Three Thoughts

• Couldn’t be more excited for the guy – Coach Mike Boynton landed the head coaching job at the University of Michigan after retaining key pieces of the squad and additions (PFB)

A championship foundation. A familiar leader.

Mike Boynton Jr. has been appointed head coach of Michigan Men’s Basketball. Read more about the next chapter in Ann Arbor. ⬇️ https://t.co/RRpjUwYEnH#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/JQmm2giggo — Michigan Men’s Basketball (@umichbball) July 10, 2026

• Here’s your family roadtrip/lawn mowing playlist for the weekend – Carson and Colby talk Eric Morris + Marshall and the Crew on the Reload talking Big 12 media days, over two hours of Oklahoma State sports audio content (PFB)

• There’s been discourse about how the Big 12’s $20M deal with Monster is a bad one – this article points to the market defining pricing and how it’s a good deal (for a school like Oklahoma State):

The Trailblazers are in market for their on-uniform for $1.25M/YR.

That’s a professional NBA team!

I like the Pokes, so this isn’t a shot, you guys were just randomly picked as the example here.

OK St has 176K instagram followers. Portland has 2.9M!!!

Are we sure they will be commanding the same price? [X]

Two Quotes

• Great to see this Cowboy doing so well – can’t imagine how hard it is to get onto the Dodgers’ roster though:

Former #OkState standout outfielder Zach Ehrhard is producing heavily in Triple-A with the Oklahoma City Comets.

> .284 batting average (.296 in June/.333 so far in July) > Thirteen home runs > .874 OPS > Logged a hit in six of his past seven games > Currently ranked as the… pic.twitter.com/QrqdOgRgNz — Daniel Allen (@bydanielallen25) July 8, 2026

• I hope you and I can fill our days with things we enjoy as much as Eric Morris does playcalling:

Former #OkState standout outfielder Zach Ehrhard is producing heavily in Triple-A with the Oklahoma City Comets. > .284 batting average (.296 in June/.333 so far in July) > Thirteen home runs > .874 OPS > Logged a hit in six of his past seven games > Currently ranked as the… pic.twitter.com/QrqdOgRgNz

— Daniel Allen (@bydanielallen25) July 8, 2026

One Question

• Super curious to see how this guy plays in the slot in 2026 – will he better or worse than Brennan Presley?

Preseason honors for @wyatttyoung 🤠 pic.twitter.com/rgUb7xcGQ0

— Oklahoma State Athletics (@OSUAthletics) July 10, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Ranking the most “ethical” NBA champions – OKC is one of them • This Jon Acuff book gave some insight on how to push through procrastination, good stuff • Why America is “unhappy” (faith-based)

The University of Michigan announced Friday that Boynton has agreed to a two-year contract to lead the Wolverines’ program following Dusty May’s departure to the NBA.

“I’m grateful to Warde (Manuel, Michigan’s AD) for his confidence and thankful for the opportunity to lead this program,” Boynton said in Michigan’s release. “We have built a championship culture and a standard that everyone associated with this program takes great pride in. We have an outstanding group of players, and I’m excited to get to work and continue the success we’ve established together.”

This marks the second college program Boynton has been in charge of after spending seven seasons as Oklahoma State’s coach following the abrupt departure of Brad Underwood.

After his firing from OSU in 2024, Boynton joined May’s staff in Ann Arbor and put together the top defense in the nation as the Wolverines went on to win an NCAA title this past season.

When the Dallas Mavericks hired May late last month, Boynton was initially given the interim tag. In the weeks since, he’s kept that Michigan squad together despite a late portal window opening up because of May’s exit. Michigan also had the No. 2 recruiting class in the country when May left, and Boynton was able to keep them all.

“Mike is a veteran assistant with strong head coaching experience and a clear understanding of the standard we expect at Michigan,” Manuel said. “Over the past two seasons, he has been an invaluable member of our staff, bringing stability, leadership and perspective during an important period of success. Our players and staff believe in his vision, are committed to his leadership and are excited for the opportunity to pursue great success together this season.”

Boynton’s tenure in Stillwater was a roller coaster. He went 119-109 in his seven seasons, making a lone NCAA Tournament appearance. But, shortly after he took the OSU job, the FBI’s probe into college basketball put the program under sanctions. His tenure also saw the pandemic and the introduction of NIL into college sports. There were also some ups, like that NCAA Tournament run led by eventual No. 1-pick Cade Cunningham — a season that took place in limited-capacity arenas.

It’ll be interesting to see what a Boynton program could look like flush with resources in this modern world.

Some of Oklahoma State’s new stars shared the spotlight in Frisco this week at Big 12 Media Days. It was the first opportunity for media and fans to get some facetime with the new faces of Cowboy football.

As freshmen at North Texas last season, Drew Mestemaker led the nation in passing, and Caleb Hawkins scored more touchdowns than any other tailback in the FBS. But when it came to talking about this fall, they seemed more like seasoned vets ready to run it back than a pair of sophomores heading into a new locker room.

When asked about his prep this offseason, Mestemaker talked about OSU’s offense improving on “our weaknesses from last year.” Hawkins talked about “getting to see these new guys and especially the old guys coming back.”

With the huge Mean Green contingent that followed Eric Morris to Stillwater — both players and staff — it might be easy for these two to confuse OSU for North Texas 2.0, but I’m not sure these were slips of the tongue.

It’s also natural for players to group up with those they are comfortable with, but Morris knew he needed to do something drastic. He started his time in the job with a concerted effort to integrate all the incoming pieces with those returning to establish a new OSU. He touched on this point in an interview with WWLS from Media Days.

“It was very important for me the first month of two to make sure we didn’t have a North Texas crowd and Oklahoma State guys that stay crowd, and then all these guys funneling in and they’re going to pick which side,” Morris said. “That was really important for me to squash. The first team meeting [I] squashed it. … I looked up in the meeting, you know, North Texas kids are here, Oklahoma State here and I’m like before I even start this meeting, we’re not starting it off this way.

“I think trying to build everybody and bring them in together that ‘Hey this isn’t all these old teams, this is Oklahoma State ’26 team. We need everybody to come together, and winning footballs is freaking hard.'”

Mestemaker echoed that experience and said the whole team is bought in.

“In the first team meeting, Coach Morris made us sit next to someone we didn’t know, and you’re introducing yourself to everyone,” said Mestemaker. “You have a season to play in half a year, like eight months or whatever it was. The strides we’ve made in the past two to three months have been huge. Even since the start of spring, I think this team came together a lot, and we can be really special.”

Although he and his former Mean Green teammates are coming into a new situation, that culture under Morris helped direct Mestemaker and his teammates as they gel in Stillwater.

“Whatever we got to do to win,” said Mestemaker. “Even those guys who have been here and been through those not great seasons here at Oklahoma State, they’ve been here for a long time, so they’ve been a part of the great seasons at Oklahoma State, too. I feel like we have a lot of guys on our team who have played a lot of football and who have won a lot of games. I really do think that’ll help us once we get into the season in those tough games.”

We’ve listed all the reasons, on paper, that OSU could have success, but Morris knew the challenges that could arise from a bifurcated locker room as well as the step up in competition to the Big 12. For the new-look Pokes to live up to their potential, it had to be all hands-on-deck, as Cowboys.

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OSU Bullets

• Fascinating to watch if Eric Morris maintains playcalling (he explains his logic here), guy clearly has skill in this area – thrilled to see a top-shelf playcaller on the sidelines after how terrible the offense has been the last couple of years (PFB)

• Drew Mestemaker talks about what he got out of the Manning Passing Academy (PFB)

• CBS Sports had one of the rosier outlooks on the Cowboy Football season than you’ll see around – beating Tech in Stillwater is bullish:

Oklahoma State

Projected record: 9-3, 7-2 Wins: at Tulsa, Murray State, at West Virginia, UCF, Colorado, at Iowa State, at Kansas State, Kansas, Texas Tech Losses: Oregon, at Houston, at Arizona State [CBS Sports]

• On3 has Drew Mestemaker as the third-best quarterback in the Big 12 – three spots ahead of K-State’s Avery Johnson (X)

• As much as it would have been nice to keep Wendell Gregory, this graphic tells me OSU made a decision here on edge rushers, and it’s pretty justifiable analytically:

Top 🔟 pressure rate leaders entering 2026 ⬇️🏈 pic.twitter.com/Xk9WTOdgVf

— Cody Nagel (@CodyNagel247) July 9, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• US can’t get better around the World Cup until we fix the youth programs • How to spiritually lead your family (faith-based)

“Everyone wants better results. Skill precedes results. Practice precedes skill. Attitude precedes practice. It’s the willingness to try (and keep trying) that leads to ability.” James Clear

That signature win has been remembered for a lot of reasons, one of which was Gundy sitting on equipment crates thumbing through his offensive play sheet while his defense was on the field. That was life as a play-caller head coach.

Two years after that win in Missouri, Gundy handed play-calling duties over to Dana Holgorsen and never looked back. In Gundy’s first season away from the program all this time later, the Cowboys again have a play-caller head coach.

Gundy was 43 when he gave up-play calling duties. Eric Morris is 40 (a man’s age) entering his first season coaching the Cowboys, and as he steps into his first year as a Big 12 head coach, he said he doesn’t see him delegating those duties any time soon.

“It’s still my favorite thing to do,” Morris said at Big 12 Media Days. “There’s nothing that still motivates me, keeps me involved in the game-planning, keeps my brain activated trying to come up with different ways to attack people on the offensive side of the ball.

“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it, calling people. There’s not a ton of people (head coaches who call plays) left. That’s probably what Lincoln (Riley) and I talk about the most is are we saving enough time for all these different parts of the organization when you’re spending so much time calling the plays? I think you gotta hire good people that you trust to do some other things, but yeah, it’s what I love the most.”

There is more than one way to skin the proverbial cat, so it’s not as if one way is right and the other is wrong. Plenty of head coaches who don’t call plays have had success, just like play-calling head coaches have. Of late, it’s seemed like the in-vogue thing for NFL teams is to have a young, hotshot coach who also directs his team’s offense.

Morris made mention to Lincoln Riley as a guy he confides in about being a play-calling head coach. Morris was there for the genesis of Riley’s coaching career, as Morris was a player at Texas Tech as Riley worked his way up from student assistant to overseeing Morris as the inside receivers coach.

Having led the Sooners for five seasons, Riley isn’t all too popular in Payne County. Say what you will about Riley not having a national title ring on his finger, but he won four Big 12 titles in five seasons as the Sooners’ coach. So having success in this league in that architype is certainly possible.

Gundy’s transition into his program’s CEO felt natural, especially in his later years atop the program, but when that transition initially started to happen, he too noted his enjoyment of that aspect of the game.

“I don’t know that it’ll ever be easy to accept because I just like to do that,” Gundy said after Holgorsen’s hiring. “But I understand the role that I’m gonna play now.”

Who knows what the future holds for the Morris Era, but the plan is for Morris to continue to call plays, just as he did at Incarnate Word and North Texas as he climbed the coaching ladder.

A literal wall of cameras pointed at the table where quarterback Drew Mestemaker and running back Caleb Hawkins were scheduled to sit, with other reporters gathered behind, underneath and beside those same cameras.

“Look where all the mics are,” Wesloski said to fellow defender Jaleel Johnson.

Although somewhere north of 15 reporters initially fought for the chance to direct questions toward Oklahoma State’s two offensive stars, maybe four or five total reporters walked over to speak with Wesloski, who recorded 113 tackles last season, and Johnson, who head coach Eric Morris repeatedly praised as the team’s ‘most disruptive defender’ in spring camp.

“Oh, for sure, for sure, I feel like our defense is definitely getting slept on,” Johnson said when asked about the disparity in attention between OSU’s offense and defense not just on Tuesday, but throughout the last six months. “But like you said, no disrespect to them guys, they deserve everything that they are getting right now. I’m not hating on that at all, but our defense is really, really solid as well, and I feel like y’all are going to see that this fall.”

Johnson said the focus on Mestemaker (now the preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year), Hawkins (the No. 19 player in the entire transfer portal and seventh-ranked RB in the whole nation according to EA’s latest video game), receiver Wyatt Young (OSU’s only player on the All-Big 12 preseason team) and Morris’ general reputation as an offensive guru which shines a brighter light on that side of the ball has created an opportunity for the Pokes’ defenders.

“You want to prove to everybody that we’re the best as well, like we can compete with the best,” Johnson said.

Wesloski wished Mestemaker luck as the media session got started on Tuesday. Although there was zero animosity in his voice, the linebacker delivered the line as though he was watching the quarterback walk in front of a firing squad.

Not that the Oklahoma State quarterback heard any of this, as his attention was already being pulled in several directions.

“I’ve said it a couple times today, it’s a thing, right, they deserved everything they’ve gotten. … (but) we’re a really good defense, too,” Wesloski said. “It’s not that they don’t deserve everything they’ve got coming.

“But come November, late November, when we’re making a run for this thing. Everyone is going to look like we know they have a really, really good offense, but here’s this defense that’s really good in yards per game, pass yards, run yards, they’ve got a huge turnover margin. They were really good scoring defense. So we’re going to play defense. We know how to play and create a lot of chaos, and we’re going to get the ball back for those guys over there.”

For what it’s worth, Wesloski led a UNT defense last season that finished fifth in turnovers gained, eighth in pass yards allowed per game, but 76th in scoring defense, 77th in total defense and 130th against the run.

A bit of a mixed bag there, but given that UNT led seven opponents by 21-plus points entering the fourth quarter, it makes some degree of sense that the Mean Green would be overly focused on limiting the pass.

Now those same defensive coaches and several key defenders, headlined by Wesloski, are in Stillwater.

“It feels like that 2023 season when we went to the Big 12 Championship,” Johnson said. “You can just tell that the guys are close, like we all got nicknames for each other, making fun of each other, laughing.”​

Even being in contention for a Big 12 Championship game appearance would be a win for the Cowboys in Morris’ first season, but the players have made it clear they aren’t treating this season like some slow wind-up to a successful run.

“I want to have dominant wins,” Johnson said. “I want to prove that we are the best team in this conference.”

When asked how the Cowboys, particularly those on defense, can prove that this fall, Johnson kept it simple.

“Ultimately it come down to winning games,” he said. “Like defense wins games. Yeah, offense can put up as many points as they want, but if we can’t get a stop, it don’t really matter. So, I feel like if we can put some stops together and make the offense look even better than what people are saying, that is a win in our book.”

“There was a little meeting we had that Peyton (Manning) and Eli (Manning) just stood up there, and you know, talked about their approach to the game and everything, and I thought that was really cool,” Mestemaker said Tuesday at Big 12 Media Days.

Mestemaker was one of a select number of high-level college quarterbacks invited to serve as counselors at the Manning Passing Academy from June 25-28.

Other quarterback counselors included CJ Carr (Notre Dame), Arch Manning (Texas), Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss), Julian Sayin (Ohio State) and Gunner Stockton (Georgia). Together, that group represents the first, second, fourth, sixth and ninth favorites for the Heisman Trophy based on current FanDuel odds.

Mestemaker was also joined by fellow Big 12 starters Noah Fifita (Arizona), Bear Bachmeier (BYU) and Conner Weigman (Houston).

“Yeah, it was fun,” Mestemaker said. “It was good being around all those guys, and kind of comparing up next to them and throwing with them, and just being around a bunch of guys that have played a lot of football at a high level.”

Perhaps it was just Mestemaker’s humility on display Tuesday, but his head coach seemed even more excited about the opportunity.

“So the cool thing for Drew is, I think, finally starting to get the notoriety,” Morris said. “And then you go to camp, and you’re around some of the best quarterbacks in the nation at your level, and you see yourself against these guys, and then all of a sudden you know these guys that are mocked up to be the, you know, number one, number two, number three pick in the draft mix, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I can do it just as good as this guy.’

“The cool thing about that camp was I got a lot of texts about how he performed and how well he did, but it made me more proud of how many texts I got about what kind of person he was, how humble he was, how he interacted with everybody, and so I think that just speaks volumes about the character that the young man has.”

Mestemaker also discussed his future in the NFL on Tuesday and the potentially tough choice he will have to make concerning the 2027 NFL Draft if everything goes to plan on the field this fall.

On the subject of Mestemaker’s future, Morris has no doubts his current quarterback is destined for the NFL. He said as much to Archie Manning earlier this year.

“Archie Manning called me a couple months ago and started asking questions about Drew, and I’ve known Archie for a while,” Morris said. “So I was like, ‘Listen this kid is a no-brainer. This kid will play for a long time on Sunday.’”

New Oklahoma State QB Drew Mestemaker has quickly become a favorite for NFL Draft folks. Here he is at Manning Passing Academy. pic.twitter.com/YDtw2Phj3V

— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) June 27, 2026

Mestemaker said he felt like he performed well but added the counselors didn’t throw as much there as he expected going in. He still really enjoyed getting the chance to be around so many other talented quarterbacks.

“Good opportunity to kind of meet all those guys and meet all these big names that are just normal dudes out there,” Mestemaker said. “It’s been a good kind of getting to know those guys and starting a relationship with them that, honestly, at the end of the day, is going to go a lot further than football. It was more about the opportunity to know those guys and just be around high-level performers every day, and just kind of work, see how they operate, like compare yourself up to that.”

This is what Morris thinks will be the long-lasting benefit for his quarterback, who is preparing to start at quarterback for only the second season ever in both his high school and college career.

“Think just growing his confidence,” Morris said. “I mean, I think he’s someone that, you know, didn’t play in high school, wasn’t recruited, came in, made a name for himself, had the year he did, led the nation, it all hit so fast for him.

“And so I think just reaffirming what he’s always believed and the confidence, and I think you go out there and you stand in line with the best 15 guys in the nation, from what you know all these experts are saying on the mock draft stuff, and then all of a sudden I think his confidence was built on.

“It’s like, OK, yeah, like, I got what it takes to make it at this level. So, yeah, I mean, I just think not only is it cool experience, you just, as a quarterback, you see it your whole life, and all these quarterbacks come through and working with, obviously, Eli and Peyton, and building those relationships. The quarterbacks have a tight bond. It’s a small fraternity, and I think it’s something that he’ll grow in really, really well.”

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OSU Bullets

• Drew Mestemaker talked about the NFL Draft and Caleb Hawkins talked about how the resources of a Power Four school are remaking his game (PFB)

• Viktor Hovland and Wyndham Clark both make this list of the top-18 golfers in the world based on recent play (CBS Sports)

• Goodness, this comment from Drew Mestemaker, alluding to some of the meat he left on the bone during a season he led the nation in passing, is enticing. Worth noting, it’s a totally reasonable progression for a quarterback to feel more comfortable in his second full season starting and to take more chances.

“I think last year, I was honestly a little more conservative than I could’ve been,” Mestemaker said. “I think I could’ve taken a little more shots, so I think this spring was really the time for me to try that out and see what throws I could and couldn’t make. Obviously I know, like, this one’s gonna be tight, I’m gonna try it. I know that in the spring, and I talk to Coach Morris and Coach (Sean) Brophy about that. They give me the freedom to go out there and see what throws I can make… “I think last year, I missed a few opportunities I could’ve taken.” [PFB]

• YouTube video here of Eric Morris’ comments from earlier in the week if you want the full talk (YouTube)

• Need to beat Tech and UCF this year for the all-time records: 

Oklahoma State’s all time record vs each Big 12 team! pic.twitter.com/yAhAHC0tFT

— College Football Zone (@CollegeFBonX) July 8, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Loved Kyle Porter’s comments on the World Cup here, which describes the feeling of watching Cape Verde-Argentina well

• 4th of July photos around the US  

Morris was at North Texas’ indoor facility while Cobbs was conducting drills out on the field. So, Cobbs sent a graduate assistant on a 100-yard jog over to Morris.

“He said, ‘Hey, you gotta come see this guy — Coach Cobbs loves this running back,'” Morris recalled.

So, Morris walked over to see what all the hubbub was about. At the end of his walk awaited a young Caleb Hawkins entering his senior year of high school.

“I watched Caleb, and Coach Cobbs was so adamant afterwards, like, that’s who he wanted, sticking to his guns,” Morris said. “I watched him for 10 minutes and said absolutely this is somebody we can build off of.

“Didn’t know a ton about Caleb. Caleb is probably one of the Top 3 players I’ve ever coached in my career, not just because of what type of player he is but what kind of person he is, how he attacks every day. I mean, he’s a coach’s dream. The way he prepares, very low maintenance, extremely tough, will do the dirty work, never asks for anything special.”

Twenty-five months to the day after that camp, Morris, Hawkins and three of his teammates crawled onto a private jet to fly down to Big 12 Media Days after a season where Hawkins set an FBS record for touchdowns scored by a freshman (29). Hawkins is a preseason All-American entering his sophomore season after having that lone FBS offer coming out of North Rock Creek High School in Shawnee.

The impact Hawkins was making on the field might’ve somewhat overshadowed the fact that he was only a true freshman last season, so he is still only getting better. Added to that is the fact that this was Hawkins’ first true offseason, as he was playing other sports in high school that took up his would-be offseason time.

Hawkins has seemingly made the most of the time off. He was listed at 200 pounds last season at North Texas, and he checked in at 219 pounds in OSU’s newly released 2026 Media Guide.

“I’ve been on a whole new nutrition-based things,” Hawkins said. “I eat a lot more than I used to, but it’s worked out a lot for me because I’m lifting heavier weight, running faster, jumping higher, so it’s all worked out for me well. …

“Being able to take a step back from not necessarily football, but just from games in general and not having the stress of having a game this week, it was great to recoup and make sure I can progress and be even better the next year.”

As he noted, it’s not just size that Hawkins has added. He’s getting faster, saying he wants to showcase that he’s capable of ripping off long touchdowns.

Hawkins had 20 rushes of at least 15 yards last season, according to PFF. That ranked ninth in the country. He also had a 179.0 elusiveness rating, per PFF, which led the nation among backs with at least 153 carries. So, if he’s getting faster, yikes.

“You gotta go straight to mechanics, knowing what kind of steps need to be taken, what kind of running style you are,” said Hawkins of how you add speed. “And of course get with the strength and conditioning coaches because obviously they know the science behind it.”

​That probably sounds like a mild take, perhaps even a boring one, given that Mestemaker led the nation with 4,379 passing yards while tossing 34 touchdowns and only nine interceptions.

Since transferring to Oklahoma State this offseason, the buzz surrounding his story has only grown in anticipation of his first season of power-conference football.

​But just remember, Mestemaker never started at quarterback during his high school career, and the only thing stopping him from starting his career at the junior college level was a last-second walk-on offer from North Texas.

“That has always been the goal (the NFL), and there were definitely times where I was like this goal is looking real far away right now,” Mestemaker said on Tuesday at Big 12 Media Days. “But I didn’t know how it will work out, but I always knew somehow it would work out. People probably call me crazy for it, but I always knew somehow I would find a way to make it work.”

ESPN had Mestemaker down as the fourth quarterback taken in the first round in a way-too-early 2027 mock draft. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler projected Mestemaker as the third quarterback taken in 2027, going as high as eighth overall.

That kind of chatter has caused speculation among some Oklahoma State fans wondering how realistic it is that Mestemaker departs for the NFL so soon after arriving in Stillwater. Lighting the college football world on fire one year at North Texas is one thing. Putting together high-quality tape against power conference opponents is another task altogether.

If Mestemaker can dominate against a schedule filled with both Big 12 opponents and the national title-contending Oregon Ducks, then he could have a tough call to make come December. Even if he doesn’t quite emerge as a top-five guy at the position this fall, Mestemaker seems like a lock to contend for a first-round selection in one of the next two draft classes.

