where she gave up the two runs (one earned) on five hits while walking two and striking out four.

This is the 11th game the Cowgirls have won in a row when Meylan pitches. She’s thrown complete games in her past seven outings.

The Cowgirls are 31-13 this season and looking more and more like an NCAA Regional host as the regular season dwindles. OSU has a shot at clinching the Baylor series Saturday. First pitch is at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

Wyatt Hendrickson, Dustin Plott and Joey McKenna made the U.S. Open finals on Friday.

Starting with Captain America, Hendrickson teched his way through the 125 kg semis. He beat four-time NCAA All-American and former U23 world champ Tony Cassioppi 12-2 in the quarters before beating former NCAA champ Greg Kerkvliet 11-1 in the semis.

Hendrickson will get Demetrius Thomas in Saturday night’s final. Thomas beat Coby Merrill, the younger brother of OSU NCAA finalist Cody Merrill, in the semis. Mason Parris earned the top seed in the bracket, but fell to Merrill 8-1 in the quarters.

Plott also teched his way into the finals at 92 kg. He beat Bucknell’s Dillon Bechtold 12-2 in the semis. Bechtold was a NCAA qualifier the past two seasons.

Plott, a four-time All-American while at OSU, will wrestle Michael Macchiavello in the final after Macchiavello beat reigning 197-pound NCAA champ Josh Barr 4-1 in the quarters. Macchiavello wrestled at NC State, with his final year coming in 2019 when he won his first NCAA title.

McKenna did his college wrestling at Stanford but trains in Stillwater at the Cowboy RTC. He made the 65 kg final by beating Jesse Mendez 3-2 in the semis. Mendez was who Sergio Vega beat in the NCAA final this year. Mendez was a two-time NCAA champ.

McKenna will wrestle superstar high schooler Bo Bassett in the final. Bassett won a wild bout against reigning 149-pound NCAA champ Aden Valencia in the quarters before teching former Penn State wrestler Beau Bartlett 10-0 in the battle of Bo(eau)s.

A win in the finals for those three would move them on to Final X where they’d wrestle in a best-of-three series. Win that series, and they’d represent the United States at the Senior World Championships.

Elsewhere

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the orange-clad contingent, though.

Jax Forrest dropped an NCAA finals rematch against Ohio State’s Ben Davino in the 61 kg semifinal, falling 8-4. Forrest still has a shot at third on Saturday.

Former Cowboy Cam Amine got what might be the biggest win of his wrestling career in the quarterfinals at 74 kg when he beat David Carr 6-3. Carr was a two-time national champ at Iowa State and a U20 World champ. He wrestled at the Senior World Championships last year and was right there with the best guys in the world.

Amine couldn’t get past James Green in the semis, though, with Green winning 2-1. Green took silver at the Senior World Championships in 2017.

Cowboy national champ Dean Hamiti dropped his quarterfinal bout to Muhamed McBryde.

Cody Merrill was on the opposite side of Plott’s bracket and fell to Macchiavello 2-1 in the quarters.

Saturday’s Schedule

The consolation rounds and medal matches will resume at noon (Central) on Saturday.

The championship finals will be at 8 p.m.

The event is streamed on Flo.

Oklahoma State beat Texas Tech 16-6 in seven innings on Friday afternoon.

The Cowboys separated from the Red Raiders in the third and didn’t look back.

It was a nine-run inning that started with Kollin Ritchie drawing a walk in an impressive at-bat that saw him foul off the first two pitches before taking four straight balls. He then advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third when Aidan Meola singled through the left side.

That brought up Campbell Smithwick, who singled, scoring Ritchie.

Then freshman Sebastian Norman ripped a homer to left, the three run shot made it 7-1.

NO. DOUBT. NORMAN. 💪

This baseball is still in orbit btw#GoPokes | @14sebastiann pic.twitter.com/vb9UP35Wfz

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 24, 2026

Unfortunately for the Red Raiders, the Cowboys weren’t done there.

Garrett Shull walked, Alex Conover singled and Brock Thompson walked to load the bases. Ritchie then got back up for his second AB of the inning, where he got a ball through the right side to score a run.

Then Meola clobbered a ball to left-center. The grand slam was his 11th home run of the season. It gave OSU a 12-1 lead.

Write this down ✍️

Aidan Meola with the grand slam for his 11th bomb of the season#GoPokes | @aidanmeola1 pic.twitter.com/QnhCFJTwAy

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 24, 2026

Tech would fight back in the home half of the inning, plating three runs before the teams traded runs in the fourth, making it 13-5 Cowboys.

It stayed that way until the seventh when the Cowboys scored three more. One run came off a Meola single. The other two came off a Smithwick double.

Easy come, easy go 🤠

A couple more RBIs for @aidanmeola1 and @campbellrsoup #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/kr6CQea4uY

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 24, 2026

Tech got one back in the bottom of the inning, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the mercy rule.

There were standout performances up and down the Cowboy lineup, but it’s hard to argue anyone had a better day than Meola. Again battling through injuries, Meola went 4-for-5 at the dish Friday with six RBIs and two runs scored.

Conover and Norman each had three hits, with Conover going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI from the leadoff spot, while Norman, a freshman, went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored.

It was good to get the game over early for the Cowboys’ banged up pitching staff. Sophomore Ethan Lund got the start and threw six innings where he allowed five runs off 10 hits while walking four and striking out four. Kai Fyke threw the final frame, allowing a run off two hits while walking one and striking out two.

The Cowboys advance to 26-16 on the year and are on the bubble in terms of making the NCAA Tournament, but they’re on a decent stretch of form having run-ruled Wichita State and now Tech in consecutive games.

OSU will look to clinch the series on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Lubbock. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

Technically, anything more than one win would be an improvement. But let’s focus on the positive and lean into a little hype — that’s what OSU would have you do on a Friday in April.

With the Pokes having recently wrapped up Spring practice, we’ve got a long way until we find out what Eric Morris can do with his revamped roster and rebuilt coaching staff. There’s plenty reason for optimism.

The Cowboys boast the Big 12’s top-ranked transfer portal class led by the nation’s top passer last season in Drew Mestemaker, a top 10 rusher in Caleb Hawkins and a plethora of other skill and impact players.

Here’s a nice promo of where they’ll call homefield this fall, followed by a roundup of what has been an eventful spring for OSU football.

No place like Stillwater, no home like BPS 🤠#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/qwn1F7dYFr

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) April 24, 2026

Now that your appetite for Cowboy football has been whetted, here’s a roundup of this last week of spring football content to indulge in as we head into the dog days of summer.

• Marshall’s 10 Thoughts on the Spring Game

• Eric Morris brings a nice mix of old- and new-school coaching

• More reasons to be hyped by Cowboy receiver Chris Barnes.

• Former UNT linebacker Ethan Wesloski talks about the leadership he brings and what it’s like to be in Stillwater

• The final episode of our Spring Football Schedule preview takes a look at the Cowboys’ season finale against Kansas

Be sure to check out the rest of our previews for this fall: Noncon | WVU | UCF | Houston | Colorado | Iowa State | Kansas State | Texas Tech | Arizona State

Week 12: Kansas | Nov. 28 | Stillwater, Okla.

Series history: 42-31-2

The Cowboys are coming off a loss to KU for the just third time since 1995. It’s also the first time OSU has lost two of the last three to Kansas since that same year.

Last meeting: The Cowboys were competitive in the first half in Lawrence last Nov. 1 and even held a 7-3 lead after the first quarter. But early success was short-lived and the Jayhawks never punted, scoring a touchdown on every possession after their opening-drive FG.

It made for the seventh time (out of eight losses to that point) that OSU finished at least down three scores. But on the bright side, it was the last time as they finished the year with losses of eight-, three- and seven-point decisions, respectively. These numbers are more notable than they are comforting.

Kansas in 2025: The Jayhawks finished 5-7 for the second-straight year. In five years under Lance Leipold, they’ve had just one winning season, the 9-4 finish in 2023 that ended with a bowl win. After starting 2-1 in conference, Kansas finished losing five of six with their only win coming over the Cowboys.

Kansas in 2026: Kansas will have a revamped offense behind a new starting QB for the first time in six years. Jalon Daniels was taking snaps in KU’s backfield longer than Perry Ellis posted folks up in the Phog. Actually.

It may fall to longtime backup Cole Ballard, who amassed just 445 passing yards over three seasons for Kansas. He’ll have to fight off to transfer Chase Jenkins who wasn’t asked to do much in Rice’s run-centric offense. He had 1,025 passing yards and nine TDs 12 games but did rush for five more and over 500 yards.

The Jayhawks brought in a slew of skill players like former K-State running back Dylan Edwards. He’s been limited due to injury but is explosive when healthy.

Of note: The biggest acquisition of the offseason may be the bringing back of former OC Andy Kotelnicki, who spent the last two seasons calling plays for James Franklin at Penn State. He spent 2021-23 in the booth for Kansas and was a big part of getting Daniels to play to his strengths which helped the Jayhawks score 35.6 points per game in 2022 (2nd in the Big 12) and 34.8 in 2023 (4th). KU brass and fans hope he can bring the Jayhawks offense back.

OSU Bullets

• What will OSU do with its final three roster spots? (PFB)

• Drew Mestemaker got some votes as a top-three quarterback in college football (ESPN)

• The Cowboys brought in an edge rusher from Florida State – here’s a quote from him on Drew Mestemaker:

“He’s the truth. He’s that guy. He deserves every penny. He makes every throw look effortless. You guys saw, he can throw back-shoulder fades on a dime 60 yards down the field. There’s not many guys that can do that. I’ve been around some talented quarterbacks, been around for a little bit, and he’s absolutely the best I’ve ever played with.” [GoPokes 247]

• Cowboy Baseball needs a series win to keep postseason hopes alive (HCS)

• It really feels like the Bullets may end up just being Carson Benge highlights after OSU golf/softball/baseball wrap up:

💪💪💪 pic.twitter.com/LAqFn5QfpR

— New York Mets (@Mets) April 24, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Jalen Williams injury update • Six selfish reasons to have kids • Sabbath is more than self-care (faith-based)

What a high character move by these OKC girls:

And then there were three.

With Arizona State transfer Andrija Grbovic committing to Oklahoma State on Wednesday, Steve Lutz is down to three roster spots remaining.

To have a little fun on a Thursday, here’s what archetypes of players I could see the Cowboys going after and a handful of players in the portal who fit those profiles.

1. A Big with Experience

If you read my thoughts following basketball games or listened to The Reload, you’d know there aren’t many people with more Ben Ahmed stock than me. But, given how important the center position has been to the first two seasons of the Steve Lutz Era (Abou Ousmane and Parsa Fallah), I’d be a little concerned if two sophomores were all the Cowboys had down low.

Ahmed is going to be really good — maybe as soon as next season. But, he averaged 5.9 fouls per 40 minutes. I believe Mekhi Ragland could develop into a really fun big, but he averaged eight fouls per 40.

Through two seasons in Stillwater, Lutz seems to like big bodies at center, but you wonder if given the defensive struggles this past season if OSU will opt for a more athletic rim-protector.

So, someone who is experienced, who can help the the defensive effort and can still allow those young guys room to grow.

Four in the portal who fit the profile: 

Jerald Colonel (Stephen F. Austin) — OSU was reportedly in contact with Colonel when the portal opened. He was the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year this past season, averaging five points, 7.3 boards and 2.6 blocks a game. He comes in at 6-9, 200 pounds.

Massamba Diop (Arizona State) — Diop will draw a lot of attention in the portal and might be out of the Pokes’ price range, but as a freshman in Tempe, he averaged 13.6 points, 5.8 boards and 2.1 blocks a game.

Franck Kepnang (Washington) — listed at 6-foot-11, 247 pounds, Kepnang averaged 6.2 points, 6.3 boards and 2.1 blocks a game for the Huskies last season. He’s already taken part in six NCAA seasons (two at Oregon and four at Washington), so he’d likely need a waiver to become eligible).

Chol Machot (Charleston) — Machot isn’t the most experienced, having just finished up his redshirt sophomore season, but the 7-foot, 190-pounder averaged 8.9 points, 5.5 boards and a CAA-leading 2.5 blocks a contest. He was the CAA Defensive Player of the Year.

2. A Long Wing (Or Two?)

A lack of length on the perimeter gave the Cowboys some trouble in Year 1, so I wouldn’t mind a guy with some experience who is a capable defender and 3-point shooter.

I imagine a lot of teams would love to add a long, defensive-minded wing who can shoot the 3, for what it’s worth.

I could be persuaded to pick up two of these guys in place of option No. 3.

Five in the portal who fit the profile: 

Christian Harmon (Arkansas State) — Harmon was an All-Sun Belt Selection this past season after averaging 12.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 0.9 steals a game. He shot 35% from 3. It was his first year at the Division-I level after spending two seasons in the JUCO ranks.

Dennis Parker (Radford) — Parker was a four-star recruit in the 2023 class who Mike Boynton offered. He played two seasons at NC State before making the move to Radford. He averaged 18.3 points a game this past season to go with 5.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 steals a contest while shooting 38% from 3. He’s listed at 6-6.

BJ Omot (Minnesota) — Omot did not play this past season at Minnesota because of injury. He last played at Cal in 2024-25, where he averaged 10.8 points, three rebounds and a steal a game while shooting 35% from 3.

Isaiah Johnson-Arigu (St. Thomas) — After playing in eight games as a freshman at Miami, Johnson-Arigu played this past season at St. Thomas, where he averaged 10.5 points and four boards a game while shooting a respectable 33% from 3 on 80 attempts. His defensive rating of 102.7 would’ve been seconds among Cowboys this season, but the Summit is quite a bit different from the Big 12. He’s 6-7.

Mookie Cook (San Francisco) — Listed at 6-6, Cook started his college career at Oregon. After two seasons where he played sparingly, he transferred to San Fran for this past season and averaged 7.6 points, 4.2 boards and 1.5 assists a game. He has a career defensive rating of 105.4.

3. Maybe Another Point Guard

You can never have too many ball handlers, if you ask me.

Kanye Clary, Jacob Walker (Sam Houston), Luka Bogavac (North Carolina) and Kashie Natt (Sam Houston) are all capable facilitators, so I don’t see this being a must-need. But it might be safe to just get one more guy capable of running the point.

Three-point shooting and/or defensive acumen is always a plus.

Three in the portal who fit the profile: 

Javontae Campbell (Bowling Green) — Campbell is from Muskogee and spent two seasons at NOC-Tonkawa. He was the MAC Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 18.7 points, 4.5 boards, 5.1 assists and three steals a game this past season. He might need a waiver to get one of the JUCO years back, but I feel like that would be a slam dunk on many fronts.

Christian Jeffrey (Villanova) — Jeffrey was a freshman at Villanova this past year but before that was a four-star recruit who visited Oklahoma State. He played 180 total minutes across 22 games for Villanova, averaging three points, a rebound and an assist a game. He went 5-for-14 (36%) from 3 and had a 103.3 defensive rating.

Jordan Marsh (USC) — Out of North Carolina, Marsh averaged 7.3 points, two rebounds and 1.9 assists at UCS this past season while shooting 36% from 3. He was an All-Big South selection the season before after averaging 18.8 points, 4.2 boards, 3.7 assists and two steals a game at UNC-Asheville.

Let’s take a look at the matchup between Oklahoma State and Arizona State. Be sure to check out our other previews: Noncon | WVU | UCF | Houston | Colorado | Iowa State | Kansas State | Texas Tech

Week 11: Arizona State | Nov. 21 | Tempe, Arizona

Series history: 3-3

Last meeting: Arizona State took the Big 12 by storm in 2024, and OSU was no exception. In their first season in the league, the Sun Devils went 7-2 in the league and finished with 11 wins for the first time in nearly three decades.

The Cowboys hosted then-No. 7 ASU in early November two seasons ago and got smacked around 42-21. Cam Skattebo had 274 yards from scrimmage and three total touchdowns, including TD catches of 36 and 50 yards.

Arizona State in 2025: The Sun Devils took a step back without some of their key playmakers, as Skattebo was a rookie for the New York Giants last year. Arizona State finished 8-5 with a Sun Bowl loss to Duke.

Arizona State in 2026: The Sun Devils had a nice portal haul this offseason. Arizona State ranks 15th in transfer portal rankings according to 247Sports, behind only OSU and Texas Tech in the conference. They brought in a pair of QBs with starting experience in Cutter Boley (Kentucky) and Mikey Keene, who started at UCF and Fresno State and last played at Michigan.

Add in trio of like wideouts that had started multiple games in Omarion Miller (Colorado), Raiden Vines-Bright (Washington) and Reed Harris (Boston College), and the Sun Devils offense has a chance to be more explosive

Of note: With all the coaching turnover in the Big 12, the median tenure coming into 2026 is less than three years. That puts ASU’s fourth-year head coach in the camp of seasoned vets.

But after going 22-17 including an 11-win season, Kenny Dillingham is considered a hot coaching commodity. After being included in the rumor mill for the Michigan job which ultimately went to former Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, Sun Devil fans are back to being excited about a Dillingham-led squad.

OSU Bullets

The past week as seen the Cowgirls beat No. 1 OU, take two of three off No. 16 Arizona and now beat No. 4 Texas in Austin. [PFB]

3️⃣ spots left

What would you like to see the Cowboys add? pic.twitter.com/oAnKs0cXmm — Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) April 23, 2026

(They’ve added) seven players and 123 points per game. I know there’s only one basketball, but, geez. This is talent with the capability of doing what TCU did two years ago — jumping from a solid program to one that can challenge for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. It’s the one thing Hoyt hasn’t done in four seasons and three NCAA Tournament appearances. The Cowgirls have won one NCAA Tournament game in her tenure. [HCS]

Gage and I picked up a new rig today! Thanks to the guys at Vicars Powersports. pic.twitter.com/AJcknNznlN

— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) April 21, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

Oklahoma State shut out No. 4 Texas 5-0 on Wednesday night in Austin, with the Cowgirl ace throwing the complete game shutout in which she allowed just two hits while walking none and striking out four.

It marks the fifth straight complete game Meylan has thrown, and OSU has won the past nine games Meylan has pitched in. The game’s final out was a grounder back to her. She coolly snagged the ball and tossed to first before her team celebrated around her.

THE COWGIRLS TAKE DOWN THE REIGNING CHAMPS 😤

No. 17 Oklahoma State upsets No. 4 Texas 🔥 pic.twitter.com/BTCMHTZyfd

— espnW (@espnW) April 23, 2026

The game was a pitchers’ duel until the sixth when Rosie Davis smoked a ball to straightaway center to open the scoring. It was a two-run shot and came with a bat flip Sam Show would be proud of.

Ring around the Rosie.

📺 ESPN2#GoPokes | @_RoseDavis2023 https://t.co/1OrHxBhVbw pic.twitter.com/3LJijjgYpy

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 23, 2026

The Cowgirls got some further insurance in the seventh when Aubrey Jones doubled to score pinch runner Kaya Booker.

Redshirt freshman Madison Hoffman then stepped in as a pinch hitter and hit her first career home run to make it 5-0.

What a time for your first career homer, Hoff 👏

📺 ESPN2 #GoPokes https://t.co/R8X6tIQBQ4 pic.twitter.com/Bt3XcY13en

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 23, 2026

The past week as seen the Cowgirls beat No. 1 OU, take two of three off No. 16 Arizona and now beat No. 4 Texas in Austin.

There was a wonder as to whether the Cowgirls could climb into the top 16 to host, and it seems they are well on their way to that given the past seven days. Play like that the remaining seven games of the regular season, and it should be an open and shut case.

OSU is in Waco this weekend with the Cowgirls’ series opener against Baylor starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN+.

Cowboy fans ought to get familiar with the country of Montenegro.

Arizona State transfer Andrija Grbovic committed to Oklahoma State on Wednesday, according to Draft Express’ Jordan Givony. Grbovic is a 6-foot-11 forward from Montenegro who played on the same European team as fellow OSU commit Luka Bogavac before coming to the states. Grbovic was listed as a junior at ASU.

With the Sun Devils last season, Grbovic averaged 6.8 points and 2.9 rebounds a game while shooting 35% from 3 on 123 attempts (a similar clip to Kanye Clary this past season, for reference). He scored in double figures eight times as a Sun Devil, scoring a season-high 14 points on two occasions. He played 26 minutes against OSU in February, where he scored 11 points and brought in three rebounds. He hit multiple 3s in 16 games this season.

In 24 games with ABA League (Europe) squad SC Derby during the 2024-25 season, Grbovic averaged 7.9 points while going 34-for-74 (46%) from 3-point range and 82% from the foul line. He was the Adriatic Junior Liga ABA Youth MVP in 2022.

Grbovic represented Montenegro at the FIBA World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers. He’s also been a part of the some youth national teams. At the 2022 FIBA U20 European Championship, Grbovic averaged 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in seven games. At the 2019 FIBA U16 European Championships, he put up 15.6 points and 7.4 boards a game.

He started his professional playing career at just 15 years old with Orange Academy Ratiopharm (Germany).

Grbovic becomes the fourth player OSU has pulled out of the portal thus far — two Montenegrins and two Sam Houston State transfers. He joins Bogavac, Kashie Natt and Jacob Walker.

With Mekhi Ragland announcing his OSU return earlier Wednesday, OSU is up to 12 roster slots filled of a possible 15.

All of Oklahoma State’s 2025-26 basketball roster has been accounted for.

Mekhi Ragland on Wednesday announced that he’ll return to Stillwater for his sophomore season. He was the last player from the most recent OSU team to announce his intentions. He’ll join Kanye Clary, Benjamin Ahmed and Ryan Crotty as returners. Everyone else either exhausted their eligibility or hit the portal.

#gopokes pic.twitter.com/tpzILESY3R

— Mekhi Ragland (@mekhiraglandd) April 22, 2026

Listed at 6-foot-11, 330 pounds, Ragland took part in 14 games during his freshman season, totaling 20 points, 23 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and five steals.

With OSU getting banged up in the front court toward the end of the season, Ragland got some more run late in the year. He played double-digit minutes just once in the regular season but did so in three of OSU’s four postseason games (once in the Big 12 Tournament and twice in the NIT). Those four postseason games accounted for 12 of his points and eight of his rebounds.

Ragland had to get back up to speed while drastically jumping levels of competition. He missed out on his senior year of high school because of a foot injury, meaning it had been a while since he played in an actual game when he checked in for his college debut in November.

He was a three-star prospect, listed as the No. 308 player in the 247Sports Composite Ranking for the class. He also held offers to Mississippi State, East Carolina, Georgia State and others.

With returners, incoming transfers and incoming freshmen, OSU is up to 11 roster spots filled of a possible 15.