And if there was any more doubt that Mestemaker, the former zero-star prospect forced to walk-on, has put himself on the map as a potential first-rounder, he was asked about the 2027 NFL Draft during Big 12 Media Days on Tuesday.

“I think it all depends,” Mestemaker said. “Obviously, that is the end goal, but I think that is a decision for after the season. That is definitely not something I am focused on right now because I got something big sitting right in front of me. And so it is not a decision I am looking at right now but something I will have to talk about with my friends and family after.”

OSU Bullets

• Eric Morris praised Mike Gundy at Big 12 media days yesterday (PFB)

• Announced yesterday, Monster energy drinks bought Big 12 rights and will be featured on all men’s football, basketball, and women’s basketball jerseys – as well as on the field/court:

The new licensing deal is expected to pay Big 12 member schools around $1 million annually, per Sports Business Journal, with Monster covering the costs of installing all new logos on courts and fields.  [On3]

• Eric Morris didn’t spare many words talking about defensive end Jaleel Johnson:

“When I think about it, like our defensive end, the position as a whole, we have one of them here today, Jaleel Johnson, who I think is an all-conference caliber player, I think has the size, the talent to play on Sundays. Really excited to watch the defensive end position…” [PFB]

• Not sure what ultimate reality is, but this article points to Kashie Natt’s status being safe for now, but will be ruled upon at a later date (SI)

• Slick.

Anyone else feel that chill? pic.twitter.com/IdIygqrGtz

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) July 7, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• 14-minute video showing the different regional styles of barbecue • The real reasons we don’t read the Bible (faith-based)

In a somewhat surprising turn, Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire name-dropped Eric Morris multiple times when asked about the Sorsby saga.

“For my peers, I got a lot of support,” McGuire said. “Eric Morris, the first day any news broke, called me and said, ‘Hey, man, I’m just doing a well check.’ He’s a good friend of mine.”

Morris shared his side of that conversation later in the afternoon.

“I called him, and first words I said to him is, I said, ‘Hey, we’re not talking about anything to deal with the situation you’re going through right now,’” Morris said. “‘I just know sometimes some people need to vent and get some stuff out to somebody who realizes what it’s like to sit in those chairs and have those things come across your desk at times.’ And so, yeah, it’s important to check on the people that you care about, especially if you know they’re going through a tough time.”

That relationship started a full decade before either man took the helm of a Big 12 program. Morris started as the inside receivers coach at Washington State in 2012. At the time, McGuire was entering his 10th season as the head coach of Cedar Hill High School, located about 17 miles southwest of downtown Dallas.

McGuire took over at Texas Tech ahead of the 2022 season, and obviously, Morris is preparing for his first season in Stillwater this fall.

“I’ve always believed in people and relationships first and foremost,” Morris said. “And I started recruiting at Cedar Hill my first year at Washington State, and Joey was always so good to me as a 23-year-old kid coming through. He sat me down and kind of explained the lay of the land of DFW in recruiting and players, so he’s always been so helpful for me. So we started a relationship, you know, 20 years ago, and so somebody we’ve always stayed in touch. When he got to Lubbock, he reached out a ton to me to ask about offensive staffing, to ask about Lubbock in general, ask about my experiences. So we’ve always had a great relationship, and I think when you sit in the chair of being a head coach, and there are certain things, and especially nowadays with social media, that I think can wear on you, and I know Joey is a good human, and he loves those kids that he coaches.”

On a follow-up question, Morris clarified how he felt about the Sorsby situation.

“You always want the best for your own and the people you are developing and you’re in the trenches with,” he said. “At the same time, I think just morality throughout sports, and not even talking about college football, just sports in general, is there’s a bunch of people that had a problem with it, and rightfully so. … But I got enough problems at Oklahoma State right now. I haven’t spent any amount of time, and those aren’t my problems, and they’re not my decisions to make either. And so I learned a long time ago not to worry about the things I can’t control.”

It’s been well-documented that Mestemaker, now a quarterback at Oklahoma State, didn’t play quarterback in high school but was rather playing safety and punting for Vandegrift High School in Austin. He then started North Texas’ bowl game as a true freshman in 2024, but the 2025 season was Mestemaker’s first full season as a starting quarterback while playing at a meaningful level of football.

“I think this offseason was definitely different than last one,” Mestemaker said. “Last one was kinda competing for the job and doing everything I could to win that job, and I feel like this year was more looking at our weaknesses from last year, and kinda figuring out what we can really do better and improve on as a whole offense, honestly, and just prepare the best for this upcoming season.”

And all this comes after Mestemaker led the country in passing last season, throwing for 4,379 yards and 34 touchdowns.

Although he has moved schools this offseason, he’s staying in the same offense under coach Eric Morris, who brought Mestemaker with him from North Texas. So, it isn’t just that Mestemaker is more comfortable having been on the field, he’s more comfortable in the system.

“Drew, he continues to be a student of the game, and I think the growth, because of how few games he’s actually played, it’s just gonna get better and better,” Morris said. “He’s such a smart kid. He retains information as good as anybody I’ve ever been around, so I think him being able to take the meeting room to the field, and then obviously it’s Year 3 in the same system.

“So, he’s like talking to a coach in the film room. Like, he knows what I’m gonna say before it’s even said to him, and I think that allows him to lead and be more vocal and talk to receivers on things that he wants. ‘Hey, you were too short on that route.’ ‘Hey, if it’s zone coverage, just think about breaking into that window a little bit earlier.’ So, it’s been fun since his knowledge has grown so much, he’s been able to spread it to other people.”

That’s something Mestemaker also pointed to, noting that he thinks his biggest growth of the offseason was been the knowledge of the offense. He said there are times when he knows the technically correct read to make, but he’s more comfortable with a different throw and knows he can go to it instead.

Despite all the gaudy numbers, Mestemaker said he could’ve been more aggressive last season after looking back at the tape.

Mestemaker completed 19 passes for 20 or more yards downfield last season, according to PFF. That tied for 46th nationally. For reference, OSU completed 12 such passes last season, and one of those came from receiver Shamar Rigby on a trick play.

“I think last year, I was honestly a little more conservative than I could’ve been,” Mestemaker said. “I think I could’ve taken a little more shots, so I think this spring was really the time for me to try that out and see what throws I could and couldn’t make. Obviously I know, like, this one’s gonna be tight, I’m gonna try it. I know that in the spring, and I talk to Coach Morris and Coach (Sean) Brophy about that. They give me the freedom to go out there and see what throws I can make. Obviously once the season starts, once fall camp starts, like now in the summer is when you start getting to, alright, I know if I can make that throw now. If I can’t make it, we’ll just check it down and move on. …

“I think last year, I missed a few opportunities I could’ve taken.”

Drew Mestemaker and Caleb Hawkins will be pivotal pieces to Oklahoma State putting up points. But it’s a little harder at this point to know who will lead the defense.

Linebacker Ethan Wesloski led Morris’ North Texas D last season to the tune of 113 tackles, so he’ll obviously be a big piece, but Morris named dropped a handful of defenders Tuesday that might provide some insight as to which players to look out for come Sept. 5 when the Cowboys open against Tulsa.

“As a head coach, I’ve had to learn this over the course of time, how important playing good defense is,” Morris said. “When I think about it, like our defensive end, the position as a whole, we have one of them here today, Jaleel Johnson, who I think is an all-conference caliber player, I think has the size, the talent to play on Sundays. Really excited to watch the defensive end position.

“Our linebackers in Ethan Wesloski and Tate Romney, we have a nickel in Christian Bodner, who had a phenomenal spring. Quinton Hammonds is a safety we’re bringing over from North Texas that had an incredible year last year, has only played defense two years now. LaDainian Fields is a cornerback who played the last half of the season and had one the highest PFF ratings.”

If (because of all the roster turnover) you’re wondering, who are those guys Morris mentioned? Here’s a little bit about each.

Ethan Wesloski, LB: A UNT transfer, Wesloski is a redshirt senior who (as previously mentioned) had 113 tackles for the Mean Green last season before joining Morris in Stillwater. He’s had at least 55 tackles the past three seasons.

Out of Boyd High School in McKinney, Wesloski was a two-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite system with his only other reported offers being Air Force, Navy and Texas Southern.

Wesloski was an all-district baseball player in high school. It’s a sport that runs in the family, as Ethan’s brother, Nick, is a pitcher at OU and started the national final this past season.

Jaleel Johnson, DE: As of writing, it’s still early in the day, but Morris has been singing Johnson’s praises. After his time on the main stage, Morris went on ESPNU and said he thought Johnson was the most dominant defensive player of the spring.

Now a redshirt senior at OSU, Johnson is one of the few holdovers from the previous regime, and he’s a rarity in that his entire college career has been spent in one spot. Johnson committed to OSU as a three-star prospect out of Putnam City North. Across 26 games as a Cowboy, Johnson has made 49 tackles, six tackles for loss and a trio of sacks.

Listed at 6-foot-4, 270 pounds, Johnson played just four games last season before missing the remainder of the year with injury but had 16 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss in that time.

LaDainian Fields, CB: Another rare returner, Fields broke onto the scene about halfway through last season as a redshirt freshman.

Out of Del City, Fields started the Cowboys’ final six games of 2025, finishing the year with 16 tackles, two tackles for loss and two picks. He housed one of those interceptions in the Cowboys’ game against Arizona.

Fields ranked in the Top 15 in PFF coverage grades among Big 12 corners. The outlet saw him targeted 13 times last season where he allowed just two catches, matching his two INTs.

Christian Bodnar, S: Playing at nickel, Bodnar transferred to Oklahoma State from Liberty this offseason.

He has a phenomenal story, recovering from a post-infectious encephalitis (brain inflammation) that saw him hospitalized for a week in 2024. The infection put his football future in jeopardy, but he returned to the field in 2025 and had his best season to date, finishing with 44 tackles, two sacks and two pass breakups.

Out of Tampa, Florida, Bodnar will be a redshirt junior in 2025.

Tate Romney, LB: Romney has spent the past three seasons at Arizona state and before that was at BYU during the 2022 season.

A 6-foot-1, 223-pound redshirt senior, Romney made 70 tackles across 29 games as a Sun Devil, with his best year in Tempe being his redshirt freshman season in 2023. That year, he made 52 tackles, including four tackles for loss and a sack. He played in 10 games last season, where he had 13 total tackles, a pass breakup and a forced fumble.

His playing time took a hit when he broke his arm during one of the final fall camp practices ahead of the 2024 season.

Quinton Hammonds, S: Another member of that UNT defense from last season, Hammonds will be a 6-foot-1, 206-pound true junior in his first season with the Cowboys.

He recorded 53 tackles, five tackles for loss, a sack and two interceptions last season, which followed a strong freshman year that saw him make 52 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one interception.

It’s common for many coaches, especially first-year head coaches, to sometimes shorten the Q&A portion with long-winded opening statements, but Morris kept his brief, thanking OSU leadership and recognizing the “genuine, hard-working” people living in Stillwater.

Then, Morris intentionally chose to praise former Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy with his final answer.

​”My predecessor had an amazing career in Mike Gundy,” Morris said. “I mean all the respect in the world to how much success that he had there. I mean, being somewhere 21 years, and then obviously he was such a great player there.”

​Although the Gundy era ended on a sour note with dismal results on the field, there were clear highs, which Morris alluded to earlier, during his time on the Big 12’s main stage.

​“I’ve been in the Big 12 as a player and a coach, and Oklahoma State was so good in my memories,” Morris said. “I remember going to Boone Pickens, how rowdy it was, the paddles slapping against the wall, the student section on fire. … During those times, there were a bunch of 8-win teams, 9-win teams, 10-win teams. … So I didn’t have any of these bad memories.”

​Morris played receiver at Texas Tech from 2005-08 and coached for the Red Raiders in various roles from 2013-17. Of note, Oklahoma State put together four 10-win seasons in five years during Morris’ coaching tenure at Texas Tech.

​A few Gundy highlights:

• 170 wins at OSU
• One of 10 coaches in college football history with 18 consecutive winning seasons
• Top three all-time in Big 12 wins
• 11 wins over top 10 teams
• 6 NFL first rounders

Morris made it clear he wants to leave a similar mark on the program before his time in Stillwater ends. A few of those will require a lengthy commitment regardless of how successful the team is this fall, but Morris and company could make some serious progress on the last two lists with a strong showing this season.

​“Obviously, you know, as a competitor, you’re always chasing that,” Morris said, praising Gundy’s success. “And the bar is set pretty high.”

OSU Bullets

• A judge decided that Cowboy guard Kashie Natt is eligible for the upcoming basketball season (PFB)

• Lexi Kilfoyl landed a spot on Team USA, Ethan Lund was named to the USA’s collegiate baseball team (Pokes Report + OKState.com)

• Preseason All-Big 12 football teams are out – receiver Wyatt Young made first team, Drew Mestemaker named newcomer of the year (PFB)

• A question for every Big 12 coach at Big 12 media days – the question for Eric Morris: What’s the hardest part about following a legend? (HCS)

• Fun graphic – would not have guessed George Clooney went to Cincy:

Each FBS School’s Most Famous Alumni! Surprisingly every university has at least a pretty reputable name that walked the halls of their school🎒🤓 Do you think we got your school right or did we leave someone off?🤔👇 pic.twitter.com/1q5EhVsjtb

— Throne Spud (@ThroneSpud) July 6, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Love the idea of the blank sheet method when reading non-fiction • How do you ask good questions?

Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker was named the league’s Preseason Newcomer of the Year, while receiver Wyatt Young was included on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. Here’s the team in full:

Preseason All-Big 12 Team

Offensive Player of the Year: LJ Martin, RB, BYU, Sr.
Defensive Player of the Year: A.J. Holmes Jr., DL, Texas Tech, Sr.
Newcomer of the Year: Drew Mestemaker, QB, Oklahoma State, RS-So.

Quarterback: Noah Fifita, QB, Arizona, RS-Sr.
Running Back: Cam Cook, RB, West Virginia, Sr.
Running Back: LJ Martin, RB, BYU, Sr.
Fullback: Kayden Luke, FB, West Virginia, Jr.
Wide Receiver: Omarion Miller, WR, Arizona State, Sr.
Wide Receiver: Amare Thomas, WR, Houston, Sr.
Wide Receiver: Wyatt Young, WR, Oklahoma State, Jr.
Tight End: Terrance Carter Jr., TE, Texas Tech, Sr.
Offensive Line: Joe Cotton, OL, Cincinnati, RS-Sr.
Offensive Line: Shadre Hurst, OL, Houston, Sr.
Offensive Line: Bruce Mitchell, OL, BYU, RS-Sr.
Offensive Line: John Pastore, OL, Kansas State, Sr.
Offensive Line: Evan Tengesdahl, OL, Cincinnati, RS-Jr.
Kicker: Stone Harrington, PK, Texas Tech, Sr.
Punt/Kick Returner: Mana Carvalho, PR/KR, Utah, So.
Defensive Line: C.J. Fite, DL, Arizona State, Sr.
Defensive Line: Wendell Gregory, DL, Kansas State, So.
Defensive Line: A.J. Holmes Jr., DL, Texas Tech, Sr.
Defensive Line: Keanu Tanuvasa, DL, BYU, RS-Sr.
Defensive Line: Adam Trick, DL, Texas Tech, Sr.
Linebacker: Ben Roberts, LB, Texas Tech, Sr.
Linebacker: Austin Romaine, LB, Texas Tech, Sr.
Linebacker: Cade Uluave, LB, BYU, Sr.
Defensive Back: Will James, DB, Houston, Jr.
Defensive Back: Evan Johnson, DB, BYU, RS-Sr.
Defensive Back: Jamel Johnson, DB, TCU, Sr.
Defensive Back: Brice Pollock, DB, Texas Tech, Sr.
Defensive Back: Faletau Satuala, DB, BYU, Jr.
Punter: Palmer Williams, P, Baylor, Sr.

Mestemaker led the country in passing while at North Texas last season, throwing for 4,379 yards and 34 touchdowns to just nine interceptions. It marked his first full season as a starting quarterback in some time, as Mestemaker played safety as a high schooler. He was named the American’s Offensive Player of the Year last season, throwing for north of 300 yards in five games, including a 608-yard performance against Charlotte.

Young was Mestemaker’s primary target at UNT last season and made the transition to Stillwater with his quarterback. As a sophomore last season, Young caught 70 balls for 1,264 yards and 10 touchdowns. He had five 100-yard performances, including a 295-yard day against Rice where he scored two TDs.

A former Cowboy was also included on the team in Kansas State edge rusher Wendell Gregory. One of the few bright spots for the Cowboys last season, Gregory made 27 tackles, a dozen tackles for loss and four sacks.

Big 12 Media Days is this week. Mestemaker will be in attendance alongside teammates Caleb Hawkins, Ethan Wesloski and Jaleel Johnson. The Cowboys take the stage Tuesday.

A judge signed an ex parte order that permits Natt to immediately resume full activities with the Oklahoma State basketball team, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. This comes after Natt transferred to Oklahoma State from Sam Houston this offseason just for the NCAA to cancel his eligibility waiver. But now with this judge intervening, Natt is back.

Natt’s eligibility questions arose because of his unique path to high-major basketball. Natt started his college career at Southern University-Shreveport, a JUCO in his home state of Louisiana. He then spent three seasons at NAIA LSU-Alexandria, where he was the 2025 NAIA National Player of the Year and a two-time All-American. He averaged 19.9 points and 10.1 rebounds a game in his final season at the NAIA level.

It’s a big boon for the Cowboys, as Natt enters his tenure in Stillwater as the reigning Conference-USA Defensive Player of the Year. In his lone season at Sam Houston, the 6-foot-3 Natt averaged 10.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.0 steals a game while shooting 38% from 3.

And it’s not just on the floor that Natt will help. OSU coach Steve Lutz mentioned earlier this summer that Natt had made an impact in leadership since arriving in Stillwater.

“He’s an unbelievable human being,” Lutz said. “He’s constantly bringing energy. He’s constantly bringing energy. Today, we started off practice … you get a towel, and you have hold the towel over your head. And then you have to do step slides, defensive step slides, like old school. I’ve never really said you have to say ‘ball’ or you have to say whatever, and Kashie decided, ‘Hey, coach, we’re gonna call ball, ball, ball, ball.’ Well, it’s contagious, and he’s just got that personality. So, it’s been enjoyable.”

OSU Bullets

Happy 250th, America! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/uLO0SkB0lZ

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) July 4, 2026

Oklahoma State Football, 2026 season predictions:

We fully expect the Cowboys to be the Big 12’s most improved team, and maybe the most improved in the nation, this fall. pic.twitter.com/83r7Blo5eq — Cayden McFarland (@caydenmc) July 4, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

OSU Bullets

• Some bold predictions for OSU Football.

Oklahoma State Football, 2026 season predictions:

We fully expect the Cowboys to be the Big 12’s most improved team, and maybe the most improved in the nation, this fall. pic.twitter.com/83r7Blo5eq

— Cayden McFarland (@caydenmc) July 4, 2026

• The Pokes discuss who would win a hot dog eating contest. Jordan Burks seems to be a popular pick.

Got those dogs in ’em 🌭🤣 pic.twitter.com/0vNp8CDTNo

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) July 4, 2026

• And the Cowgirls weighed in on their 

This or That: 4th of July Edition 🤔🤣#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/EmPQ7zAH1J

— OSU Cowgirl Basketball (@OSUWBB) July 4, 2026

• Check out a former Poke in OKC.

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by OSU Cowboy Basketball (@osumbb)

• Ditto: Zach Ehrard made some fireworks in OKC.

Zach Ehrhard with the fireworks before fireworks 💥 pic.twitter.com/3Coqi4jtBH

— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) July 4, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• I’ll take this one,

Now that Sam Presti has a ring on his finger, I find this shirt funny.

Happy Fourth! Stay safe tonight! pic.twitter.com/3j4twDXQ4S

— Marshall Scott (@MarshallScottOK) July 4, 2026

• I LOL’ed.

Now that Sam Presti has a ring on his finger, I find this shirt funny.

Happy Fourth! Stay safe tonight! pic.twitter.com/3j4twDXQ4S

— Marshall Scott (@MarshallScottOK) July 4, 2026

Sweet Land – an ode to America’s 250th year. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/KzEtJhiv0a

— Heavy Pulp (@heavypulp) June 30, 2026

Three Thoughts

• No “all-portal” team members from the Cowboy defense – defense is the big question mark of the team, we’ll all be curious to see how that unit plays (PFB)

• Berry Tramel looked at the five best defenses OSU has ever had – spoiler: nothing from the 90s made the list (TulsaWorld)

• OSU’s quarterback commit transferred high schools in Texas – wouldn’t it be nice to get players to transfer closer to Stillwater to play a season so fans can watch them live? (Pokes Report) 

Two Quotes

• We’re spoiled to walk into this dream quarterback/running back duo in year one of Eric Morris:

Highest Graded Returning Running Back for the 2026 Season:

🤠 Caleb Hawkins, Oklahoma State@CowboyFB pic.twitter.com/1TF9rVQCw6 — PFF College (@PFF_College) July 3, 2026

• Can’t wait to see what Scott Wright does as the lead man over at GoPokes 247:

Announcement time. To the notes app… pic.twitter.com/z73cqo9Xh9

— Scott Wright (@ScottWrightOK) July 3, 2026

One Question

• How will Caleb Hawkins’ 2026 season compare to the primes of Justice Hill, Chuba Hubbard, and Ollie Gordon?

Non-OSU Bullets

• Can the USMNT appeal the suspension of Flo Balogun + who’s likely to fill his spot – update: the suspension was upheld

• America’s songbook

Gotta get my family down here one summer:

If there is a place in Texas that looks like it was borrowed from heaven for a little while… this might be it. The Upper Nueces River is one of the most breathtaking hidden treasures in the entire state. Crystal-clear spring water, towering limestone bluffs, ancient cypress… pic.twitter.com/v9Y8omAtAq

— fOx (@fOx1257067) July 1, 2026

Eric Morris brought several capable defenders in this year, including former North Texas linebacker Ethan Wesloski who will serve as one of four OSU player representatives at Big 12 Media Days next week.

But the likely future leader of the Pokes defense and his teammates didn’t rate high enough at any of the positions for this list which was organized entirely using 247Sports rankings.

Texas Tech led the conference with four transfers while Colorado finished second with three.

Here’s a look at the Big 12’s All-Portal Defense.

DL

Mateen Ibirogba (Texas Tech): Ranked 12th overall and first among defensive linemen in the portal. Among linemen with 100 pass-rush attempts last season, Mateen graded out 21st overall (according to Pro Football Focus) with a 78.4 while at Wake Forest.

Hosea Wheeler (Baylor): The former Hoosier ranked 11th among defensive linemen. His run-defense grade of 74.1 (PFF) put him 94th nationally among linemen with at least 100 snaps against the run.

There was a significant drop off between these two and other incoming linemen who joined the conference this offseason as the next Big 12 newcomer ranked outside the top 30 among transfers.

Edge

Wendell Gregory (Kansas State via Oklahoma State): Ranked 10th among edges in the portal. Gregory recorded 32 total pressures last for the Cowboys while earning more than his fair share of double teams.

Adam Trick (Texas Tech): Ranked 20th among edges in the portal. Trick finished fourth in the nation in total pressures with 67 including eight sacks, 20 hits and 39 hurries, according to PFF.

No other top 25 edges joined the conference this portal season, but Kansas State and Utah lost top 10 guys.

LB

Cade Uluave (BYU): Ranked first among linebackers in the portal. Recorded 100 tackles last season at Cal to finish tied 41st nationally averaging 8.3 tackles per game.

Austin Romaine (Texas Tech via Kansas State): Ranked second. Graded out 67th (76.5) among linebackers with 150+ snaps according to PFF.

Liona Lefau (Colorado): Ranked 14th. Recorded 68 tackles and one sack at Texas last season.

Owen Long (Arizona State): Ranked 18th. Led the nation with 151 total tackles at Colorado State.

Corey Platt (Texas Tech via Houston): Ranked 23rd. Graded out 200th (67.9) among linebackers with 150+ snaps, according to PFF.

Baylor and Iowa State each lost top five guys at the position in the transfer portal.

CB

Davin Martin (Texas Tech): Ranked 10th among corners in the portal. Recorded 26 tackles and one interception at UTSA.

Cree Thomas (Colorado): Ranked 18th among corners in the portal. Recorded one tackle for Notre Dame. He will attend Media Days next week.

Jalen Mayo (Houston): Ranked 27th among corners in the portal. Hauled in four interceptions and recorded 48 tackles Stephen F. Austin.

Iowa State lost two top 10 corners, while Utah and Colorado each said bye to one this portal season.

Safeties

Boo Carter (Colorado): Ranked fifth among safeties in the portal. Recorded 25 tackles, 4.5 for loss, to go along with three pass breakups and three forced fumbles at Tennessee in 2025.

Daylen Austin (Arizona): Ranked 24th among safeties. Only played 151 snaps of defense for Oregon in 2025 when he recorded 10 total tackles, one interception and three pass breakups.

Iowa State lost another top 10 option.

Specialists

Punter John Hoyet Chance (TCU): Ranked first at the position. Averaged 47 yards per attempt for Louisiana Tech.

Punter Bryan Hansen (West Virginia): Ranked eighth at the position. Averaged 48 yards per punt for Colorado State.

Kicker Jack Cassidy (West Virginia): Ranked 15th at the position. Nailed all three kicks taken from 40-plus yards including his long attempt from 55 yards out.

Kicker Will Stone (UCF): Ranked 17th at the position. Didn’t kick in 2025, but made both extra points in the 2024 CFP semifinal matchup against Ohio State.

Oklahoma State lost No. 8 kicker Gabe Panikowski in the transfer portal joining Texas Tech as the only two programs to lose a top specialist.

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OSU Bullets

• See what Cowboys made the Big 12 all-portal team (PFB)

• OSU finished its seventh straight top 30 finish in the country’s top athletic departments (OKState.com)

• Berry Tramel has Drew Mestemaker as the third-best quarterback in the Big 12: 

The hype for Mestemaker is high; so much so, Cowboy fans might say hit-me with the third ranking. Mestemaker has his coach and a batch of teammates from North Texas to help smooth his baptism into the Big 12. [TulsaWorld]

• Cowboy defenders Tate Romney and Jaleel Johnson were highlighted as underrated players to watch for a breakout in 2026 (247 Sports)

• Cowboy Preston Stout on the difference between pros and amateurs:

Preston Stout — who’s making his 4th PGA Tour start at the John Deere Classic — will become the world’s No. 1 amateur in short order as Jackson Koivun turns pro. But while Stout is no stranger to winning high-level golf tournaments, the 2026 NCAA Champ and 3x Big 12 champ spoke… pic.twitter.com/562JKvH1pZ

— Nick Stavas (@nickstavas) July 1, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• $350k is the new floor for a four-star football recruit

• How to not forget something

“I can get real caught up in the outcome. I just really need to remind myself that the outcome will ultimately happen if you just focus on the process. It takes care of itself.”

Rory McIlroy

But it does make this as good a time as any to dive into where the top offensive newcomers to the Big 12 will be suiting up this fall.

Oklahoma State was one of only three teams in the conference to bring in multiple top options. Texas Tech added two guys, while Colorado finished with five, though most of them came at one position, which the Buffaloes were sorely lacking.

All positions ranked according to data provided by 247Sports.

All-Portal Defensive Team

QBs

Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State): Ranked second among transfers at the position. By now, you’ve read every Mestemaker stat there is, but it’s worth the reminder that he only has 1,067 played snaps in his career.

​For context, former Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby entered last season with 1,377 snaps played.

​DJ Lagway (Baylor): Ranked sixth nationally, the former Florida Gator averaged 9.8 yards per attempt in 2024 before crashing back down to earth last season while averaging 6.7. For context, Mestemaker led the nation in yards per attempt (9.4) among passers who attempted 200-plus. Lagway has always struggled with interceptions, tossing nine in 2024 and a power-conference-high 14 last season.

​It’s worth noting that the conference has a bit of a vacuum created by the departure of Sorsby, in addition to the transfer of three quarterbacks ranked top 10 at the position leaving Arizona State, TCU and Iowa State.

RBs

Caleb Hawkins (Oklahoma State): Ranked second among transfers at the position nationally, Hawkins dominated several stats, but one that doesn’t get mentioned as much is that the freshman finished only 15th nationally, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. That would have put him third in the conference, which is pretty good, in case the sarcasm was missed in the previous sentence.

Jay Harris (Kansas State): Ranked 16th nationally, Harris carried the ball 42 times for 151 yards and two touchdowns last season at Oregon.

Hawkins could cement himself as one of, if not the, best back in the conference this season after top 10 options left Arizona State, Baylor and Iowa State in the transfer portal.

WRs

Reed Harris (Arizona State): Ranked second at the position. A big-play threat averaging 17.3 yards per reception on 39 catches for Boston College in 2025.

Omarion Miller (Arizona State via Colorado): Ranked fourth. Finished one spot behind Wyatt Young at 18th nationally after averaging 18 yards per reception.

DeAndre Moore (Colorado): Ranked sixth. Caught 77 passes for 988 yards and 11 touchdowns across the last two seasons for Texas.

Wyatt Young (Oklahoma State): Ranked 22nd. Finished third overall with 1,264 receiving yards on 70 catches.

Braden Pegan (Utah): Ranked 27th. Finished 34th nationally with 926 receiving yards on 60 catches at Utah State.

Malcolm Simmons (Texas Tech): Ranked 35th. Finished 15th nationally, averaging 18.3 yards per reception on 25 catches at Auburn.

No top 10 receivers left the conference this offseason, though Utah lost a guy ranked 11th to Michigan.

​TEs

Roger Saleapaga (BYU): Ranked eighth at the position. Played 165 snaps last season for Oregon, serving mostly as a run-blocker.

Cole Rusk (Arizona): Ranked 11th at the position. Averaged 11.4 yards per catch on 19 receptions while grading out as the 34th-best receiving tight end nationally, according to Pro Football Focus, last season while at Illinois.

The conference did lose one top 10 option in the transfer portal from Iowa State.

OT

Leon Bell (Colorado): Ranked 14th at the position. Started at right tackle for Cal last season.

Taj White (Colorado): Ranked 17th at the position. Graded out 119th (PFF) among tackles in 2025 with a run-blocking grade of 70.6.

Bo Hughley (Colorado): Ranked 19th at the position. Held what was largely a reserve role for both tackle spots last season at Georgia.

Jayven Richardson (Colorado): Ranked 29th at the position. Graded out 174th (PFF) among tackles in 2025 with a run-blocking grade of 68.

Although Colorado dominated the portal here amongst the conference, the Buffaloes also lost the No. 1 overall guy at the position amongst transfers.​

Interior OL

Noah McKinney (TCU via Oklahoma State): The former Cowboy graded out ninth at the position. Graded out 31st (PFF) among guards last season with an 84 in pass-blocking.

Jordan Church (Texas Tech): Ranked 10th among interior linemen. Graded out 103rd (PFF) at the position with a run-blocking grade of 69.1 at Louisville.

Connor Stroh (Kansas): Ranked 12th at the position. Played six games for Texas last season at left guard.

Anthony Boswell (Houston): Ranked 16th among interior linemen. Graded out as the 13th best center in the nation (PFF) after scoring high marks in run-blocking (80.1) and pass-blocking (79.9).

The Cowboys weren’t the only Big 12 team to lose a top 10 guy on the inside, as Baylor lost one to the portal as well.

Marcus Smart agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal with the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. It’ll be Smart’s fifth NBA team since joining the league in 2014, with all of those team changes coming since 2023.

The move to Houston is a return to Smart’s home state of Texas, and it’s the closest he’s been to his alma mater since joining the league.

Free agent guard Marcus Smart has agreed on a two-year, $13 million deal with the Houston Rockets, plus a player option for the second season, sources tell ESPN. The former Defensive Player of the Year reunites with Ime Udoka for significant opportunity in the Rockets backcourt. pic.twitter.com/NzfArD8zbF

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2026

The move also reunites Smart with Rockets coach Ime Udoka, who coached the Celtics from 2021-2023 — the final two seasons of Smart’s tenure in Boston.

Smart joins a group that includes Kevin Durant, Steven Adams, Alperen Sengun and others. The Rockets finished fifth in the Western Conference last season. Smart and the Lakers beat the Rockets 4-2 in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

Smart will be 32 years old next season, his 13th year in the league after spending two years in Stillwater. He spent last season with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, where Smart averaged 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists a game while helping lead the Lake Show to the 4 seed in the West.

Before that, Smart spent 15 games of the 2024-25 season with the Washington Wizards after the Memphis Grizzles traded him to the nation’s capital.

He played 39 games across two seasons in Memphis as part of the trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Celtics.

But to this point, Smart’s NBA career will most be remembered by his time in Boston. After the Celtics took him sixth overall in the 2014 NBA Draft, Smart spent nine seasons with the franchise where he made three NBA All-Defensive Teams and was the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year.

Smart was the Big 12 Player of the Year and an All-American in 2013 as a freshman at OSU before electing to run it back for a sophomore season, where he was again an All-American. Across his two seasons in orange and black, Smart averaged 16.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.9 steals a game.

OSU Bullets

• Comparing Eric Morris’ staff to those around the Big 12 (PFB)

• Former Cowboy Marcus Smart signed a two-year deal with the Houston Rockets (ESPN)

• Check out how OSU football players are rated on the new NCAA football game (PFB)

Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker has an accuracy rating of 90+ in all three passing distances in CFB27 👀

94 Short Accuracy
94 Medium Accuracy
90 Deep Accuracy

The only other QBs with a 90+ rating in all three categories are Oregon’s Dante Moore and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin. pic.twitter.com/11RibDH7tY

— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) June 29, 2026

• Steve Lutz commented on Kashie Natt’s lawsuit against the NCAA – how nervous would you be six years ago, hearing the OSU basketball coach is supporting his player in this endeavor? (PFB) 

• What a way to celebrate our country’s 250th anniversary: 

$250 season tickets celebrating America’s 250th birthday?? YOU BET. ⬇️https://t.co/mylT7hG4rT

Valid only through July 4 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Nb4BVIK53Z

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) July 1, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Key facts about dads in the US

• What a moment for American sports fans: 

pic.twitter.com/YFEiJwfO0V

— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) July 2, 2026

•Kevin’s got this figured out: 

3 things that hurt your mindset:
Complaining
Negative self talk
Comparison

3 things that help your mindset:
Choose gratitude
Talk better to yourself
Serve others

All are within your control.

— Kevin DeShazo (@KevinDeShazo) July 1, 2026

If you’re not in the loop, the NCAA canceled Natt’s eligibility waiver. Natt transferred to Oklahoma State this offseason from Sam Houston, where he was the Conference-USA Defensive Player of the Year. Natt is now requesting an injunction from a Payne County judge to get that extra year.

Lutz tweeted Wednesday about Natt’s situation.

“Kashie has been a standout teammate,” Lutz’s tweet read. “We’re doing everything in our power to support him and will continue to stand in his corner as he and his legal representation move forward. This matter is now in the hands of the court, and we remain hopeful for a positive resolution.”

Natt has played only one season of Division-I basketball but had a journey to get to that point. His college career started at the JUCO level at Southern University-Shreveport before he made his way to NAIA LSU-Alexandria, where he played three seasons before transferring to Sam Houston.

Lutz’s tweet was a quote of a lawyer working with Natt, who shared his own thoughts on the matter.

“The NCAA applied an undisclosed categorical policy to cancel a waiver request submitted on behalf of Kashie Natt instead of conducting the individualized review its own bylaws require or engaging with the extensive record of extraordinary circumstances OSU submitted,” Darren Heitner wrote. “We are seeking immediate injunctive relief so Kashie can resume full team activities and compete for OSU during the 2026-27 season. He withdrew from the 2026 NBA Draft in reasonable reliance on the NCAA’s process. Kashie is entitled to a fair adjudication on the merits.”

Listed at 6-foot-3, Natt averaged 10.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and a pair of steals a game this past season at Sam Houston. That came after back-to-back years of averaging a double-double at LSU-Alexandria, including averaging 20.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals a game in his final year with that program.

EA Sports’ College Football 27 launches worldwide on July 9. EA has done a lot more pre-drop stuff this season, going so far as to releasing all of the game’s player ratings ahead of the launch.

It had previously been revealed that OSU is the third-highest ranked Big 12 team in the game, and we already knew the Top 10 Cowboys in the game. But with the full ratings being released, let’s look around at superlatives. You can view OSU’s full ratings here.

Highest-Rated By Position

I stuck with the positions that the game has for them. Maybe this is where OSU’s offensive linemen line up; maybe they’re shuffled in different spots. I’ve also included where each guy transferred from as a bit of a roster-learning exercise given all the turnover.

QB — Drew Mestemaker (89 overall/North Texas transfer)
RB — Caleb Hawkins (91 overall/North Texas transfer)
WR — Wyatt Young (90 overall/North Texas transfer)
TE — Donovan Green (80 overall/LSU transfer)
LT — Braydon Nelson (80 overall/North Texas transfer)
LG — Jacob Sexton (79 overall/Oklahoma transfer)
C — Tyler Mercer (69 overall/Kansas transfer)
RG — Johnny Dickson III (81 overall/North Texas transfer)
RT — Joseph Hanson (76 overall/Coastal Carolina transfer)
REDGE — James Williams (84 overall/Florida State transfer)
LEDGE — Braylon Rigsby (77 overall/Texas Tech transfer)
DT — Jerry Lawson (78 overall/Louisville transfer)
WILL — Ethan Wesloski (87 overall/North Texas Transfer)
MIKE — Isaiah Chisom (80 overall/UCLA transfer)
CB — Mo Horn (86 overall/Texas Tech transfer)
FS — Christian Bodnar (79 overall/Liberty transfer)
SS — Evan Jackson (78 overall/North Texas transfer)
K — Sam Keltner (73 overall/SMU transfer)
P — Lachie Pozzobon (69 overall/Stephen F. Austin transfer)

Fastest

There are six Cowboys with a 91 speed rating, tying for the team lead:

Caleb Hawkins (RB/North Texas transfer)
Chris Barnes (WR/Wake Forest transfer)
Miles Coleman (WR/North Texas transfer)
Mo Horn (CB/Texas Tech transfer)
Trudell Berry (CB/Vanderbilt transfer)
Vincent Holmes (S/Washington transfer)

Among that group, Coleman and Horn are tied for the highest acceleration stat at 94, meaning those two get up to that top speed a little quicker than the others. If I had to guess, Barnes will probably get a boost in those stats once the season starts and he has a little more film.

Strongest

Oklahoma offensive line transfer Jacob Sexton has the highest strength rating among Pokes at 95. Michigan State transfer O-lineman Ashton Lepo joins him in the 90s at 93.

The strongest defensive player is Louisville transfer defensive tackle Jerry Lawson at 88 strength.

Highest-Rated Freshman

Jenks running back KD Jones is the highest-rated true freshman on the roster at 75 overall.

Jones comes in with 89 speed, 93 acceleration, 87 agility and 87 change of direction.

Big 12’s Best

Here’s a list of all the players in the Big 12 with a 90 overall rating or better:

Brice Pollock (Texas Tech CB) — 93 overall
Evan Tenesdahl (Cincinnati OL) — 93 overall
Shadre Hurst (Houston OL) — 93 overall
A.J. Holmes Jr. (Texas Tech DT) — 92 overall
LJ Martin (BYU RB) — 92 overall
Sheridan Wilson (Texas Tech OL) — 92 overall
Terrance Carter Jr. (Texas Tech TE) — 92 overall
Austin Romaine (Texas Tech LB) — 91 overall
Bruce Mitchell (BYU OL) — 91 overall
Caleb Hawkins (Oklahoma State RB) — 91 overall
Cam Cook (West Virginia RB) — 91 overall
Danny Scudero (Colorado WR) — 91 overall
Amare Thomas (Houston WR) — 90 overall
Evan Johnson (BYU CB) — 90 overall
Faletau Satuala (BYU S) — 90 overall
Howard Sampson (Texas Tech OL) — 90 overall
Jamel Johnson (TCU S) — 90 overall
Noah Fifita (Arizona QB) — 90 overall
Trey White (Texas Tech DE) — 90 overall
Wyatt Young (Oklahoma State WR) — 90 overall

Morris brought almost every single assistant with him from North Texas, giving him 1.8 years of average experience coaching alongside his top assistants.

That puts him ahead of five other Big 12 programs and just under the conference average of 2.3 years familiarity between head coaches and their top assistants.

“I always think continuity in this sport is huge,” Morris said back in February. “It was really important for me to be able to bring the coaching staff over and you pick up where you left off.”

In this instance, that was the doorstep of the College Football Playoff with a chance for Morris to win his way into the field in the American Conference Championship Game.

Although Morris and his staff will have to adjust to the increased level of competition this fall, those guys won’t have to waste any time learning how to work together, as receivers coach Nick Edwards is the lone newcomer among the position coaches.

The same can’t be said for the other three programs introducing new head coaches this fall.

Kansas State coach Collin Klein’s staff includes 12 of 16 assistants who will be serving under him for the first time ever. Iowa State coach Jimmy Rogers has eight newcomers out of 12, while Utah’s Morgan Scalley has eight newcomers out of 11.

Note: This will sound a little complicated, but to avoid shifting data too heavily toward older coaches, if a current head coach served as a coordinator during the last five years, all position coaches serving on that side of the ball with him were counted as returning assistants for the chart above and all data collected for this article.

Here’s how the math works out for Oklahoma State and the other Big 12 newcomers.

Success and failure both lead to high levels of turnover in college football, so Morris’ ability to keep this group together during the transition from North Texas is impressive.

It’s worth pointing out that his experience with coordinators Sean Brophy (three seasons as a quarterbacks coach, plus additional responsibilities as a passing game coordinator in 2025) and Skyler Cassity (one season) puts him ahead of nearly half his peers in the conference.

In fact, only five head coaches have eight-plus total seasons of experience with their two coordinators.

BYU leads the way (12 seasons), followed by Houston (10), Kansas (10), Cincinnati (eight) and UCF (seven). It shouldn’t be a surprise that three of those teams lead the way when it comes to head coach familiarity with assistant coaches.

Kansas leads the way as the average position coach or coordinator has 6.4 years of time under the head coach. BYU (3.5) and Houston (3.2) coaches followed, with no other Big 12 staff finishing higher than 2.5.

Only five teams in the conference had fewer top-level assistant coaches with 3-plus seasons of experience under the current head coach than the Cowboys. However, another four matched the Pokes with exactly four, putting Morris and staff very much in the norm heading into the season.

It remains to be seen how long Morris can keep these guys together, but that familiarity should give him a chance to make some noise during his first season of Big 12 play this fall.

For skeptics, it’s worth noting that Indiana coach Curt Cignetti brought six assistants with him from James Madison who totaled 30 years under Cignetti’s leadership at the time of his first season there. Morris isn’t as far along in his career (in years) as Cignetti was at that time, but nine assistants totaling 18 years of experience is nothing to sneeze at, especially since those guys brought several players too.

“There’s a lot of things that they did extremely well (at Indiana). … I think it’s exciting for coaches,” Morris said when asked about Indiana’s path to a national championship. “And exciting that someone’s now done it and there’s a blueprint to do it. Now, is it easy? Hell no.”

OSU Bullets

• Running back Caleb Hawkins was named a preseason All-American by one service yesterday (PFB)

• New Cowboy transfer Kashie Natt filed a lawsuit against the NCAA seeking eligibility (PFB)

• Viktor Hovland had some super healthy takes on how he’s approaching the game differently after winning the Travelers (Yahoo Sports)

• Grading OSU’s sports teams for the 2025-26 seasons (PFB)

• Happy trails to GoPokes’ 247 writer McClain Baxley – moving on after doing some great work covering OSU since 2023 (X)

• David Taylor’s 2026 class is up to No. 1 – bright future for the program.

The future is bright. Class of 2026 already making noise 📈#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/YhJhscjdyl

— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling) June 30, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Passive income is the new “American Dream” • Challenging thoughts in “play before the throne” (faith-based)

Hawkins, a sophomore running back at Oklahoma State, was named a Walter Camp Preseason All-American on Tuesday. Walter Camp released two teams. Hawkins was on the second and was one of four Big 12 players to be on either team, joining Baylor punter Palmer Williams (First Team), Cincinnati O-lineman Evan Tengesdahl (Second Team) and West Virginia running back Cam Cook (Second Team). The full teams are listed below.

Hawkins received one Division-I offer coming out of North Rock Creek High School in Shawnee. He took that offer to North Texas, where it was evident early on that he was better than his recruitment entailed.

He finished his true freshman season in 2025 with 29 total touchdowns, which led the country by five. He ran for 1,434 yards and 25 scores while catching another 32 passes for 370 yards and four more touchdowns.

After working his way up the depth chart, Hawkins eclipsed 100 rushing yards in six games last season including four instances of running for north of 180 yards. Against Navy, he ran for 197 yards and four touchdowns. Against UAB, he ran for 189 yards and five touchdowns. Against Temple, he ran for 186 yards and four touchdowns. And in UNT’s bowl win against San Diego State, Hawkins ran for 198 yards and two touchdowns.

Hawkins transferred to Oklahoma State this offseason along with many from North Texas after the university hired coach Eric Morris away from the Mean Green. Morris brought just about all of his staff with him to Stillwater, including running backs coach Patrick Cobbs.

“I grew up here,” Hawkins said in February. “This is my dream school. I was wanting to go here since I was little. Grew up watching people in Boone Pickens, all the greats, all the wonderful people that have came out of here.”