A pair of Choctaw standouts took visits up to Stillwater this past weekend for Oklahoma State’s spring game — two of the top 2027 prospects in the state. Here’s a little bit about each guy.

Israel Hammons, LB

 

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A post shared by Israel Hammons (@israelhammons0)

Hammons is a four-star prospect per 247Sports and Rivals. The Rivals Industry Ranking lists him as the No. 175 player in all of the 2027 class and the No. 6 player in the state of Oklahoma.

Listed at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, Hammons also has offers to Texas, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Arizona State, Auburn and others.

Hammons’ first Division-I offer came in January of 2025 and was from … North Texas. He credited running backs coach and fellow Oklahoman Patrick Cobbs with that offer, just like he did when he announced his Oklahoma State offer in January of this year.

He posed in one of his visit photos with OSU quarterback commit Carson White, who also took his official this past weekend.

While he projects as a linebacker, Hammons was also used as an H back and played special teams as a junior — throwing vicious blocks, catching passes, returning kicks and blocking field-goal attempts.

Titus Hawk, TE

 

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Anytime he can, Eric Morris likes to note his affinity for multisport athletes — a camp Hawk fits into.

A 6-foot-7 tight end, Hawk is also a standout baseball prospect. He also plays basketball.

Hawk’s father, Shane, played baseball at Oklahoma State in the early 2000s before being taken in the fourth round of the 2003 MLB Draft by the New York Mets. Hawk has made it known he wants to play football and baseball as a collegiate, and his photoshoot from this weekend is further proof of that.

White also wants to play football and baseball at the next level. It’s crazy to think that should Hawk pick the Pokes, two of OSU’s first big commits under Morris could also star at O’Brate.

Hawk is a four-star football recruit per the Rivals Industry Ranking and the 247Sports Composite Ranking. That Rivals ranking lists him as the No. 333 player in the class and the No. 8 player from Oklahoma. He also holds offers to Florida, Alabama, Oklahoma, Michigan, Nebraska, Miami, Texas Tech, Notre Dame and others.

OSU was Hawk’s first offer under the previous regime, coming in January of 2025. North Texas was his third offer, coming later that month.

Like with Hammons, Hawk brings some versatility to the football field. Despite being 6-7, he had a kick return for a touchdown against Lawton-Eisenhower on Halloween. He also has some highlights on the defensive side of the ball. On offense, he’d sometimes get the ball in unique was for a tight end, like tunnel screens and quick pitches.

LA took a 2-0 series lead against Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets with a 101-94 win in the City of Angels. Smart, now 32 years old, dropped 25 points in the game, going 5-for-7 from 3-point range while also adding seven assists and five steals — vintage stuff.

“I’m very grateful to be doing this,” Smart said. “I thank God every day because I could’ve been out the league, right, because injuries and things like that. So to be able to be back on this stage again, making the plays that I’m making with these guys, with this team, this organization, I’m just grateful.”

He started early, taking more shots in the first quarter than anyone else on the floor — a floor that also included Durant and LeBron James. But Smart wasn’t just taking, he was making, finishing the opening frame with 14 points on 5-for-7 shootings (3-for-4 from 3).

He also set the tone with his defense, finishing the opening quarter with a pair of steals. Early in the game, he picked up Durant in the backcourt and was able to poke the ball away from him, dive on the floor and secure a possession for his team — a possession that quickly ended in James soaring through the LA sky and throwing down a dunk.

Marcus Smart is a mad man pic.twitter.com/9Vnb3SD3rc

— Steve Jones (@stevejones20) April 22, 2026

Smart hit a big 3 late to give the Lakers an 8-point lead with about two minutes to play, an early dagger.

SMART SINKS HIS 5th THREE 🎯

LAKERS 99
ROCKETS 92

UNDER A MINUTE TO PLAY IN Q4 🍿 pic.twitter.com/cq1MQht074

— NBA (@NBA) April 22, 2026

Tuesday’s game was the 110th NBA Playoff game Smart has played in his career but just the second as anything other than a Celtic. It marked the third-most points Smart has scored in a playoff game, but it was maybe his most impactful outing given the circumstances.

Although the Lakers are the better seed (a 4 to Houston’s 5), the Rockets were favorites in these opening two games with LA being without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. But now they head to Houston up 2-0 with those two being closer to being back.

“Everything is heightened, right?” Smart said. “We need guys. My whole life, I’ve been that guy you can just throw in certain spots you need. Like I said before, Swiss Army Knife — that’s me. Filling in the gaps, whatever we need whenever we need it. That’s just who I’ve been. I think that’s what makes me very valuable and very unique.”

A highly touted high school prospect, Smart played two seasons at Oklahoma State. He was a consensus All-American as a freshman and was named the Big 12’s Player of the Year that season after averaging 15.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and three steals a game. He was again an All-American as a sophomore, averaging 18 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.9 steals a game.

Should LA close this thing out and the Oklahoma City Thunder take care of business against the Suns, Smart would be playing in Oklahoma City in the second round. It’d mark the first time in his career he played playoff basketball in the same state he played in during his college days.

Oklahoma State defeated Wichita State 14-4 in seven innings on Tuesday night, giving head coach Josh Holliday his 500th career victory. Here’s how it went down.

The Cowboys got on the board in the second thanks to an unearned run off a Garrett Shull single. Then the Shockers answered with an RBI single in the top of the third. That’s when the Pokes asserted themselves.

Oklahoma State scored eight runs in the bottom of the third starting (and nearly ending) with Brock Thompson. Thompson kicked things off with his ninth home run of the season, but that would not be his only RBI in the inning.

Sebastian Norman, Colin Brueggemann and Shull each added RBI singles, slicing up newly installed Wichita State reliever Brady Owens. Owens then walked consecutive Cowboys for runs before Thompson came back to the plate and batted in Alex Conover.

Second hit of the INNING for @BrockThompson21 #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/e4POzlKx2f

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 22, 2026

Kollin Ritchie capped the inning with an RBI groundout to make the lead 9-1.

The Shockers were able to score three in the fifth, but a two-run homer by Norman in the sixth put the mercy rule within reach.

No doubt Norman ⁉️#GoPokes | @14sebastiann pic.twitter.com/ThMJtbEYLX

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 22, 2026

Then Deacon Pomeroy was able to get the walk-off for his coach with his second home run of the season.

Deacon 𝓑𝓸𝓶𝓫eroy 💣

His second home run of the season is a walk-off ‼️#GoPokes | @deaconpomeroy24 pic.twitter.com/cQWwcMyV9t

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 22, 2026

Bryce LeBlanc got the start on the mound and pitched two innings, striking out three and allowing just one hit and one walk. Parker Jennings pitched a pair of innings, giving up those three runs in the fifth. Zane Burns earned the win spelling Jennings in the fifth and moved to 2-0 on the season.

With the win, Holliday’s career record improves to 500-279-2 in 14 years and counting. He remains second in all-time wins at OSU behind Hall of Fame coach Gary Ward who went 953-313-1 in 19 seasons.

For his troubles, Holliday also earned a chilly Gatorade shower.

Nothing beats a Gatorade shower! 😎#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/h1hg3sGseQ

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 22, 2026

With their win the Cowboys move to 25-16. They’ll head to Lubbock to resume Big 12 play against Texas Tech this weekend. The series opener is slated for 1 p.m. Friday at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

OSU Bullets

•  Josh Holliday hit 500 wins last night when the Pokes beat Wichita State 14-4 in Stillwater (Tulsa World + X)

• LIV Golf launched an Oklahoma-centric golf team, led by Cowboy alum Talor Gooch (NewsOK)

• Loved this take on Cowboy Football’s expected growth: 

The best (betting) value in the Big 12 is Oklahoma State. I am not a betting man, but if I were, I would love to take a flyer on the Cowboys. Yes, OSU won just one game last season, but the Cowboys jump-started their program with a top-10 portal class filled with North Texas transfers who already know head coach Eric Morris’ system. There is a growing sentiment this offseason that Oklahoma State is a Big 12 dark horse.  [Open for Business]

• Cowboy Golf’s national championship squad visited the White House, celebrating their title (X)

Cowgirl Basketball landed another transfer, and Cowgirl Softball is ready to take on Texas tonight (PFB) • See the quote above – growing optimism around the Pokes: 

Josh Pate says Oklahoma State has the “highest potential” to be the next program to explode 👀 “I’m hearing some really good things. I’ve already purchased stock privately.” pic.twitter.com/QveNqrScCQ

— Reagan Harris (OSU Mart) (@OKSTMart) April 19, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Newly released video shows Oklahoma high school principal tackling/disarming would-be gunman – bravo principal Moore! Also, does this guy have any eligibility to play linebacker in Stillwater?

• The social dilemma (faith-based)

Then Oklahoma State went 3-1 against the Sooners and the Big 12’s second-best team, Arizona, which earned them a bit of breathing room and a chance to make a real run at hosting in the postseason.

“I learned that we can be ourself in the big moments,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said. “Which should really help us as we get going here and into the postseason and that kind of stuff.

“But like I told our team, this is, it’s not technically postseason right now, but it really is, because you’re every win is moving you closer to things you want to do, and hosting and that kind of stuff. So they’re kind of in that mode.”

On Wednesday night, the Cowgirls face a Texas team (35-7 overall) ranked fourth by ESPN, fifth by D1Softball and first overall according to RPI. For context, the Cowgirls (30-12, 11-7 Big 12) rank 17th and 14th in those polls, but 19th according to RPI.

Only the top sixteen teams following conference tournaments will host in the first round. While it’s possible to host supers with a lower seed, only the top eight control their destiny where that is concerned.

Gajewski said they don’t discuss the big picture with the players regularly, but the coaches also don’t keep them in the dark. So it comes up at times, although he didn’t elaborate to what extent it has been discussed in the last week.

“They’re very aware that when you host, you’re in a better place,” he said. “So I don’t need to really discuss that.”

On Tuesday, Gajewski made it clear Oklahoma State still wants to make a run at a top eight seed.

That might be impossible to do without notching an impressive win over the Longhorns.

“Well, the reason it’s important is you need to know where you stand,” Gajewski said, describing why he schedules tough non-conference games like Texas and the Sooners. “That’s number one. … If you don’t play them, you don’t know where you stand, you can’t beat them. You have nothing to build upon.”

Other than ace Ruby Meylan, no Cowgirl is entering the week quite as hot as Tia Warsop, who the Big 12 named as Co-Player of the Week in the conference after she finished 8-for-14 last week with two doubles and five RBIs in the Cowgirls’ pivotal week.

“I still think there’s a lot more in that tank,” Gajewski said. “She can get better, and it’s been fun to watch her. She’s one of the ones that I had to sit down for three or four games. … So it’s really cool to watch. I’ve had numerous people reach out about her this week, and some of her old coaches, just really thrilled with how she’s getting better here. And I think that makes me really happy for our staff, the people that put the work in with her, and the fact that she’s bought in.”

Warsop has the second-best batting average on the team, hitting .363, although she’s sixth in total bases (54), largely because she has only six doubles and one home run this season. When asked about her potential for growth, Gajewski didn’t hold back.

“Well, I think she is a kid that could easily hit over .400, she could hit mid .400s,” Gajewski said. “I think she could hit 6-10 home runs. I think she could be a better, more consistent bunter. I think she could definitely improve her outfield play. She had a play against OU, okay, hard play. Okay, well, this is a hard game, and this is an elite level, and she has the ability to make that hard play, which we need her to make that hard play, that’s a precious out, right? Those are things that we’ve got to be able to stop.

“So she can improve in every part of her game, every single part I shouldn’t ever have to take Tia out of the lineup. She’s that type of talent, and I think she’s figuring it out.”

Warsop is expected to play Wednesday night assuming her flight from England stays as scheduled. Gajewski said she didn’t travel with the team because she was attending her grandmother’s funeral which was delayed for a few weeks until Warsop could organize travel.

“And I tell you that (about Warsop), because I think it’s important,” Gajewski said. “Like these kids, not just our kids, Texas’ kids, OU’s kids, Baylor’s kids, these teams that we’re playing, they all go through the same stuff, and we don’t, don’t hear that stuff enough.

“They’re normal people that fight the normal things, and it’s just kind of cool to watch them grow. But she’s got a lot of room that she can still grow, and I’m just very proud of her for the way she’s going about it, the way she just keeps digging in.”

Although Warsop’s big week coincided with three huge wins for Oklahoma State, Gajewski made it clear none of it changed his opinion of the team or her.

“I don’t know that I learned anything crazy,” he said. “I think it just validated to me that and to them, you know, it should have validated to them that the stuff that they’re doing is paying off, and that’s why you work.”

Just a few days removed from landing the portal’s top prospect in Audi Crooks, Oklahoma State added Missouri State transfer Zoe Cranfield on Tuesday. She’s played sparingly in her first two seasons at the college level, starting at Kansas before transferring to Missouri State last season.

Beyond blessed!! So grateful and excited for the next chapter with @OSUWBB 🧡🤠 #committed pic.twitter.com/zOJMlkfKHV

— Zoe Canfield (@ZoeCanfield1) April 21, 2026

She shot 50% from 3 in her freshman season as a Jayhawk, nailing eight of her 16 attempts. She finished that season averaging 1.7 points a game, playing in 15 contests and making one start.

In 10 games with Missouri State this past season,  Canfield scored nine points and brought in five rebounds.

Like Hoyt, Canfield is a Kansas girl. She’s from Topeka and won a state titles at Washburn Rural in basketball and volleyball. Being athletic runs in the Canfield family, as Zoe’s brother, Jett, played basketball at Creighton. Dad, Jordan, played basketball at Washburn, and mom, Eileen, played volleyball and softball at Washburn.

Canfield makes seven new Cowgirls Hoyt has pulled out of the portal, with the rising junior joining Crooks, All-SEC guard Liv McGill, former five-star prospect LA Sneed, Rutgers breakout Nene Ndiaye, Division-II Player of the Year Talexa Weeter and Lindenwood sharpshooter Ellie Brueggemann.

His resume as one of the best defenders in the nation (19th to be exact, according to Pro Football Focus), fresh off a 113-tackle season, speaks for itself. None of which stopped him from finishing tied for the team lead in tackles with four on Saturday.

“This is my fourth year in Coach (Eric) Morris’ system,” Wesloski said. “I know every one of his calls. Hey, sorry, coach. I know all your calls.”

What Wesloski didn’t know was what it would feel like to take the field in front of the Oklahoma State faithful. Even an estimated crowd of 13,000 made a huge impact on the North Texas transfer.

“It was surreal,” he said. “We averaged probably 22,000 in attendance last year. And I think we got that today. So to know that this can be a place that comes around football so much, I’m excited for it.”

Oklahoma State had a huge head start this offseason, considering Morris brought almost every one of his assistants from last year’s team, which was knocking on the doors of a College Football Playoff bid, with him to Stillwater.

Following his unofficial first game inside Boone Pickens Stadium, Morris praised players like Wesloski for getting the Cowboys through the spring.

“Bringing in 22 guys with us that knew what we expected, that could help set the culture in the weight room, that knew the verbiage, that knew the playbook, knew the calls,” Morris said, detailing their impact. “Those are like having extra coaches out there for us.”

That, more than anything else, has been Wesloski’s aim this spring to step up and make an impact as a leader.

“I’ve grown a lot in the leadership phase, I’d like to say,” Wesloski said. “I’ve been able to bring people, bring people up with me.

“There’s a lot of guys in this room. It’s a new defense for a lot of people. There’s a lot of intricacies. It’s really simple, but in order to be an elite defense, there’s a couple things that got to go together, and you got to play well. The safeties got to be in tune with what the D-line is doing. So with that, just bringing all three groups together, hey, this is how we got to work together. This is what’s going on front of you. Here’s how we’re going to play this. So we want to bring people together and grow as a leader, something I’m pretty proud I’ve done so far.”

Despite his emphasis on leadership, the linebacker said it’s nothing new for him.

“I’ve always been in the leadership position because I’m smart,” he said. “I know what the defense is. This is the biggest leadership position I have been in.”

It’s not just the seniority and his familiarity with the defensive calls that are different this spring. Wesloski has always preferred to lead by example and give guys some advice in a more one-on-one setting.

That changed since he began wearing orange. On Tuesday, ahead of the spring game. The Cowboys’ defense hadn’t lived up to its standards in a recent closed scrimmage with the offense.

“So Tuesday practice came around,” Wesloski said. “That first group went out there. I stopped everybody in the huddle and said, ‘Hey, take an extra step all day. Finish your plays. Leave no doubt that you made that tackle.’

“And we tackled, and we won the day on Tuesday. It was really, it wasn’t close because we dominated the line of scrimmage and we tackled every play.”

There was a tangible example of something he wouldn’t have felt comfortable doing in the past.

“That’s some growth,” Wesloski said. “I’ve never been stopping a whole group. I’ll grab a guy here, guy there. That’s definitely a step I’ve taken. And it’s something I do almost every day. I challenge my group, I’m with the ones group. I challenge my group every day, find something to be better at today. Be very intentful about that. It’s something I do, personally. I think it’s helped my game a lot.”

Wesloski elaborated on how he approaches all of his practices in a way that felt familiar, if not rehearsed. Almost like he’s delivered a similar breakdown to several of his teammates.

“What I try to do is I try to pick one thing every day,” Wesloski said. “My footwork today. It could be my hands the next day. It’s my striking the day after. I pick one thing every day, and I get really good at that. It just helps me build on myself.”

PFB+ Sale: ⁠PFB+ subscriptions are 25% off when using this link

OSU Bullets

• Steve Lutz added the No. 35 player in the 2026 recruiting class yesterday – the Pokes are now a top-five class in 2026 (PFB)

With the addition of Anthony Felesi, Steve Lutz’s 2026 recruiting class ranks fourth nationally, per 247Sports. pic.twitter.com/8YrLogjBD5

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) April 20, 2026

• Cowboy Baseball takes on Wichita State at home tonight at 6pm (OKState.com)

• Super interesting – Eric Morris explains what’s the same and what’s different from what he does and what Mike Leach taught him:

“We want to be able to run the football more than what (Mike) Leach did,” Morris told Dave Hunziker last week. “Now, the way we teach our passing game and the reads and the progressions and how we teach the quarterbacks is all from the stuff that I’ve learned from Mike years and years ago. Now, it might look a little different. We’re not as stagnant as Mike was. We run more formations and more motions and bunches and stacks, but ultimately they’re the same plays.” [PFB]

• Drew Mestemaker is embracing being the face of Oklahoma State Football (PFB)

• The Cowboys bought Hauss a solid ride with NIL funding:

Hauss Hejny still rocking OSU plates 👀 pic.twitter.com/7MSusyRWSa

— OKSTProbs (@OKSTProbs) April 20, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• A website that helps you pick the right movie

• Ranking the best free restaurant breads in America (loved the Lamberts made the list)

A simulation – but this would be amazing.

First sim with the OFFICIAL lottery odds. We can’t let OKC do this. pic.twitter.com/P0cTvopiyM

— Tankathon.com (@tankathon) April 20, 2026

Texas Tech has turned into a Big 12 powerhouse seemingly overnight, effectively taking the spot OSU forfeited as the wheels fell off the last two seasons — and then going a step further. If things continue that way for the Red Raiders, this matchup could provide a nice measuring stick for the Cowboys as they try to turn things around.

Let’s get into the matchup.

Be sure you check out the rest of our Spring Schedule Previews: Noncon | WVU | UCF | Houston | Colorado | Iowa State | Kansas State

Week 10: Texas Tech | Nov. 14 | Stillwater, Okla.

Series history: 24-25-3

Last meeting: It wasn’t pretty.

Texas Tech returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, forced a three-and-out on OSU’s first drive, blocked the punt and then scored a TD on the Red Raiders’ next drive. That’s about how it went for the Cowboys who were trounced 42-zip.

Tech in 2025: The Red Raiders are coming off a banner year which included their first 12-win season, their first Big 12 title and their first playoff berth. Tech hadn’t reached double digit wins since Mike Leach was running things, and this was just their second time to hit that mark since 1976.

Unlike when Leach was running things, the Red Raiders got their hardware in large part because of their ability to slow teams down. Texas Tech ranked third nationally in both scoring defense and total defense last year. They had talent only money can buy, especially on that side of the ball. Tech landed five defenders on the All-Big 12 first team with the trio of D-linemen in David Bailey, Romello Height and Lee Hunter and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, All-American Jacob Rodriguez.

Tech in 2026: Don’t expect the Red Raiders to take a step back in 2026. Head coach Joey McGuire continued to clean up in the portal this offseason, pulling in a group of linemen that includes Mateen Ibirogba, Trey White and Adam Trick to replenish his defense. And he brought in Cincy QB Brendan Sorsby to replace outgoing starter Behren Morton. Last year, Sorsby accounted for five total TDs against the Cowboys.

Needless to say, this turnaround doesn’t figure to be a flash in the pan. Tech still looks like the team to beat in flyover country.

Of note: Tech’s meteoric rise is inspirational for any program, but aspirational for the Cowboys. An estimated $55 million of NIL spending goes a long way, but the Cowboys are currently ranked 7th in team transfer portal rankings according to 247Sports, three spots above the Red Raiders. I’m not ready to pick the Pokes to take the Big 12 this year, but it will be interesting to see how quickly the program can rebound and Tech has provided quite the blueprint.

In the midst of portal madness, Steve Lutz has landed another freshman.

Four-star 2026 prospect Anthony Felesi announced his commitment to Oklahoma State on Monday. Listed at 6-foot-5, Felesi is the No. 35 player in the 2026 class, per 247Sports. He had signed with Pitt before decommitting in April. He also took visits to USC, UCLA, Louisville and Gonzaga.

 

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A post shared by Joseph Tipton (@tiptonedits)

Playing with Utah Prep, Felesi led the EYBL Scholastic League in scoring as a senior, averaging 21.6 points a game. He also averaged 6.5 boards (seventh in the league) and 2.2 steals (third) a contest.

Lutz has been big on high-motor guys from the high school ranks with the likes of Benjamin Ahmed and Latrell Allmond. Felesi fits into that mold. Here’s a snip what 247Sports’ Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein wrote about Felesi from an evaluation last summer:

“The bottom line is that Felesi already impacts winning on both ends of the floor with his motor, competitiveness, and physical tools, and has the potential to keep improving with the progression of his guard skills.” [247Sports]

Felesi’s commitment moves OSU’s four-man 2026 class to the top of the Big 12 standings, per 247Sports. The Cowboys were in second behind Kansas. It also moves the class up to No. 4 nationally. It makes four four-star prospects in Lutz’s class, as Felesi joins Allmond (No. 24), Jalen Montonati (No. 98) and Parker Robinson (No. 130).