Walter Camp Preseason All-America Teams

First Team Offense
Quarterback — Arch Manning (Texas)
Running Back — Kewan Lacy (Ole Miss), Ahmad Hardy (Missouri)
Wide Receiver — Malachi Toney (Miami), Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State)
Tight End — Trey’Dez Green (LSU)
Offensive Line — Carter Smith (Indiana), Trevor Goosby (Texas), Austin Siereveld (Ohio State), Anthonie Knapp (Notre Dame)
Center — Kade Pieper (Iowa)
Placekicker — Tate Sandell (Oklahoma)
First Team Defense
Defensive Line — Dylan Stewart (South Carolina), Colin Simmons (Texas), Tyrique Tucker (Indiana), Teitum Tuioti (Oregon)
Linebacker — Xavier Atkins (Auburn), Sammy Brown (Clemson), Rasheem Biles (Texas)
Defensive Back –Kelley Jones (Mississippi State), Leonard Moore (Notre Dame), Brandon Finney Jr. (Oregon), KJ Bolden (Georgia)
Punter — Palmer Williams (Baylor)
Kick Returner — Da’Realyst Clark (Kent State)

Second Team Offense
Quarterback — Julian Sayin (Ohio State)
Running Back — Cam Cook (West Virginia), Caleb Hawkins (Oklahoma State)
Wide Receiver — Cam Coleman (Texas), KJ Duff (Rutgers)
Tight End — Jamari Johnson (Oregon)
Offensive Line — Evan Tengesdahl (Cincinnati), Wendell Moe Jr. (Tennessee), Jordan Seaton (LSU), Andrew Sprague (Michigan)
Center — Drew Bobo (Georgia)
Placekicker — Lucas Carneiro (Ole Miss)
Second Team Defense
Defensive Line — A’Mauri Washington (Oregon), Anthony Smith (Minnesota), David Stone (Oklahoma), John Henry Daley (Michigan)
Linebacker — Rolijah Hardy (Indiana), Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asu (Notre Dame), Isaiah Jones (Indiana)
Defensive Back –Bray Hubbard (Alabama), Ellis Robinson IV (Georgia), Marcus Ratcliffe (Texas A&M), Bryce Fitzgerald (Miami)
Punter — Evan Crenshaw (Troy)
Kick Returner — Chauncy Cobb (Arkansas State)

OSU Bullets

•  Congrats to Viktor Hovland on getting his first win of the year in the playoff yesterday (PFB)

We overuse the term, “national treasure,” but Viktor might be the definition of one. pic.twitter.com/SDsndjxnpr

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterNS) June 29, 2026

• The Pokes won the 2025-26 Bedlam Cup (again) (PFB)

• This fun article had Cade Cunningham as the point guard on the all-time Big 12 starting five (HCS)

• Great summer time thought – a relegation + group of five college football solution (PFB) 

• Shout out to Ethan Weslowski:

Our top 10 linebacker units in college football 💪 #cfb #collegefootball pic.twitter.com/M8m3ljlBOc

— Preferred Walk-On (@Preferred_WO) June 29, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Are you an otrovert?

• Video from inside your dishwasher

• The threat of passivity (faith-based)  

Kashie Natt has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA after the NCAA canceled his eligibility waivers, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. Natt is requesting an injunction from a Payne County judge to be eligible for the 2026-27 season.

The NCAA’s Division-I Cabinet approved a five-for-five eligibility model last week, which means athletes have five years to participate in five years of college athletics. The start of that time is either an athletes initial full-time enrollment in college or their 19th birthday.

Natt began his college basketball career at the junior college at Southern University-Shreveport. He was then went to NAIA LSU-Alexandria for a few years. It sounds like it’s there where Natt’s making his case, with his legal filing stating his “five-year period commenced when he enrolled at LSUA in August 2022, it does not expire until August 2027. Under that construction, Plaintiff should be eligible for one more season during the 2026-27 academic year without any additional waiver.”

Natt has been removed from Oklahoma State’s roster, meaning the Cowboys are down to 13 of a possible 15 players. OSU coach Steve Lutz said earlier this offseason that Natt and Parsa Fallah were each seeking waivers for eligibility.

“He’s an unbelievable human being,” Lutz said earlier this month. “He’s constantly bringing energy. He’s constantly bringing energy. Today, we started off practice … you get a towel, and you have hold the towel over your head. And then you have to do step slides, defensive step slides, like old school. I’ve never really said you have to say ‘ball’ or you have to say whatever, and Kashie decided, ‘Hey, coach, we’re gonna call ball, ball, ball, ball.’ Well, it’s contagious, and he’s just got that personality. So, it’s been enjoyable.”

Listed at 6-foot-3, Natt transferred to Oklahoma State from Sam Houston, where he was the reigning Conference-USA Defensive Player of the Year. This past season was Natt’s first at the Division-I level, where he averaged 10.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and a pair of steals a game.

But that shuffling up top has also led to shuffling within the Group of Five ranks. There, the money is more scarce, but despite that, Group of Five conferences are starting to widen their geographic footprints while seeking survival. That’s led to this year where Sac State will play in the MAC and Northern Illinois playing in the Mountain West. Meanwhile, Conference-USA spans from Delaware to New Mexico State — two schools separated by more than 2,000 miles.

In this new era where schools are constantly shaking out couch cushions to find some spare change, how does it make sense for these schools already at a monstruous financial disadvantage compared to their Power Conference counterparts to send a football team 2,000 miles across the country for a game not many outside of those two school’s fanbases would have any interest in?

Well, it’s the middle of summer and Big 12 Media Days isn’t until next week. So with little going on, I’ve dived into the Group of Five and come up with a concept I think could make that level of the sport a lot more fun.

The Concept

So, I’m calling this anchor-based promotion-relegation.

There are 61 teams across the American, Mountain West, Conference-USA, Sun Belt and MAC. Each of those schools would have what I’m calling an Anchor Conference in either the Mountain West, Conference-USA, Sun Belt and MAC — which lean heavily into geography. Each year, that league’s conference champion would be promoted to the American Conference, as essentially the Group of Five’s Champion’s League. Meanwhile, the bottom four teams in the American would each be relegated back to their Anchor Conference.

If that wide view is still a little confusing, let’s break it down a little further.

Here is what I came up with among the active G5 schools in terms of Anchor Conferences. There’s some mixing and matching here, but I kept things close regionally. Another rule I gave myself is that every G5 team within a given state had to have the same anchor conference — this, hypothetically, promotes regional rivalry and interest.

Mountain West (15)
Hawaii
Sac State
San Jose State
Nevada
UNLV
Wyoming
Air Force
New Mexico
New Mexico State
UTEP
UTSA
Rice
Sam Houston
North Texas
Tulsa

Sun Belt (16)
Louisiana Tech
Louisiana
Louisiana-Monroe
Tulane
Southern Miss
Jax State
UAB
South Alabama
Troy
Kennesaw State
Georgia State
Georgia Southern
FAU
USF
FIU
Coastal Carolina

Conference-USA (16)
Missouri State
Arkansas State
Memphis
Middle Tennessee State
Appalachian State
Charlotte
East Carolina
Old Dominion
Liberty
James Madison
Navy
Delaware
Temple
Army
Buffalo
UMass

MAC (14)
North Dakota State
Northern Illinois
Western Michigan
Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan
Ball State
Western Kentucky
Bowling Green
Miami (OH)
Toledo
Kent State
Akron
Ohio
Marshall

You might be thinking those are some big Group of Five conferences, but none of them will ever be that full because a number of schools from each would be in the American.

As for the American, I could be convinced of either a 10-team conference, where everyone plays everyone that way there is little excuse for why a team went relegated. Or, a 14-team conference split in east-west division where the bottom two from each division get dispersed back to their Anchor Conference.

For the sake of being fair, multiple teams in a given season could be sent back to the same anchor. You don’t avoid relegation because a team close to you geographically did slightly worse. This would force the Anchor Conference’s to stay on their toes in terms of scheduling, but that’s a task that is worth it, I think.

Nowadays, there isn’t much reason for the average college football fan to care about a Group of Five team’s season after a team loses one game. That’s essentially already enough for a Group of Five team to be out of College Football Playoff discussions. But in this system, every game would mean a ton in regards to climbing up the ladder or being sent back down.

You could certainly nitpick the divvying up of schools. I wasn’t thrilled about separating Buffalo from the other MAC schools, for example, but I wanted to follow my rule about teams from the state being in the same conference. That’s one example where I wouldn’t mind breaking that rule. I also think I’d prefer to keep the Carolinas together, which would take Coastal Carolina out of the Sun Belt and put it with Conference-USA. I could tinker with that all day.

What Would This Take?

I’m unsure of the Group of Five’s relationship with one another. If it’s anything like the Power Conference’s, they can’t even decide what to get for dinner.

But this would obviously take some deep collaboration among the G5 conferences. Dare I say, it would probably work best if they came together under some parent company that sells TV rights as one. How’s that for a Super League, SEC and Big Ten?

How the Money Would Hypothetically Work

As opposed to creating that map, I didn’t spend a ton of time fully understanding each Group of Five conference’s TV deal, but according to my limited research, those five league’s pay about $186 million annually to its members. For easier math and the fact that TV partners might be more intrigued by a promotion-relegation system, let’s call it an even $200 million.

The American should get the lion’s share of that, being that it’s the league teams are striving to get to. So, let’s say a 14-team American gets half of that pot, which is a little more than $7 million per team. That’s slightly better than what the American is currently doing.

There are a few ways we could go with the four Anchor Conferences.

One is that the remaining $100 million gets split evenly among the 47 schools not in the 14-team American. That would come out to about $2.1 million a school. That, according to my research, would be more than Conference-USA and Sun Belt members currently make but less than what the Mountain West and MAC are used to. But again, it would come with the caveat of if you perform well enough to make it to the American, you 3x your TV money.

Another way to split the remaining 50% would be to base it off an Anchor Conference’s number of teams in the American. If Conference-USA schools account for six of the 14 spots in the American, give them more of a cut. That would promote competition among the conferences.

Does Promotion-Relegation Make Sense with Roster Turnover?

This is a more than fair question.

Say Ball State has a big year in the MAC, gets promoted but loses all of its stars from the previous season to bigger schools. Ball State might stink the next season.

All true, but while this would be a reward for those Ball State players who returned, the real reward would be for the program. The program would benefit with more money via the TV rights. And maybe that extra boost in revenue would be the difference in keeping some of the players from the previous season.

As things stand, small programs get essentially nothing for developing a player who leaves for a bigger school. This model would at least provide some sort of reward for consistent programs.

What About the Other Sports?

I say do this in every sport.

Some schools already have programs in multiple conferences. So what if a team is a Sun Belt school in football and an American school in basketball?

Money would have to be further broken down. Ex: a school with teams in the American in football and basketball would earn more than a school with an American football team and a Mountain West basketball team. I think it’s another small headache for something that’s worth it in the end.

It does get a little weird with a school like Wichita State. The Shockers play basketball in the American but don’t have football. I don’t have a firm answer on remedying that right now, but it can be overcome, I think.

What about the Pac-12?

Yeah, I think the Pac-12 in its current form much more represents a Group of Five conference instead of a Power Five conference. But with so many teams leaving the Mountain West for the Pac-12 this offseason, there has to be some sort of prestige still associated with being in the Pac-12, so I don’t know that the league would so willingly run to be a part of something like this.

Potential Tournament Idea

The Anchor Conferences’ title games would be so exciting. A win there not only gives a conference crown, but it also moves you to the American.

Those title games would also be brutal for the losers. So close, yet so far. But what if, the Anchor Conferences’ four second-place finishers played a four-team tournament for a final promotion spot? Or maybe the winner of that tournament plays the fifth-lowest team in the American and the winner of that gets the spot in the American.

There are aspects would could build off this to make it all the more fun.

I don’t think this works in the Power Conferences. Too many hoops that wouldn’t make financial sense for many schools to jump through, but I think it could make Group of Five football as interesting as it’s ever been.

Overall, the spring can be considered a success for the four Cowboy sports. Throughout the series, only four Oklahoma State teams earned an A grade. One of them was a spring Cowboy sport and Cowboy track, just barely missed out on an A- due to a real jerk of a grader who refused to round up.

This is the final installment in a four-part series looking back at how each OSU team finished in the 2025-26 athletics calendar year. Be sure to check out Part 1: Fall Sports, Part 2: Winter Sports and Part 3: Cowgirl Spring Sports.

​Cowboy Track

Postseason: 16th

Conference: 7th

All-Americans:

Kevin Kemboi (triple jump)
Denis Kipngetich (10K and 5K)
Brian Musau (5K meters)
Steven Schmidt (Decathlon)
Adisu Guadie (10K)
Laban Kipkemboi (Steeplechase)
Will Bynum (4×400 relay)
Mason Page (4×400 relay)
Riley McGowan (4×400 relay)
Charlie Thorne (4×400 relay)

Final Thoughts: Freshman Kevin Kemboi finished second nationally in the triple jump with a school-record leap of 16.84 meters.

Brian Musau continued his inevitable dominance in the 5K, finishing sixth this time around after placing fourth in 2024 and first in 2025. Denis Kipngetich finished 11th overall, crossing the line less than five seconds after Musau.

Earlier in the week, Kipngetich took fourth in the 10K to earn first-team All-American honors in the event for the second time after claiming third in 2024. Adisu Guadie finished 13th in the 10K with a time of 28:22.86, which put him just over 22 seconds behind Kipngetich.

Steven Schmidt became the first Cowboy to earn All-American honors in the Decathlon event after taking 13th place with 7,479 points.

Laban Kipkemboi finished 13th in the Steeplechase to earn second-team honors, while the men’s 4×400 meter relay earned honorable mention All-American honors.

Added together, this group scored 16 points at the NCAA Championships, putting the Cowboys three points shy of the program’s point total last season, which marked a high mark for this decade.

Grade: B+

Cowboy Golf

Postseason: Semifinals

Conference: Champions

All-Americans:

Preston Stout (First Team)
Ethan Fang (Honorable Mention)
Eric Lee (Honorable Mention)

​Final Thoughts: Preston Stout birdied the 18th hole to secure a 1-stroke victory over Alabama’s William Jennings for the Individual National Championship honors after the Cowboys’ 14-under 274 win.

He and the Cowboys fell to eventual national champion Auburn in the semifinals 3-0. Stout is the program’s 10th individual champion, and his eight wins tie him for third place on the school’s all-time career wins list.

Ethan Fang finished with one win this season and multiple top 10s, while Eric Lee won a regional title while also producing multiple top 10 showings this season.

The trio also helped Oklahoma State win back-to-back conference titles with help from fellow Pokes Gaven Lane and Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson.

Grade: A​

Baseball

Record: 39-22, 18-12 Big 12

Postseason: Regional Finals

Conference: Semifinals

All-Americans:

Kollin Ritchie (First Team)
Aidan Meola (Third Team)

Final Thoughts: Oklahoma State put together quite the strong finish to salvage what initially appeared like a bit of a down year for the program. The Cowboys started out 17-11 overall before going 22-11 during the last two months of the season.

They have now competed in regional play for 13 consecutive seasons, but haven’t made it to Super Regionals since forcing a game three at Texas Tech in 2019.

Most of the best moments were powered by Kollin Ritchie, who ended the season fourth nationally in home runs with 31 in 60 games, including one that put the Pokes up in the seventh inning over Alabama in the Tuscaloosa Regional.

For context, Ritchie finished three short of the nation’s leader (Louisville sophomore Tague Davis), and he sits second in the program’s all-time record book for single-season home runs.

Aidan Meola hit 17 home runs this season to finish second on the team. He also finished fourth nationally in RBIs per game (1.38).

Grade: B-

Cowboy Tennis

Record: 14-11, 1-7 Big 12

Final Thoughts: Oklahoma State dropped its last seven matches, five of which finished 4-0, to end the season on a sour note.

Four of those losses came at home to teams ranked 29th or better, which is relevant because the Pokes enjoyed their best home start ever this season after racing out to an 11-0 mark in the Greenwood Tennis Center.

Haydar Gokpinar led the team with a 14-4 record in singles play, while Nicolas Kobelt and Aaron Williams secured 12 doubles wins this season.

Grade: D+

Oklahoma State got the better of its Bedlam counterpart 18.5-5.5 this school year — the widest single-year margin of victory for either school since the turn of the century. OSU has now won six of the past seven all-sports Bedlam’s with the only one OSU didn’t win in that stretch being a tie during the 2022-23 school year.

Here’s a look back at some of the more notable OSU Bedlam victories of the school year.

Softball: OSU 6, OU 4

The Cowgirls scored in five straight innings against No. 1 OU back on April 15.

Tia Warsop was the Cowgirls’ offensive hero, going 2-for-3 at the dish with two RBIs and a run scored. She got the scoring started with an RBI double to cap off a nine-pitch at-bat in the second inning.

Turn us all the way up, Tia 🔥

Cowgirls strike first!

📺 ESPN2#GoPokes | @tia_warsop pic.twitter.com/a2g21L28g0

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 16, 2026

After OU took the lead in the top of the third with a two-run home run, Karli Godwin promptly tied it back up with a solo shot in the bottom of the inning.

Believe if you look up the definition of a no-doubter, this is what shows up 📖

📺 ESPN2 #GoPokes | @karligodwin2 https://t.co/inninNKCdW pic.twitter.com/bm0pbWcfcq

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) April 16, 2026

That started a spree of four straight runs the Cowgirls would score, which ended up being enough for Ruby Meylan. It was a legacy-defining day in the circle for OSU’s All-American, as she threw the entire seven innings, giving up just two earned runs while striking out nine and walking one.

Wrestling: OSU 37, OU 0

The David Taylor Era is really just getting going, but there isn’t much it has lacked.

One thing that had eluded the Cowboys under Taylor to this point was that the Cowboys’ hadn’t shut a dual opponent out — that was until OU visited Gallagher-Iba Arena on Jan. 11.

This dual will be most remembered for Jax Forrest’s college debut, as the high school senior elected to enroll at the semester to start his college career, and that career started with a bang. He pinned Carter Schmidt in 47 seconds.

That was just a piece of the Cowboys’ domination that day, though. Kody Routledge, Casey Swiderski and Landon Robideau each also won via bonus points. Routledge’s performance was extra impressive given he was a redshirting freshman while his opponent, Peyten Keller, was a former All-American.

Meanwhile, Alex Facundo, Zach Ryder and Cody Merrill each beat guys ranked in the Top 11 of their weight classes.

Baseball: OSU 7, OU 3

This win looks even better given the hindsight that the Sooners would get hot and go on to win a national title. But on a rainy April 14 in Tulsa, the Cowboys reigned supreme.

The hard-hitting Pokes pounded four home runs in the first four innings of that game, starting with this Kollin Ritchie two-run shot in the first.

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

Then Campbell “Soup” Smithwick hit solo shots in the first and fourth to make it 4-0.

Second home run of the night for Soup ‼️#GoPokes | @campbellrsoup pic.twitter.com/GHXVlMeMDr

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 15, 2026

A Garrett Shull two-run shot in the fourth made it 6-0.

What he said 🗣️

Shull’s seventh home run of the year for a 6-0 lead#GoPokes | @gshull_8 pic.twitter.com/Sd6YlkRFw7

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 15, 2026

Smithwick would score his third run of the game in the sixth when he scored on a wild pitch.

The rain then started coming into Tulsa. OU’s Jaxon Willits hit a three-run home run in the eighth on what ended up being the last play of the game before a torrential downpour happened at OneOK Field.

Should also note that this was the second meeting between the Bedlam rivals, with OU beating OSU 10-1 in the second game of the season.

All-Sports Bedlam Year-by-Year

Hovland won the Traveler’s Championship on Monday morning with a birdie on a playoff hole, besting Scottie Scheffler. It marks Hovland’s eighth win on the PGA Tour.

Hovland gave a massive fist pump as he drained his winning putt.

The winning putt for Viktor Hovland ‼️

His 8th PGA TOUR victory comes in a Monday playoff @TravelersChamp. pic.twitter.com/zOC1v17sjR

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 29, 2026

Hovland and Scheffler both finished four rounds at 21-under, a stroke ahead of Collin Morikawa. Hovland and Scheffler had a battle on the final hole of regulation, where they each parred before it was decided that the playoff would take place Monday morning.

Every shot from the 72nd hole @TravelersChamp between Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler.

It was a thrill ride, and we’ll need a 73rd hole (at least) in the morning.

📺 9 a.m. ET on Peacock, NBC Sports Network and Golf Channel pic.twitter.com/IONG2dQ355

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 29, 2026

It made for a fun atmosphere with Scheffler being the American hero while a lot of Hovland’s Norwegian countrymen were also in the area for the World Cup. One of the Norwegians in New England was Hovland’s mother, who watched her son win in person for the first time.

Viktor’s mom saw him win for the very first time 🥹

Incredible scenes on the 18th green at TPC Cromwell. pic.twitter.com/P5pINzemX2

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 29, 2026

It hasn’t been Hovland’s best season of golf, but things might be starting to turn around. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship in mid-May before turning around and taking third at the Canadian Open less than a month later. Then last weekend at the U.S. Open, Hovland again missed the cut just to turn around and win the Traveler’s.

Speaking of the U.S. Open, winner and former Cowboy Wyndham Clark was also among the leaders at the Traveler’s. He finished tied for fifth with an 18-under 262. Other Cowboys: Rickie Fowler finished tied for 38th, Alex Noren finished tied for 55th and Sam Stevens finished tied for 62nd.

OSU Bullets

Hovland, who went into the final round with a one-shot lead over Scheffler, found himself two back when play was halted by a pounding rain and lightning in the area, both of them in the fairway on the 14th hole. [ESPN]

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER SAVES PAR AND FORCES A MONDAY MORNING PLAYOFF pic.twitter.com/yOWiNgqe21

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) June 29, 2026

Here’s some throws from the Manning Passing Academy, who STANDS out? 👀 pic.twitter.com/1DnQDobVuS

— The Verdin Verdict (@verdinverdict) June 27, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

“If you want to hate America, watch the news. If you want to love America, drive through it”

~German World Cup fan — Mistress Dividend (@mistressdivy) June 27, 2026

OSU Bullets

• Viktor Hovland had a big day Saturday and had plenty of this fellow Norwegians on-site to celebrate him. [PFB]

Viktor Hovland birdies 18 for the @TravelersChamp solo lead 📈

Listen to those Norway fans HYPED and rowing for their fellow countryman 🇳🇴⚡️

📺 NBC pic.twitter.com/12rVgX8lw3

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 27, 2026

• Hovi’s not the only former Cowboy who had a nice Saturday. 

A third round 65 (-6) for Eugenio Chacarra ✍️

That’s now 19 rounds under par in a row on the DP World Tour, including six rounds of 66 or lower. A man on top form.#ItalianOpen pic.twitter.com/L3djLxFDqB

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 27, 2026

• Bill Haisten asks: “Does Mike Gundy get a statue?” 

Because the Gundy-OSU split was so bitter, I’m wondering about the timeline on having Gundy’s name placed on the stadium’s Ring of Honor — and I wonder whether there might eventually be a statue to honor a Cowboy who was involved in 33% of all of Oklahoma State football games. [Tulsa World]

• Lexi Kilfoyl locked it down in her season debut.

KIFOYL SLAMS THE DOOR SHUT 🚪

BANDITS WIN 14-0 🤠 pic.twitter.com/wB3HNM3jFq

— Chicago Bandits | AUSL (@AUSL_Bandits) June 27, 2026

• Drew Mestemaker is showing out this summer.

NEW: 2026 Manning Passing Academy Standouts🎯

(via @whalexander_)https://t.co/hYXSlAQXxu pic.twitter.com/ZNOyoeNH97

— On3 (@On3) June 27, 2026

• Like it or hate it, here’s a look at the new Cowboy threads with the Osage patches. 

Let’s Go September!! Here come the Cowboys!! #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/MYMAWywjwz

— Patrick Cobbs (@PCobbs43) June 27, 2026

• More offseason movement for the Pokes.

Former #OkState catcher Brady Francisco is transferring to Grand Canyon, per his Instagram.

Notably, Francisco spent the first year of his college career at GCU, before transferring to Yavapai Junior College for the 2025 season.

He has two seasons of eligibility remaining. pic.twitter.com/XAiOMnO30x

— Daniel Allen (@bydanielallen25) June 28, 2026

• More troubles for the former Cowboy.

AJ Ferrari picked up in North Platte after speeding down Highway 83 over 120 MPH running from police. Later crashed his corvette into a ditch and took off on foot. pic.twitter.com/ACNSfLz1sS

— Cody Mainquist (@NebraskaCody) June 27, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Seven Qs that will define the NBA offseason. [The Ringer]

• I’m a sucker for mysterious ancient finds. Archaeologists might have found a hidden portal near the Pyramids. [Popular Mechanics]

Hovland went -6 for his third round of the weekend, complete with seven birdies to overtake Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked player coming in, and take a one-shot lead into Sunday in Cromwell, Connecticut. That final birdie on 18 caused the crowd to erupt with Norwegian pride.

Viktor Hovland birdies 18 for the @TravelersChamp solo lead 📈

Listen to those Norway fans HYPED and rowing for their fellow countryman 🇳🇴⚡️

📺 NBC pic.twitter.com/12rVgX8lw3

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 27, 2026

The Norwegian native won the Valspar Championship last year and has two top 10 finishes this year but did not make the cut at the U.S Open a week ago. He currently sits at No. 30 in the PGA world rankings.

There were plenty of his countryfolk in the area and they made sure they were there to celebrate. Norway fell to France a day earlier 4-1 in Group I of the 2026 World Cup, just over hundred miles east at Boston Stadium. Apparently, a number of Norwegian sports fans were keen on getting a two-for while in New England.

🇳🇴🔥⛳️ #CHEERS — Viktor Hovland has been getting a LOT of cheers this week with so many Norway fans staying nearby for the World Cup

“[The] atmosphere was absolutely electric out here today… it was really cool to see some Norweigan jerseys out there.” pic.twitter.com/X4srEhPKH8

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) June 27, 2026

Norwegian fans have garnered attention for that row chant which has been prominent at this year’s World Cup, and Hovland was grateful to get some of that home country support.

Hovland and Scheffler will tee off in the final pairing of the Traveler’s Championship final round at 1:55 p.m. Central on Sunday. You can find it on the Golf Channel.

Three Thoughts

• Eric Morris landed his first running back from the 2027 class – a bruiser from Big Ten country: 

Listed at a bruising 6-feet, 225 pounds, (TJ) Lewis is the No. 630 player in the 247Sports Composite ranking for the 2027 class, which makes him the No. 41 running back in the cycle and a Top 30 player from Illinois. [PFB]

• Here’s who Eric Morris is bringing to his first Big 12 media days early in July – old friend Jaden Bray will be there with Iowa State:

Eric Morris will bring four Cowboys to his first Big 12 Media Days as Oklahoma State’s coach: Drew Mestemaker, Caleb Hawkins, Jaleel Johnson and Ethan Wesloski. Three from that quartet were with Morris last season at North Texas, while Johnson is a rare holdover from the previous regime. [PFB]

• I’m not sure how many clips of Eddie Sutton teams you’d need to watch to feel optimistic about Cowboy Basketball – but an unbiased third party said this about the squad Steve Lutz has put together:

“This is a tournament team that could sniff the top-25 with the right breaks,” Trotter wrote. “What an offseason for Steve Lutz. This Oklahoma State roster has made an about-face and enters 2026-27 with loads of playable depth after it found usable pieces in every area of roster-building.” [247 Sports]

Two Quotes

• Quite a crew. 

Eric Morris will bring four Cowboys to his first Big 12 Media Days as Oklahoma State’s coach: Drew Mestemaker, Caleb Hawkins, Jaleel Johnson and Ethan Wesloski. Three from that quartet were with Morris last season at North Texas, while Johnson is a rare holdover from the previous regime. [PFB]

Up next: @Big12Conference Media Days 🤩 pic.twitter.com/PesdZYGDzY

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) June 26, 2026

• High-end social media content for the summer time – dogs at sporting events:

We heard today is National Take Your Dog to Work Day… 🐶#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/koMr9D2JFN

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

One Question

• Who do you think is the most fun player in OSU history to play with on a college sports video game?

Non-OSU Bullets

• Take a test to find your “chrono” type – how much of a morning/night person you are • Enjoy the World Cup but don’t be shaped by it (faith-based)

TJ Lewis announced his commitment to Oklahoma State. Out of Bolingbrook, Illinois, Lewis is a three-star prospect, according to 247Sports and Rivals. He also held offers from Indiana, Illinois, Oklahoma, Missouri, Michigan and others.

Listed at a bruising 6-feet, 225 pounds, Lewis is the No. 630 player in the 247Sports Composite ranking for the 2027 class, which makes him the No. 41 running back in the cycle and a Top 30 player from Illinois.

Lewis visited Oklahoma State last week and had also made trips to Illinois and UConn ahead of his commitment.

As a high school junior in 2025, Lewis was a First Team All-State selection, scoring 22 touchdowns with 1,808 all-purpose yards. He was his conference’s MVP, as his Bolingbrook Raiders went 9-3 and made it to the quarterfinals of the Illinois 8A state playoffs.

Even with his big frame, Lewis shows a good ability to change pace with a lateral move and make a man miss in his junior highlights. And once he gets rolling downhill, he has the speed to take it the distance.

Lewis makes it double-digit commits for Eric Morris and Co. in the 2027 cycle, with seven of those guys set to play offense at the next level.

The Cowboys are still behind much of the Big 12 in terms of quantity of commits in the class, but Morris made an early note after getting hired that they did feel a bit behind there given the transition. OSU’s 10-man class ranks 14th in the league, according to 247Sports, but everyone ahead has between 12 and 27 commits to this point.

OSU 2027 Commits

It’s been a blockbuster off season for Oklahoma State with the additions of Audi Crooks and Liv McGill to team with Stailee Heard, the most impactful player of the Hoyt Era to this point.

But the incoming transfers didn’t stop with those two, as Heard was the only player remaining for last season’s OSU squad that made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

McGill and Crooks met with reporters earlier this week, where they pointed to two teammates climbing up from lower levels of college basketball as players who might surprise some this year.

“Talexa (Weeter) — Talexa,” McGill said. “She’s impressed me, and I can’t wait to get on the floor with her. She’s just aggressive. She’s not afraid. She knows her role. She knows her strengths. I love a teammate like that.”

A 6-foot guard from Goodland, Kansas, Weeter was the Division-II National Player of the Year in this past season at Fort Hays State. She averaged 27.5 points and 8.9 rebounds a game this past season while shooting 40% from 3. She dropped 46 points in her penultimate game of the season while bringing down a dozen rebounds.

In three seasons at Fort Hays State, Weeter scored 1,364 total points and brought down 491 total rebounds.

“I’m a big fan of Ellie (Brueggemann),” Crooks said. “I think Ellie’s a lot more versatile than she may get credit for. She’s got this nasty fadeaway, so hopefully you guys get to see that this year.”

A Lincoln Christian grad, Brueggemann transferred back to her home state after spending the past three seasons at Lindenwood. Brueggemann had a pre-existing relationships with Hoyt, who said she tried to recruit Brueggemann to UMKC. Hoyt said earlier this offseason that she still had photos in her messages from Brueggemann’s visit to UMKC way back when.

Brueggemann averaged double figures in all three of her seasons in the Ohio Valley Conference, including a career-high 14 points and 3.1 assists a game this past season. She also shot 44% from 3 during the 2025-26 season on 218 attempts. For reference, Haleigh Timmer was the Cowgirls’ most efficient 3-point shooter this past season, hitting 42% of her 170 attempts.

The type of floor spacing Brueggemann and Weeter provide will be key for Crooks and McGill this season, and it seems as if that star-studded duo is already well aware of the importance of that spacing.

Big 12 Media Days is set to take place July 7 and 8 at The Star in Frisco, and on Friday the conference announced which representatives from the league’s 16 teams will be in attendance.

Eric Morris will bring four Cowboys to his first Big 12 Media Days as Oklahoma State’s coach: Drew Mestemaker, Caleb Hawkins, Jaleel Johnson and Ethan Wesloski. Three from that quartet were with Morris last season at North Texas, while Johnson is a rare holdover from the previous regime.

A dozen quarterbacks will be there, with Arizona State, Texas Tech, Kansas and West Virginia being the only schools without a QB.

There will also be some former Cowboys in attendance. Arizona State safety Lyrik Rawls is on his third Big 12 team after spending four seasons with Oklahoma State and another with Kansas. West Virginia is bringing receiver Jaden Bray, who was at OSU for three seasons.

Here’s the full list of attendees:

July 7 (Tuesday)

Arizona State
TE – Khamari Anderson
RB – Kyson Brown
LB – Zyrus Fiaseu
DL – C.J. Fite
OL – Jalen Klemm
DB – Lyrik Rawls
DB – Montana Warren

Baylor
DB – Michael Allen
DE – Kyler Jordan
TE – Matthew Klopsenstein
QB – DJ Lagway
LB – Kyland Reed
DL – Jamaal Whyce Jr.

BYU
QB – Bear Bachmeier
LB – Isaiah Glasker
DB – Evan Johnson
RB – LJ Martin
OL – Bruce Mitchell
DL – Keanu Tanuvasa

UCF
QB – Alonza Barnett III
DB – Jayden Bellamy
LB – Lewis Carter
OL – Preston Cushman

Colorado
TE – Zach Atkins
DB – Ben Finneseth
QB – Julian Lewis
DB – Naeten Mitchell
WR – Danny Scudero
DB – Cree Thomas

Houston
OL – McKenzie Agnello
DB – Jordan Allen
DL – Khalil Laufau
WR – Amare Thomas
DB – Kentrell Webb
QB – Conner Weigman

Oklahoma State
RB – Caleb Hawkins
DE – Jaleel Johnson
QB – Drew Mestemaker
LB – Ethan Wesloski

Texas Tech
TE – Terrance Carter Jr.
WR – Coy Eakin
DL – A.J. Holmes Jr.
DB – Brice Pollock
LB – Ben Roberts
OL – Sheridan Wilson

July 8 (Wednesday)

Arizona
OL – Tristan Bounds
LB – Taye Brown
DB – Jay’vion Cole
QB – Noah Fifita
WR – Chris Hunter III
DE – Tre Smith

Cincinnati
QB  – JC French
LB – Antwan Peek Jr.
OL – Evan Tengesdahl
OL – Taran Tyo

Iowa State
DB – David Coffey
RB – Aiden Flora
K – Kyle Konrardy
QB – Jaylen Raynor
DE – Isaac Terrell

Kansas
OL – Calvin Clements
DE – Leroy Harris III
DT – Blake Herold
LB – Trey Lathan
WR – Cameron Pickett

Kansas State
DB – Wesley Fair
RB – Joe Jackson
QB – Avery Johnson
LB – Rex Van Wyhe

TCU
QB – Jaden Craig
DT – Markis Deal
DT – Ansel Din-Mbuh
DB – Jamel Johnson
DE – Paul Oyewale
OL – Ben Taylor-Whitfield

Utah
QB – Devon Dampier
LB – Johnathan Hall
DE – Lance Holtzclaw
RB – Wayshawn Parker

West Virginia
WR – Jaden Bray
OL – Nick Krahe
DB – Geimere Latimer II

OSU Bullets

• The Cowgirls appear to have added some SEC pitching for depth in their bullpen (X)

• Justin Southwell dug into the dialogue around jersey patches (PFB)

• Josh Pate is waving the flag for OSU as the dark horse, David Pollack is too (X)

• Can Big 12 teams afford a $60M NIL sharing cap? (HCS)

• Average Big 12 school is spending $24M in NIL per report:

Opendorse is projecting college athlete compensation – rev-share + third party pay – to exceed $4 billion this coming year, per its annual NIL Report. A Big Ten school’s annual average spend exceeds all others at $48M, followed by the SEC ($44M), ACC ($28M) and Big 12 ($24M). pic.twitter.com/GU9KokZAKf

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) June 25, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• The Aday Mara pick is growing on me – just want a 6’7-6’10” forward in OKC so badly • Go ahead and shipwreck your ingratitude (faith-based)  

Ole Miss transfer Payton Kennedy announced her commitment to Oklahoma State on Thursday. She was a freshman with the Rebels last season, throwing just seven innings where she had a 6.00 ERA. Although she wasn’t credited with any at-bats in her freshman season, Kennedy was listed as a pitcher/utility player on the Ole Miss roster.

 

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A 5-foot-11 righty, Kennedy was a blue-chip recruit coming out of Santa Margarita Catholic in San Clemente, California. She was the No. 25 prospect in Extra Innings Softball’s Extra Elite 100. She was an All-State selection and was also named her high school team’s offensive player of the year at one point.

Kennedy is the fifth portal addition the Cowgirls have made this offseason. Of those, four pitched at least a little bit during the 2026 season, though Madison Hartley (Houston) and Kendra Lewis (Wisconsin) were more primarily used in the field. Delainey Everett (Mississippi State) had been the group’s only primary pitcher before Kennedy’s addition.

Pitching is the Cowgirls’ biggest question mark of the offseason. Ruby Meylan and RyLee Crandall each finished out their eligibility, while freshman Preslee Downing has since transferred to North Texas.

OSU Softball Portal Commits

Let me tell you what that jersey is worth.

Not in dollars. That’s the mistake everyone keeps making. They see a jersey and ask what can we get for it? I’m more interested in a different question. What does it mean?

Because the moment you stop asking what something means and start asking what it’s worth — you’ve already changed your relationship with it.

That jersey represents over a century of Saturday afternoons. It’s your parents watching Barry Sanders with a thrill that can’t be replicated anywhere else. It’s you and your spouse sitting in silence after a missed shot at the national championship — and then showing up the next September louder than before. It’s your kid wearing eye-black and a No. 1 jersey on Halloween with the belief that one day he’ll run out of that tunnel in Boone Pickens Stadium in front of 60,000 fans. No dollar figure exists for that. And the moment you try to assign one — something shifts.

There’s a difference between a symbol and an asset. An asset exists to generate value. A symbol exists to represent something larger than itself. For generations, that Oklahoma State uniform was never inventory. It was identity. The same reason you’d never put a sponsor patch on an American flag — not because a jersey and a flag are equal, but because they belong to the same category: symbols that derive their meaning from existing outside of commerce.

In the middle of all this modernization and commercialization, more teams are moving back to traditional uniforms. Classic fonts. Original color schemes. Throwback designs. Why? Is it simply because nostalgia is powerful, or is it because people are longing for the way college football used to look and feel before it became all about the money? Fans don’t want less tradition. They want more of it. And yet somehow the answer to that longing is to put a sponsor patch on the very thing fans are hoping to preserve.

Now — I understand why they did it. This “adapt or get left behind” landscape is brutal. The financial pressure is real.

I’m not naive enough to think passion pays the bills. There are other naming rights. There are facility deals. There are dozens of other avenues that don’t require putting another brand’s name on the one sacred symbol of the program. The uniform should be the last thing you touch. Not the first.

And somewhere in that boardroom, when someone slid a contract across the table and said we’d like to put our name on your jersey — someone should have paused. Not because the money wasn’t good. Because nobody stopped to ask what the uniform actually represents. And why an identity built over generations through blood, sweat and tears should never be shared with another entity’s brand.

And before you say it — yes, the Nike swoosh is on the uniform. That’s different. Nike designed it. Nike manufactured it. Their presence was earned. What we’re talking about now is purchasing visibility from something you had no hand in building. One was earned. The other was simply sold.

I’m all for NIL and partnerships. There’s a place for all of that. But there’s a reason the pros can get away with jersey patches where universities should not. A professional franchise is openly a business. Fans know what they’re engaging with. A university is something different — it’s a community, a tradition, a shared identity that runs deeper than any transaction. When you start treating it like a professional organization, you don’t gain their revenue model. You just lose what made you worth watching in the first place.

My concern was never the size of the patch or how tacky it looks. It’s the philosophy behind it. The assumption that visibility is inventory. That the uniform — the closest thing an athletic program has to a flag — is just another surface nobody had gotten around to selling yet.

Some things are worth more than what they can generate. And once you sell them, you don’t get them back.

Zealand Danielson, a 2028 passer starring for Yukon High School, announced an offer from the Cowboys via his X account.

After a great camp with Oklahoma state I’m very blessed to receive an offer @RivalsHs @Rivals @247recruiting @247Sports @ChadSimmons_ @GregBiggins @UANextFootball @TomLoy247 @samspiegs @BrandonHuffman @Andy_Villamarzo @klose_trey @MillersFB @Trentsmith88 pic.twitter.com/XfFzSzoBWU

— Zealand Danielson (@ZDanielson15) June 21, 2026

Danielson is a 6-foot-3, 200-pound rising junior for the Millers. Although he hasn’t been ranked yet by 247Sports (still early for 2028 rankings), he’s a three-star prospect according to Rivals and the No. 11 talent in the state. But while the external scouts are still catching up, plenty of Power Four coaching staffs have been high on him for a long time.

Arizona offered him two years ago, followed by offers from the likes of Arizona State and UNLV last spring. Things have picked up this summer with Baylor, Kansas State and Iowa State all throwing their hats in the ring before the Cowboys offered on June 20.

A review of some of his tape shows obvious arm talent and the ability to break loose and make plays with his feet. Here is taking part in the Raising Champions Elite QB Training. He also took part in the Adidas Polynesian Bowl Combine this spring.

Zealand Danielson been on a DIFFERENT type of offseason! 👀

No shortcuts. No excuses. No days wasted.
That QB grind is showing and it’s only February. C/O 2028 QB1 on the rise. 📈#RaisingChampions #OffSeasonWork #BuiltInTheDark #EliteQBTraining pic.twitter.com/qSLt2Txi3W

— Raising Champions (@raisingchamps_) February 26, 2026

The Cowboys appear to be the clubhouse leader for Danielson, according to On3’s prediction. His vicinity to Stillwater and the chance to work with a bonafide QB whisperer in Eric Morris probably don’t hurt the Pokes’ prospects.

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OSU Bullets

• See which Cowboys are rated at the top ten in their position on the NCAA Football video game (PFB)

• PFF has Jaylen Warren as the running back on the all-undrafted team going into the 2026 season (PFF)

• PFB looked at the NCAA’s new rule on eligibility (see below) and which OSU teams would be affected most:

The NCAA Division-I Cabinet unanimously approved the five-year, age-based eligibility model on Tuesday. With the new model, all college athletes will be given five years of eligibility to use over five seasons once their eligibility clocks begin. Those clocks start upon the initial full-time enrollment in college or at the beginning of the academic year following the athlete’s 19th birthday — whichever comes first. [PFB]

An open field’s worst nightmare. The Top 10 HBs in #CFB27

See all ratings 🔗: https://t.co/OaSxHvm6Rb pic.twitter.com/S0mDM8UjWq — College Football 27 (@EASPORTSCollege) June 24, 2026

• 20-minute podcast with Cowboy legend Joey Graham here (YouTube)

• No Pokes on the list but an all-time draft haul from the Big 12 this week: 

The BIG 12 effect 📈#ADifferentLeague pic.twitter.com/Jv71MgiuG0

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) June 25, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Why watching sports makes people so happy

• Kind of like this take:

“The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the President.” Psychologist Albert Ellis on owning your problems

Part of USA soccer’s pathway is now defined:

It’s set. The US will play Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32 on July 1st in San Francisco. Win that game and Egypt is the most likely round of 16 opponent.

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) June 24, 2026

On Wednesday, Oklahoma State announced its top 10 rated players in the upcoming College Football 27 videogame, which releases on July 9.

Running back Caleb Hawkins tops the list after he finished first in touchdowns scored (29) and fifth in rushing yards (1,434) last season at North Texas. Hawkins’ overall rating of 91 also tied him for seventh overall at the position in the game alongside West Virginia back Cam Cook. The only Big 12 back to start with a higher rating will be BYU’s LJ Martin.

An open field’s worst nightmare. The Top 10 HBs in #CFB27

See all ratings
🔗: https://t.co/OaSxHvm6Rb pic.twitter.com/S0mDM8UjWq

— College Football 27 (@EASPORTSCollege) June 24, 2026

Receiver Wyatt Young was the second-ranked Poke with an overall rating of 90. For context, that would put him in at least a three-way tie for ninth overall at the position alongside Houston receiver Amare Thomas. Colorado receiver Danny Scudero, rated 91 overall, is the only Big 12 player rated higher at the position.

It seems like QB1 also just missed the social media graphic, as Drew Mestemaker is poised to start the game with an overall rating of 89. That ties him with Sooner John Mateer and an unknown number of others for 10th at the position.

Here is where the rest of Oklahoma State’s top 10 players ranked in the game.

LB Ethan Wesloski (rated 87): Recorded 113 tackles, tied for 24th nationally, last season at North Texas.

CB Mo Horn (86): Started all 13 games for Texas Tech in 2024 before playing a backup role for the Red Raiders in 2025.

Edge James Williams (84): Enters the fall as the Cowboys’ leader in pressures created last season after he racked up 22 for the Seminoles.

WR Justin Bowick (83): Recorded 265 yards and five touchdowns on 22 receptions last season at Illinois.

RB Ayo Adeyi (82): Reunites with former head coach Eric Morris after limited work with James Madison during the last two seasons. He rushed for 1,017 yards and six scores at UNT in 2023

WR Chris Barnes (82): Stole the show in the spring scrimmage with four receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown. He also earned a spot on the Jet Award watchlist, given to the top returner in the nation.

WR Miles Coleman (82): Finished second in targets (58) and third in receiving yards (550) for UNT last season, thanks in part to great chemistry with Mestemaker, his childhood friend.

Nevada transfer Sean Yamaguchi announced his commitment to Oklahoma State. From Hawaii, Yamaguchi was the Mountain West Freshman of the Year in 2025, and through two seasons at Nevada, he hit .318 with 27 homers and 87 RBIs.

This local boy is headed to the 405 🤙🏽🤠#committed #gopokes @OSUBaseball pic.twitter.com/TwA8FjC6Md

— Sean Yamaguchi (@SeanYamaguchi_) June 23, 2026

Yamaguchi played third base for the Wolf Pack this past season, where he hit slashed .310/.383/.595 with 14 home runs and 37 RBIs. He had a 10-game hit streak in the middle of the season and followed that with an eight-game hitting streak starting in mid-April. He had multiple hits in 13 of the 44 games he had an at-bat in this past season.

As a freshman in 2025, Yamaguchi hit .324 with 13 home runs, 13 doubles and 50 RBIs en route to being his conference’s freshman of the year.

Listed at 5-foot-9, 205 pounds. Yamaguchi was Hawaii’s Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior at Saint Louis High School in Honolulu. He was also a part of a Honolulu Little League team that won the 2018 Little League World Series, where he batted .400 with five RBIs.

Yamaguchi played with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League last summer, where he hit .417 in a dozen at-bats.

Yamaguchi is the seventh portal pickup the Pokes have made this offseason.

OSU’s Portal Commits

The NCAA Division-I Cabinet unanimously approved the five-year, age-based eligibility model on Tuesday. With the new model, all college athletes will be given five years of eligibility to use over five seasons once their eligibility clocks begin. Those clocks start upon the initial full-time enrollment in college or at the beginning of the academic year following the athlete’s 19th birthday — whichever comes first.

So, essentially this eliminates redshirts and waivers. There have always been eligibility situations pop up in college sports, but since the pandemic gave athletes an extra year, you’ve just about needed a law degree to find out how many more college years an athlete had left.

This won’t apply to athletes who just finished out their fourth season of eligibility this past school year. So, when Ruby Meylan took to X on Tuesday to ask if she could get a fifth year, the answer is no — unfortunately for OSU fans.

The change will be effective for all athletes enrolling full time in college in fall 2027 or later.