The Cowboys have also added three players via the transfer portal this offseason in Luka Bogavac (North Carolina), Kashie Natt (Sam Houston) and Jacob Walker (Sam Houston).

As of now, the Cowboys have 10 confirmed players of 15 on next season’s roster, as returners Kanye Clary, Ahmed and Ryan Crotty join the incoming crop.

His offenses were part of an evolution of the sport, an evolution that first started at the college level before even the NFL was using more spread concepts. Gundy was sitting on equipment trunks drawing up offensive plays while the defense he was also in charge of was on the field.

But if you examined Gundy on the day to day, you’d know there was a good mix of old-school beliefs in there, too.

A former college quarterback, Gundy enjoyed controlling the ball on the ground — a fact evident by all the talent he produced at running back like Doak Walker winner Ollie Gordon or 2019 national rushing leader Chuba Hubbard. He’d constantly tell stories about and praise Bill Snyder, preaching special teams, discipline and toughness.

But the game continues to change. Gundy wasn’t the quick enough in adapting to the NIL era. When Eric Morris was hired at Oklahoma State, it felt like a huge shift — like OSU was had gone from old school to new school. But in a spring of examining Morris running the OSU program, there’s some old school there, too.

“I think one of the most important ingredients to building a culture is the weight room in my opinion,” Morris said after Saturday’s spring game. “It’s always been that way and I think just back to the longevity of the guys before us and Coach [Rob] Glass was such an instrumental part of that, right? And the toughness and grittiness and talking to former players, like that was real here. So, us bringing coach [Bryan] Kegans, who’s a former offensive lineman, teammate of mine and has the grittiness and the attitude to be able to still hold the kids accountable and discipline when needed.

“We’re all in this thing together. We have early morning weight lifts with the guys right now, and if you’re on time and they’re late, they have to pay some pretty heavy consequences. Even I think this era of obviously the financial piece of it, the transfer portal, some coaches have gone backwards and gotten a little bit softer on kids, and honestly, I’ve probably gone the other way and a little bit harder and saying, ‘Hey, you have an obligation to this program, to this school, to your teammates and we’re gonna run this thing and it’s gonna be a pretty tight ship.’”

So, that sounds rather old school, but how about this Morris quote from April 1:

“ROI (return on investment) is like a real thing in college football,” Morris said on April 1. “And you know these guys, you got to look at us as an investment because we are investing in these guys. At the end of the day, when these Saturdays come in the fall, we need our money to be on the field.”

It doesn’t get much more new school than that.

Although the means of roster-building and player acquisition have changed, there are aspects in building a good football team that remain the same. No matter how much money a player is making, football is a disciplined, team game. This point was probably best explained by Florida State defensive line transfer James Williams after the spring game.

“We live in a microwave culture,” Williams said. “Everybody wants change immediately versus over time and it’s affecting everything that we do, not just in sports but in culture as well. I think we’ve adapted to that. We’re a really close, tight-knit group and we’ve been like that from the beginning. We knew what it would take with 80 new people.”

Morris’ mix of old and new isn’t just in the off-the-field preparation either.

One of his biggest mentor was Mike Leach, who Morris played under. Like with Gundy, Leach was an offensive innovator, a spread mastermind. Over the years, defenses have figured out ways to at least slow down that offensive firepower, but the gist of the system still works.

“We want to be able to run the football more than what (Mike) Leach did,” Morris told Dave Hunziker last week. “Now, the way we teach our passing game and the reads and the progressions and how we teach the quarterbacks is all from the stuff that I’ve learned from Mike years and years ago. Now, it might look a little different. We’re not as stagnant as Mike was. We run more formations and more motions and bunches and stacks, but ultimately they’re the same plays.”

So, while OSU has taken a step into the modern age of college football with Morris’ hiring, the program isn’t abandoning tried and true aspects that make a successful football team regardless of the era.

But he rarely sounds like that guy.

“I feel like I’m just a normal guy that plays football,” Mestemaker said on Saturday.

If not for a few drops by one of his go-to receivers, his passing day would have looked even better. Instead, he finished only 13-of-20 for 260 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

His humility carried over into the discussion of his lone mistake of the day, which happened to come on his very first throw.

“I think it went good,” he said. “Obviously, first play, not how you drew it up. But that’s just what happens when you’ve got a good defense on the other side, they’ll make plays, too. I’m glad they’re on our team.”

Throughout the spring, several of his long-time North Texas teammates who made the transfer alongside Mestemaker praised his ability to remain the same guy he always was, even after the former high school backup turned into one of the portal’s top players a few months ago.

Although Mestemaker got a taste of what was to come when he took pictures with fans at the Iowa State wrestling dual earlier this year, he has continued to be impressed with what it means to be Oklahoma State’s QB1.

“One, the support, everywhere you go,” Mestemaker said. “I’ll go into Walmart to get dinner for the day, and you’ve got people saying, ‘Good luck this year,’ or whatever.

“And it’s just awesome to feel that support everywhere you go. You’ve got eyes on you everywhere, so you have to build up that image everywhere you go, but I think it’s good for the school and the amount of support we have around here.”

While he’s mostly enjoyed the attention, Mestemaker said it does take getting used to and still feels weird for him at times.

Following Saturday’s spring game in front of an estimated crowd of 13,000, Mestemaker said it was awesome to get a taste of what is to come during the season when Boone Pickens is packed.

Just another way his life has changed since he arrived in Stillwater.

“It’s definitely been crazy,” Mestemaker said. “It’s been different than North Texas, that’s for sure. But it’s the life you dream of as a kid, and it’s what you work for every day. So, it’s been awesome.”

Oklahoma State picked up a commitment from Iowa State transfer Audi Crooks on Sunday night. A two-time All-American, Crooks was considered the top player in the portal. All of a sudden, it’s gone from, “What is happening in Stillwater?” in a negative connotation to “What is happening in Stillwater?” as in I can’t wait for next season.

On March 16, the Cowgirls fell to eventual champ UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.  OSU finished Year 4 of the Jacie Hoyt Era 24-10. It was a good, promising season. It was a year that the program could build off of. … But then the portal opened.

The Exodus

Already having lost key contributors Micah Gray and Haleigh Timmer to graduation, OSU would go on to lose Jadyn Wooten (12.8 PPG), Achol Akot (12.4), Amari Whiting (9.6), Lena Girardi (7.8) and others to the portal. All that was left was Stailee Heard.

It felt like a matter of, “Ah, shucks, it looks like the program just doesn’t have the support it needs in this modern era.” … But then names started coming in.

Incoming

It started with the addition of Division-II Player of the Year Talexa Weeter. Weeter averaged 27.5 points a game at Fort Hays State last season while shooting 40% from 3. She put up 46 points in a D-II NCAA Tournament game.

Then came Ellie Brueggemann, a Lindenwood transfer returning to her home state after averaging 14 points while shooting 44% from 3. She finished tied for 11th nationally with 96 3-point makes.

LA Sneed was the next to commit. Sneed was a five-star prospect who spent her freshman season at Utah. She finished averaging 6.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game.

The trio of Weeter, Brueggemann and Sneed provided a solid start to the portal additions for Hoyt, but then stuff really started taking off.

Next came Liv McGill, who CBS Sports tabbed as the No. 2 player in the portal behind only Crooks. McGill was an All-SEC First Team selection as a sophomore this past season, averaging 22.5 points, 6.1 boards, 6.3 assists and 2.6 steals a game. She was probably the most credentialed basketball player OSU’s men’s or women’s team had ever landed out of the portal, but she’d hold that distinguishment for less than a week.

On Friday, OSU added Rutgers transfer Nene Ndiaye, who averaged 14.8 points and 5.4 rebounds a game last season while shooting 42% from deep.

Then late Sunday night, word broke that Crooks was in after three seasons at Iowa State where she averaged 22.8 points and 7.7 rebounds a game, earning All-American honors the past two seasons. She’s scored at least 40 points in five games. She’s scored at least 30 in 11. It’d be like if the men’s team landed Darryn Peterson from Kansas. It’d be like if the football team took one of Texas Tech’s edge rushers from last season.

So recapping the past seven paragraphs, OSU has added three players who averaged north of 20 points a game last season (sure, one was at the D-II level). The Cowgirls have added three players who shot 40% or better from 3 last season. OSU has added 32.8 rebounds and 17.4 assist a game.

Don’t Forget About Heard

All of these players add to who is the overall best player of the Hoyt Era to this point: Stailee Heard.

Heard is entering her third season with the program, and she’s been stuffing the stat sheet since she got in from Sapulpa. Here’s where Heard ranks on various OSU career lists entering her senior season:

Points — 15th (1,328)
Rebounds — 14th (649)
Assists — 20th (219)
Steals — T13th (159)
Double-doubles — T12th (18)

She’s probably going to finish in the top 10 in all of those categories (apart from maybe assists) by the time next season ends. She’ll go down as an all-time Cowgirl, and now she has the most talented team around her she ever has.

What Is Possible?

Not since the 2013-14 season have the Cowgirls made it out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, but given the roster Hoyt is building, that’s a streak that could certainly come to an end.

Iowa State has been in the Top 10 of the AP Poll the past two seasons with Crooks. Both of those seasons have ended in first-round exits, but Crooks didn’t have a McGill or Heard to play off of.

And all of this talent gets put into Hoyt’s offense. The Cowgirls averaged 81.1 points a game this past season — the highest averaged in the program’s history. What does that look like with even more talent, with the 3-point shooting of Heard, Weeter and Brueggemann clearing space for like likes of Crooks down low and McGill driving the paint?

What started as an offseason of disappointment that a talented team didn’t stay together has quickly turned into Hoyt gathering Infinity Stones and putting together what has to be one of the more talented teams the OSU program has ever had.

OSU Bullets

• This is impressive – Cowgirl Basketball added the top player in the transfer portal (PFB)

• Softball clinched a series win over traditional power Arizona, but the Pokes dropped Sunday’s outing to league-leading Kansas (PFB)

• Bill Haisten talked about the missed opportunity to have the OSU spring game broadcast on YouTube (TulsaWorld)

• ICYMI – ten thoughts from Saturday’s spring game in Stillwater (PFB)

• 21-year anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing: 

𝟎𝟒.𝟏𝟗.𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟓

Today, we pause to honor those who were killed, those who survived, and those changed forever by the Oklahoma City bombing.#WeRemember pic.twitter.com/GCIEiPMuHr

— Oklahoma State Athletics (@OSUAthletics) April 19, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Fun concept – when your kids ask for a phone, get them a landline

• 22-minute video on Great Britain’s (former) massive empire

• Ten of America’s best small towns

Late Sunday night, On3’s Talia Goodman reported that Iowa State star Audi Crooks committed to Oklahoma State.

Hoyt has been nothing but complimentary of Crooks in the past, describing her as “one of the best players” in the country earlier this year. CBS Sports ranks her at the top option in the transfer portal which gives the Cowgirls both of the top two portal players in the nation.

Somehow that might be underselling her. Crooks is a three-time unanimous first-team selection in the Big 12 and was named an AP Second Team All-American (2026), AP Third Team All-American (2025) and AP Honorable Mention All-American (2024) in her last three seasons.

“We are thrilled with the addition of Audi,” Hoyt said in OSU’s release. “She has been one of the country’s most dominant scorers the last few years and to think she will be in a Cowgirl uniform feels surreal. She has elite size and strength paired with elite hands and touch that allow her to be an automatic bucket around the rim. The last three years I’ve watched team after team strategize and game plan around stopping her and almost all have failed miserably,” Hoyt said.

 “Getting to know Audi in the recruiting process was truly a joy. She has the personality and intangibles that make you love her and want to root for her immediately. I know she will immediately become a fan favorite and fit right in to Stillwater. She is incredibly motivated in her senior year to evolve and expand her game. She came here to grow and just like some of her teammates who stayed or came from the portal, she has courage to blaze her own path and pursue what can be a historical season for us.”

She finished this season No. 2 nationally in points per game with 25.8 while shooting 64.9% from the floor which also ranked second nationally.

Crooks finished with 12 double-doubles this season alone, bringing her career total to 30.

The former Iowa State star is the sixth player OSU has landed in the portal this offseason joining Rutgers breakout Nene Ndiaye, No. 2 portal prospect Liv McGill, D-II Player of the Year Talexa Weeter, sharpshooter Ellie Brueggemann and former five-star prospect LA Sneed.

The Cowboys had a couple chances to topple the Big 12’s top team, but the Jayhawks instead moved to 22-0 when leading after six.

Oklahoma State fell to Kansas 9-6, dropping the finale and the weekend series on Sunday.

The Cowboys and Jayhawks traded off runs in the first three innings, starting with the Pokes. Then Alex Conover added a two-RBI single in the fourth to push the Pokes up 4-1.

RISP machine, @AlexConover36 #GoPokes https://t.co/SWt4IHEWFT pic.twitter.com/JE7LisvaPh

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 19, 2026

But Kansas poured it on in the fifth, and that made the difference.

Cade Baldrige pulled KU within 4-2 with a ground-out RBI before Dariel Osoria’s grand slam put the Jayhawks up 6-4.

GRAND. SLAM. 💥💥💥@DarielOsoria_23 smashes a grand slam to give the Jayhawks the lead!

TOP 5 | Kansas 6, Oklahoma State 4 pic.twitter.com/ccyq6Ho8Mc

— Kansas Baseball (@KUBaseball) April 19, 2026

Both teams went scoreless in the sixth, but the Cowboys at least attempted to put the Jayhawks’ streak to the test.

With the Pokes down two in the bottom of the eighth, Garrett Shull reached with one out and then stole second on a wild pitch. But KU closer Boede Rahe struck out Danny Wallace before retiring Alex Conover (the tying run) on a fly-out to center. Rahe got the save for the Jayhawks, allowing just one run in two 1/3 innings.

The Cowboys employed five different pitchers to try to facilitate the rally, but Blake Drew took the L, moving to 0-1 on the year.

Jake Kennedy came in to pitch to start the ninth but started off giving up consecutive walks. That set up a two-run double by Jordan Bach push KU’s lead to 9-5 with just one out.

The Cowboys went to the bottom of the ninth down four but Brock Thompson walked and then advanced to second on a defensive indifference before Kollin Ritchie gave the home crowd some life with an RBI double to make it 9-6. Ritchie advance to third with just one out to make things a bit more interesting, but Rahe struck out the last two Cowboys swinging to end the game and the series.

With the loss, the Cowboys fall to 24-16 overall and 8-10 in conference play. Next up, they host Wichita State for a midweek match at 6 p.m. Tuesday at O’Brate Stadium.

STILLWATER — The Cowgirls put together a late two-out rally to earn a series win against Arizona and keep their hosting hopes alive.

Oklahoma State beat Arizona 7-5 on Sunday in Cowgirl Stadium. OSU’s winning runs came in the fifth when Audrey Schneidmiller homered to left. The two-run shot was her third of the season.

Turn up that AUD-io 📢#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/AJmLoWjHD9

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 19, 2026

There was a big delay following the home run after the Arizona dugout wanted the umpires to take a look at whether someone from the dugout touched Schneidmiller before she touched home plate. The umpires had to crack a rulebook out. Gajewski said after the game he’d have argued for the call, too, if the roles were reversed, but the first instance is just a warning.

An Arizona error put them in some trouble in that inning. Tia Warsop was the at-bat before Schneidmiller. She bunted and was going to beat the throw to first, but then that ball ended in the right-field corner thanks to a skied throw, allowing the speedy Warsop to scoot all the way to third.

After throwing 293 pitches in a three-day span, Ruby Meylan earned a day off on Saturday. But she was back to throwing complete games on Sunday.

In 116 pitches, Meylan allowed the five runs (four earned) on six hits while walking one and striking out four

She took a line drive off her throwing hand in the seventh inning and was clearly in some pain. She tossed her glove to the ground and trotted toward the OSU dugout. You could hear a pin drop the in stadium as OSU’s staff attended to her, but she got back in the circle, threw a couple warmup pitches and gave a thumbs up to a nice cheer.

“Saw the season flashing in front of me just real quick,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said. “But when I saw her, the way she was moving, I was like, ‘OK, she’s able to at least move it,’ and she was able to do some things. …

“They felt right away it was OK. It was just gonna be a little sore.”

The game started with an exchange of haymakers.

Arizona plated four in the top of the first coming off an RBI single, a two-RBI double and a sac bunt.

It was enough to make you wonder if the Cowgirls were set for a similar fate from Saturday’s game, but they turned around and tied it up in the bottom of the inning.

Claire Timm had a leadoff bunt single before Karli Godwin drew a walk and Rosie Davis singled to load the bases. That brought up Lexi McDonald who doubled to left center, scoring a pair. She was pumped on second, hyping up her dugout.

Lexi “RBI Double” McDonald gettin’ us goin’ 💪#GoPokes | @leximac_1 pic.twitter.com/hQu3g0Evaf

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 19, 2026

That brought up Amanda Hasler who pulled a ball down the third-base line that actually hit off the bag and spilled into left field, scoring Davis.

Mando doin’ Mando things 🤝#GoPokes | @amandahasler3 https://t.co/Ha5hyGU0GE pic.twitter.com/I3A5g6oqtf

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 19, 2026

Warsop then grounded into a double play, but McDonald was able to score from third and tie it up.

After that early outburst from both squads, no one scored again until the fourth when Timm hit a sac fly to score Warsop, giving the Cowgirls a 5-4 lead, but the Wildcats quickly responded with a two-out RBI double in the top of the fifth to tie it back up.

Warsop continued her hot streak, going 2-for-3 at the dish with two runs scored and an RBI. In the past four games (one against OU and three against Arizona), Warsop is 8-for-14 (.571) with three runs scored and five RBIs.

It’s win No. 30 for the Cowgirls, as they are 30-12 and 11-7 in Big 12 play. OSU entered the day at No. 19 in the RPI. RPI isn’t a one-for-one telling of who 16 NCAA Regional hosts will be, but it’s a solid data point to show that OSU is right there on the edge.

It’s another big week upcoming as OSU will go to Texas (No. 2 in RPI) on Wednesday before staying down in the Lone Star State for a three-game series against Baylor (No. 46 in the RPI).

“I wish I could take a breath, but we got Texas next — and then Baylor,” Gajewski said. “There’s no rest for the weary, but it feels good. I’m gonna sleep good tonight, I can tell you that. I didn’t sleep great last night. My little one woke up about 4 a.m., and then I was a little anxious. I already knew I was gonna come in a little early today. I’m tired, too, to be honest. But I’m gonna enjoy this with my family, and I’m gonna go mow. So that’ll be awesome. Just let my brain kind of decompress.

“But I’m thrilled with these kids. And I’m really happy — our staff. Our staff is grinding, and they’re doing some good things. I thought the way we’re playing, the way we’re shifting and doing things, it’s paying off.”

Kenny Gajewski’s Postgame News Conference

OSU Bullets

• The Cowboys’ Spring Game is in the books, and it was a success — in the way you can consider such things. Here are 10 Thoughts on the exhibition from Marshall Scott. [PFB]

• While you can’t always hang a lot on these events, it did nothing to dampen the excitement around incoming receiver Chris Barnes. [PFB]

• Bill Haisten on how Eric Morris has already restored the OSU brand. [Tulsa World]

• This from Eric Morris on his “Pistol Pete” mustache was great. 

“… Obviously, it’s not a great mustache. I realize that. My wife has promised me that we’ll have to shave this thing off after the spring game. It’s caused a little bit of ruckus at the house. My 5-year-old loves it, and my wife hates it.” [PFB]

• Check out these highlights from the game if you weren’t able to make it out.

Here’s a look at some of the highlights from today’s @CowboyFB Spring Game. #OKState @NewsOn6 @NEWS9 pic.twitter.com/bXHPwwKpjH

— Scott Pfeil (@scottpfeil) April 19, 2026

• The Cowboys split their first two games with Kansas. [PFB]

• One day after a walk-off win, the Cowgirls got run-ruled by Zona. [PFB]

Non-OSU Bullets

• A comprehensive NBA Playoffs Preview as the postseason gets underway. [The Ringer]

• Principal Kirk Moore (hero) got a nice welcome at Pauls Valley Prom. 

Principal Kirk Moore, who tackled the school shooter, walked into prom a few days later to a huge celebration from the students and was named prom king. pic.twitter.com/qGOpkm0Aq9

— Dudes Posting Their W’s (@DudespostingWs) April 18, 2026

The Cowboys were up 6-1 when Friday’s game was suspended due to weather, and they were able to finish that game off in a similar fashion Saturday afternoon. But the Jayhawks flipped the script on them in the evening.

The rubber match is set for Sunday afternoon in O’Brate Stadium, but let’s take a look at how each game played out.

Game 1: OSU 13, Kansas 2

BOXSCORE

The Cowboys racked up five home runs over two calendar days to finish the opener an inning early.

Brock Thompson answered a first-inning solo home run by Kansas’ Cade Baldridge with a two-run homer of his own in the bottom of the opening frame. Then he got some friends to chip in in the second.

Thompson and Garrett Shull each had solo deep balls in the second, and Alex Conover had a two-run bomb. That’s when Mother Nature cooled the Cowboys down up 6-1.

When things resumed on Saturday, the Jayhawks kicked things off with a solo home run by Jordan Bach in the top of the third.

OSU added a run each in the sixth and seventh to extend the lead to 8-2, and then they were able to get out of it early with a walk-off eighth.

Aidan Meola drilled a two-RBI double to left center to make it 10-2 and threaten the run rule. And a threat was all Campbell Smithwick needed. He sent a three-run bomb out over right field to end it.

SOUP WALKS IT OFF AGAIN ‼️

Campbell Smithwick’s third walk-off home run this season#GoPokes | @campbellrsoup pic.twitter.com/T5q6OqxxPU

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 18, 2026

Ethan Lund got the start on the mound for OSU and pitched three innings, allowing four hits and two runs while striking out seven. Stormy Rhodes got the win with five innings’ work, allowing just two hits, a walk and striking out four. He allowed zero runs.

Game 2: Kansas 13, OSU 3

BOXSCORE

The Jayhawks flipped the script (and the scoreboard) on the Pokes in Game 2. But it wasn’t without some defense from the Pokes.

Just your average 9-6-2-5-4 double play 🤠#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/jeUySwreLc

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 18, 2026

After both teams went scoreless through two, the Jayhawks went up 2-0 in the third and then 4-0 in the top of the fourth.

Aidan Meola answered with a three-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth to make it 4-3.

Aidan Meola Bringing some fireworks of his own 🎆#GoPokes | @aidanmeola1 pic.twitter.com/nsCrhapLUK

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 18, 2026

Unfortunately for OSU, the Cowboys were shut down by KU starter Dominic Voegele after that. He finished with 15 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, the Jayhawks answered with three runs in the fifth, one in the sixth and then three and two each in the final two innings to take a 13-3 decision.

Mario Pesca got the start for OSU, falling to 4-3. He allowed eight hits and seven runs while walking four and striking out five. Jake Kennedy spelled Pesca but lasted just one inning. Zane Burns pitched three 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on six hits, and Bryce LeBlanc came for the final 2/3 inning.

The Cowboys head into Game 3 at 24-15 and 8-9 in Big 12 play. But with a win on Sunday, they can pick up their third Big 12 series of the season. Opening pitch is at 1 p.m. Sunday at O’Brate Stadium.

Oklahoma State held its spring game, the first since Morris was hired in December. The offense beat the defense 42-33 in the alternatively scored contest. Here are the Top 5 quotes he gave from the OSU weight room after the game. You can watch his news conference below.

1. On ‘Super Explosive’ Chris Barnes

Wake Forest transfer receiver Chris Barnes was the MVP of the day.

The 5-foot-7 speedster caught four passes for 141 yards and a touchdown, with that TD being a 97-yard go-route from Drew Mestemaker. Despite being shorter in stature, Barnes is playing on the outside with guys like Miles Coleman and Wyatt Young manning the slot.

Morris said when they landed Barnes, he didn’t know how much time he’d spend on the outside, but Morris noted Saturday that he’s looking forward to moving a weapon like Barnes around.

“Super explosive, obviously, really good in the return game and any way we can find ways to put the ball in his hands,” Morris said. “So, he’ll be a guy we start moving around when we start game-planning for people. He’s been a little better on the outside with his stature than I thought and has really tracked the ball well on the deep stuff. Obviously, continuing to find ways to get off of press coverage with a really good long corner out there will be something. He doesn’t have quite the length. 

“He’s been a little bit better than I expected. Then obviously having Miles (Coleman) and Wyatt (Young) in the slot, and them two being so dynamic, when we put it all together we’re just trying to put our best football players on the field, and he’s definitely one of them.”

2. O-Line Update

The reason the Cowboys didn’t play a traditional game for the spring game was a lack of healthy linemen.

The starting group that went out with Drew Mestemaker featured:

LT — Desmond Magiya (North Texas)
LG — Johnny Dickson III (North Texas)
C — Tyler Mercer (Kansas)
RG — Joseph Hanson (Coastal Carolina)
RT — Jacob Sexton (Oklahoma)

That’s a full group of transfers, but Morris said some of the guys who had to miss Saturday’s game will be involved come the fall.

“I think the ones have been really good,” Morris said. “We have three tackles that are out right now that we anticipate are going to be key contributors to us. And so with Braydon Nelson getting a little banged up, he should be back. And then Ashton Lepo for precautionary reasons didn’t go today. And so those are guys that we think will probably be starting rotation.

“But I thought the five there, and then, you know, we got to continue to develop depth right now. I think that that’s something we’re seeing in the transfer portal era, is, how do you keep the backups and keep developing kids behind them. And so it was good today. We’ll have to go back and assess how the two group did. Like, obviously, our ones moved the ball a lot better than our two did today. And so, so yeah, we continue to develop that. But then getting those three tackles back is gonna be huge for us.”

3. Morris’ ‘Pistol Pete Mustache’

Maggie Morris is apparently not a fan of what’s happening on Eric’s upper lip.

Morris explained the new mustache he’s been rocking and notes that it’ll be gone soon.

“So my wife’s not happy at all about the mustache right now,” Morris said. “My 5-year-old, he wanted me to grow a Pistol Pete mustache. Obviously, it’s not a great mustache. I realize that. My wife has promised me that we’ll have to shave this thing off after the spring game. It’s caused a little bit of ruckus at the house. My 5-year-old loves it, and my wife hates it.”

4. Morris Says No to Section 231

Boone Pickens Stadium’s Section 231 (later dubbed Section 2 No-Shirty 1) captured the imagination of the country last year, as some down-on-their-luck Cowboy fans took the fun into their own hands and ripped their shirts off and started waving them above their heads as the Cowboys continued to lose last season.

While it was fun in its time, Morris is ready to move on from that after it broke out a bit Saturday.

“I do kind of want to get rid of the no-shirt thing, spinning, at some point,” Morris said.  “It ran its course in my opinion. There’s some people up there doing it, but we’re going to winning too many damn games and not be something that somebody can be on TV and make fun of us for something like (that). That is in my opinion something that I would like to push out at some point.”

5. ‘It’s Been Surreal for Me Really Every Morning’

Morris was asked if it was a surreal day for him given his rapid come-up as a head coach. His answer was too good not to share.

“It’s been surreal for me really every morning when I walk in,” Morris said. “My office looks over Boone Pickens Stadium. I make it a point every morning to go open the blinds and look and just realize my responsibility is to make this place great again and for the people that love this place. I don’t take that lightly and it’s a great reminder every single day.”

A day after retiring the Wildcats in walk-off fashion the Cowgirls got run-ruled.

No. 21 Oklahoma State fell to No. 16 Arizona 9-1 in five innings. The loss ends a three-game winning streak for the Cowgirls, including a midweek win over No. 1 Oklahoma.

After getting let down in dramatic fashion in the series opener on Friday, the Wildcats came out swinging. Arizona scored four runs in the first, three in the second and two in the third innings behind 12for–24 batting.

Arizona’s Regan Shockey (3-for-4) and Trice Sereniti (2-for-3) both rank in the top 8 in the Big 12 in batting average, and they showed why. They were involved in four of the Wildcats’ nine runs, including a single by Sereniti which facilitated Shockey scoring off an OSU error for the first run of the game. Shockey would end with two RBIs for the Cats, as would Tayler Biehl. Six Arizona players would drive a run in on Sunday.

RyLee Crandall got the start in the circle for OSU and fell to 6-5 on the season. In two innings, she allowed nine hits and seven earned runs. She walked one and didn’t log a strike out.

Preslee Downing pitched the final three innings allowing three hits and two earned runs and a walk.

With the loss, the Cowgirls fall to 29-12 on the season and 10-7 in Big 12 play.

Saturday’s game set a program home record with 2,093 attendees, breaking the previous record of 2,043 set earlier this season against Nebraska. It should be quite the show in Game 3. The series rubber match will take place at 11 a.m. Sunday in Cowgirl Stadium.

Here are some of the best photos from Saturday’s Spring Game. You can peruse the entire album here.

Oklahoma State closed its spring practice schedule with a spring game for fans to enjoy. The offense beat the defense 42-33 on a scoring system that was difficult to get a grasp of. Here are 10 thoughts on the day.

1. Chris Barnes Is Going To Be a Lot of Fun

It seems like most years the Player of the Spring Game is someone who doesn’t necessarily contribute a ton during the regular season, but Saturday just shoveled more coal into the steam engine that is the Chris Barnes hype train.

Barnes showcased his elite speed with a 97-yard catch and run on a go route from Drew Mestemaker. It was evident right when he caught the ball that no one was going to catch the 5-foot-7 Barnes, who recorded a 10.29 100-meters in high school.

Barnes finished the day with four catches for 141 yards and the touchdown. He had another big play before the long TD, where he caught an in-breaking route before cutting it back to the outside and outrunning a few more guys.

Tyler wrote a more in-depth piece on the speedster here.

2. Mestemaker’s Day Starts Poorly, Ends Solidly

Drew Mestemaker and Eric Morris drew up a shot play to christen their Boone Pickens Stadium debut … it didn’t go well.

Mestemaker heaved a deep post route — ala Mason Rudolph, who was in attendance Saturday — downfield on the opening play from scrimmage. Returning safety Cameron Epps jumped in front of the would-be receiver, though, and intercepted the pass.

But that was as rough as it got for the reigning national leader in passing yards. He finished the day 13-for-20 with 260 yards and three touchdowns. The three TDs went to who we’ll refer to as OSU’s Big 3 in the receiving room: Barnes, Justin Bowick and Wyatt Young.

“I think it went good,” Mestemaker said of his day. “Obviously, first play, not how you drew it up, but I mean, that’s just what happens when you got a good defense on the other side — they’ll make plays, too. I’m glad they’re on our team, but I think it went pretty good today.”

3. The Other QBs

The three quarterbacks not named Drew Mestemaker combined for 141 yards and a touchdown:

Broderick Vehrs (freshman) — 7-for-7, 70 yards
Grant Jordan (UMass) — 4-for-8, 57 yards
Luke Tepas (freshman) — 5-for-8, 14 yards, 1 TD

“I think Brodie has done a really nice job, just thinking the kid should still be in high school right now,” Morris said. “Probably has the strongest arm on our team. Can really whip it. Didn’t get a buncha great opportunities today to really showcase that, but really happy with where those guys are right now.”

4. RB2 Still a Mystery

With all the new bodies, there are points of intrigue up and down the roster, but who carries the rock behind Caleb Hawkins seems to be up in the air.

Hawkins scored the days’ lone rushing touchdown, finishing with five carries for 18 yards, including the 1-yard scoring run. Here’s how the rest of the running backs finished:

Tre Page III (Tarleton State) — five carries, 45 yards
William Mason (UCO) — six carries, 21 yards
Dennis Moody III (North Texas) — six carries, 18 yards
Ayo Adeyi (James Madison) — five carries, nine yards
KD Jones (Jenks) — one carry, eight yards

Page was the standout of Saturday, breaking off a big run and nearly beating everyone to the corner and going all the way. That speed could play well off the downhill style of Hawkins, but it sounds like this is a battle that will continue into the summer and fall.

“Running backs been a little bit by a committee,” Morris said. “We’re trying to figure out, ‘Hey, who’s gonna help carry the load with Caleb. So, it’s been fun to watch Moody come out and have some really good practices. It’s been good to see William Mason out there getting some tough yards. Tre Page is super explosive.”

5. Mestemaker and Young Connect for their First Boone Pickens Stadium Touchdown

Mestemaker and Wyatt Young were a combination that struck fear into defenses in the American last season, and on Saturday they connected for their first touchdown in Boone Pickens Stadium.

It came on a post route late in the day in what might’ve been Mestemaker’s best pass of the afternoon over the heads of a pair of defenders.

if perfect perfect was a pass @DrewMestemaker ➡️ @wyatttyoung pic.twitter.com/YDBMdoXu4z

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) April 18, 2026

It wasn’t the cleanest of days for North Texas’ transfer receiver, as he had a few drops and finished with two catches for 45 yards. The other catch came shortly before the touchdown. But while it might’ve not been his best day, the fact that he caught 70 balls for 1,264 yards and 10 touchdowns last season with the same quarterback and play-caller means he’ll probably be alright.

6. The O-Line

The Cowboys are dealing with some injuries along the offensive line this spring, which was the major reason this wasn’t a traditional game.

The starting group Saturday was the following:

LT — Desmond Magiya (North Texas)
LG — Johnny Dickson III (North Texas)
C — Tyler Mercer (Kansas)
RG — Joseph Hanson (Coastal Carolina)
RT — Jacob Sexton (Oklahoma)

I’d expect Braydon Nelson to play a role come the fall, as he was North Texas’ starting left tackle last season. OSU has also been without Michigan State transfer Ashton Lepo this spring.

7. Jaleel Johnson Looked Good

Sacks are tricky in a spring game because you get one by breathing moderately hard on a quarterback, but we credited returning edge rusher Jaleel Johnson with a pair on Saturday, finishing tied for the lead with four tackles.

Johnson is one of (if not the) most productive returners, having made 49 tackles and three sacks in a Cowboy uniform. He enters his redshirt senior season listed at 6-foot-4, 270 pounds after playing in just four games last season before injury.

It felt like he was due for a big breakout year last season before literally everything went wrong for he and the Cowboys. Paired back up with Greg Richmond, who recruited Johnson to Stillwater, perhaps he is set up to have a big senior season.

8. The Format Was Messy, but Competitive

This is a total first-world problem, but the media was left to its own devices in terms of keeping stats. That paired with the funky format made for a hectic press box.

When the scrimmage ended, the offense won 42-33. Getting to that point was quite a journey.

The defense jumped out to an early lead thanks to that Epps pick. Then after the second-string offense had its opening possession, the defense led 8-2 and you got the feeling that the scoring numbers could’ve been weighed in the defense’s favor.

From there, though, the offense started to roll. After Mestemaker completed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Justin Bowick that tied it at 8, the offense didn’t look back aside from when the Cowboys did a few two-minute drills in which they took away some of the offenses points to make them have to play catch up.

It sort of felt like I was a British person watching American football for the first time with everything being worth a seemingly random allotment of points, but it was fun nonetheless.

All that is to say the format was hard to keep up with, but it was one of the more competitive OSU spring games I can remember in that there was a score being kept and contact was happening.

9. This Reserve Linebacker Was Laying the Lumber

I didn’t know the name Tom Watts coming into Saturday, but late in the festivities, the sophomore NEO transfer linebacker was flying around.

He finished with four tackles, tying for the lead with the likes of Ethan Wesloski, LaDainian Fields and Jaleel Johnson, all guys who ought to contribute come the fall.

There was one tackle in particular late where he flew down and flicked the hit stick on a ball carrier in what was the biggest piece of contact of the day.

Watts is a walk-on who played his high school ball at Bishop McGuinness. With NEO last season, he played in 10 games and recorded 14 tackles.

10. Fresh Energy

The sun has set on the first spring of the Eric Morris Era, and it was a breath of fresh air.

This isn’t a knock on the previous regime, one that brought successes to Oklahoma State that the program could’ve never imagined. But all spring — whether it was the portions of practices media were allowed into or Saturday’s spring game — there was a sense of renewed energy that was much needed. Especially after the last two years.

It was hard to tell how stale things had gotten until you could see the fresh energy.

None of this means anything unless the Cowboys are better on the field, but at the very least, this doesn’t feel like the same program that struggled so mightily the past two seasons.

Unofficial Stats

Head coach Eric Morris didn’t expect Barnes to dominate outside. Neither did quarterback Drew Mestemaker.

To be fair to them, Barnes didn’t dominate during Saturday’s scrimmage. He quite literally ran away with the whole thing to the tune of 141 yards and a touchdown on four receptions.

“I mean, that speed,” Morris said. “Everybody saw it running down the sideline and backed up, and a great read by Drew putting it on the money. … I just got to find a way to get the ball in those guys’ hands in space.”

Morris was describing Barnes’ 97-yard touchdown, and the other player he referenced was receiver Miles Coleman, who finished with a respectable, but ultimately distant second, total of 57 yards from scrimmage.

To be fair to both the Cowboys’ head coach and starting quarterback, Barnes hasn’t been known as an outside threat throughout his college career.

He played 66% of his snaps in college at the slot. Even Barnes was surprised when Cowboy coaches moved him outside this spring.

“(But) I’m not going to back down from it just because I’m a smaller receiver,” Barnes said. “But like I said, I got the skill sets to go out there and do what I gotta do.”

Mestemaker said it didn’t take long for Barnes to cement his place.

“Coming into the year, I thought he’d be playing slot receiver, and it was like first or second day he made some crazy catches on the outside,” Mestemaker said. “And I was like, this guy can play the outside and make plays out there. So I think he can play anywhere.”

Barnes is a tougher critic when asked how his spring started with OSU’s new QB1.

“During the spring, we started off, kinda not rough, but like we had to get used to each other,” Barnes said. “He had to get used to my speed sometimes. Sometimes I had to get used to his arm, like I said today, we just connected.”

What Barnes showed on Saturday has been happening behind closed doors against some of OSU’s top defenders this spring.

“I feel like I’ve developed the techniques to win versus press,” Barnes said. “When I was at slot, man (would be) playing about 10 yards off me, you basically getting free release every time.”

The receiver said the hardest part about making the adjustments has been winning the one-on-ones.

“It’s not really a secret. … It all starts with the pre-snap,” Barnes said. “Like you got to get a read of the defense and know, like, okay, I need to do this. Like you have to develop a plan.”

That plan starts with identifying how the corner is matching up on him and if they are pressing. Are the safeties in two-high or one? Which defender has the flat?

Once Barnes answers all those questions, the play tends to result in what roughly 13,000 Oklahoma State fans saw firsthand on Saturday.

For those who didn’t make the trip out this time, Morris promises Barnes will have plenty of highlight-worthy moments inside Boone Pickens this fall.

“He’ll be a guy we start moving around when we start game planning for people,” Morris said. “He’s been a little better on the outside with his stature than I thought and has really tracked the ball well on the deep stuff.”

The event will get going at 4 p.m. in Boone Pickens Stadium. With no stream or radio coverage of the game, we’ll do our best to keep you updated from here, providing updates after every series. So, keep refreshing.

If you haven’t been keeping up, it’s formatted offense vs. defense with the following scoring system:

How the Offense Scores

Touchdown = 6 points
PAT = 1 point
2-point conversion = 2 points
Field goal = 3 points
Gain of 25+ yards = 2 points

How the Defense Scores

Forced punt = 4 points
Forced missed field goal = 1 point
Three-and-out = 4 points
Takeaway = 7 points

The first team offense starts the day with a shot down field, but returner Cameron Epps picks off Drew Mestemaker’s pass, giving the defense a lead.

Score: Defense 7, Offense 0

UMass transfer Grant Jordan took the second series at quarterback. The drive ended in a 51-yard field goal attempts, which Sam Keltner missed wide left.

Ayo Adeyi ahd a gain of 25+ yards, giving the offense a pair of points. The defense gets a point for the missed field goal.

Score: Defense 8, Offense 2

Mestemaker is back in and leads the Cowboys down the field for a touchdown, completing a 26-yard pass to Illinois transfer Justin Bowick for a touchdown. The drive also featured a nice catch and run from Wake Forest transfer Chris Barnes.

you didn’t have to do it to ’em like that @justinbowickjr 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/bcbmemDDOQ

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) April 18, 2026

Now PAT happened.

Score: Defense 8, Offense 8

Freshman Broderick Vehrs leads a drive into the defense’s territory, but the offense fails on a fourth-down conversion. Vehrs hit Israel Polk for a 30+-yard gain.

Mestemaker hits Barnes on a go route for a 97-yard touchdown on the first play of the next series, giving the offense a lead with the double dip in points.

Score: Offense 16, Defense 12

The first-string offense started the next drive in defensive territory and were able to put together a drive that ended with Caleb Hawkins hammering it into the end zone from two yards out.

Score: Offense 22, Defense 12

The second-team offense got the ball at the defense’s 25 and was unable to go anywhere. Keltner hit a 45-yard field goal.

Score: Offense 25, Defense 12

After a kickoff exhibition, the offense ran a two-minute drill that ended in a 33-yard field goal from Keltner.

The score seems meaningless at this point. They’re moving it around as they please, it seems.

Mestemaker hits Wyatt Young for a 38-yard touchdown. Young hadn’t made much of an impact on the game until that drive, when he caught a pair of passes.

Freshmen Luke Tepas and Jabarie Thornton connect for a touchdown after a long drive from the reserve offense. The drive’s biggest play was a big run from Tarleton transfer running back Tre Page.

The scrimmage ends with the offense winning 42-33. Sorry this live blog was a little all over the place, the format was a little messy. More coverage on the day to come.

Three Thoughts

WALK IT OFF COWGIRLS 🤠

No. 21 @cowgirlsb gets the 8-7 (10 inn.) game one upset win over No. 16 Arizona!#NCAASoftball x 🎥 ESPN+pic.twitter.com/AssnAx24P1 — NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) April 18, 2026

Two Quotes

Playoff Pokes 🤠 pic.twitter.com/YKRqbA1OY7

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) April 17, 2026

One Question

Non-OSU Bullets

The Cowgirls probably have some work to do to get into the top 16 in order to host an NCAA Regional, but over the past few days, they’ve been putting in the work required.

Oklahoma State opened its series against No. 16 Arizona with an 8-7 win in Cowgirl Stadium. This comes after OSU knocked off top-ranked Oklahoma on Wednesday in Oklahoma City.

Friday’s game was an all-timer, going 10 innings and lasting four hours and 40 minutes. It featured an early lightning delay before they were somehow able to squeeze all 10 innings in before a storm rolls in from the north.

Tia Warsop finally put an end to the festivities in the bottom of the 10th, singling to right with the bases loaded. It continues a stretch of Warsop showing up in big moments after she went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored in Bedlam.

IT’S ALWAYS TIA TIME IN STILLY ⏰#GoPokes | @tia_warsop https://t.co/hX4lhT1RM5 pic.twitter.com/iAHrdm1S58

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 18, 2026

Someone give Ruby Meylan a rest.

It was another complete game for the Cowgirl ace. The All-American threw 160 (!!!) pitches. That number is crazy enough on its own, but it’s even more crazy given the fact she threw 133 pitches in Bedlam two days ago.

She finished Friday having given up the seven runs (five earned) on 10 hits while walking one and striking out five. All the runs she gave up gave in the fourth inning or later. She had to be tired.

The Cowgirl offense gave their ace an early cushion.

Claire Timm started the bottom of the first inning with a leadoff home run, her sixth round-tripper of the season.

Lexi McDonald scored on a passed ball later in the inning, and then Warsop singled up the middle to score Amanda Hasler after Hasler doubled in her first at-bat.

OSU’s lead moved to 4-0 in the second when Rosie Davis got a ball through the right side, sending freshman outfielder Jayelle Austin home.

The Cowgirls scored again in the third when Hasler hit a leadoff home run, her 11th of the year.

Sound the horn y’all 📢

Amanda extends to lead to five!#GoPokes | @amandahasler3 https://t.co/V2i46GOlRE pic.twitter.com/kI6iIHpgst

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 17, 2026

That’s when the Wildcats started to mount a comeback, scoring their first run in the fourth inning and adding two in the fifth and another in the sixth.

OSU made it 6-4 in the bottom of the sixth with a Davis single, but then a two-run home run in the seventh from Arizona tied it back up.

The Cowgirls almost ended it in the seventh, but Audrey Schneidmiller was thrown out at the plate to force extras.

Arizona took a lead in the eighth off a solo home run. But then Timm uno reverse carded the Cats with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the eighth to tie it again, her second home run of the game and seventh of the year to set up Warsop’s walk off.

THE TIMM REAPER!#GoPokes https://t.co/nJSgJv5TnK pic.twitter.com/VrinxljkAI

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 18, 2026

It’s a good start to the series for the Cowgirls, but you’d have rather not had Meylan go 160 pitches into a Friday start. Game 2 of the series is set for 2 p.m. Saturday in Cowgirl Stadium.