Schools have the flexibility in determining whether to use previous eligibility rules or the new model for athletes already on campus. That even applies to student-athletes who will be freshmen this upcoming school year. So, it’ll still take a few years for everyone to be on the same eligibility model.

As far as Oklahoma State goes, to me this change will be most interesting as it pertains to David Taylor’s wrestling program.

Through two years of being the Cowboys’ coach, Taylor has built a room that is stacked with depth. But only 10 guys a season get to wrestle at the NCAA Tournament.

In the past two recruiting cycles (2025 and 2026), Taylor has added nine Top 10 prospects (across two years, so of a possible 20). And that doesn’t include guys like national runners-up Troy Spratley and Cody Merrill or All-Americans Casey Swiderski, Zack Ryder and Bennett Berge. So, that’s already 14 guys in search of 10 spots and there are other more-than-solid wrestlers competing for spots in the lineup.

Taylor’s incoming 2026 class had five Top 10 recruits (six if you count Jax Forrest, who joined the Cowboys midseason). Those five have the option of the five-for-five model or the old model. In a world where they could hypothetically wrestle in five NCAA Tournaments, if feels unlikely that all five of those guys will be in the lineup this year given the talent Taylor has returning.

The act of juggling eligibility has been made more difficult. Forrest, for example, might’ve taken an Olympic redshirt in 2028 on a quest to make the United States’ team. Then that college season, there would’ve been an open spot in the roster that someone who might’ve redshirted the year before could’ve stepped into. That process is no longer so simple because redshirts no longer exist.

Penn State is dealing with something similar. During the 2025 season, Tyler Kasak was Penn State’s 157-pounder. He won Big Tens and was the top seed at the NCAA Championships. Kasak took a redshirt this past season with PJ Duke taking over that 157-pound spot. Under the new rules, would someone who is the top seed at nationals be willing to burn a year of eligibility the next season? Seems unlikely, but it’s something these high-level wrestling programs will have to figure out moving forward.

Again, this feels like a good thing — streamlining eligibility and making it to where there aren’t 28-year-olds competing against 19-year-olds. Could there be some unintended consequences? Sure, but there are at least some sort of guardrails on eligibility after years of it feeling like the Wild West.

OSU Bullets

• OSU announced yesterday what (commercial) patch will be on their jerseys. (PFB)

Oklahoma State is set to announce a unique jersey patch sponsorship deal with the Osage Nation, those involved w/ the agreement tell @SBJ.

The patch will extend across all OSU athletic teams beginning this fall. This marks the first jersey patch sold in the Big 12. pic.twitter.com/ZSCSXPR2cf — Ben Portnoy (@bportnoy15) June 23, 2026

• The Cowboys are the third-highest rated Big 12 team in the new version of college football video game (PFB)

• Big win for Josh Holliday’s crew landing a stud third baseman (X)

• One of the big offseason questions in the Big 12 – “Is Oklahoma State truly a sleeper?”

 …(T)he Cowboys have a core of playmakers. The question is how good the defense will be? Oklahoma State’s defense was awful last year. With this kind of firepower, it only needs to be good for the Cowboys to win enough games to reach a bowl game, a reasonable goal in (Eric) Morris’ first year.  [HCS]

• The NCAA will vote to finalize a five-year eligibility model today (X)

• Viktor Hovland played good luck charm for the Norwegians:

🇳🇴⚽️⛳️ #WORLD CUP — Norweigan golf stars Kristoffer Reitan and Viktor Hovland were in attendance for tonight’s Norway/Senegal World Cup soccer match Norway pulled out the win 3-2 (Via: kristofferreitan/IG) pic.twitter.com/I8rQxpeaj8

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) June 23, 2026

• Pokes will be back in Arlington early in the baseball season:

Back to our home away from home in ’27!#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/GsPZIOynMK

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) June 23, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• On God and LLMs

• 44 ways to keep kids off screens (faith-based)

Oklahoma State softball coach Kenny Gajewski will need to replace ace pitcher Ruby Meylan, no easy task, but otherwise both teams seem well prepared to build on strong postseason efforts next year.

This is the second installment in a four-part series looking back at how each OSU team finished in the 2025-26 athletics calendar year. Be sure to check out Part 1: Fall Sports and Part 2: Winter Sports.

Softball

Record: 41-17, 16-8 Big 12

Postseason: Super Regionals

Conference: Semifinalist

All-Americans: P Ruby Meylan

Final Thoughts: This season was a return to form for the Cowgirls in pretty much every way except they didn’t make it back to the Women’s College World Series. Oklahoma State looked largely unbeatable down the stretch until the Cowgirls ran into Nebraska in the Supers, where the Cornhuskers won 8-1 and 9-1.

It’s easy to imagine those games taking place in OKC if the OSU had managed to draw a higher overall seed, but the Cowgirls were hurt by a rougher start than usual, which prevented them from hosting Supers for the second consecutive season.

Ruby Meylan was a force to be reckoned with throughout the season, but her postseason performance highlights how vulnerable the Cowgirls were when Meylan couldn’t deliver her very best.

Grade: B-

Cowgirl Golf

Postseason: Sixth

Conference: Fourth

All-Americans: Marta Silchenko

Final Thoughts: Oklahoma State advanced to match play at the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2021. There, they ran into No. 7 Arkansas, who won match play 5-0.

The Cowgirls have since earned a No. 13 overall ranking from the NCAA.

Junior Marta Silchenko finished the season ranked 16th by Clipp’d individual rankings. She also finished a career-best No. 43 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. She averaged a 70.96 stroke average with 20 rounds at par-or-better and nine top 10s across 11 events and 34 rounds.

All four of OSU’s other end-of-season starters (Ellie Bushnell, Summer Lee, Yu-Chu Chen, Tarapath Panya) also have eligibility remaining.

Grade: A-

Tennis

Record: 8-12, 5-8 Big 12

All-Conference:

Anastasiya Komar

Rose Marie Nijkamp

Olivia Lincer

Luca Udvardy

Final Thoughts: The Cowgirls dropped three of their last five played matches before canceling each of their final five matches due to “insufficient number of players.”

It was a terrible ending for a program that seemed to possess legit national title aspirations under former coach Chris Young, who was dismissed following an NCAA investigation last summer.

New head coach Katarina Adamovic is a former Cowgirl with an overall record of 58-35 following two seasons at both Grand Canyon and Houston.

Grade: F

Equestrian

Record: 8-4, 4-2 Big 12

Postseason: Quarterfinalist

Conference: Champions

All-Americans:

Ava Bush

Emma Filiatreau

June Roberson

Bella D’Onforio

Final Thoughts: The Cowgirls dropped their last two regular-season meets only to rebound and claim the program’s sixth-consecutive Big 12 crown in the postseason. As has become routine, the Cowgirls proved skilled enough to win one in the NCEA National Championship bracket, but were unable to advance further. This time, it was Georgia who stood in the way, ending OSU’s season 14-5 in the quarterfinals.

Ava Bush, Emma Filiatreau and June Roberson finished with First Team All-American honors, a first for all except Roberson, who also earned the same honor last year. She currently ranks sixth in program history with 35 horsemanship wins in her career.

Bella D’Onforio earned Second Team All-American honors.

Grade: B-

Cowgirl Track

Postseason: 57th

Conference: 6th

All-Americans:

Annie Molenhouse (Heptathlon); First Team

Burklie Burton (Hammer Throw); Second Team

Rachel Neaves (Hammer Throw); Second Team

Kaylie Politza (800 meters); Honorable Mention

Final Thoughts: Annie Molenhouse took sixth at NCAAs this season in the Heptathlon with 5,971 points. She also leaves the program with the all-time record set in the recent conference meet, where she scored 6,005.

Burklie Burton and Rachel Neaves finished 12th and 15th, respectively, at NCAAs. This marks the end of Neaves’ career, but signals a bright beginning for Burton, a freshman.

The Cowgirls were slightly more successful in 2025, scoring five points at NCAAs instead of the three they scored this time around.

Grade: C

EA Sports has released its team rankings for the College Football 27 video game that is set to release worldwide on July 9. The Cowboys are tied with Houston for the third-highest overall rating among Big 12 schools.

There are only 20 teams in the country with an overall rating above 83, while the Cowboys and Cougars are two of nine teams with an overall rating of 83.

So, the folks at EA think the Cowboys are somewhere among the Top 30 teams in the country, a placing many OSU fans would likely take given the Cowboys have won no conference games in the past two seasons.

The game developers seem particularly intrigued with the OSU offense, and who wouldn’t be? The Cowboys added the play-caller (Eric Morris), quarterback (Drew Mestemaker) and running back (Caleb Hawkins) from last season’s nation-leading offense. There are only 16 offenses in the game rated higher than the Cowboys’.

Here are the Top 10 teams in the country, according to the game:

Oklahoma State is partnering with the Osage Nation, where OSU student-athletes will year Osage Nation patches on their jerseys for the 2026-27 school year.

Honoring our history. Building toward what is next. pic.twitter.com/kTksmVNg2r

— Oklahoma State Athletics (@OSUAthletics) June 23, 2026

“Oklahoma State Athletics is grateful for the people and the innovative leadership of the Osage Nation for making this historic partnership a reality,” OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg said. “There is a deep connection of shared values between Oklahoma State and the Osage Nation, and this partnership is the latest confirmation of that relationship.”

This is the latest example of OSU and the Osage Nation working together. The Osage Casino Hotel Tulsa is just a short drive away from the OSU-Tulsa campus, a campus that houses the Osage Casino Hotel Student Union in North Hall, which opened in 2020.

Osage National Principal Chief-Elect Joe Tillman was on the Cowboy football team from 1978 to 1981.

“Through collaboration and innovation, both Oklahoma State University and the Osage Nation share a commitment to strengthening agricultural productivity, promoting responsible stewardship of land and creating sustainable economic opportunities for future generations,” Tillman said. “The Osage Nation and Oklahoma State have already built strong partnerships through our Department of Natural Resources, Education Department, and Osage LLC. We are excited to expand those relationships through this next chapter of collaboration while creating new opportunities for Native representation, visibility, and engagement.”

Heard was battling Florida transfer point guard Liv McGill in a one-on-one drill. McGill had taken the ball from the former All-Big 12 First Team selection, which — according to their coach — seemed to light Heard’s fire. That led to Heard’s glasses getting knocked off only for her to toss them to the side and keep going.

“We’re talking, this is 6:30 a.m. in June, and these two are just freaking going at it,” OSU coach Jacie Hoyt said. “But they’re loving it …

“Just to see the level of competitiveness get to where it is already is so exciting.”

McGill has apparently had that effect on a lot of people within the Oklahoma State women’s basketball program since her arrival.

On a team that is star-studded with the likes of Heard and Audi Crooks, McGill’s was the first name to leave Hoyt’s mouth when talking about the group’s leadership through their first few weeks of the summer. Hoyt said that Heard is having the best summer of her career, and Hoyt credited McGill as the “driving force.”

“She just has this incredible ability to lead people and get people to follow and instill confidence in people,” Hoyt said. “She’s incredibly confident as a player. Heck, she gives me confidence as a coach. She has that ability to change a room. Every time she walks in a gym, it’s like, ‘I’m here, and I’m ready to work.’ Everyone around her just rises to the occasion with her.”

Out of Minneapolis, McGill will be a junior for the Cowgirls this upcoming season after spending her first two seasons at Florida. She was an All-American honorable mention this past season after averaging 22.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.6 steals a contest.

She was the fourth player to commit to the Cowgirls out of the portal but was perhaps the first big sign that Hoyt wasn’t playing around when it came to constructing the roster. The Cowgirls finished with the top portal class, according to multiple outlets.

“Stillwater has been great to me,” McGill said. “I’ve been enjoying meeting my new teammates and learning things about them, and then on the court, every day we get after it. It’s like we didn’t just join as a team, like we’ve already been playing and practicing. We already know our goal, and we’re just working at it each and every day.”

McGill mentioned a moment that touched her heart on her visit to OSU when she knew she wanted to be a Cowgirl. She elected to keep the contents of that moment private, but Hoyt noted that two share some similarities in their personalities. It sounds like an awesome start to a coach-point guard relationship.

“I think that Liv and I have really hit it off because we both are probably a little more competitive than your average person,” Hoyt said. “Sometimes that can be very misunderstood, can make people feel uncomfortable, but we don’t really know how to be any other way. …

“She is a special, special talent. I think that you’re looking at a generational player coming up here. She’s already proven herself to be very good, but I think that her future is still way brighter than what her last couple of years have been even. Her leadership, her maturity, she is wise beyond her years. She makes everyone in the gym feel invincible. That ability, that’s just different. That’s unique. The way that she can hype her teammates up, the way that she can communicate and verbalize things in the moment, she’s just a special leader.”

OSU Bullets

• After his head coach took an NBA gig, Mike Boynton was (logically) named the interim coach for Michigan yesterday – can you imagine what he could do with Michigan recruiting? (PFB)

What a year.

Mike Boynton’s year:

Wins a national title as a lead assistant

His Knicks win an NBA title

He gets named the interim coach of the reigning champs https://t.co/QrneNYUdq5

— Marshall Scott (@MarshallScottOK) June 22, 2026

• Jacie Hoyt added another big to her roster yesterday (PFB)

• Solid summary here of what happened with Cowboy wrestlers over the weekend, Pokes were working to qualify for the US World Team: 

 Former Cowboy wrestler Wyatt Hendrickson won the 125 kg weight class at Final X, earning a spot on Team USA for the second consecutive year. Former Cowboy Dustin Plott and reigning NCAA Champion Landon Robideau each won their true-third matches and will be part of the national team. Jax Forrest narrowly missed out on a team spot. [Cowboy Brew]

• What a move by the head Cowgirl in landing her star center, Audie Crooks:

The All-American made up her mind to become a Cowgirl after Oklahoma State coach Jacie Hoyt took what Crooks described as a “unique” recruiting tactic halfway through her visit. “She had put together some clips and it was like a lowlight reel,” Crooks said. “… It was just a reel of missed layups.” [PFB]

• Carson had some solid commentary on Wyndham Clark’s place in Cowboy fandom – you can see Clark’s thoughts on the situation here:

It’s a bit of a Jalen Hurts/Chris Gotterup situation w/ #OKstate “claiming” Wyndham, since he finished his final season at Oregon. My take: 4 years vs. 1 year has merit especially w/ Clark’s family situation contributing. This would double Bob Tway’s lone major for the school. https://t.co/bFluUVmi1E

— Carson Cunningham (@Carson_OKC) June 22, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• WSJ has a fun quiz on who you could cheer for in the World Cup (based on your playing style preferences) • Fighting for holiness (faith-based)

It’s true. 

if a toddler puts a sticker on you, that’s a sign of great respect in their culture

— Andrew Lynch (@andrewglynch) June 21, 2026

The All-American made up her mind to become a Cowgirl after Oklahoma State coach Jacie Hoyt took what Crooks described as a “unique” recruiting tactic halfway through her visit.

“She had put together some clips and it was like a lowlight reel,” Crooks said. “… It was just a reel of missed layups.”

Audi Crooks shares a story about #okstate coach Jacie Hoyt showing her a lowlight reel during her visit.

“Man, that’s really gutsy of you to sit here and show me everything that I’m doing wrong, but I really appreciate that.” pic.twitter.com/wzvr5lUCkh

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) June 22, 2026

Crooks’ commitment as the No. 1 portal prospect cemented Oklahoma State’s status as the top portal class in the country, according to ESPN, On3 and USA Today. It’s safe to say Crooks had interest from many teams throughout the nation, but Hoyt stood out.

“I thought to myself, man, like that’s pretty gutsy for you to sit here and show me everything that I’m doing wrong,” Crooks said. “But I really appreciate that. I appreciated that reality. I appreciated her approach with it. She’s not somebody that’s just going to say, ‘Oh, come over here, we have the sun and the moon and the stars.’ No, you’re here to work, and so knowing that she had that mentality to even humble me on my visit when she’s actively trying to get me to come to her school, and yet, she’s going to humble me in that way, and knowing that that accountability was going to be present that is what made me decide.”

On Monday, a reporter asked Hoyt if she ever questioned the decision to show Crooks that particular package of clips during her visit. Hoyt said creating that “lowlight reel” was actually an easy decision because elite players like Crooks who dream of playing professionally crave feedback.

“It’s just so important for me as a coach, to be who I am all the time,” Hoyt said. “And just be authentic with that, and it was really important on everyone’s visit, especially for Audi, to be real with her because you know she’s got one year left, and we wanted to get it right for ourselves, we want her to get it right for her.

“And that’s real, me coaching her, telling her the areas that she needs to get better. … I know the goals that she has for herself, and they are not for the faint of heart.”

Of course, Crooks didn’t just sign on because Hoyt refused to sell her nothing but sunshine during her visit.

“Honestly, the main reason I feel like a lot of us came here was the system,” Crooks said. “For me, this system I feel like translates a lot better to the WNBA and professional style basketball.”

Crooks finished the 2026 season averaging 25.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting a career-best 64.9% from the floor.

In her two 2026 outings against Oklahoma State, she averaged 17 points and seven rebounds while shooting 50%. Only two other opponents held Crooks below 50% in a game this season, and she failed to score 18 points in only three other games.

Oklahoma State won both meetings by 28 and 11 points, respectively.

“I think you go back and watch the games last year where I had to compete against (Hoyt), she beat us twice, and it wasn’t by two or four points,” Crooks said. “She, you know, kicked our butt schematically, and I thought, you know, I want to be a part of that, and I want to join a system that I feel like is really going to translate to professional play.”

When asked to elaborate further what Crooks hopes to get out of playing in Hoyt’s system, Crooks focused on the mental part of her game.

“I feel like overall IQ expansion, honestly,” Crooks said. “I feel like I will hopefully be able to fit into some different schemes, throw different things at people. There’s a lot of pick and rolls going on here, so I’m hoping to just be a vessel and a tool to help everybody else, help the guards get to the basket and help them score a little bit.”

Most of the Big 12, and the nation, had trouble limiting Crooks’ success in the past, but they might have an even tougher challenge in 2027 based on Hoyt’s early impressions.

“She’s all in right now,” Hoyt said. “She’s making commitments and sacrifices that I don’t think she’s ever made for herself, and the great thing about that is she’s already seen the improvements, just two weeks in.”

Oklahoma State announced the signing of Slovenian center Mojca Jelenc (pronounced Moyt-sah YEH-links). She is 6-foot-7 and 23 years old and joins the Cowgirls after climbing the ranks in Europe.

Jelenc played in the Hungary-A Division this past season with UNI Gyor, where she averaged 11.3 points and six rebounds across 26 games. She shot 48% from the field and 39% from 3.

“We are very excited to announce another great talent to our roster,” Hoyt said in OSU’s release. “Mojca adds instant size and length that will serve as a great paint presence defensively. Offensively, she is a rare talent because, despite her height and size, she has guard-like skills. She is very comfortable shooting the three, which is unique for her position.”

“She has played at the highest level – against former stars from the US and current WNBA players. Her experience against and with that caliber of talent is going to be a huge asset for our team.”

Jelenc began her career with Cinjarna Celje in the Slovenia league. She spent four years with that club and averaged double figures in three of those seasons. She averaged 16.2 point, 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists a game during the 2023-24 season.

She’s also been a regular in the Slovenia national team’s system. She helped her country qualify for the FIBA EuroBasket Championships, making her senior debut in the 2023 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket qualifiers where she averaged 9.2 points and five boards a game. She played in three games at the 2025 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket Championship, averaging 3.4 points and a pair of rebounds a game.

Jelenc regularly appeared in youth national teams, as well. Across 21 games with Slovenian youth national teams, she averaged 7.8 points and 5.6 rebounds a game.

Jelenc joins as stacked a roster as the Cowgirls have perhaps ever had, as Hoyt has brought in the likes of Audi Crooks and Liv McGill. The Cowgirls also bring back Stailee Heard for her senior season.

Michigan coach Dusty May took the vacant Dallas Mavericks job on Monday. That has led to Michigan promoting Boynton, May’s lead assistant the past two seasons, to becoming the interim head coach, according to multiple reports.

May hired Boynton following his firing in Stillwater, tabbing him as the Wolverines’ defensive coordinator. En route to winning a national title this past season, Michigan had the best defense in the country, according to KenPom. In Boynton’s first season in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines’ defense ranked 12th nationally in defense.

Boynton’s phoenix-esque rise won’t come as a surprise to many who were around him in Stillwater. He seemed destined to succeed.

Boynton was the head coach at Oklahoma State for seven seasons, where he held a 119-109 record with one NCAA Tournament appearance.

His tenure in Stillwater was quite the rollercoaster. Shortly after taking the job, the FBI’s probe into college basketball saw one of his assistants get arrested. That cloud and an ensuing NCAA Tournament ban would linger over the program for the next five seasons.

His best year in Stillwater came with the recruitment of top prospect Cade Cunningham, but even that wasn’t so simple. The COVID pandemic made it to where capacity crowds weren’t allowed to see Boynton’s most talented team. Still, OSU climbed as high at No. 11 in the AP Poll that year and Cunningham went on to become the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

OSU served that tournament ban the next season (five years later) before the Cowboys went a combined 32-36 over Boynton’s final two years as head coach.

Boynton’s defensive acumen showed itself in Stillwater, as well. Despite the teams not being world beaters, the Cowboys finished in the Top 20 of KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency three times in the seven seasons under Boynton, peaking at No. 4 in the 2021-22 season.

Even when Boynton was let go, there were few who spoke ill of the coach because of how well he handled himself. This feels like an example of good things happening to good people.

OSU Bullets

• Not sure where we’re at claiming Wyndham Clark as a Cowboy (played three seasons in Stillwater), but he did win the US Open yesterday (ESPN)

Played big in a major way 🏆🏆#GoPokes | #golfschool pic.twitter.com/tgME5vG1hz

— OSU Cowboy Golf (@OSUCowboyGolf) June 21, 2026

• Pretty wild statistic about Cowboy Football (HCS)

• This is pretty wild – some NFL scouts are giving Drew Mestemaker “first-round grades” going into the season:

Despite zero starting experience at the Power Four level, Drew Mestemaker’s tape from North Texas was so impressive that at least some NFL scouting sources have given him first-round grades entering the season. [CBS Sports]

• The Pokes are opening the (baseball) season in Southern California next season (X)

• Happy late Father’s Day to all Cowboy dads:

Happy Father’s Day y’all 🤠 pic.twitter.com/O1or5ZGkha

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) June 21, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Not sure I buy the US is a “soccer nation” but investments have been made to lead us (US) that way • Love this faith comment on fathers – big fan of the hit in Luke 15 Gosh, this is the ultimate “bring your dad to work day”

17 year old Miles Russell just surprised his dad in the course by having him fill in as his caddie for his final walk up 18 (he cleared it with the USGA rules committee) on Father’s Day.

Getting dusty in here 🥹🥹🥹 pic.twitter.com/4li1VvG6Nf — Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) June 21, 2026

OSU Bullets

• The Cowboys added a pair of Power Four pitchers on Friday. [PFB]

• Wyatt Hendrickson makes it to Worlds for the second consecutive year. [PFB]

• The Big 12 is lacking in marquee matchups, writes Berry Tramel. [Tulsa World]

• This is kind of insane.

In their last 25 games, Oklahoma State is:

2-0 vs. the SEC
2-0 vs. the FCS
1-1 vs. the American
0-1 vs. the Big Ten
0-18 vs. the Big 12 pic.twitter.com/mV8hHTGRmS

— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) June 19, 2026

• The Cowboys will open next season against Southern Cal. 