Rutgers transfer Nene Ndiaye announced her commitment to Oklahoma State via her Instagram. Listed at 6-foot-1, Ndiaye averaged 14.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.4 steals a game as a junior for the Scarlet Knights last season while shooting a career-best 42% from 3.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Nenzo Og (@_nene_og)

She scored in double figures in all but four of the 26 games she played in this year. That included six outings in the 20s, putting up a season-high 26 points against Siena and Minnesota. Ndiaye had two double-doubles this season, both coming with 19 points and 10 rebounds against Northeastern and Lafayette.

Ndiaye spent the first two seasons of her college career at Boston College. As a sophomore she averaged 4.4 points and 2.3 rebounds a game before seeing a big jump in production at Rutgers.

She hails from Saly, Senegal and has played for her country’s national team. At the Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Puerta Rico last month, Ndiaye averaged 6.2 points and two rebounds across five games. She also averaged eight points a game at the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Tournament last summer.

Ndiaye is the fifth player OSU has landed via the portal this offseason in what has been an excellent class for Hoyt and Co. Ndiaye joins All-SEC guard Liv McGill, D-II Player of the Year Talexa Weeter, sharpshooter Ellie Brueggemann and former five-star prospect LA Sneed.

Some of our biggest questions heading into spring, namely who is even going to play on this team of mostly newcomers, have been answered over the last month of spring practices.

But there’s still plenty of unknowns surrounding the new-look Cowboys, and many of them should get some kind of answer during Saturday’s spring game when the offense and the defense face off at 4 p.m. inside Boone Pickens Stadium.

Here are five questions we want to see answered on Saturday:

1. How good is the offensive line?

Poor quarterback play and an ineffective offensive line have stifled Oklahoma State’s offense for most of the last two seasons. There’s no question the Cowboys have fixed things at quarterback with the addition of Drew Mestemaker.

The offensive line remains a bit of a mystery.

Oklahoma transfer Jacob Sexton has been seen at both left tackle and left guard this spring. He played 220-plus snaps at both positions for the Sooners in 2024, the last season he was healthy.

Desmond Magiya has also seen time at both spots this spring after playing 116 snaps at left guard and 251 at left tackle for North Texas last season.

It would be surprising to see anyone besides Kansas transfer Tyler Mercer at center after he played 565 snaps in that role for Morris in 2024.

The Cowboys made a huge investment in Mestemaker this offseason. Protecting him must be paramount this fall. Given that the defense won’t be trying to put the quarterbacks on their backs during Saturday’s scrimmage, it might be hard to tell exactly how good the offensive line will be this fall, but if there are major issues, those should still be apparent.

2. Can Oklahoma State bring the pressure in 2026?

Oklahoma State’s inability to score during the last two seasons forced the defenses to play with essentially one arm behind their backs at times. That shouldn’t be the case this season, so does that mean the Cowboys will get back to chasing quarterbacks all over BPS?

Things certainly sound promising, considering Morris recently praised the defensive ends as one of the most impressive units this spring.

“Having the speed on the edge — it might be the deepest room we have at the time,” Morris said. “Defensive end in particular, more so than the interior.”

Oklahoma State averaged 17.9 pressures per 100 plays last season, according to Pro Football Focus. North Texas averaged 19.2 pressures per 100 plays last season and recorded a sack on 15% of their pressures.

For context, Oklahoma State averaged a sack on 14.6% of pressures last season and 13.1% in 2024. The defense the Cowboys run this season should mirror what UNT did last season, so the improvement might not be drastic, but even a slight increase in pressures and sacks should be more than enough when paired with what figures to be a much higher scoring offense.

3. Who is RB2?

There’s no question that the nation’s leading touchdown scorer, Caleb Hawkins, will lead the way on the ground in 2026 after toting the ball 231 times last season to go along with 35 targets.

But spring practice has yet to reveal a clear-cut option behind him. Last season, UNT’s other backs carried the ball 212 times with a handful of receptions added in.

The second-most used back, Mackenzie McGill, played 206 snaps on offense (Hawkins played 537), carried the ball 75 times and saw six targets. The next back in line, Kiefer Sibley, finished the season with 45 carries and four targets on 138 snaps.

Here’s a reminder of who is in the mix for that spot:
Dennis Moody (UNT transfer)
KD Jones (freshman)
William Mason (Central Oklahoma)
Tre Page (Tarleton State)
Ayo Adeyi (James Madison, but UNT before that)

Oklahoma State running backs coach Patrick Cobbs might know which guy will receive that No. 2 workload this fall, but it doesn’t seem like one guy has emerged in practice yet. Perhaps that will change on Saturday.

4. Is the tight end finally back?

Oklahoma State spent most of the last decade largely ignoring the tight end position, treating it as simply another blocker or worse, a decoy receiver.

In three seasons coaching tight ends, including the last two under Morris, tight end coach Drew Svoboda has produced four tight ends with equal or better numbers than anyone the Cowboys have fielded in the last decade.

Donovan Green, a transfer with experience at LSU and Texas A&M, seems the early favorite to lead the way for the Cowboys in 2026. Green and other tight ends seem to factor in during practice, but Saturday could reveal if any of those guys will actually get meaningful attention when things begin to breakdown in game-like settings.

5. Who will win?

Most of the offseason hype revolved around the addition of offensive superstars like Mestemaker, Hawkins, receiver Wyatt Young and, of course, Morris’ proven knack for building an offense that excelled.

But following the first day of practice, all of the coaches said the defense won the day. The offense seemed to make up for that around the midpoint when the first string scored with ease on the defense, thanks to a few well-executed plays between Mestemaker and receiver Chris Barnes.

But earlier this week, the first-string defense broke up Mestemaker’s pass attempt on 3rd-and-3 to force a three-and-out.

Then the second-string defense seemed to give the second-string offense just as much trouble. The scoring system might end up favoring one side or the other depending on how much time the reserves see, but recent weeks suggest this could be a pretty competitive scrimmage on Saturday.

“I can’t even begin to tell you what it was like,” Oklahoma State coach Kenny Gajewski said. “I’ll try. … There’s nothing in the handbook that prepares you for this, and I think there’s probably nothing in the handbook of life that prepares you for anything like this.”

KOCO’s Jonathan Greco wrote that the Oklahoma Highway Patrol collision report found that the bus attempted to change lanes but was unable to avoid the pedestrian.

“It just happens so fast, and you just go into like crisis mode,” Gajewski told reporters earlier this week. “I mean, you’ve got a family of somebody who’s now not here, you gotta, I mean, you know you’re you gotta have some sort of thought about them and how all that happened.

“And I, first thing I did was go back to the bus and try to get them under control and make sure everybody was okay, that nobody was hurt first, and then try to gauge what the eyes are telling you. We had some people in shock, without a doubt, and I don’t even, to be frank, I don’t think too many of them actually saw what I saw. I think only one person saw and truly saw. … I think what we find out is how powerful your brain is because your brain starts concocting what you think you saw, what you heard.”

That wasn’t the last time Gajewski spoke of the brain’s ability to fill in the gaps with a similar respect-fear combo often used to describe natural disasters.

“It wants to take you to places you don’t need to be,” Gajewski said.

Gajewski also recalled some of the things he said to the driver in those horrible moments after.

“Like, ‘Are you okay? It’s not your fault. I saw what happened. It’s not your fault,’” Gajewski said. “Making sure that he is okay. I mean, I can’t imagine what he’s going through.”

Then, Gajewski needed to make a lot of decisions, somewhat quickly. The first one, and it sounds like the easiest, was getting word to counselor Kevin Andrews to come up and help Gajewski support the players and staff.

Then he had to call Wichita State and let them know the Cowgirls wouldn’t be able to play that night.

“I’m sure there’s things we did wrong,” Gajewski said. “I’m sure there’s things we did right. I’m sure of one thing, any decision that we made, I wanted to make for what was going to be the best thing for us, not what other people thought would be good for us.

“And probably nobody knows our team and program better than I do, and I wanted them to make sure that whatever we did from that point forward was in good alignment for what was going to be the best thing to help these kids start to deal with what we’re going through. … (keeping in mind), what I if this was my kid, what I would want. … I just didn’t want to bring these kids back. Have to do it again the next day, repack, do that again, drive by that, that place, put them through all that again. I just didn’t think that would be the best thing.

“And I did not want to bring them home and drop them off and then go back to their rooms and dorms and apartments and start thinking. I wanted them to be around us and Kevin and our staff and do the things that are as normal as can be, like have a team meal and be together.”

Two of his players briefly elaborated on what it was like for them last week.

“Everyone, like we prayed, we held hands, we hugged, we sat with each other,” senior Lexi McDonald said. “Like it was just scary, like it’s just a scary, traumatic event. And so being able to just comfort each other with something that. Like we can’t take for granted, and something I don’t think we will or ever will, is having people in your corner.”

“It was really scary,” freshman Aubrey Jones said. “And there’s a lot of emotions involved, but he (Gajewski) did a good job, just like talking to us, letting us all know that no matter how you’re feeling, it’s okay. Everyone’s gonna react differently. And we were fortunate enough to have Kevin, our mental guy, come and be with us all weekend, which was really helpful for anyone that needed it. But we did a good job, not like just brushing it under the rug, like we acknowledged what happened and that it was really sad and unfortunate.”

Gajewski said he appreciates the support he and the team have received over the last week. He also stressed that this isn’t something that just goes away.

“So tough, it’s tough stuff, and it’ll be tough for a long time,” he said. “I think it kind of hit me at the end of our game, the last game (at Iowa State on Sunday), I just kind of broke down, and I just, I thought I was okay.

“And you then you start to talk, and you kind of can finally take a breath for a moment, and it’s when it kind of hit me.”

PFB+ Sale: ⁠PFB+ subscriptions are 25% off when using this link

OSU Bullets

• Deion Imade is taking Robert Allen’s old role as sideline reporter for Cowboy Football (OKState.com)

• OSU Wrestling added another commitment to the 2027 recruiting class – a California state champion (PFB)

• Steve Lutz added another player from Sam Houston State (PFB)

• Cade Ciunningham’s appeal for award eligibility was successful (CBS Sports)

• Fun to hear a legend of the sport talking about the Cowgirls like this.

“The history of this program is to bow up and we got bowed up on.”#Sooners coach Patty Gasso tonight after No. 1 OU’s 6-4 loss to No. 21 Oklahoma State in Bedlam. pic.twitter.com/Ic9Xk0XBy6

— Davis Cordova (@byDavisCordova) April 16, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• There’s a good reason you can’t concentrate • I always look forward to Zach Lowe’s 8×8 NBA playoff preview podcast

Jacob Walker was the Conference-USA Sixth Man of the Year and earned a spot on the league’s All-Freshman Team. Come next season, he’ll be a Cowboy.

Walker announced his commitment to Oklahoma State on Monday by way of a transfer from Sam Houston. Sam Kayser first reported the news. He averaged 11.5 points, 2.2 boards and 2.5 assists a game as a freshman for the Bearkats while shooting 36% from 3.

Sam Houston freshman Jacob Walker will be entering the transfer portal.

11.5 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 2.5 APG, 43.7% FG, 35.8% 3FG.

6 games with 20+ points.

Big time player 👀 pic.twitter.com/Quj1Tx49RU

— Rising Ballers Network (@dylan_lutey) March 26, 2026

“Jacob is a dynamic guard who plays with pace, toughness and confidence,” Steve Lutz said in OSU’s release. “He has a natural ability to put pressure on the rim, and that shows up in how often he gets to the free throw line. We love his competitiveness, his scoring instincts and the way he finished the season. He’s a guy who can impact winning in a lot of different ways, and we’re excited to add him to our backcourt.”

Listed at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, Walker hails from Memphis, Tennessee. He won a pair of state titles at First Assembly Christian High School before spending his senior year at Sunrise Christian in Kansas, the same program OSU landed Mekhi Ragland from. Walker was an unranked prospect coming out of high school before immediately making an impact with Sam Houston.

He scored in double figures in 19 of the 34 games he played in this past season, including six outings in the 20s. He and the Bearkats played in Gallagher-Iba Arena back in December, where Walker tallied 17 points while shooting 3-for-6 from 3.

Walker has a knack for drawing fouls, leading Sam Houston in free-throw attempts with 159, where he shot 75%. His free-throw rate ranks in the top 80 nationally, according to KenPom, while Walker finished in the top 220 in fouls drawn per 40 minutes.

Walker is commitment No. 3 and the second Sam Houston transfer to make the trip up to Stillwater. He joins Conference-USA Defensive Player of the Year Kashie Natt as Bearkats turned Pokes. North Carolina transfer Luka Bogavac joins those two.

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“Kind of a crazy relationship. … Maybe a week or two before signing day, Oklahoma State offered me, but it was too late,” Cobbs said. “I was committed. I stayed with them, and that was kind of my relationship. And then, you know, long story short, (OSU) tried to get me again, but, I mean, it was just kind of one of those deals where I felt like I was an hour down the road and I didn’t get recruited, and so I was staying with North Texas.”

He didn’t wear Orange, but it certainly sounds like he had the Loyal and True part down. Cobbs made the most of his UNT career, finishing as the 69th player in NCAA history to rush for more than 4,000 yards.

His 4,050 rushing yards still rank second in UNT’s all-time record book. He’s third in all-purpose yards (5,255) and fourth in touchdowns scored (38). Although Cobbs didn’t hear his name called in the NFL Draft, he still took part in 54 games across six seasons in the NFL.

When Cobbs spoke of his too-little-too-late recruitment by Oklahoma State on Tuesday, he sounded like a man at peace with the way his career turned out.

But Cobbs didn’t hesitate when asked if there was a time in his life, before he gave North Texas his word, when he’d have leapt at the chance to become a Cowboy.

“It is a place I’d have been in a heartbeat,” Cobbs said. “But it didn’t happen until super late in the process. Where I felt like they were just, they were offering me a scholarship because they didn’t get somebody they wanted. And so I stuck with my commitment to North Texas.”

When he got into coaching, Cobbs started off at the high school ranks before landing his first college coaching role with North Texas. He stayed there for seven years and was viewed by some in the media as one of the few true question marks when Morris began bringing assistants with him to Stillwater.

“The allure of Oklahoma State will do that to you,” Cobbs said of his decision to join OSU. “Just coming with coach Morris and all the staff, and that’s familiar, you know. And then it’s hard to leave North Texas, but I knew at some point I needed to, to grow in this. I mean, there was no better opportunity than this one, coming north, close to home, the staff that I know, closer to my mom, my grandma and my family. So you know that makes it, makes it very easy.”

To be specific, Cobbs can get to his mother in Mustang, his sister in Yukon or his grandmother, who still lives in the very same house in Tecumseh, all in less than 90 minutes.

All trips, Cobbs plans to make the most of now that he’s finally back home in Oklahoma.

“I’m gonna get to go back for holidays for the first time in a long time,” Cobbs said. “Thanksgiving is big day, and coach (Morris) does great, he lets us practice in the morning and go home in the evening. And now, being an hour away, I can do that. It’s phenomenal.”

Three-star offensive line prospect Mason Joshua included OSU in his Top 8 along with Arizona, Florida State, Pitt, Baylor, Utah, Duke and Arizona State. He also announced that he’ll make his announcement on July 4.

Where is HOME!!! @CoachFleen @CoachJordanOL @MccollomX @ForneyRecruits @TFloss32 @MikeRoach247 @samspiegs @GPowersScout @dctf @247recruiting @AABonNBC @Marchen44 @On3 @TXTopTalent pic.twitter.com/q7K4DIKwp0

— Mason Joshua (@MadeJoshua78) April 15, 2026

Joshua is the No. 539 player in the 247Sports Composite ranking for the 2027 class, making him the No. 47 offensive tackle in the cycle and the No. 74 player from Texas.

Out of Forney, Texas, Joshua is listed at 6-foot-5, 270 pounds and also excels at throwing the shotput and discus. He’s a two-time district champ in the discus and earned his first district title in shotput this year.

His Forney Jackrabbits went 10-3 in Joshua’s junior season, making it to the third round of the Texas 6A D-II playoffs. According to MaxPreps, the Jackrabbits ran for 240.8 yards a game on 7.9 yards a carry. Here are 5:32 of run-blocking highlights:

And Forney threw for 190.5 yards a game. Here are 5:23 in pass pro highlights:

He was named to the Navy All-American Bowl.

The Cowboys’ lone pledge at this point in the cycle is Iowa Colony (Texas) quarterback Carson White, who pledged to the Pokes on April 4.

California state champion Michael Romero announced his commitment to Oklahoma State on Wednesday night. Romero is the No. 25 wrestler on Flo’s Big Board for the 2027 class.

 

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A post shared by Michael Romero (@michaelromero0)

Out of St. John Bosco, Romero won a state title at 150 pounds, pinning his first three opponents in the bracket.

He’s coming off a win at the Doc Buchanan at 153 pounds, beating Joe Bachmann, the No. 3 wrestler on Flo’s 2027 big board, in the final.

He’s also won at the Reno Tournament of Champions in December. Of his six matches at that event, Romero had a pair of pins and three technical falls.

He took fourth at Fargo last year and fifth at Super 32, with both of those results coming at 144 pounds.

Back in 2022, Romero won a U16 Fargo title at 100 pounds.

His commitment also keeps a steady stream of Californian’s coming to Stillwater, joining the likes of Cody Merrill and incoming freshman Rocklin Zinkin.

Romero makes it four pledges in Taylor’s 2027 class, joining No. 7 Ignacio Villasenor, No. 9 Tanner Hodgins and No. 39 Ladd Holman.

The Cowboys made a big change from a staff perspective going into last season, but before that the staff was fairly consistent for about a decade.

With the new regime under Eric Morris meeting with reporters throughout the spring, I asked most of OSU’s new position coaches what it is they’re looking for when they go out on the recruiting trail as a means to forecast what the Cowboys could look like after a few years when they’ve had a few recruiting cycles to stack talent with.

Here’s what each coach I asked said:

Running backs coach Patrick Cobbs

“I mean, everybody has different traits. So, I want my room to be a lot different. I don’t want it to be the same. Things that translate is what I’m looking for, whether that’s speed, whether that’s agility, catching the ball out of the backfield, being a good blocker. Just the things that fit into this offense that you can build off and that can find them a role. Even playing both ways, being an athlete, making tackles. Playing special teams gets you on the bus. So that’s a good way to start when you’re young.”

Receivers coach Nick Edwards

“The biggest thing is how well you catch the ball. That’s kind of the biggest thing. Then after that it’s athletic ability — mobility, lateral speed and vertical speed. Everything else, if you have that athletic ability, I can teach you the rest. But you need athletic ability and the ability to catch the ball in all different ways.”

Tight ends coach Drew Svoboda

“I would say like the H tight end. We’ve got the U tight end and that’s kind of the guy who’s a cheeseburger away from being an offensive tackle, which it’s good to have him on your roster too. You got the Y tight end, which is a traditional tight end. He’s a big guy. He runs well enough, but he’s kind of your old 1985 tight end. You got your F tight end, who was a receiver not long ago and he’s making the transition. He’s got to decide he wants to do it. That’s the F tight end. And then you got the H. That’s the true hybrid. That’s what we love here. He’s part running back, part fullback, part receiver, part tight end, part offensive tackle, part offensive guard. He can kind of do a little bit of everything. And that true H hybrid tight end is what really flourishes in this offense.”

Offensive line coach Cody Crill

“Gotta have the right mentality. You’ve gotta find people that want to choose violence every day and be physical, they love that part of the game. Other thing is athletic ability, flexibility and then size, you know, and length. But the first two is just being a guy that wants to choose violence and then also understanding how much work this involves, can process and things like that. And then having the athletic traits we’re looking for and then size.”

Linebackers coach Reggie Johnson

“You want that guy that’s 6-2, 6-3, that guy that runs that 4.5 — yes, you want all that good stuff that you saw in the combine from a few weeks ago. But, I think when we’re evaluating young players, yes, you obviously want length, you want speed, but again, there has to be other redeemable qualities in terms of intelligence, instincts. So, there’s a lot of other things other than the physical attributes that go into good football players. Because everybody that you watch on Sunday isn’t that way, right? There’s short guys, There are tall guys, there are fat guys. But again, finding the guys that fit what we do and that are willing to work and compete and just get better.”

Safeties coach Jordan Malone

“Well, we’re looking for guys that, one, first and foremost, have football IQ. Because we put a lot on our safeties in this defense. So, looking for those guys that truly understand what it is that they are doing on their particular team. And we’re looking for guys that play hard. Film doesn’t lie. I can coach you to go do things here and there, but one thing I can’t coach is the effort and the want to to put in. So we’re looking for guys that, when we turn on that film, we know that they’re playing hard.

“When you get to the physical aspect of it, we look for rangy type safeties, guys who can cover some ground because we’re gonna ask them to cover. And then physical guys, guys that have a lot of contact courage that’s not afraid to go mix it up because again, I think that’s the beauty about our defense when you’re playing safety. We’re going to ask our safeties to blitz, we’re gonna ask our safeties to play in the box, we’re going to ask them to cover one on one, we’re going to ask them to cover zero. So, we look for a multitude of things as we hit this road. But like I said, we’re looking for those guys that’s going to come bring very much energy and physicality and effort to the Pokes.”

Corners coach Julian Wilson

“The biggest thing is versatility. Our defense is kind of complex. There are some times where you might have to go into the game at safety. So I want dudes with football IQ, long dudes that can run and high-motor guys and just competitive. That’s the biggest thing. I want dudes to have that dog out there because in this game, you’re going to be one-on-one a lot. You have to be able to hold up one-on-one on the outside.”

OSU Bullets

• The Cowgirls scored a monster victory over rival (and top-ranked) OU Sooners in softball last night – Cowgirls won 6-4 (PFB)

• The format for OSU’s spring game was announced (PFB)

If y’all are wondering how the scoring will work for the spring game this Saturday, take a listen ⬇️#GoPokes | @__CoachMorris pic.twitter.com/6ZtxeAVe0o

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) April 15, 2026

• What a wild ride for running backs coach Patrick Cobbs—recruiting player after player, only to see them poached by a bigger program (OSU), and then ultimately getting to recruit his best player (Caleb Hawkins) there to coach him himself:

“I figured Oklahoma State has came in and offered a bunch of kids right after I’ve offered them,” Cobbs said. “And I’ve lost them to ‘em: (multiple) Presleys, Jaleel Johnson, like I’ve offered a bunch of kids that end up leaving North Texas and coming to Oklahoma State. And that’s what I was worried about. … (Caleb Hawkins) slipped through the cracks, and I was kind of thankful for it.” [PFB]

• Updates from spring camp on KD Jones and the youngest Presley brother (PFB)

•  Sounds impressive: 

the only pitchers in history to allow fewer than 19 runs and strike out 80+ batters in their first 12 MLB starts pic.twitter.com/Gg7x5WvgOO

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 15, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• The hypercuriosity of ADHD

• Loved the below quote from Kyle Porter’s Normal Sport breakdown of the Masters:

This is less a commentary on Rory than it is a commentary on the human condition. We all believe that the next thing — promotion, raise, kid, accomplishment — will finally be the one that fulfills. I know I beat this drum often, and I will continue to do so for the very specific reason that it is a reminder that we are all human. Some hit approaches into 15 at ANGC better than others, but at the core of it all, we are human and to be human is to seek high and seek low for some sort of satisfaction. [Normal Sport]

Oklahoma State beat Bedlam rival Oklahoma 6-4 at Devon Park in a game where Meylan threw the full seven innings and hurled 133 pitches. She finished having given up the four runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out nine.

It marks her 10th time this season throwing at least seven innings in a game. It’s the fifth time this season she’s thrown at least 120 pitches in a game and her third time in the 130s.

Despite the heavy workload, and the fact that the Cowgirls have a big conference series against Arizona this weekend, OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said the ball wasn’t going anywhere else.

“Ruby’s the ace of this staff,” Gajewski said. “If I didn’t give her the ball here today, I don’t know that I would’ve made the trip, to be honest. There was not even a thought what we would do, and there won’t be a thought on where we’ll go on Friday night. It’s who we are, and she wants the ball.”

Meylan’s first taste of Bedlam didn’t necessarily go to plan last season. In an 11-3 run-rule loss, Meylan threw 3 2/3 innings where she gave up seven runs (five earned) on six hits.

That’s what OU does to pitching, though.

Of the 11 Sooners who took an at-bat Wednesday night, 10 left with their batting averages still above .300. Seven of those Sooners are hitting above .400 and another is now hitting .399.

Ella Parker is hitting .444 and went 0-for-4 against Meylan with three strikeouts.

It marked the third-most strikeouts the Sooners had in a game this season.

“Games like these, you know they’re gonna be tough,” Meylan said. “I just try to remind myself every time we have like a ‘big game,’ I mean, every game is a big game, but there’s ones that are a little bit closer to home like this game. Just reminding myself that it’s just softball and execution is execution, and it doesn’t really matter who’s in the box, who’s watching the game, what TV station we’re on.

“Executing pitchers beat really good hitters all the time. I’ve gotten to a point this year — which is super cool, I’ve never felt it in my career — but being able to only care about executing the next pitch, and it’s, I think, shown. I haven’t been able to do this in my career, like, feel that. I think that’s what it’s taken, and that’s what it’s gonna continue to take to be where we wanna be.”

Things got a little tense late. OSU held a 6-2 lead with two outs in the sixth when a ball got under the glove of second baseman Karli Godwin. The Sooners took advantage of the error, putting two across the plate two at-bats later before Meylan was able to force a groundout to get out of the inning.

But then in the seventh, Meylan didn’t allow a baserunner, forcing two groundouts and striking out outstanding freshman Kendall Wells.

With the depth behind Meylan being inconsistent to this point in the year, Meylan will be needed this weekend. Gajewski has spoken highly of how dedicated Meylan is off the field — skipping the Iowa wrestling dual so she could get to bed on time while the rest of her teammates went.

With Wednesday’s game not ending until 10:43 p.m., Meylan doesn’t have a ton of time to get her recovery in.

“I probably won’t get to bed until 1 or 2 (a.m.), so try to sleep in,” Meylan said of her plans for Thursday. “I can’t sleep in past 7, so that’s the problem when I go to bed late, I just don’t get enough sleep.

“So, today’s gonna be a little weird, but the real routine comes (Thursday) — waking up, eating right, doing the things I need to do, journaling, reading the bible, everything that keeps me in check. Then getting a good practice in (Thursday) afternoon and hang out with my dad and then get some good sleep. I’ll probably try to be in bed by 6:30 (Thursday) night. Gotta catch up a bit.”

Entering Bedlam, she had the lowest slugging percentage of any starter (.400). Despite having the second-best batting average in the lineup, Warsop’s slugging numbers were pulled down because she hardly ever hits for power. She had hit only one home run and four doubles all season before Wednesday night, but Oklahoma State coach Kenny Gajewski gave her the signal to put more power in her swing instead of slapping the ball.

The junior justified the call when she landed at second base.

“I feel pretty good because I did give her ‘hit’ in the first at-bat,” Gajewski said. “So I’ll take the credit there. … But this kid is, like, uber-talented. She has real power, like this fall, hit multiple home runs. Wore our pitching staff out driving balls. There is power there. It just gets a little quick and wants to not finish swings at times.”

That power hasn’t translated into the season often throughout her career, but it did during Wednesday night’s 6-4 Bedlam victory when she doubled in her first two at-bats and finished with two RBIs and one run scored.

All of it added up to power the Cowgirls to their first win over a No. 1 team since May 14, 2022 for another victory over the Sooners.

In fact, in Warsop’s 272 career at-bats prior to Bedlam only 12 resulted in extra-base hits. Four of her teammates have more than that this season alone.

“‘That was an awesome at-bat,’” Gajewski said, recalling what he told Warsop when he walked out to second base after Warsop’s first hit. “Not just because you got a hit, not just because you doubled and we scored a run, but because you showed quick bunt, you slapped, you foul balls off. You got deep in a count, and then you stood in and hit and drove a ball. Not just hit a ball, you drove a ball and that’s the type of player that Tia can be.”

Inside the circle, ace pitcher Ruby Meylan went the distance striking out nine of 31 batters faced while limiting the Sooners to only seven hits and two earned runs.

While it’s impossible to separate Wednesday night’s win from Warsop’s efforts at the plate, senior Lexi McDonald continued her comeback tour in OKC. After seeing a reduced role in 2025 and the first half of this season, McDonald finished Wednesday night with two hits, one RBI and a walk.

“For sure it means (extra),” McDonald said, discussing the Bedlam win. “It means a lot. … Being able to compete, especially being my last year, like, I had tears coming on the bus, like, my people from home, on Facebook (saying) ‘last Bedlam.’ I’m like, oh my gosh, it’s awesome getting to compete out here. And it just means a little bit more.”

The senior doubled in her first at-bat, which resulted in the first score of the game when Warsop doubled later in the bottom of the second inning to give the Cowgirls a 1-0 lead.

Warsop broke out into a huge grin when asked to relive the moment she got the “hit” call from her head coach. Her pivotal start to the night, was all the more satisfying coming on a nine-pitch at-bat.

“It was fun,” Warsop said of her overall performance. “I’m just seeing balls good. It’s just fun to get deep in counts, and like a lot of people I think don’t like it because it’s, like, scary, but it makes me feel good, like I’m fouling balls off that she like she’s having to come in with the pitch, that she has to throw like I’m fouling off all her pitches. She’s gotta come. So just feel good.”

The nation’s leading home-run hitter, Sooner freshman Kendall Wells hit her 32nd ball over the fence this season to take the lead in the third inning, but the Cowgirls didn’t blink.

OSU junior Karli Godwin tied things up in the third with a home run of her own, her fourth this season. That paved the way for Oklahoma State to expand the lead to 4-2 in the fourth thanks to consecutive hits from Warsop and Audrey Schneidmiller and an RBI single from freshman Jayelle Austin.

Warsop grounded out to second base in her third time up to the plate, but that was enough to bring Rosie Davis in for another score.

The Sooners added two runs in the sixth inning to add some drama, but McDonald’s second and final hit of the night drove in an insurance run in the sixth inning, extending the lead by two.

If the Cowgirls were going to make a run at hosting a regional this year, it probably had to start this week. Beating the top-ranked Sooners is a good start for both the eye test and the RPI numbers. Oklahoma State ranked 22nd entering Bedlam, while the Sooners ranked seventh.

Oklahoma State can continue that momentous surge this weekend when the Cowgirls host No. 16 Arizona (ranked 15th in RPI) and it’s safe to say the team is aware of the stakes.

“We’ve got to enjoy this here tonight and (get) back to work with a good Arizona team,” Gajewski said. “And like I told them, if we don’t go out and play well, this doesn’t mean a whole lot.”

Oklahoma State released the spring game format. That game, which is set to start at 4 p.m. Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium, will be offense vs. defense and will involve a point system to determine the winner.

How the Offense Scores

Touchdown = 6 points

PAT = 1 point

2-point conversion = 2 points

Field goal = 3 points

Gain of 25+ yards = 2 points

How the Defense Scores

Forced punt = 4 points

Forced missed field goal = 1 point

Three-and-out = 4 points

Takeaway = 7 points

“Yeah, none of these systems are perfect,” OSU coach Eric Morris told Dave Hunziker. “I’ve done different systems before. So, there will be a scoring system, and obviously we’re a little low on offensive linemen right now. At some point, hopefully next year, we’ll be able to actually split up and draft two teams and make it more of a real spring game where you’ve got two teams that compete against each other for a prize.

“But this time, I think it’ll be more or less a scrimmage, and we’ll have a scoring system where the defense, they force a three-and-out, they’ll get 4 points. There will be different ways that they can score, and it’ll be a way for kids to get out and have fun.”

New Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris was able to keep Presley in the fold and got Jones back on board after he decommitted and pledged to Kansas.

Both of those in-state standouts left high school a semester early to join the Cowboys in the spring and are going through their first set of college practices. And both of their position coaches met with the media Tuesday and gave updates on the up-and-coming freshmen.

Being from Oklahoma, OSU running backs coach Patrick Cobbs was familiar with Jones before he got the job in Stillwater. In fact, Cobbs knew Jones’ dad, Kejuan, going back to their high school days.

“KD, being a young kid, I’ve seen that kid when he was a sophomore playing ball,” Cobbs said. “So, I was familiar with him. I actually all-stated out of high school with his dad, so I had a long relationship with him. Just being around and getting to reach out to other Oklahoma coaches.”

That prior relationship helped Cobbs bring Jones back into the fold following his decommitment ahead of the new staff coming in.

“Just reaching out and talking to him,” Cobbs said. “At North Texas he kind of got big time on me. You kind of get to circle back with him after all said and done, but having a relationship always helps. KD is growing up. The kid should be in high school right now. So, things moving a little fast, and that goes for everybody. So, excited about all of them.”

Jones won’t be the Cowboys’ featured back this season. That honor will go to the nation’s reigning touchdown leader Caleb Hawkins, but there will still be carries on the table. Last season, four UNT running backs had at least 45 carries. The year before, five running backs had at least 20 carries.

Although Jones obviously doesn’t have any college experience, there isn’t a ton of FBS experience in the running back room. Outside of Hawkins’ standout freshman season, Ayo Adeyi is the only other back in the group to take an FBS handoff. All of Tre Page’s and Dennis Moody’s carries came at the FCS level while UCO transfer William Mason was a standout in Division-II before making the move to Stillwater.

Listed at 6-feet, 190 pounds, Braeden is the biggest of the Presley brothers and the only one who is playing on the defensive side of the ball in college.

Like his brothers, Braeden played both ways as a Spartan, recording 82 tackles, nine picks, 21 PBUs, 59 receptions, 986 receiving yards, 10 receiving touchdowns, 288 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in his Bixby career.

But that was in high school, and as safeties coach Jordan Malone put it, there is a big reset when it comes to this high a level of college football.

“He’s coming to the point where he knows that he’s not at prom right now,” Malone said. “With any freshman, he’s supposed to be in social studies class and going to prom and those things, and he’s here working and getting better. So, it’s changing from learning to practice, learning the language. In high school a lot of times, if one thing moves, it might change for one or two people. In college, if one person moves, there might be seven things that change in that defense. So, he’s continuing to get better.

“I think the biggest thing for a player like that when you’ve been very touted, you just have to – and I think he’s been great about this – just learn to reset. I’m a freshman. You know, it’s like walking back in high school all over again. So, I try to remind him of that, just like, remember what it was when you walked in there as a ninth-grader. Things are moving fast. They’re starting to slow down. He gets extra help and stuff like that, so I think he’s going to continue to progress. Where he’s at and where he’ll be come the end of spring, I think he’s on track to continue that progress.”

Add in the fact that he’s one of the few at his position who showed up without a direct link to both head coach Eric Morris and running backs coach Patrick Cobbs and his landing spot with the Cowboys seems somewhat surprising.

Unless you’re Page himself.

“I always believed in myself and my skill,” Page said when asked if he imagined playing Power Four football in his college career. “But it is great to be here and see that I truly am living out my dream as a kid.”

Page began his career at Tarleton State. After two games and almost zero touches in his freshman season, Page broke out in 2025 to the tune of a team-high 839 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 112 carries.

His 7.5 average yards per carry put him 1.3 yards above anyone else on the team who rushed at least 20 times.

In high school, Page averaged 9 yards a carry and recorded 1,290 yards and 16 touchdowns across 20 games as a junior and senior. He also took first place in the Georgia state championship track meet in the 4×100-meter and the 4×200-meter relays during his final season.

“I feel like I’m faster than most people,” Page said, referencing his track background. “So I’d able to be out on the angles and stuff like that. And I feel like I’m shifty too. I can make a guy miss in space.”

According to Pro Football Focus Page forced 35 missed tackles as a runner last season and averaged 3.33 yards after contact.

Offensive lines certainly come into play with these stats, but for context, Rodney Fields and Trent Howland combined to force 28 missed tackles last season and averaged 3.36 and 3.03 yards after contact, respectively.

Page’s efforts earned him the 64th and 85th ranking at his position during this portal cycle according to 247Sports and On3, respectively. Page said he was overwhelmed by all the interest he received which included at least a few other P4 schools.

“Out of the portal my recruitment was kind of big,” Page said. “But when it all came down to it, I went with where I felt comfortable with.”

Page credited Cobbs with making him feel good about the decision to come to Stillwater. Earlier this offseason starting back Caleb Hawkins made similar statements which boiled a lot of his decision down to Cobbs’ involvement.

“That feels great. … you’re trying to build a relationship so fast,” Cobbs said when he heard what Page said. “And when everything clicks and you know that, hey, listen, I want you to be the best person you can be. … And I want every one of these kids to be better than me, every one of these kids to go out and compete their tail off. And you know, you can’t hide that. You can’t really fake it, and it’s real. And so I think that’s, that’s kind of the things that they sense.”

Page said there’s a lot to like about his new school. While many of the additional resources were expected in the jump from FCS to P4, the running back said he was surprised by the nutrition program. Speaking of which, it sounds like the running back previously listed at 184 pounds has taken full advantage considering he’s put on somewhere between 10-15 pounds since arriving in Stillwater.

That weight gain was definitely encouraged by the coaches, although it would be surprising to see him put on much more considering what the coaching staff liked about his film in the first place.

“Kid’s super electric,” Cobbs said. “He’s fast, he’s twitchy, he’s super physical, super tough kid in the pass game blocking. I just like his scrappiness. And he’s a good compliment, you know. So they just, they all bring something different to the table. You know, Trey’s not like anybody else in the room. … It makes the room stronger.”

Now a safety at Oklahoma State, Bodnar woke up on a Monday morning in 2024 with what he described as “sharp migraines” and the right side of his body feeling heavy. Then at Liberty, Bodnar went in to the training room and was told he had stroke-like symptoms.

Next up was the ER, and he didn’t return home for a week.

“The physical therapist, they had to physically pick my leg up for me to take a step,” Bodnar said. “I didn’t wanna give up on myself, but I had the thoughts that football might not happen again.

“But I never questioned God’s plans. Not at all. Not one time when I was in that hospital bed did I be like, ‘God why?’ You know what I mean? I just put my head down, put my trust in him, and I knew he would make things right again.”

The official diagnosis was post-infectious encephalitis, an inflammation in the brain.

Bodnar worked relentlessly through physical therapy (in part so he no longer had to use a catheter), and when he was able to jump out of his hospital bed one morning, he said he started to think he would play again.

And play again he did.

Bodnar was named a Comeback Player of the Year in 2025 after returning to play all 12 of Liberty’s games. He made 44 tackles, including a pair of sacks.

That was enough to have OSU come calling when he entered the transfer portal, giving Bodnar a shot at the level he said he knew he was capable of playing at.

“I always knew going into college that this is where I’d be — I’m meant for this level of ball,” Bodnar said. “It’s just football at the end of the day. I played against a lot of guys in high school that are SEC, ACC, so I always knew I was meant to be here.

“Definitely once I got out of the hospital, it gave me more of a drive. Because I honestly did grow into the complacency of, ‘OK, I’m just a college football player,’ being at practice every day and living in the monotony, but once you have it taken away from you, it’s like, OK, boom, you gotta really put your head down and look at what you’ve been given.”

OSU safeties coach Jordan Malone has seen that drive. He praised Bodnar’s work ethic saying there isn’t a practice where he isn’t near the top of defensive backs in yards and sprint yards based off the GPS devices they wear in practice.

“My first time speaking to Christian, I didn’t know his full story,” Malone said. “And then when you hear his full story and get to talking to him, you would never know about some of the stuff he’s been through. That speaks why he’s always smiling, laughing, will joke with you, will be serious when he needs to.

“Getting to know him as a player, you admire him as a coach because he’s one of those guys that you’ve gotta say woah to, not giddy up.”

Bodnar said a week in the hospital will put a lot in perspective, not just football.

“This game can be taken away from you at any moment,” Bodnar said. “A lot of players can take it for granted being out here. Every day you get to come out here and play football and work out and just walk, it’s a blessing.”

OSU Bullets

• Steve Lutz locks up addition No. 2 – a defensive ace from Conference USA (PFB) – The Cowgirls add an All-SEC scorer (PFB)

• Great stuff from the Pokes – OSU beat OU in baseball last night, Cowboys 7 – Sooners 3 (PFB)

•  News broke yesterday that OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg finally signed his contract – the one offered to him back in October.

On Oct. 24, OSU announced that athletic director Chad Weiberg had been given a new, four-year contract. However, the Tulsa World learned, Weiberg had not signed that contract until a few days ago. [TulsaWorld]

 

Defense 🥹 pic.twitter.com/2AfR0T88sd

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) April 14, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• The Scandinavian sleep method (some) couples love

• Raising children who love church (faith-based)

Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma 7-3 on a rainy Tuesday night at ONEOK Field. The game was called after a thunderstorm rolled into downtown Tulsa in the eighth inning. The win pushed Holliday to 38-16 against the Sooners as OSU’s head coach.

The Cowboys did their damage early and did it with the long ball. After entering the evening third nationally in home runs, the Cowboys clobbered four over the fence Tuesday night.

Two of those came off Campbell Smithwick’s bat. The OSU catcher came into the night with three home runs all season but had two just four innings into Bedlam — the first a solo shot to right and the second a solo shot to straightaway center.

Second home run of the night for Soup ‼️#GoPokes | @campbellrsoup pic.twitter.com/GHXVlMeMDr

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 15, 2026

Smithwick then tallied the Cowboys’ lone run that didn’t come off a home run in the sixth with some good, old-fashioned hustle. Smithwick legged out an infield single before stealing second and taking third and home on wild pitches.

Home run regular Kollin Ritchie started the scoring with a two-run shot in the top of the first. It marked Ritchie’s 21st home run of the year, which is tied for the 18th-most any Cowboy has hit in a season.

Because who else would it be?? 🥱

Home run #21 of the season for Kollin Ritchie#GoPokes | @RitchieKollin pic.twitter.com/J05Pw5ihqM

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 15, 2026

OU didn’t get on the board until the eighth when Jaxon Willits hit a three-run shot that was quickly followed by the game-ending delay.

It was a solid day for the shorthanded OSU pitching staff, but it perhaps left the night a little more shorthanded.

Two-way player TP Wentworth got the start on the bump and threw 3 1/3 innings before he left after grabbing his throwing arm after a pitch. He allowed no runs while giving up two hits, walking two and striking out three.

Brennan Phillips then emerged from the bullpen on short notice and gave the Cowboys 3 2/3 innings where he allowed no runs on two hits while striking out four.

The Cowboy pitching staff was also helped by some solid defense behind them.

The Pokes turned a 6-4-3 double play in the first.

Smithwick then threw Alec Blair out at third to end the second after Smithwick pump-faked to second base on a steal attempt before catching the OU outfielder in no man’s land.

The oldest trick in the book 😃

Soup is dialed in today ‼️#GoPokes | @campbellrsoup pic.twitter.com/glppzeY3WK

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 15, 2026

The third inning ended when Alex Conover robbed a would-be home run in left.

OSU had three straight errors to load the bases in the seventh before another 6-4-3 double play got them out of that jam.

Powerful hitting, solid pitching and good work — it was a solid night at the ballpark for the Cowboys.

The win pushes the Pokes to 23-14 on the year. OSU hosts Big 12-leading Kansas in a three-game series this weekend.

There was a time when that sight was running backs coach Patrick Cobbs’ greatest fear when it came to the running back from Shawnee.

“I was scared the entire time after I offered him that I was going to lose him,” Cobbs said.

The former North Texas assistant was worried about one school in particular — Oklahoma State.

“I figured Oklahoma State has came in and offered a bunch of kids right after I’ve offered them,” Cobbs said. “And I’ve lost them to ‘em: (multiple) Presleys, Jaleel Johnson, like I’ve offered a bunch of kids that end up leaving North Texas and coming to Oklahoma State. And that’s what I was worried about. … He slipped through the cracks, and I was kind of thankful for it.”

Even as a fellow native of Shawnee, Cobbs almost missed out on Hawkins as well. He just happened to see him at a camp, of course, once they were in the same place, he couldn’t help but notice him.

“Every time he touched the ball, he scored a touchdown,” Cobbs said. “So it was a pretty easy evaluation. He probably only touched it twice, scored two touchdowns, went to defense, ran around well, and had the size and the frame, and I seen enough to get him to camp. And then once he got to camp, he blew me away.”

Cobbs still can’t believe he got Hawkins without having to fight off other schools for him. North Texas was his only Division-I offer.

“It’s weird that Caleb all-stated in basketball and track and didn’t all-state in football. … That was the thing when you watched his film,” Cobb said. “People don’t know he played 130 snaps a game. He played every snap on defense, every snap on offense. Sometimes his film probably didn’t look like it was super explosive. But once you go watch the kid and see him play and how competitive he is, it’s easy.”

On the surface, it would seem like Cobbs probably got tipped off by folks back home, but he insisted that wasn’t the case. However, once the offer came out, several mutual connections called the UNT coach to let him know that Hawkins had the character to back up his play on the field.

When asked if landing Hawkins, a back that just led the nation with 29 touchdowns in 2025, virtually unopposed out of high school, was equivalent to hitting the lottery, Cobbs agreed with the premise.