🚨🚨Scheduling news🚨🚨#OkState will open its 2027 campaign in a three-game series at Southern Cal, per source.

I am told it will be a one-off series, and the Trojans will not make a return trip to Stillwater in the future.

A thrilling heavyweight clash between two marquee… pic.twitter.com/DJxzu99dOM

— Daniel Allen (@bydanielallen25) June 19, 2026

• The Cowgirls among the most watched teams in the NCAA Tournament. 

Most-watched college softball teams of the NCAA tournament, via @nielsen📺https://t.co/QXLW4qDbae pic.twitter.com/nsDoTIpjxf

— On3 NIL (@On3NIL) June 20, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• The Sorsby Tech saga continues.

There are also some Big 12 ADs who would like to see Texas Tech pay for the legal fees accumulated in all of this, a source said. pic.twitter.com/XQtuZuCKQl

— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) June 20, 2026

• On learning to fail. [Big Think]

Former Washington Pitcher Noah Kenney and former Texas Tech pitcher Will Jordan both announced their intentions to transfer to Oklahoma State on Friday.

Noah Kenney

In his one year at Washington, Kenney accomplished a lot.

The 6-foot-2 right-hander was included on the watch list for the College Baseball Foundation Pitcher of the Year Award in 2026. He led the Huskies in innings pitched (74.2), strikeouts (83) and starts, starting 12 of his 13 appearances. He turned in a 4.74 ERA and was 4-7 on the season. Those 83 strikeouts ranked 10th in the Big Ten last season.

Before his time at Washington, Kenney spent two years at Folsom Lake College. He didn’t see any action as a freshman, but as a sophomore in 2025, he made nine starts and went 6-2 and earned a 2.44 ERA. That season he averaged 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

I have decided to enter the transfer portal with 1 year of eligibility. Very grateful for UW and the opportunity.

81.2 IP-90K- 37BB

4 Seam-90-93 T94 21IVB 8HB Whiff%-27.2%
Changeup-82-86 2IVB 15HB Whiff%-31.9%
Sweeper-79-81 -1IVB -13HB
Cutter-83-85 5IVB -3HB@AlexTHinz pic.twitter.com/f6xUX4Azu1

— Noah Kenney (@NoahKenney3) June 2, 2026

Will Jordan

The 6-foot-6 right-handed pitcher hails from Weatherford, Texas originally. He made 12 appearances as a sophomore before his 2026 season ended due to injury. In those appearances he went 2-1 with a save and struck out 15 batters in just 12 2/3 innings. He logged a 4.97 ERA and held opposing batters to .264 batting average.

Jordan also comes to the Cowboys with two years of eligibility remaining. He announced he was entering the transfer portal on June 14.

Thank you Texas tech for an awesome two years. I will be entering the transfer portal with 2 years of eligibility left.

📞 575-791-8166

Fr. – 19.1 IP/4.19er

So. – 12.2 IP/4.97er pic.twitter.com/bt5AQQJgGf

— Will Jordan (@will_jordan16) June 15, 2026

This makes for five pitchers that the Pokes have nabbed from the portal this offseason. OSU has to some arm talent to replace with Mario Pesca and Brennan Phillips both having exhausted their eligibility. Those other incoming pitchers include D-II transfer lefty Ben Leikam, Wake Forest right hander Tyler Wood and Utah transfer Kaden Soder.

Former Oklahoma State NCAA champ and Hodge Trophy winner Wyatt Hendrickson won his Final X best-of-three series against Mason Parris to clinch his spot on the United States World Team for the second straight year. However, two Cowboy RTC athletes dropped their best-of-three series, with Jax Forrest and Zahid Valencia each falling in three matches to their foes.

Hendrickson’s first match against Parris was a tight one, with the Cowboy winning 9-5 in a back-and-forth affair where Hendrickson had to avoid a few big moves. He scored on a takedown and exposure that ended up being the biggest sequence of the bout.

These two rivals meet again this Final X. Wyatt Hendrickson wins 9-5 in round 1.#USAWrestling #FinalX2026 | Presented by @kerberoscm | Live stream, brackets, and more at link in bio. pic.twitter.com/LwuzLQutM8

— USA Wrestling (@USAWrestling) June 19, 2026

Hendrickson won the second match more comfortably, taking it 7-1. The two were in an exchange as the final whistle sounded, with Parris trying to score a leg lace after the whistle that drew some ire from Hendrickson and looked to tweak his knee.

Hendrickson was the United States’ heavyweight rep last year, as well. He was unable to medal at Worlds, but we’ll see if the experienced gained in 2025 will help him in 2026.

Forrest’s bouts with Blaze were a clash of styles. Blaze relies on sound positioning and defense, while Forrest wants to start rolling.

Blaze took the first match 2-2 on criteria with the deciding point being a step out and the other three all being inactivity points. So, Blaze was able to slow the match down.

That wasn’t as much the case in Match 2, where Forrest was able to open up things a bit late. The Cowboy took that bout 6-1.

Jax Forrest beats Marcus Blaze in match two and forces a third #finalx pic.twitter.com/Jn4pfN2gGB

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) June 19, 2026

But Blaze bounced back to take the series-deciding Match 3 5-2. The match-deciding sequence was on the edge of the mat, where Forrest attempted to reposition himself to thwart off a takedown attempt. Blaze was able to eventually get behind Forrest and then got two exposure points when it looked like Forrest was waiting for a whistle. Forrest motioned for a challenge brick, but the Cowboy corner didn’t throw it.

Valencia, who didn’t wrestle at OSU but trains in Stillwater, won his first match against Kyle Dake before Dake won the final two. It was a star-studded series with Valencia winning a world championship last year and Dake having four world titles to his name.

A pair of Cowboys also won true-third matches to earn a spot on the National Team. Landon Robideau’s opponent dropped out Thursday, meaning he didn’t even have to wrestle at the event. And then Dustin Plott clobbered Seth Shumate 10-0 in 2:25 seconds. Spots on the National Team come with a monthly stipend from USA Wrestling, as well as some assistance with travel.

Three Thoughts

• What a win for Eric Morris and the Pokes – OSU lands a four-star edge player yesterday from Choctaw (PFB)

• Props to Doug Gottlieb, who got an extension yesterday at Green Bay after winning 18 games in year two (ESPN)

• Impressive stuff from former Cowboy Wyndham Clark, setting a 36-hole record at the US Open, sitting a top the leaderboard going into day three (ESPN)

Two Quotes

• Drew Mestemaker was accepted to the Manning Passing Academy – one of 21 quarterbacks selected for the camp:

“I don’t think there’s ever been as many good college quarterbacks as there are this year,” Archie Manning told Nola.com. “We had more requests than we could honor.” [PFB]

• Serious add for the Cowgirls here: 

an 𝘼𝙡𝙡-𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣 addition ⭐

“Any time you have the opportunity to add an All-American to your roster, it’s a no-brainer. Kendra has been an elite hitter in the Big Ten Conference for two seasons, and we feel that there is a whole lot of opportunity for her to grow as… pic.twitter.com/ohCbQTaU0E

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

One Question

• Are you going over or under on 5.5 wins? 

NEW: 2026 College Football Big 12 Win Totals via @BetMGM‼️

Who do you like?https://t.co/MMsVvHgZsw pic.twitter.com/ZQE8R0Ls52

— On3 (@On3) June 19, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Solid summary from the US’ win over Australia yesterday

• Kids are reading less for fun

Go Yanks. 

pic.twitter.com/qAeMnHL3Vh

— Jason Gallagher (@jga41agher) June 19, 2026

Eric Morris put Cooper Lai, Harrison Dempsey and Carson Kolb on scholarship this week, and the Oklahoma State social department captured the moment.

Scholarship. Earned. 🤩@CooperLai4 @HarrisonD2003 @CarsonKolb3 #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/V4FlVdlPyf

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) June 19, 2026

“These three guys from this day on are going on scholarship” Morris told his team as they started to pile on the three players.

Here’s a little bit about each guy:

Lai: A Cascia Hall alum, Lai is a 6-foot, 199-pound redshirt junior safety. He has spent his entire college career in Stillwater, taking part in a dozen games across the past two seasons. He had four tackles in 2025.

Dempsey: A 5-foot-11, 205-pound redshirt senior safety, Dempsey has ties to Oklahoma State and Morris. Out of Gainesville, Texas, Dempsey began his career as a walk-on at OSU in 2022 before transferring to North Texas in 2023, Morris’ first year as the Mean Green’s head coach. He spent the past three seasons with Morris in Denton, playing in six games before returning to OSU with Morris.

Kolb: Out of Scottsdale, Arizona, Kolb is a 6-foot-4, 235-pound tight end. He transferred to Stillwater this offseason after spending the past two seasons at Oregon State. He played in 16 games across the past two seasons with the Beavers and is just a redshirt sophomore.

Four-star, in-state linebacker Israel Hammons announced that he has committed to Oklahoma State. Listed at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, Hammons is the No. 160 overall player in Rivals’ Industry ranking, which tabs him as a Top 15 linebacker in the class and the No. 6 player from the state of Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma State staff has long been in pursuit of Hammons — before that staff was even in Stillwater.

North Texas was Hammons’ first Division-I offer, coming back in January in 2025. Fast forward a year, and that same staff offered him a scholarship at Oklahoma State — his eighth offer.

That didn’t mean it was a simple recruitment for the Cowboys’ staff, though. Hammons had also garnered offers from Texas, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Auburn, Arizona State, Missouri, Kentucky and others. He even recently took a visit to Austin, but decided he wanted to stay in his home state.

Hammons took his visit to Stillwater in April alongside quarterback commit Carson White.

Hammons plays both ways at Choctaw High School, crushing ballcarriers as a linebacker and thumping defenders with stiff blocks as an H back. He doesn’t look too bad with the ball in his hands, either.

Hammons becomes the Cowboys’ ninth commitment in the 2027 class and the third defensive prospect who has pledged to be a Poke. He joins safeties Bryson Brown (OK) and Chayce Davis (TX) as defenders in the class. Hammons is also the third in-state product to join the fold, joining Brown (Broken Arrow) and receiver Cooper Hooker (Pryor).

Oklahoma State’s 2027 Commits

Mississippi State transfer pitcher Delainey Everett announced her commitment to Oklahoma State. As a junior with the Bulldogs this past season, Everett threw 24 1/3 innings where she posted a 1.15 ERA. She had a .195 batting average against.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Delainey Everett (@delainey_everett)

Everett helped lead the Bulldogs to the WCWS this past season, including a standout performance in the Super Regional round. Everett threw a complete game shutout against Oklahoma in Norman in Game 3 of that Super.

The performance led to Everett getting a shoutout on the Pat McAfee Show.

“Delainey Everett is a dawg..

She had not started a game all year long and she showed out” ~ @bmac_22 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/3rB1r7imDC

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 29, 2026

A lefty, Everett hails from Oakdale, California and has spent her first three years of college at Mississippi State.

She threw 27 2/3 innings as a freshman in 2024, where she had a 4-0 record in 14 appearances with a 2.78 ERA.

Everett threw the most innings in her career in 2025, throwing 74 1/3 across 25 appearances. She logged a 2.92 ERA as a sophomore.

She was a blue-chip prospect coming out of Oakdale High, with Extra Inning Softball listing her as the No. 29 player in the country.

The Cowgirls pitching staff is going through quite the overhaul this offseason with Ruby Meyland and RyLee Crandall both being seniors this past season. Then Preslee Downing, a freshman with the third-most innings pitched, hit the portal. So, pitching was a premium for Kenny Gajewski and Co.

This is the Cowgirls’ fourth portal pickup of the offseason, with Everett joining Kennedy Proctor (Utah), Madison Hartley (Houston) and Kendra Lewis (Wisconsin).

North Greenville University transfer Ben Leikam announced that he was committed to Oklahoma State on Thursday. Listed at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Leikam threw 32 innings this past season, where he posted a 1.97 ERA with an opponent batting average of .171.

Go pokes @OSUBaseball pic.twitter.com/b5WCZN2nit

— Ben Leikam (@Leikam_Ben15) June 18, 2026

Out of Colorado, Leikam was on Wichita State’s roster in 2024 but didn’t play before making the move to North Greenville. He threw six innings there as a redshirt freshman in 2025, giving up seven earned runs in that stretch.

His 2026 season included 20 appearances and four starts. He had a 4-0 record and struck out 42 to 20 walks. He allowed just five extra-base hits this past season.

When Leikam was coming out of Valor Christian in Colorado, Perfect Game considered him the top lefty in the state and a Top 15 Coloradoan in his class. He was a First Team All-State selection as a high school senior in 2023, leading his squad to a state title with a 1.59 ERA.

According to Baseball Reference, Leikam has thrown twice for the Kingsport Axmen in the Appalachian Summer League this year. Across six total innings, he has a 1.50 ERA.

Leikam becomes the fourth transfer pickup the Cowboys have made this offseason and the third who pitches. He joins Kaden Soder (Utah) and Tyler Wood (Wake Forest) as transfer pitchers. OSU has also added Morehead State transfer Aubrey Kearns, who hit .387 this past season.

OSU Bullets

• Through the first round at the US Open, former Cowboy Wyndham Clark leads the crowd, while Rickie Fowler follows back at T29 and Preston Stout at T49 (PGATour.com)

•  The Pokes scheduled a game against a perennial tournament team in GIA this winter (PFB)

• Eric Morris, a man of the people, is touring the state (TulsaWorld)

• OSU’s point guard commit for 2027 was upgraded to a four-star (X)

• Optimism forming around the Pokes:

Word’s starting to spread 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/Hqp6uFCuCW

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

Non-OSU Bullets

• College football stadiums are the biggest in the world (eight of the top ten!)

• Defeating daily anxiety (faith-based)

“Show up every day. Work hard. Do it with joy. Care more about others than we do ourselves.” Mike Deegan, Dennison University Baseball coach

Nola.com announced on Thursday the college quarterbacks who will attend the Manning Passing Academy. It’s a who’s who of college talent, and a list that includes new Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker.

Here’s the list of college attendees:

Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State)
Julian Sayin (Ohio State)
Arch Manning (Texas)
Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss)
CJ Carr (Notre Dame)
Jayden Maiava (USC)
Noah Fifita (Arizona)
Gunner Stockton (Georgia)
Steve Angeli (Syracuse)
Bear Bachmeier (BYU)
CJ Bailey (NC State)
Ryan Browne (Purdue)
Kevin Jennings (SMU)
Kyle Lowe (Southeastern Louisiana)
Owen McCown (UTSA)
Alberto Mendoza (Georgia Tech)
Marcel Reed (Texas A&M)
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (Cal)
Kamario Taylor (Mississippi State)
Conner Weigman (Houston)
Demond Williams (Washington)

“I don’t think there’s ever been as many good college quarterbacks as there are this year,” Archie Manning told Nola.com. “We had more requests than we could honor.”

The college quarterbacks work the camp as counselors but will compete in a Friday Night Lites skills competition. The camp starts June 25 and ends June 28.

Held at Nicholls State in Thibodaux, Louisiana, the Manning Passing Academy has been a premier football camp for 30 years. It’s ran by the Mannings, a famous quarterbacking family that has produce Archie, Peyton and Eli as NFL quarterbacks.

The camp’s alumni list includes seventeen former Heisman Trophy winners and the past four NFL MVPs in Matthew Stafford, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes.

Mestemaker transferred to Oklahoma State this offseason from North Texas. He led the country in passing last season with 4,379 yards and 34 touchdowns to nine interceptions as a redshirt freshman.

After a visit to Purdue, Chase Clark announced Wednesday that he was flipping from Oklahoma State to the Boilermakers. Clark, listed at 6-foot-4, 290 pounds out of Chicago, had just committed to the Cowboys on June 7. Former Oklahoma State player Zach Crabtree is the offensive line coach at Purdue.

Clark is a three-star prospect who is listed as the No. 1,613 player nationally in the 247Sports Composite ranking. Along with offers to OSU and Purdue, he has offers to Oregon State, James Madison, Ohio, UConn and others.

Clark’s exit pushes the Pokes’ 2027 recruiting class back down to eight prospects. The Cowboys are still doing alright on the O-line front, with Sonny Mullen (TX) and Jake Baker (TN). OSU also made the final group for Alabama offensive lineman Tristan Hardin-Roberts, who recently changed his commitment date from this upcoming Monday to July 11.

Eric Morris made note early in his tenure that they were a little behind on the 2027 cycle given the coaching change and the fact that they had to almost entirely build the Cowboys’ current roster via the transfer portal.

OSU’s class ranks 71st nationally, according to 247Sports. That puts the Cowboys’ class 15th in the Big 12, but they also have the second-fewest commitments to this point.

Oklahoma State’s 2027 Commits

Oklahoma State announced Thursday that it will host Saint Mary’s on Dec. 5. Out of the West Coast Conference, the Gaels have played in the past five NCAA Tournaments, making it to the second round in three of those instances. They’ve also been in the AP Top 25 in each of the last five seasons and finished the year ranked in four of those instances.

These two programs have met twice on the hardwood. The first meeting came in December of 1946, when the Cowboys pulled out a tight 34-33 win in Stillwater. The Gaels returned to Stillwater in 1996, where OSU again won by a lone point — 71-70.

Randy Bennett had led the Saint Mary’s program for going on three decades before he took the Arizona State job this offseason. He coached at Saint Mary’s from 2001 through this past season.

Mickey McConnell took over the program. He was the associate head coach and played under Bennett from 2007 to 2011, averaging double-digit points in his final two seasons.

McConnell has been on staff since the 2019-20 season, and the Gaels have gone a combined 175-54 since.

Australian guard Joshua Dent is the Gaels’ leading returning scorer. He averaged 13.2 points and 5.6 assists a game last season while shooting 40% from 3.

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OSU Bullets

• Cowboy Baseball added a talented right-hander from the ACC yesterday (PFB)

• Chad Weiberg’s right-hand man in the athletic department announced he’s leaving for a similar role at Navy yesterday (TulsaWorld)

• CBS Sports rated Wyatt Young and Caleb Hawkins both in their top 20 offensive skill players in college football, a list not including quarterbacks

• This article power-ranked the Big 12 basketball teams, fawns over what Steve Lutz has done with this Cowboy squad, having them at No. 9:

 What an offseason for Steve Lutz. This Oklahoma State roster has made an about-face and enters 2026-27 with loads of playable depth after it found usable pieces in every area of roster-building. [CBS Sports]

• Five Cowboys are fighting for spots on the World Team tomorrow (PFB)

•  20 minutes of national college football podcasts talking OSU football: 

Non-OSU Bullets

• The quiet grief of adult friendships • Most common language (outside of English and Spanish) spoken in each US state

Wake Forest transfer right-handed pitcher Tyler Wood announced via Instagram on Tuesday that he has committed to Oklahoma State.

Listed at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, Wood was a freshman for the Demon Deacons this past season. He pitched just 1 1/3 innings, finishing the year with a 27 ERA thanks to one of those four appearances being rather rough. But with the limited sample size, I wouldn’t put too much into that number.

Wood was a solid prospect. Out of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, by way of Lee’s Summit West High School, Wood was the No. 139 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, according to Perfect Game. That made him the No. 3 player out of Missouri.

Perfect game credited him with a 94 MPH fastball in 2024. Here’s what the outlet said about him as a prospect as the 2024 National Showcase:

“Outstanding athletic build with length and some present strength and more to come. Has a balanced and athletic delivery with a clean and fast arm stroke, ball comes out of his hand easily. Fastball topped out at 94 mph, more velocity there as he matures, locates his fastball well to the glove side, has advanced fastball metrics with 20″ plus IVB and some horizontal as well. Slider was a solid second pitch, gyro shape and lateness and is located well. Still developing his change up but kills spin effectively. High level athlete with a very projectable arm.” — Perfect Game

Wood joins Utah pitcher Kaden Soder and Morehead State transfer Aubrey Kearns as pledges in the Cowboys’ portal class.

Israel Hammons, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound four-star linebacker, announced via social media on Tuesday that he’ll pick a college program at 7 p.m. Friday. Rivals and 247Sports each consider Hammons a four-star prospect, with the Rivals Industry ranking listing Hammons as the No. 160 overall player in the 2027 class, making him a Top 15 linebacker and the No. 6 player from the state of Oklahoma.

I will be announcing my commitment this Friday on Instagram Live @israelhammons0!!! pic.twitter.com/RNMZmD5LpY

— Israel Hammons (@israelhammons0) June 16, 2026

Hammons didn’t announce a top group, but considering he took a visit to Stillwater in April, the Cowboys seem to be in contention. Hammons has also garnered offers from Texas, Arkansas, Baylor, Kansas State, Texas Tech and others.

Hammons’ recruitment started to take off around last November. Under new OSU coach Eric Morris, North Texas was actually the first Division-I program to offer Hammons all the way back in January of 2025. Then OSU, under Morris, became Hammons’ eighth offer this past January.

Hammons visited Oklahoma State in April alongside quarterback commit Carson White.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Israel Hammons (@israelhammons0)

Hammons plays both sides of the ball at Choctaw, as a bruising linebacker and a thumping H back. Even while being 230 pounds, he returned a kick for a touchdown this past season.

The Cowboys have eight commitments in their 2027 class as of writing, and only two of those are defenders in safeties Bryson Brown (OK) and Chayce Davis (TX). Hammons would not only be the Cowboys’ highest-ranked defender, he’d be their highest-ranked prospect overall thus far if he picks the Pokes.

Final X, the finale of the United States’ World Team qualification process, happens Friday in New Jersey. The Cowboy RTC will be well-represented with Forrest, Wyatt Hendrickson and Zahid Valencia all seeking a spot on the World Team. Landon Robideau and Dustin Plott will also take part in the event, wrestling true-third matches to be a part of the national team. The finals will best-of-three series.

The festivities get going at 11:30 a.m. Friday on Flo.

Here’s a preview on what each Cowboy is up against.

Jax Forrest vs. Marcus Blaze

It’ll be Oklahoma State vs. Penn State at 61 kg.

Forrest won the U.S. spot at this weight last season but didn’t have to beat Blaze, a U17 and U20 World Champion, to get there.

Both guys were collegiate freshmen this past season. Forrest went 18-0 and won the 133-pound national title, while Blaze went 25-3 and finished fourth at the weight. But they didn’t hit at NCAAs either.

To get to this point, Blaze won the U.S. Open but again didn’t wrestle Forrest there, as Forrest lost to Ben Davino (Ohio State) in the semifinals before Forrest went and avenged that loss and won the World Team Trials to secure his spot at Final X.

I believe their last meeting on the mat came at the 2024 Olympic Team Trials, a bout Blaze won 6-1.

Flo released a video last week of all the Forrest-Blaze matches they have filmed. It starts all the way back in 2020 when they were wrestling at 105 pounds at Super 32, a match Forrest won 13-4. Then Forrest beat Blaze 10-1 at 2022 Super 32 at 120 pounds. Then Blaze beat Forrest at the 2023 Clarion Open (a college tournament) 9-4 at 125 pounds. So, they’re familiar with each other, but it has been a while.

Wyatt Hendrickson vs. Mason Parris

Two NCAA champs and former World Team members will duke it out for the Americans’ heavyweight spot.

Parris won his NCAA title with Michigan in 2023 in Tulsa. He went on to earn the World Team spot that year and took third at the World Championships in Belgrade.