“Yeah, I mean, initially, and then when he hits the portal, then we got to fight everybody,” Cobbs said. “But the kid is loyal. He’s a super smart kid. He understands what’s got him there.

“He understands that he still needs to grow, and there’s so much more for him to learn. But, I mean, that’s just kind of part of it. You go out, you do your homework, you find the guys, and you hope you can hold on to him.”

Of course, from now on, Cobbs’ recruiting efforts look a lot different. He no longer has to worry about anyone at Oklahoma State.

“It makes me feel a lot better,” Cobbs said. “It’s a different feeling. You know, I’ve recruited Oklahoma for the last eight years, and so Oklahoma State’s always kind of been the people that I’ve kinda had to fight off in North Texas. Just because I go out, you find these guys, and then last minute, and they always waited till the last minute to take my guy from me. Which was kind of, you know, kind of stinky. But now that you’re on the other side of it. So now I can go find those guys, and I can keep those guys. I’m not worried about Oklahoma State coming to take them from me.”

The Cowboys’ journey to being a better defensive team next season took a big step forward Tuesday.

Kashie Natt, the reigning Conference-USA Defensive Player of the Year, committed to Oklahoma State, according to The Field of 68. In his first season at the Division-I level, Natt averaged 10.8 points, 8.2 boards, 2.4 assists, two steals and 1.1 blocks a game for Sam Houston this past season.

“Kashie is an elite competitor who impacts the game on the defensive end in a way that’s hard to teach,” Lutz said. “He has great instincts, tremendous athleticism and a motor that doesn’t stop. His ability to guard multiple positions, rebound at a high level and create extra possessions fits exactly with how we want to play. He’s proven himself at every level and we’re excited to welcome him to the Cowboy Basketball family.”

Natt is a 6-foot-3 guard who hails from Rayville, Louisiana. He led Conference-USA in steals (69) and finished second in total rebounds (278). According to KenPom, Natt’s steal percentage ranked 20th nationally while his defensive rebound percentage ranked 54th nationally.

Prior to playing at Sam Houston this past season, Natt spent three years at NAIA LSU-Alexandria. He averaged 20.3 points and 10.3 boards a game in his final season with that program and averaged 27.9 points and 9.3 rebounds a game through 82 games in those three seasons.

Natt had nine double-doubles in his 34 games as a Bearkat. He had 18 points, 13 boards, six assists and five steals in a game against Florida International. He also had a 17-point, 16-rebound game against New Mexico State.

When Natt entered the portal, he was still seeking an extra year of eligibility, and, according to The Field of 68, entered with a “Do Not Contact” tag.

Natt becomes the second commitment of the transfer portal window, joining North Carolina’s Luke Bogavac. The Cowboys will have to keep the portal pledges coming as they could need as many as nine players out of the transfer portal during this window.

Oklahoma State heads to Manhattan for its penultimate road game of the season to face a K-State team that’s also looking to rebuild. But instead of going outside the program and turning over most of their roster (like OSU did), the Wildcats brought back a former K-State hero to run their program and are going to depend heavily on some returning playmakers.

Let’s see how this matchup looks through spring shades. Be sure to check out our previous previews: Noncon | WVU | UCF | Houston | Colorado | Iowa State

Week 9: Kansas State | Nov. 7 | Manhattan, Kansas

Series history: 43-26

The Cowboys had won three of four against the Wildcats going into this dreadful last two-year stretch. Like all Big 12 teams, the Kansas State won each of its games against OSU in 2024 and 2025.

Last meeting: If it wasn’t for moral victories last year, the Cowboys would’ve had no victories at all.

OSU fell to Kansas State 14-6 in mid-November. It was the Cowboys’ ninth straight loss but also its closest deficit since the Tulsa game in Week 3. The Pokes’ lame-duck defense showed marked improvement, holding the Wildcats to their lowest scoring output of the season. Still, another L was another L.

K-State in 2025: The Cats ended Chris Kleiman’s final year going 6-6, declining their bowl invitation due in part to coaching transition, roster turnover and injuries. It was the first time they’d missed the postseason since Klieman’s second year in the shortened 2020 season (when they finished 4-6), and only the second time since 2009.

K-State in 2026: Kansas State brass brought back their golden child in former offensive coordinator and All-American QB Collin Klein. He spent the last two seasons as Texas A&M’s OC and QBs coach, a position he last held in Manhattan in 2023. This is his first head coaching post.

As far as incoming talent, the Wildcats land right in the middle in both portal and traditional recruiting rankings. They have 26 incoming portal additions with only one of them above a three-star according to 247Sports.

But they do return the steadying presence of third-year starting quarterback Avery Johnson, and Klein is no stranger to converting lower-star guys into on-field playmakers. Over his career, Johnson seems to fare better when he plays to his dual-threat strengths. Wildcats everywhere hope Klein is the coach that can get the best out of him.

Of note: Cowboy fans will see a few familiar faces in Wendell Gregory, Rodney Fields Jr. and Jacobi Oliphant, who all transferred to the Wildcats from OSU this offseason.

Just days away from the first spring game to take place under anyone other than former coach Mike Gundy for decades, the program released a video on social media Monday night where coaches and players were asked what they were most excited for ahead of Saturday’s game at 4 p.m.

Punter Lachie Pozzobon didn’t waste his opportunity with the mic.

“I want to say everyone shirts off just swinging that around,” he said, miming the swinging motion. “I also want it loud bro, as loud as it can get.”

Morris went for the obvious with his answer.

“First time to don the sidelines at Boone Pickens Stadium,” the coach said, smiling.

Although an official format has yet to be announced, some of the offensive players seemed to tip things a bit on camera.

“I’m excited to win, you know offense is definitely going to beat the defense next week,” starting quarterback Drew Mestemaker said.

This lines up with earlier comments from Morris, made on April 1st when he said the format was still up in the air.

“I’d like to be able to split up into two teams,” Morris said. “I just don’t know where the depth lies, if we’re going to have the ability … It’s looking like we’ll have the ability to have the offense versus the defense and put them in a bunch of situations and see how they respond.”

Who takes the field and when should be pretty telling as Morris has previously said the team feels pretty good about who most of the starters are heading into the summer.

“Developing the twos in depth right now is something that keeps me up at night a little bit right now,” Morris said on April 1.

Saturday should give guys one last shot at cracking or moving up in the two-deep ahead of fall camp as special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Drew Svoboda made apparent in Monday’s video.

“One final opportunity for the guys to show how far they’ve come from start to finish,” Svoboda said.

For the most part, the video served as a primer for new names to know. If you only learned those guys you could at least figure out when the first string units were on the field.

But a few returning Cowboys still got some airtime.

“I’m just excited to see all our fans again man,” defensive end Jaleel Johnson said. “It’s been a long time since we had BPS jumping, I’m ready to see it jumping.”

The best part of the video was easily Morris’ second spot when he went right back at his interviewer, safety Harrison Dempsey.

“Ready to hopefully score some touchdowns against you,” Morris said. “When I see (you), we’re calling plays, we’re going straight at you.”

Dempsey didn’t hesitate to go right back at the head coach.

“Please, please call it toward me,” he said.

You can watch the full video below. It’s something fans should make time for because wide receiver Jabarie Thornton channels some kind of mix between Batman and one of his villains when he addresses fans and even this description won’t quite do it justice.

“Looking for energy!” Thornton said. “Ecstatic energy! We get rowdy and get loud!”

Spring game on deck 🤠 pic.twitter.com/dgHhNdR9Zc

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) April 13, 2026

A Florida transfer, McGill made the All-SEC First Team as a sophomore this past season after averaging 22.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.6 steals a game.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Liv McGill (@liv.mcgill)

“Liv is arguably the most exciting player to watch in all of college basketball,” OSU coach Jacie Hoyt said. “She has elite quickness and an unbelievable finishing package around the rim. Liv can score at all three levels, but she is so much more. She has great court vision and can deliver a pass on a dime. Her speed and athleticism allow her to jump passing lanes on the other end of the floor.

“Liv has courage and is not afraid to be herself and is very comfortable in her own skin. She is a leader and I believe she has the talent and heart to take our program to heights it has not reached before.”

Listed at 5-foot-9, McGill scored in double figures in 30 of the 31 games she played in this past season. That included 19 games of 20 or more points and five games in the 30s. She put up 38 on Chattanooga back in November, a game she also had 10 assists, eight rebounds and seven steals in.

McGill had four points-assists double-doubles this past season and had another points-rebounds double-double.

Her outstanding sophomore year came after an equally impressive freshman campaign in Gainesville. She led the Gators in scoring and assists with 16.5 points and 5.2 assists a game. She set the program’s single season scoring record for a freshman, totaling 611 points. That justly earned her a spot on the SEC’s All-Freshman team.

Out of Minneapolis, McGill was a five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American coming out of high school. She was the highest-ranked recruit the Gator’s program had landed. She was twice named an Adidas All-American.

Back in 2024, McGill won gold with USA Basketball at the FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup, where she averaged 3.5 points and 3.3 assists across six games. She was also named to the 2025 USA Women’s U19 National Team.

McGill marks the fourth player Hoyt has landed via the portal thus far this offseason, joining D-II Player of the Year Talexa Weeter, sharpshooter Ellie Brueggemann and former five-star prospect LA Sneed.

OSU Bullets

• Steve Lutz landed his first commitment from the transfer portal – a wing from the North Carolina Tarheels (PFB)

• Cowgirl Basketball added a touted recruit, while the men’s team has a productive, defensive stalwart visiting campus (PFB)

• Curious about this – Big 12 blogger ranks OSU the No. 6 football program in the Big 12: 

The Cowboys really stepped up their financial commitment to football with the hiring of new head coach Eric Morris. They secured a top-10 portal class that includes expensive North Texas transfers following their coach to Stillwater. And speaking of strong foundations, Oklahoma State has been one of college football’s most consistent winners over the last two decades. We’ll see if Morris’ teams play enough defense, but the optimism is understandable. [Open for Business]

• Eric Morris is going after a couple of players with famous dads – Texas Tech megabooster’s son and NFL voice Brock Huard’s son (PFB)

•  Pokes are hanging in the middle of the Big 12 baseball after a series loss in Manhattan (HCS)

Non-OSU Bullets

• The rise of the gentleman-osphere

• How elevators changed life in the US

The Cowboys’ first portal commitment comes from a blue blood.

North Carolina transfer Luka Bogavac (pronounced BO-guh-VAHTS) pledged to Oklahoma State on Monday, with Jonathan Givony first reporting the news. He’s listed at 6-foot-6 and this past season was his first in the college system. He averaged 9.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists a game for the Tar Heels.

Hailing from Montenegro, Bogavac shot 35% from 3 on 149 attempts in Chapel Hill this past season. For reference, that’s about on par with Kanye Clary, who shot 35% on 124 attempts.

Prior to being a Tar Heel, Bogavac played in 55 games over two seasons for SC Derby Podgorica in his home country. In 29 games during the 2024-25 season, he averaged 14.9 points a contest while shooting 40% from 3 on about 5.3 attempts a game. In 2023-24, he averaged 7.8 points and shot 32% from 3.

He’ll be 23 years old by the time next season starts, and UNC listed him as a junior this past season.

Bogavac scored in double figures 18 times with UNC, putting up a season-high 20 against Clemson in early March. He went 6-for-10 from 3-point range in that game. He hit multiple 3s in 13 games as a Tar Heel.

Basketball runs in the Bogavac family, as Luka’s father, Nebojsa, played professionally for 13 years in Montenegro.

He becomes the Cowboys’ first portal pledge of the transfer window, but he won’t be the last. With six players from last year’s OSU roster in the portal and another four finishing out their eligibility, Steve Lutz and Co. could have to take as many as nine players out of the portal this offseason.

Carson Campbell, an offensive line prospect in the 2029 class, announced an Oklahoma State offer this past weekend. Carson is the son of Texas Tech megadonor and board of regents chair Cody Campbell. The offer came after Carson took an unofficial visit to Stillwater on Saturday.

After a great unofficial visit and a great conversation with @__CoachMorris, I am grateful to receive my 15th D1 offer from @CowboyFB!! #GoPokes!!@Coach_Crill @BooneFeldt @Coach_Brophy @CoachBeck_PTF @coachoffield @Meech_Dream14 @Luke_Anthony_9 @PTFFootball @lettermans_ptf… pic.twitter.com/F1eJrXVUVQ

— Carson Campbell (@CarsonSCampbell) April 11, 2026

Carson plays at All Saints Episcopal in Fort Worth and has already garnered offers to the likes of Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Baylor, SMU, TCU and others.

All Saints Episcopal went a perfect 14-0 in Campbell’s freshman season, winning a TAPPS Division-II state title. Campbell primarily played at left guard, where he was steamrolling defenders despite his youth.

Rosters from the early 2000s are a little tricky to pin down in the modern age, but from the best I can tell, Morris and Cody had a year of overlap in their playing days — 2004. Both guys have been involved with Texas Tech and the program since, as well.

It feels like getting Carson away from Lubbock’s clutches would be tough, but you can’t knock Morris for giving it a shot.

Titus Huard, a four-star quarterback in the 2028 class, announced an Oklahoma State offer on Friday. Huard is the son of former NFL quarterback and broadcaster Brock Huard and the brother of former Cowgirl basketball player Macey Huard.

After a great talk with @__CoachMorris I’m extremely thankful to receive an offer from @CowboyFB Go Pokes!! @Coach_Sanford2 @GoValorFootball @TommyVento16 @kngdmsp @BrandonHuffman @Coach_Brophy @klose_trey @Andrew_Ivins pic.twitter.com/Rg38JRA2h1

— Titus Huard (@Titushuard7) April 10, 2026

Listed at 6-foot-6, 208 pounds, Titus plays at Valor Christian in Colorado. He’s the No. 234 player and No. 25 quarterback in the 2028 class, according to Rivals. Along with his new OSU offer, Huard has offers to play at Texas Tech, Stanford, Washington, Oregon, Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona State, Arkansas and others.

As a sophomore this past season, he completed 69% of his passes for 1,946 yards and 16 touchdowns to four picks. He also ran for four scores. Valor Christian went 10-3 in Huard’s sophomore season before falling to eventual state champ Cherry Creek in the state semifinals.

Titus certainly has the genes to be a good college quarterback. Across three seasons with the Huskies, Brock threw for 5,742 yards and 51 touchdowns before the Seattle Seahawks took him in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft.

Macey missed this past season because of injury with the Cowgirls before entering the transfer portal, but she averaged 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds a game for Jacie Hoyt last season.

Titus also has an uncle, Damon, who quarterbacked in the NFL, and he has a cousin, Sam, who has spent time at Washington and USC.

The 2028 class is still a ways away, with OSU just locking up its 2027 quarterback Carson White earlier this month. But, based on Huard’s offer sheet, the Cowboys are in early one a prospect who could end up being one of the better quarterbacks in that 2028 cycle.

New chapter 🤠🧡 #committed pic.twitter.com/FS35bsCqdI

— la_upnext2 (@la_upnext2) April 13, 2026

​Sneed, a freshman last year, spent her only season of college ball at Utah. She finished fourth in minutes while averaging 6.3 points (fifth-most), 2.2 rebounds, a team-high 3.3 assists and finished just shy of one steal per game to finish with the second most steals on the team.

She shot 39.5% from the floor and 33.9% from beyond the arc, making 20-of-59.

“LA is one of the best true point guards in the country,” Hoyt said in OSU’s release. “Her experience as a true freshman in the Big 12 is a rarity and we cannot wait to build on that moving forward. She is exceptional at creating paint touches to score or pass, which is perfect fit for us offensively.

“Defensively, her ball pressure and ability to create chaos is going to be a fun thing for our fans to watch and us to coach. She is a coach’s kid with a blue-collar work ethic that has prepared her to handle things a lot of players shy away from.”

Sneed’s first start came in December, and she started most of the games after that, including each of the final eight. Sneed didn’t have her best outing against the Cowgirls late in the season when she finished with five points, two rebounds and one assist after 21 minutes on the court.

She scored double-digit points four times overall, including a 15-point showing against West Virginia when she knocked down a career-high three 3-pointers on only four attempts.

Sneed posted a career-high nine assists in her second game and finished with at least five in six total games, including three times in Big 12 play.

The Cowgirls are set to look much different next year, with Stailee Heard the only expected returner. Sneed is the third portal commitment for Hoyt, joining DII player of the Year Talexa Weeter and Oklahoma native Ellie Brueggemann.

Sam Houston’s Kashie Natt picked up that honor in his first season with the program after averaging 10.8 points, 8.2 boards, 2.4 assists, two steals and 1.1 blocks a game this past season.

And Natt did that as a 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard.

Despite not being the tallest guy on the floor, Natt’s defensive rebound percentage ranked 54th nationally and tops in Conference-USA. Meanwhile, his steal percentage ranked 20th nationally.

This past season was Natt’s first at the Division-I level. He had spent the previous three seasons at LSU-Alexandria (NAIA). In 82 games across those three seasons, Natt averaged 17.9 points and 9.3 rebounds a contest while shooting 34% from 3. He averaged 20.3 points and 10.3 boards a game in his final year there.

If LSU-Alexandria at all sounds familiar, Christian Coleman played there. His last year with the program was the year before Natt got there.

Natt had nine double-doubles with Sam Houston this season. That includes a game against FIU where he had 18 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and five steals. He also had a 17-point, 16-rebound game against New Mexico State.

He scored in the 20s on three occasions, putting up a season-high 26 against Idaho State.

Natt finished second in Conference-USA in total rebounds (278) and first in steals (69).

The Cowboys struggled mightily on the defensive end this past season, and the early signs of the portal window suggest that’s an area that Steve Lutz and Co. intend on shoring up in the portal window. Along with bringing the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year on a visit, OSU has reportedly made contact with Southland Defensive Player of the Year Jerald Colonel.

OSU Bullets

Highlights from the day will probably continue into tomorrow, but we’ll leave you with Caleb Hawkins going Marshawn Lynch-esque beast mode. For the time being, we’re just going to ignore what was a bad rep of tackling and celebrate the run. [PFB]

Y’all gotta see this#GoPokes | @CalebHawk2025 pic.twitter.com/4tE1GNHDun

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) April 11, 2026

GoPokes🤠 pic.twitter.com/RzuLmYo0wo

— George Matsakis (@GeorgeMatsakis) April 12, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

OSU Bullets

• The Cowboys fell to K-State thanks to a late surge by the Wildcats. [PFB]

• OSU shared some highlights from Saturday’s scrimmage. The Pokes got some playmakers. [PFB]

• What Eric Morris had to say about a pair of freshman wideouts. [PFB]

• Has it been two years?

This 👇 pic.twitter.com/mHggqP8s2R

— Larry Reece (@cowboyvoice) April 11, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• How wormholes might stitch the universe together. [Popular Mechanics]

• Love this. 

Imperdible mensaje de Chistina Koch tras su vuelta del espacio.
Oratoria 10/10.
Contenido 10/10.
Emoción 10/10.
Gente que sí ♥️ pic.twitter.com/kQTtOp75bq

— Jesica Bossi (@jebossi) April 12, 2026

• Apropos of nothing but this 90s kid got nostalgic.

This guy is straight up playing streetball on the NBA court…

He’s crossing defenders over, spinning past them, throwing no-look passes and finishing with wild dunks while the text keeps popping up “He plays streetball in the NBA” the whole time…

Would you call that real NBA… pic.twitter.com/SvOQqak625

— R͓̽Y͓̽a͓̽n͓̽C͓̽e͓̽y͓̽ (@RyanceyReturns) April 11, 2026

The Cowboys went up 4-0 and weathered four-straight runs just to rattle off five-straight scores themselves. But the Wildcats ended things on their own terms.

Oklahoma State fell at Kansas State 13-9 on Saturday, falling to 0-2 on the series and dropping to 6-8 in Big 12 play.

The Pokes (24-14) took a commanding lead into the bottom of the seventh just to get trounced with a four-run seventh followed by a five-run eighth by the Wildcats.

OSU got off to quick start, though, with a 3-0 first inning thanks to an Alex Conover solo homer followed by a two-run bomb by Kollin Ritchie. The Cowboys scored again in the top of the third with a Colin Brueggmann RBI single to make it 4-0 going into the bottom of the third.

The Wildcats answered with two runs each in the for bottoms of the fourth and fifth inning, including a pair of home runs, to tie it up at 8-all. But then the Pokes took back control.

Evan Saunders and Brock Thompson each nailed solo homers in the sixth before Saunders then drilled a three-run bomb in the seventh to give OSU a 9-4 lead.

Unfortunately for OSU, K-State’s Bear Madliak cracked a three-run home run of his own in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead as part of a four-run seventh. The Wildcats piled on with five runs from five batters in the eighth to secure the win at 13-9.

Mario Pesca got the start and allowed seven runs in six and 1/3 innings before Stormy Rhodes spelled him. He fell to 1-2 on the season, giving up the loss as well as six runs in just one and 1/3 innings. Drew Blake closed it with an out on five total pitches.

The Cowboys and Wildcats cap their weekend series at 1 p.m. on Sunday in Manhattan.

Media wasn’t permitted into this weekend’s festivities, but Oklahoma State shared some highlights from the day that will certainly get you fired up for the upcoming season.

The first was a touchdown off a swing pass from Drew Mestemaker to UNT transfer running back Dennis Moody III. Moody tried his best Ollie Gordon impersonation in an attempt to jump over would-be tackler Ethan Wesloski, but Wesloski met him where he was before Moody was able to crowd surf into the end zone.

End over into the end zone @DennisMoody03 pic.twitter.com/qHchUZJJA9

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) April 11, 2026

Moody took a redshirt at UNT last season after transferring from North Alabama, He finished the 2024 season with 61 carries for 249 yards.

Highlight No. 2 came courtesy of UNT transfer receiver Miles Coleman. You can’t tell who threw the ball, but Coleman glided under it and beat the defense all the way to the end zone. Honestly, give safety Jeremy Cook credit for keeping up with the speedster in the sprint to the pylon.

HE GONE! ✌️ @Milescoleman14 pic.twitter.com/DKptyF6zXK

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) April 11, 2026

A high school classmate of Mestemaker’s, Coleman brought in 47 receptions for 550 yards and two touchdowns this past season with the Mean Green.

Up next comes another deep ball, as Mestemaker was able to hit the 6-foot-5 Justin Bowick on a go-route down the sideline. OSU fans will hope to see this plenty come the fall.

.@DrewMestemaker ➡️ @justinbowickjr 🎯 pic.twitter.com/u3aLQEPR0e

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) April 11, 2026

Highlights from the day will probably continue into tomorrow, but we’ll leave you with Caleb Hawkins going Marshawn Lynch-esque beast mode. For the time being, we’re just going to ignore what was a bad rep of tackling and celebrate the run.

Y’all gotta see this#GoPokes | @CalebHawk2025 pic.twitter.com/4tE1GNHDun

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) April 11, 2026

“We’ve had a couple guys step up in the receiver room,” Morris said. “It’s been good to see (Matrail) Lopez out there and made some plays for us. Kam (Powell) has been and made some plays for us. A couple of the holdover guys.”

This isn’t the first time Lopez has earned the praise of his head coach. Former interim Doug Meacham singled him out as a guy who impressed in the offseason before a hand injury derailed him.

Meacham expected Lopez, a freshman with more than 1,500 all-purpose yards during his senior year at Idabel, to make a late-season impact. Instead, he saw extremely limited action in two games and failed to record any stats.

Still, the fact that two different head coaches have mentioned him somewhat out of the blue seems noteworthy.

Powell saw the field in four games last season while helping out with special teams. He finished each of his final two seasons at McKinney North (located around Dallas) with 650-plus yards and at least seven touchdowns.

According to 247Sports, North Texas did offer him, so it’s not a surprise the new coaching staff is excited about his development.

“Man, constant improvement, excitement,” OSU receivers coach Nick Edwards said when asked about Lopez and Powell. “It’s been beautiful to see both of those guys. And you know, as Matrail starts to continue to learn the playbook, like he flashes like Oooh, okay. But Kam has done a phenomenal job so far, catching the ball, making tough catches, being big, strong, really good with the release package, being super coachable. I’m really, really excited about Kam and his future here.”

Neither guy has been seen with the first or second string offensive unit so far this spring, which suggests they might have a tough time seeing the field in the first half of the season. This could make them prime breakout candidates down the stretch, as football typically provides others opportunities to shine as the grind of the season catches up with day one starters and their immediate backups.

When asked about the depth at receiver, Edwards acknowledged there are a lot of good choices in the room.

“That’s why the competition is real,” he said. “The guys can kind of see, like, how good our room is. And so, like, now, just, you know, those guys are trying to learn the playbook, learn the technique in there, and they’re still competing at it. And this fall be a great job for all of them to be able to, like, okay, like, this is time that I can separate when practice are back-to-back-to-back, who can stay healthy, who can catch it, who can go ahead and play when they’re mentally tired and all those type of things.”

Three Thoughts

I’ll have my way-too-early projections officially published next week, but getting to a bowl game should be the expectation and goal for this team, in my opinion. Oklahoma State has managed four TOTAL wins the last two seasons and while Eric Morris, North Texas and quite a few players had solid seasons in 2025, it would be overzealous to expect more than eight wins. [GoPokes 247]

Two Quotes

All-Time Great Mets Pitchers’ first 11 starts:

(ERA | WHIP | K) Nolan ​McLean: 2.23 | 0.99 | 77 Matt Harvey: 2.44 | 1.07 | 80 Tom Seaver: 2.43 | 1.20 | 48 Doc Gooden: 3.07 | 1.16 | 64 Jacob deGrom: 3.38 | 1.37 | 64 ​Nolan McLean is off to a historic start to his career 🍎#LGM pic.twitter.com/ch90QOIKo4 — Locked On Mets (@LockedOnMets) April 10, 2026

That time Coach Sutton predicted the future… 🔮#TBT: December 1999@BMont30 pic.twitter.com/pIA5q3I0F9

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) April 10, 2026

One Question

Lindenwood transfer Ellie Brueggemann announced her commitment to Oklahoma State on Friday. A 5-foot-11 guard, Brueggemann is a Lincoln Christian grad.

She’s averaged double figures for the Lions the past three seasons. As a junior this past season, Brueggemann averaged 14 points, 2.6 boards and 3.1 assists a contest while shooting a career-best 44% from 3 on 6.6 attempts per game.

 

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Brueggemann also had interest from Iowa, where she reportedly visited before electing to be a Cowgirl under Hoyt.

She scored in double figures in 26 of the 33 games she played in this past season, including a quartet of outings in the 20s. Brueggemann also appears capable of doing a little bit of everything. She had at least four rebounds in eight games, at least five assists in eight games and multiple steals in eight games.

This marks the second transfer Hoyt has added after essentially having to build her roster from the ground up, as only Stailee Heard is set to return. Along with Brueggemann, OSU picked up a commitment from Fort Hays State transfer Talexa Weeter, the reigning D-II Player of the Year.

Tis the season for posts like “Basketball Transfer X has heard from the following list of 15 schools.”

Obviously that player can’t end up at all 15 of those schools, but it’s hard for fans to not start imagining what that player would look like in their team’s favorite colors.

The men’s basketball transfer portal opened Tuesday, and OSU has already appeared on many of those lists as Steve Lutz and Co. could end up needing to take as many as nine players out of the poral.

On Wednesday we took a look at five players the Cowboys reportedly showed interest in. Then Thursday we shared a report that San Diego State guard BJ Davis had set up an OSU visit. Well, here are five more players who have been linked with the Pokes since the portal window opened.

Quick note: The “Years Remaining” section on these is based on a four-year career rather than the proposed five-year career (someone make eligibility make sense again, please).

CJ Brown, USF

Height: 6-foot-2
Hometown: Marietta, Georgia
Years Remaining: 2

Brown was initially linked with the Pokes on Wednesday, the day after the portal opened, by College Basketball Content, an account that reported Friday morning that Brown has a call scheduled with OSU on Sunday. He’s also reportedly visiting High Point this weekend and has a call with Georgia Tech scheduled for Friday.

Brown averaged 10.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists a game as a sophomore for the Bulls this past season. That includes a 24-point, 10-assists double-double against the Cowboys from November in Gallagher-Iba Arena.

He’s a prolific 3-point shooter, making 42% of his 241 attempts this past season. For reference, Anthony Roy attempted 231 3s and hit at a 39% clip.

Brown was a member of the AAC’s All-Freshman team in 2024-25, a season in which he averaged 7.2 points, 2.3 boards and 2.5 assists in 31 games.

He was a four-star prospect coming out of Kell High School. 247Sports listed him as the No. 114 player in the 2024 class, and he also had offers to Georgia, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State and others.

Jerald Colonel, Stephen F. Austin

Height: 6-foot-9
Hometown: Savannah, Georgia
Years Remaining: 1 (but maybe 2)

Colonel Colonel, Secretary of Defense.

Colonel was voted the Southland Defensive Player of the Year this past season and has been on the conference’s All-Defense Team the past two seasons.

He has heard from Oklahoma State along with Ole Miss, LSU, SMU, Syracuse and others, according to The Athletic’s Tobias Bass.

Colonel averaged five points, 7.3 boards and a league-leading 2.6 blocks a game this past season. He had one double-double on the year — an 11-point, 13-rebound performance against New Orleans where he also had four blocks. He had six blocks in two separate games and finished with double digit rebounds in six total games.

His block percentage ranked 10th nationally, per KenPom.

So, what you’d be getting here is a defender. Colonel doesn’t score a ton and has attempted just one 3-pointer in 1,467 minutes at the Division-I level. But what the Pokes need is defense, as OSU finished 158th in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency this past season.

Colonel spent the 2024-25 season at Northwestern State, where he averaged 4.7 boards, 5.7 rebounds and a league-leading 2.2 blocks a contest.

He was at Chipola College (a JUCO in Florida) the two seasons before that. He averaged 9.1 points, 6.6 boards and 1.4 blocks a game in his final season there.

Kayden “Bugg” Edwards, TCU

Height: 6-foot-2
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
Years Remaining: 3

Steve Lutz and Co. were in Edwards’ Top 5 when he was coming out of Duncanville High School last year. Could the Cowboys land him the second time around?

Edwards was a Top 50 player in the 2025 recruiting class, per 247Sports, where he picked TCU over a final group that also included OSU, LSU, Colorado and USC.

There were two reports Wednesday that OSU was in the initial group to reach out to Edwards when he hit the portal, but Sam Kayser notes that Edwards has prepped visits to Creighton and UNLV this weekend.

Edwards took part in 14 games as a freshman with the Horned Frogs this past season, where he averaged 3.2 points in about six minutes.

Bryce Lindsay, Villanova

Height: 6-foot-3
Hometown: Baltimore
Years Remaining: 1

If you remember all the way back to 2021, Mike Boynton-led Oklahoma State made the top group for Lindsay when he was coming out of high school.

He has since played at Texas A&M, James Madison and Villanova. Kayser reported Wednesday that OSU is in a deep group of programs to reach out, a list that also includes Louisville, Kentucky, St. John’s and North Carolina.

Lindsay averaged 12.3 points a game for the Wildcats this past season while hitting 78 3s at a 38% clip.

That came off a sophomore season at James Madison where Lindsay put up 13.4 points a game while shooting 41% from deep.

Eli Rice, Penn State

Height: 6-foot-8
Hometown: Gallatin, Tennessee
Years Remaining: 2

Rice is 6-foot-8 and can shoot the 3 — that’s valuable.

Bass reported Thursday that OSU is involved along with Utah, UCF, Tulane and others.

He averaged 6.7 points and 1.7 rebounds a game as a redshirt sophomore for the Nittany Lions this past season while shooting 39% from 3 on 105 attempts (15 fewer attempts than VJ Miller, for reference).

Rice did that while coming off injury. He had to redshirt after playing only one game during the 2024-25 season after suffering said injury.

He played his freshman season at Nebraska, appearing in 17 games where he averaged 4.2 points.

All reps aren’t created equal, but there are undoubtedly true freshman quarterbacks with more total game reps than Mestemaker.

It should raise a few eyebrows as he steps up in competition this season, and might, if not for the palpable belief surrounding OSU’s program this spring.

“It feels like he makes the right checks,” receiver Chris Barnes said. “Like he knows, we be on the same page and stuff like that. Like, in my head, I’d be like, dang, I wish I could check it and next thing you know, he’d check it to something like I would want. So it’s just a little stuff like that, like him knowing the field, knowing the game.”

That kind of chemistry is noteworthy considering the Wake Forest transfer is one of the new guys getting to know Mestemaker this spring while others like UNT transfer Wyatt Young has more than a full season with Mestemaker under his belt.

It helps that Barnes knows a thing or two about quarterbacks.

“I’ve played with John Mateer, played with Robbie Ashford at Wake Forest, but I feel like, as me actually playing, I feel like Drew would be the best quarterback that I’ve played with,” Barnes said.

It isn’t just Barnes saying it. In the last week, both ESPN and CBS Sports ranked Power Four quarterbacks. Both sites had Mateer 19th in the nation, which would be a decent landing spot if they didn’t rank Mestemaker seventh and 14th, respectively.

Although the OSU program doesn’t have a leg to stand on based on the last two seasons, Mestemaker deserves to be a favorite over Mateer after he led the nation with 4,379 passing yards at UNT.

Here’s their per game stats last season:

Mestemaker: 339 passing yards, 9.5 yards per attempt, completed 68.9%, 0.6 interceptions, 6 rushing yards, 2.8 total touchdowns

Mateer: 240 passing yards, 7.3 yards per attempt, completed 62.2%, 0.9 interceptions, 36 rushing yards, 1.8 total touchdowns

Even looking at per game numbers and combining touchdowns still leaves a sizable gap between Mestermaker and the Sooner.

Before the folks in Norman drive up I-35, it’s fair to concede that Mateer played a much tougher schedule than Mestemaker did in 2025.

But Barnes played with Mateer in 2024 at Washington State, which was at the time one of two power conference teams who didn’t land inside a power conference. It seems reasonable to conclude Washington State had more resources than most non-power conference teams, but less talent than most teams inside the Power Four.

That sounds like a favorable comparison to North Texas from a talent standpoint anyway, and the Cougars played two Power Conference teams, Boise State and fellow in-betweener Oregon State in the regular season that year. That’s a harder schedule than what the Mean Green played last year, but it’s definitely close enough to compare.

So let’s see how Mestemaker stacks up against 2024 Mateer then use the 2025 numbers to establish a baseline for what might be reasonable to expect from Mestemaker in his first fall at the power conference level.

Here are Mateer’s 2024 per game stats:

261 passing yards, 9 yards per attempt, completed 64.6%, 0.6 interceptions per game, 69 rushing yards, 3.7 total touchdowns.

Mateer lost 21 passing yards, 1.7 yards per attempt, 2.4% off his completion percentage, 33 rushing yards and nearly two touchdowns per game when he moved to the SEC.

If Mestemaker took the exact same hit in each category then he’d average 312 passing yards, 7.5 yards per attempt, 66.3%, 0.9 interceptions, 3 rushing yards and 1.4 touchdowns per game.

No matter how you slice it, Mestemaker deserves to win the opening round, but it seems worth noting that Mateer lost half his rushing and half his passing touchdowns. The Big 12 defenses shouldn’t be quite so punishing, but considering Oregon is on the schedule, Mestemaker’s touchdown totals might be lower than people expect after he found the end zone 34 times through the air and another five times on the ground last season.

Scoreboard: Mestemaker 1, Mateer 0

Rushing Through

Note: Previously official rushing stats were included. For this Pro Football Focus stats will be used which seems to ignore some or all sacks when it comes to rushing totals.

Mestemaker: 211 yards, averaged 4.7 yards a carry, five touchdowns

Mateer ‘24: 1,008 yards, 6.8 average, 15 touchdowns

Mateer ‘25: 546 yards, 4.2 average, eight touchdowns

Mateer is the huge winner here, which is probably fine with folks in Stillwater who want to see their quarterback upright as much as possible.

This shouldn’t change the argument, but the numbers got a lot closer when PFF just looked at scrambles

Mestemaker averaged 7.8 yards on 21 scrambles. Mateer averaged 8.6 yards on 47 attempts in 2024 and 6.6 on 28 scrambles last season.

Scoreboard: Mestemaker 1, Mateer 1

Going Deep

Here’s how the quarterbacks looked on passes thrown at least 20 yards downfield:

Mestemaker: 19-of-49 (38.8%) for 758 yards, 8 touchdowns and an interception

Mateer ‘24: 25-of-63 (39.7%) for 821 yards, 12 touchdowns and 6 interceptions

Mateer ‘25: 17-of-51 (33%) for 542 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions

PFF also graded these throws out as Big Time Throws, “a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window,” and Turnover Worthy Plays, “a pass that has a high percentage chance to be intercepted or a poor job of taking care of the ball and fumbling.”

Mestemaker: 18 Big Timers (37%), five TO worthy plays (10%)

Mateer ‘24: 17 Big Timers (27%), eight TO worthy plays (13%)

Mateer ‘25: 10 Big Timers (20%), four TO worthy plays (8%)

Mateer pushed the ball downfield significantly less last season than he did at Washington State. This was particularly impactful when it came to his touchdowns, though he also managed to cut his turnover worthy plays in half when looking deep.

Both desperation and defensive breakdowns can sometimes drive deep attempts, so it’s hard to make a firm prediction for Mestemaker in this category. It wouldn’t be shocking to see his 2026 numbers mirror what Mateer did in 2025.

This is another point for the Cowboy primarily because of the Big Time throw discrepancy. Mateer’s four extra touchdowns somewhat washes out with his additional five interceptions, but this was closer than expected.

Scoreboard: Mestemaker 2, Mateer 1

Under Pressure

​All these numbers are starting to run together. Let’s take a quick breather before we wrap up with even more numbers.

Mestemaker’s screen numbers are eerily similar with what Mateer did last season at OU. The Sooner was slightly worse on screens at Washington State, but not by much and Mateer leans on that stuff noticeably less than his Cowboy counterpart.

This sounds like a good old fashioned draw.

When given a clean pocket, Mestemaker is slightly more accurate and makes a handful of fewer mistakes than Mateer did when he was at Washington State. At Oklahoma, Mateer’s Big Time throws were cut in half and he made a few more turnover worthy plays when his protection kept him clean.

When under pressure, Mestemaker completed passes at a slightly higher rate for about a yard more per attempt than Mateer did in 2024. The Cowboy completed Big Timers under these conditions about twice as often, but he also finished with more turnover worthy plays. In fact, Mestemaker tossed five interceptions last season while under pressure when Mateer threw none during his time with the Cougars, though it seems like he fumbled a few times on those plays.

In 2025, Mateer’s completion percentage and yards per attempt dropped even more, but he did deliver Big Timers more than twice as often as well.

In 2026, it seems reasonable to assume Mestemaker will stay roughly as productive on screens, lose a little bit of these big scoring plays that come when given a clean pocket and will keep the ball a little closer to home and avoid chucking it quite as deep when he’s under pressure.

As for the scoreboard, Mestemaker seems to have a decisive edge when given space to work while Mateer has the slightest edge when under pressure.

Scoreboard: Mestemaker 2.5, Mateer 1.5

Home Stretch

​Pro Football Focus also breaks down how quarterbacks perform in the midrange 10-19 yards downfield. This was probably the worst spot for former Cowboys Zane Flores and Sam Jackson who combined to go 28-of-54 for 420 yards, a touchdown and four interceptions in 2025.

All of these numbers will be much better than that.

Mestemaker: 77-of-118 (65.3%) for 1,439 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions

Mateer ‘24: 40-of-67 (59.7%) for 704 yards, 6 touchdowns and an interception

Mateer ‘25: 45-of-83 (54.2%) for 870 yards, 7 touchdowns and four interceptions

Mestemaker averaged 12.2 yards per attempt while Mateer averaged 10.5 both seasons. PFF thought Mestemaker looked better on the eye test, awarding him with six Big Time Throws while giving Mateer only one in 2024 and three in 2025.

Mestemaker was credited with three turnover worthy plays while Mateer received only three in 2024 before committing 10 last season with the Sooners.

Interestingly enough Mateer’s production more or less stayed the same despite the move to the SEC. He finished with more yards, but took more attempts to do it since his completion percentage​ took a hit. He did toss an extra three interceptions.

Even if we knock a yard off Mestemaker’s average per attempt and give him a 60% completion rate, given the same number of attempts, he should throw for 1,203 yards on passes between 10-19 yards downfield.

Someone wearing Crimson and Cream could ding Mestemaker for his additional mistakes and argue it’s more important to take care of the football. That would be a fair point if he didn’t more than double Mateer’s yardage total while also finishing nearly 6% better.

Based on in-game results, it seems safe to conclude Mestemaker is a better quarterback than Mateer was when he arrived in Norman last year. He’s also less experienced overall.

That would be concerning if taking care of the football wasn’t one of his strengths (Mestemaker ranked 40th nationally among quarterbacks with 50 dropbacks in percentage of turnover-worthy plays).

While it’s impossible to project with certainty how his stats might finish next season, it seems reasonable to assume his improvements during his first offseason as the unquestioned starter could minimize what should be a statistical step back against power conference competition.

Final Scoreboard: Mestemaker 3.5, Mateer 1.5

PFB+ Sale: ⁠PFB+ subscriptions are 25% off when using this link

OSU Bullets

• Ethan Fang finished the opening round at the Masters as the low amateur (PFB)

• Basketball roster update – wing Ryan Crotty is returning, big Andrija Vukovic headed to the portal,  

• Like this transfer portal projection about where Cowboy Basketball is headed with things: 

 I’ve been told that Oklahoma State is prepared to spend on a couple big pieces to make a run next year. 

I imagine they’ll try to find one really good big man and a really good point guard and then fill in the remaining holes. [GoPokes 247 $$$] 

• Profiling a couple of Cowboy receivers that transferred in – the touted Big Ten transfer Justin Bowick and Wake Forest’s Chris Barnes (PFB)

• Swinging Pete Shop has a few Masters-themed golf polos (Swinging Pete)

Non-OSU Bullets

• The NBA tanking epidemic

• How Ben Sasse is living while dying

Dang.

Ben Sasse: “What’s really happening is these superdevices in our pockets — the largest tools any median individual’s ever had access to in all of human history — allow our consciousness to leave the time and place where we actually live, the places where we break bread, the…

— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) April 9, 2026

A junior at Oklahoma State, Fang shot a 2-over 74 in the opening round of The Masters, which was best among amateurs. It’s a score that ties for 40th overall with Fang being tied with Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Aberg and others.

“Yeah, it’s only the first day,” Fang said. “I try not to think of it like that. Just going to go out there tomorrow and try to play my best. …

“I think I hit it really good off the tee. I think that’s a big part of this golf course is driving it well and then hitting greens out there. But, yeah, I would say that’s probably the biggest thing that helped me keep it in contention.”

Fang parred the opening two holes before birdieing the third. He closed the front nine at even-par with a birdie in the nineth. Fang held steady up until the 14th, where he bogeyed before bogeying again on the 16th.

He’s two shots up on the next closest amateur (Jackson Harrington).

“Yeah, this course is really tricky,” Fang said. “These greens are — they’re glass. I had so many chip shots today that you barely get it on the green and it rolls all the way to the hole. I think it’s all about missing in the right spot, just giving yourself a good chance if you miss the green to get it close, and maybe make par and bogey. The biggest thing is just avoid doubles, and there’s plenty of birdie chances out there, but yeah.”

Fang finished the first round third among Cowboys in the field, trailing Sam Stevens and Wyndham Clark, who are tied for 17th at an even-par 72.

Pokes at The Masters

A guard from the Mountain West who averaged double-figure scoring will reportedly visit Oklahoma State next week.

San Diego State transfer BJ Davis has visits set up to Oklahoma State and Auburn, according to Sam Kayser. Listed at 6-foot-3, Davis averaged 10.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists a game last season while shooting 37% from 3.

Davis was a junior this past season, meaning he should have one year of eligibility remaining. He’s from Modesto, California and has spent his entire college career to this point as an Aztec.

He had some standout performances this past season like when he dropped 30 points in 26 minutes off the bench against UNLV in early March. He went 4-for-8 from 3 in what was a fantastic game.

He also led the Aztecs to a wild triple-overtime win against Boise State in January. He finished that marathon with 22 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals in 41 minutes on the floor.

Davis was impactful as a sophomore, as well, starting all 31 games he played in while averaging nine points, three rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.5 steals a game. Davis finished his sophomore season ranking seventh in the Mountain West in steals, and defense will be at or near the top of Steve Lutz’s wish list after this past season.

Davis was a four-star prospect coming out of Modesto Christian in the 2023 class. 247Sports listed him as the No. 129 player in the class while tabbing him as a Top 20 point guard and Californian. He ended up picking SDSU over offers from Ole Miss, Washington, Washington State and others.

OSU has plenty of roster spots available in the early portions of this transfer window. Thus far, Kanye Clary, Benjamin Ahmed and Ryan Crotty are the only announced returners while we’re still waiting on an announcement from Mekhi Ragland. That group is joined by three incoming freshmen.

Other than that, everyone else either graduated or is in the portal.