Hendrickson won his NCAA title two years later in that epic final against Gable Steveson before Hendrickson went on to earn the World Team spot but came home without a medal.

Hendrickson won the U.S. Open, while Parris bowed out in the quarterfinals. But Parris rebounded with a win at the World Team Trials, taking out 2026 NCAA champ Isaac Trumble 14-12 in a wild final.

Hendrickson and Parris have some recent results against each other. Hendrickson beat Parris 13-2 at RAF 04, just for Parris to turn around and tech Hendrickson at a ranking series event earlier this year. Both guys like scoring points, so despite some heavyweights having a reputation for being slow, expect fireworks here.

Zahid Valencia vs. Kyle Dake

Valencia didn’t wrestle at Oklahoma State, but the two-time NCAA champ at Arizona State trains out of the Cowboy RTC.

Kyle Dake was a four-time NCAA champ, winning all of those titles at different weights. Needless to say, both guys are credentialed, and that doesn’t even include the fact that Valencia won a world title last year, not giving up a point at the World Championships, while Dake is a four-time world champ.

This was the 86 kg Final X pairing last year, as well, where Valencia won both matches by a combined score of 9-4. Valencia also beat Dake 8-4 at last year’s U.S. Open.

Because Valencia went on to win Worlds last year, he received a bye into Final X, meaning the two haven’t had to wrestle each other since last year’s Final X. Dake won the U.S. Open, beating his four opponents a combined 28-3.

Landon Robideau vs. Caleb Henson

It’s been the year of Landon Robideau, but he faces a tough test in the 70 kg true-third match.

Robideau is coming off an NCAA title win and a win at the U20 U.S. Open and the U20 World Team trials to secure his spot at the U20 World Championships in August.

He’ll take on Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson, who won an NCAA title at 149 pounds in 2024 before taking second at that weight in 2025. Henson redshirted this past season as the Hokies build a stacked lineup heading into this upcoming season.

Henson and Robideau both lost to Zain Retherford at the World Team Trials, with Robideau losing 3-2 in the semis and Henson losing 2-1 in the final. At the U.S. Open, Robideau focused on U20s, while Henson fell in the final of the Senior bracket to Ridge Lovett.

Dustin Plott vs. Seth Shumate

Dustin Plott was oh, so close to wrestling for a spot on the World Team, but he can still cap a solid domestic summer with a win here.

Plott made it to the final of the U.S. Open at 92 kg but fell 4-3 to Michael Macchiavello. With Trent Hidlay winning the World Championships last year and automatically advancing to Final X, this weight wasn’t contested at the World Team Trials, meaning the Open was Plott’s only shot at the World Team.

A four-time NCAA All-American at Oklahoma State, Plott draws Ohio State’s Seth Shumate in the true-third match. Shumate will be a senior at Ohio State this upcoming season. He has made the NCAA Championships once, falling in the blood round in 2025.

Shumate took third at the Open, battling back after a loss in the quarters to do so. His backside run featured an 8-4 win against Cody Merrill.

OSU Bullets

• The Pokes added a commitment from a solid Texas defensive back with some eye-popping measurables, while Cowgirl Softball added a former freshman All-American from the Big Ten (PFB)

Former Wisconsin P/UT Kendra Lewis is transferring to Oklahoma State.

An NFCA All-American in 2025, Lewis owns a 5.63 career ERA in 93.1 innings of work, along with a .364 career batting average, 13 home runs, 12 doubles, and 73 RBIs. pic.twitter.com/CiCH99g5eo

— Justin McLeod (@justfactsmaam) June 16, 2026

• Nine current or former Cowboys will be in the US Open this week – check out the details here (PFB)

• Fascinating to read about revenue generated from football in the Big 12 and how it impacts the rest of the programs – OSU netted over $24M from football, squarely in the middle between Utah bringing in over $50M net as a league-leader, while Cincinnati lost $16.7M.

Oklahoma State brought in nearly $57 million from football, good for a surplus of $24.1 million.  [247 Sports]

• A couple of Cowboy wrestlers won gold at the Pan-American Championships (OKState.com)

• Lists like this will be peppering out through the summer:

A few more preseason All-Big 12 lists 🤠#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/GKomKB7IPS

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) June 16, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Previewing Friday’s 2PM CST World Cup game between Australia and the US

• Letting go of the lie in my right hand (faith-based)

Wisconsin transfer Kendra Lewis announced her commitment to Oklahoma State on Tuesday. As a sophomore with the Badgers in 2025, Lewis slashed .333/.432/.519 with seven home runs and 35 RBIs. That came after she was an NFCA Third Team All-American as a freshman in 2025.

Officially a part of cowgirl country 🤠#osu #gopokes @cowgirlsb @OSUcoachG @Coach_Shippy pic.twitter.com/PWeqeTDLNy

— Kendra K Lewis (@KendraLewis2024) June 16, 2026

That All-American freshman season saw Lewis hit .408 with a 1.092 OPS, seven home runs and 39 RBIs. Not only was that enough to earn her an All-America nod, she was also named to the All-Big Ten First Team.

Although she’s primarily been used as a hitter, Lewis also stepped in the circle for the Badgers, throwing 93 1/3 innings across the past two seasons where she has a 5.63 ERA. She was essentially Wisconsin’s third arm the last two seasons.

She hails from Milan … Illinois. Her high school, Rockridge, went 134-5-1 in her four years, which included a pair of state titles. She went 83-4 from the circle with a 0.95 ERA and had a career batting average of .528.

This is the third portal pickup for the Cowgirls this offseason, and all have come from the Power Conference level, with Lewis joining Kennedy Proctor (Utah) and Madison Hartley (Houston).

Texas safety Chayce Davis announced his commitment to Oklahoma State on Tuesday. Listed as the No. 763 player in the 247Sports Composite ranking for the class, Davis picked the Pokes over offers from Baylor, Iowa State, Arizona and others.

✍️ 100% committed. #gopokes

The work doesn’t stop here. #SAS

@__CoachMorris @CoachMalone18 @rajesh_murti @OwensDajon_ @CoachRRoberts @TheCoachDiesel @EulessTrinityFB pic.twitter.com/384Vm6rloU

— Chayce Davis 3⭐️🥇 (@Chayce09Davis) June 16, 2026

Listed at 6-feet, 173 pounds, Davis hails from Euless Trinity High School (TX), also known as the same high school Ollie Gordon attended.

He also competes on his school’s track team (a regular for Eric Morris recruits), where he has recorded a 10.59 100 meters, a 20.89 200 meters, a 13.5 11o hurdle, a 6-foot-6 high jump and a 23-1.75 long jump, according to MileSplit.

Highlights from Davis’ junior season so him primarily lining up as a traditional safety, though there was an instance of him at corner. He shows good ball skills and a willingness to use that track speed to get downhill and lay some lumber.

Davis announced his OSU offer via safeties coach Jordan Malone on Feb. 11, as the Cowboys were just his second D1 offer. He announced in early May that he had set up an official visit to Stillwater and took that visit at the beginning of June ahead of his commitment.

Davis’ commitment marks nine for the Cowboys in the 2027 cycle, but he is just the second defender to pledge to the class, joining Broken Arrow safety Bryson Brown.

Oklahoma State’s 2027 Commits

Nine current or former Oklahoma State golfers are in the field for the U.S. Open, which tees off Thursday in New York:

Wyndham Clark
Ethan Fang (a)
Rickie Fowler
Viktor Hovland
Eric Lee (a)
Alex Noren
Sam Stevens
Preston Stout (a)
Peter Uihlein

Among that group of Cowboys, Viktor Hovland and Wyndham Clark share the best odds to win, according to FanDuel, with both sitting at +4,500. Here’s a little preview on how each Cowboy got to this point.

Clark: This marks Clark’s sixth U.S. Open, and it’s event he has won before.

In 2023, Clark won at the Los Angeles Country Club North Course with a 10-under 270. That was the only time he shot under par at a U.S. Open, as aside from that 2023 tournament, Clark has missed the U.S. Open cut four times and finished tied for 56th the other time.

On 15 PGA Tour starts this year, Clark has made the cut 12 times and won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in late May. That tournament has started a good run for Clark entering the U.S. Open, as he has since finished third at the Memorial and tied for 11th at the RBC Canadian Open.

Fang: At just 21 years old, Fang will make his U.S. Open debut after a win at the 2025 Amateur Championship.

As a junior on the OSU golf team this past season, Fang received honorable mention All-America status by PING and Golfweek. He was an All-Big 12 First Team selection and was a semifinalist for the Ben Hogan Award.

Fang won the Carmel Cup back in August, marking his first college win as a Cowboy. He’d share a win with teammate Preston Stout at the Maridoe Collegiate in March and had Top 10 finishes at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational, The Clerico, the Haskins Award Invitational and the Big 12 Championships.

Fowler: This is a tournament that Fowler has threatened at in the past.

This’ll be the 15th time Fowler competes in a U.S. Open, going back to 2008. Although he’s never won the event, he has been in the hunt on a few occasions. In that 2023 Tournament that Clark won, Fowler finished tied for fifth, just five shots back. That was one of four times Fowler has finished in the Top 10 of the U.S. Open, tying for fifth in 2017, tying for second in 2014 and tying for 10th in 2013.

Fowler has made 10 of 14 cuts this year but has missed the past two cuts at the Charles Schwab in May and the Memorial earlier this month. But the form isn’t all the way down. In early May, Fowler tied for second at the Truist Championship — one of four times he’s finished in the Top 10 in 2026.

Hovland: Viktor Hovland finished third at the U.S. Open last year at Oakmont, and this weekend will be the eighth U.S. Open he has participated in.

He has made 10 of 12 cuts this year with a pair of Top 10 finishes. The best of those finishes is Hovland’s most recent result when he placed third at the RBC Canadian Open last weekend.

Lee: Another current Cowboy, Lee got into this field by tying for second at a final qualifying event in Sacramento, California earlier this month.

Lee earned an honorable mention All-America honor from PING this past season. He won the NCAA Marana Regional and had Top 10 finishes at the Carmel Cup, the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational and the Maridoe Collegiate.

Noren: This will make a dozen U.S. Opens for Alex Noren, with his best finish at the tournament being a T17 in 2020. He’s only made the cut three times at the U.S. Open, but one of those times was at Shinnecock Hills, as he tied for 25th in 2018.

Noren has made 11 of 14 cuts on the PGA Tour this season, including a ninth-place finish at the Memorial earlier this month. He also tied for seventh at the Cadillac Championship at the end of April.

Stevens: This will be Stevens’ fourth U.S. Open, and he has made the cut in his other three attempts. He finished tied for 23rd at the tournament last year, his best finish at the event.

Stevens has made 15 of 17 PGA Tour cuts this year and has two Top 10 finishes. The most recent was a fifth-place finish at the Texas Children’s Houston Open in late March. He also finished tied for sixth at The American Express in January.

Stout: Stout earned this opportunity by winning the NCAA Championship this year.

He has been named a First Team All-American the past two seasons and has won three Big 12 individual titles in three years in Stillwater. He was the Big 12 Player of the Year in 2026 and was a finalist for the Jack Nicklaus Award, Ben Hogan Award and Fred Haskins Award. He has eight collegiate wins, which is three short of Lindy Miller’s program record.

Uihlein: Uihlein earned his spot in the field by winning a final qualifying event in Dallas last month. This will mark his fourth U.S. Open and first since 2018 — when the event was also at Shinnecock Hills. He made the cut back in 2018, tying for 48th.

Tristan Hardin-Roberts announced Tuesday that he is down to four schools: Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Tulane and USF. He’ll make his college decision on Monday UPDATE: Hardin-Roberts announced he is changing his commitment date to July 11.

Date change pic.twitter.com/1wuqzEUmUg

— Tristan Hardin Roberts / The Big Ticket🎟️‼️ (@251tristannn) June 17, 2026

Out of Mobile, Alabama, Hardin-Roberts is listed at 6-foot-4, 300 pounds. He’s still waiting on a ranking by the major recruiting services, but also held offers from the likes of Florida State, Memphis and others.

He’s fresh off his official visit to Stillwater from this past weekend. He’s also taken officials to West Virginia and Tulane and has one scheduled to USF this weekend.

Great time on my visit at @CowboyFB it was truly a blessing to see how they operated thank you @Coach_Crill @__CoachMorris for the experience @BlountFTB @BlountLeopards @gus_smith22 @ScoutFball @HallTechSports1 @bigmackmediatv @D1RecruitNation @AL6AFootball @PrepRedzoneAL #agtg pic.twitter.com/WRN9Dhu148

— Tristan Hardin Roberts / The Big Ticket🎟️‼️ (@251tristannn) June 15, 2026

“It’s been great,” Hardin-Roberts said in a video he posted from his OSU visit. “I’m having a great time. It’s been eye-opening. I ain’t expect for Oklahoma State to be all this. It’s a great experience.”

OSU offensive line coach Cody Crill was down at Blount High School in Alabama for Hardin-Roberts’ spring game in May, where Crill extended an offer from OSU. Less that two weeks later, Hardin-Roberts had set up that aforementioned official visit.

Hardin-Roberts fits the multisport athlete mold that OSU coach Eric Morris has been so fond of, as Hardin-Roberts also plays basketball and throws shot on the track team. MileSplit credits him with a 40-0.5 shot throw.

The Cowboys have an nine-man 2027 recruiting class as of writing. Crill is off to a solid start, as three of those pledges are offensive linemen in Sonny Mullen (TX), Chase Clark (IL) and Jake Baker (TN).

OSU Bullets

•  As the Texas Tech saga rolls on, a couple of updates: Nathan Sorsby is reportedly entering the Supplemental NFL Draft, while the Utah and Kansas attorney generals have come in support of Oklahoma and the Big 12 – the Big 12 filed for the ability to punish Texas Tech at a federal level, too. See summary of the situation here – lots of options are on the table (outside of kicking out Texas Tech).

Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger reports that the punishments being discussed include monetary sanctions and/or a ban on competing in the Big 12 championship game if Sorsby plays.

There’s no way the Big 12 would go through all of this trouble just to hit Tech with a fine, so rest assured, a Big 12 championship game ban is very much on the table.

[Open for Business]

• Cowboy Baseball added an infielder from the southeast yesterday (PFB)

• Marshall Scott did a great mailbag looking ahead to the new football season (PFB)

• OSU’s new kick returner made the watchlist for returner of the year (PFB)

•  Solid graphic looking at the new Cowboy roster:

TRANSFER PORTAL U

Stillwater is betting on experience.

The Cowboys enter the season with the No. 7 transfer class in the nation and a roster built on proven production, veteran leadership, and Power Four experience.

A true all-star transfer roster.#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/XNRLrLVdaZ

— Boone Pickens State (@BP_State) June 13, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• The $255 beach shade dividing coastal towns • You’re always inheriting what your past self gave you • Kill your ego, find joy (faith-based)

Enjoy this Brit enjoying his first biscuits and gravy (at The Cracker Barrel): 

A Brit, here for the World Cup, discovers those magical pillows of biscuit smothered in peppery, sausage gravy.

Welcome to ‘Merica, brother! 🤣🇺🇸🔥 pic.twitter.com/AJXKbss8BF

— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) June 12, 2026

Oklahoma State wide receiver Chris Barnes was named to the watch list for The Jet Award, given annually to the top return specialist in the nation. The award has been around since 2011 with past winners including the likes of Tavon Austin, Tyler Lockett and Christian McCaffrey.

The Pokes have had some lethal returners in those last 15 years who have not been in contention for this honor, a fact which should stoke the excitement around Barnes even more.

Barnes came in as part of the huge transfer portal class heading into Eric Morris’ first year at OSU and got fans talking this spring.

As a redshirt freshman for Wake Forest last year, Barnes returned seven kicks for 263 yards and a score. He was also the Demon Deacons’ No. 2 wide receiver, reeling in 39 catches for 547 yards and three touchdowns and he rushed 13 times for 143 yards.

He’s the type of guy you want to get the ball in space which was instantly evident at OSU’s Spring Game. His first time suiting up for fans at BPS, Barnes caught four passes for 141 yards, including a dazzling 97-yard touchdown on the sideline.

The Jet Award is named in honor of former Heisman winner Johnny “The Jet” Rodgers and will be voted on by a panel that includes media members, former winners and the award’s founders. It will be presented during the Jet Award Gala on April 8, 2027.

The Brendan Sorsby saga has seemingly come to its college end.

According to multiple reports Monday evening, Sorsby will enter the NFL’s Supplemental Draft.

It looks as if Brett Yormark doesn’t intend on getting pushed around by Texas Tech or the Texas attorney general as it pertains to Brendan Sorsby.

The Big 12 on Monday filed a legal complaint in the Northern District of Texas seeking a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief to allow the conference to use its bylaws to potentially punish the quarterback engulfed in a gambling scandal. This filing comes after Texas attorney general Ken Paxton last week warned that any sanctions the Big 12 tried to impose on Sorsby or Texas Tech would be met with legal action.

The Big 12’s 47-page complaint listed Paxton, Tech AD Kirby Hocutt, Tech president Lawrence Schovanec, Tech chancellor Brandon Creighton, Texas Tech University and the Texas Tech University System as defendants.

The Big 12 Board of Directors released the following statement on Monday:

“Last night, the Big 12 filed a legal complaint asking a federal court to protect the constitutional and contractual rights of the Conference and our member institutions to take actions expressly permitted under our Bylaws. The Big 12 has long spoken out about the dangers of sports wagering by student-athletes and remains committed to protecting the competitive integrity of conference competition. Universities should not field players who have bet on their own team’s games in college athletics.

“This situation is evolving with pending legal matters and the upcoming start of the football season, and the Conference hopes for a timely resolution of these issues.  The Board continues to keep all options on the table.”

The league is asking a federal judge to permit the Big 12 to enforce its own rules, which allows a supermajority vote to decide whether Tech’s conduct warrants sanctions. The suit also hinted at what those could be, including monetary sanctions and/or a ban from the Big 12 title game should Sorsby play.

The arguments the Big 12 makes in the filing span from Sorsby playing creating “serious integrity concerns” to just about everyone outside of Lubbock agreeing that Sorsby shouldn’t be allowed to play.

If you’ve somehow managed to avoid this saga until now, first off, congratulations. Secondly, let’s get you caught up. Sorsby transferred to Tech from Cincinnati this offseason before an investigation came to light that resulted in Sorsby admitting that he bet thousands of times, including 40 instances of placing bets on Indiana football while he was with the Hoosiers. Even after enrolling at Tech, Sorsby admitted to sending about $5,000 to someone to be on his behalf.

Sorsby spent time in a rehabilitation clinic, and the NCAA deemed him ineligible. But last week, a Texas judge granted Sorsby a temporary injunction, taking Sorsby from missing the entire season to missing just two games against Abilene Christian and Oregon State.

So, it’s gone from looking like Sorsby wouldn’t play to looking like he would, and now the Big 12’s filing puts that back up in the air.

More on the filing: Pete Thamel (ESPN), Ross Dellenger (Yahoo)

We’ll probably do some more of this over the coming months, so if you’d like  to be a part of that, you can get 25% off a subscription here.

SherlockOhms: How would the season have to go/how well would Mestemaker need to play to get a day 1 NFL draft grade for 2027? Is it even possible?

Marshall: If Mestemaker proves he can do it against the boost in Big 12 competition, I think he’s got a real shot at being in that conversation. With guys like Arch Manning (Texas), Dante Moore (Oregon), CJ Carr (Notre Dame) and Darian Mensah (Miami) — this is a deep quarterback class. But that’s a group that, I think, Mestemaker can become a firm part of.

Even if Mestemaker isn’t a sure fire Top 10-type guy going into the draft, remember back to a draft like 2020 when Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert were all taken in the Top 10, and the Packers had too high a grade on Jordan Love to keep watching him fall.

Still a lot has to happen, but I think it’s definitely possible so long as he continues his trajectory with the move up in competition.

Kyle: I think it’s absolutely possible. If the Cowboys are competitive in the Big 12 and he remains healthy and is a big part of that, he’ll have a decent shot. If he puts up similar numbers to last year against stiffer competition than I think the chances get even better.

Tyler: You’re using the word grade, which implies what the NFL tells players. Quarterbacks often just need a Day 2 grade to be in the first round conversation as most teams would rather draft guys at the position early to lock in the extra contract year.

I assume what you’re actually interested in is that first-round conversation, which is very possible. ESPN’s way too early 2027 mock lists Mestemaker as the fourth, and final, quarterback going in the first round next season.

If Mestemaker comes close to his nation-leading pace set last season he will be in the mix should he choose to leave. However, it’s probably more realistic that he falls off a little from a statistical standpoint given the jump in competition.

He will likely face at least two highly ranked opponents in Oregon (Week 2) and Texas Tech (Week 11). Those two games will get broken down live and after the season by NFL scouts and draft experts. Even if the Pokes lose those guys, if Mestemaker can show real flashes of NFL competency in those games he might earn himself even closer looks in other games. I think it’s a real concern Oklahoma State fans should prepare for based on how he looks in practice.

Bramos: Do you guys think Eric Morris will bring in a Top 15 recruiting class anytime in the next decade?

Marshall: I could go either way here.

On one hand, Morris seems to still value the development piece of this, something that has gone by the wayside for some programs given the prominence of the transfer portal. So, Morris digging into high school recruiting more deeply could lead to a Top 15 class.

On the other hand, Morris does not seem to care about recruiting rankings whatsoever, as evident by this quote at his introductory news conference:

“And so if I take a three-star quarterback, nobody get mad at me. Like that’s all I can say. We have a set of qualifications in a kind of a formula that we have to recruiting these guys.”

It’s still uber early for Morris’ tenure to have any big takeaways on his recruiting, but early signs would suggest he practices what he preaches in that he is getting multi-sport, athletic guys and might not be focusing too much on how many stars are next to their names.

Kyle: A Top 15 class is a big ask, but it’s obviously not impossible. I think comes down to three things: how quickly he can turn things around, followed by sustained success and his ability to leverage that into more financial support for NIL. But he has said that he is going to emphasize traditional recruiting.

Tyler: He sort of already did. 247Sports ranks Oklahoma State’s portal group 15th in the nation.

Now, as good as Morris is with the portal, he’s not going to be able to recruit a whole team like that again so I won’t pretend that’s the new norm in Stillwater.

Morris’ best class at UNT ranked 90th overall and 74th in the portal. Oklahoma State’s best portal class in the last five years of the Mike Gundy era ranked 22nd, though his portal classes averaged out to be around 53rd.

From 2006-2014, Oklahoma State’s classes averaged out to finish 27th with a best ranking of 24th.

If Morris can succeed in the next two seasons using this core group then that 25ish overall ranking might be the baseline of what we can expect from future Cowboys recruiting classes. His ability to push for a top 15 group will likely depend on how much money donors want to give him.

Stephenson: With what you know/have seen coming out of spring ball, where do you rank each position group in relation to each other? (I.e. 1. Safeties, 2. QBs, 3. Edge, etc.)

Marshall: With everything being so new (players and system) this feels like a shot in that dark, but very quickly, without spending two hours refining each take, here we go:

1. QB — Behind Mestemaker is a mystery, but Mestemaker gives you a shot.
2. WR — Wyatt Young had 1,264 yards via Mestemaker last season and might be the third-best WR on the roster (see Chris Barnes, Justin Bowick).
3. RB — Caleb Hawkins is an excellent featured back, and while I’m not sure who will develop into RB2 or RB3, I like how position coach Patrick Cobbs has built that room.
4. DE — Morris sounded sort of surprised at the depth here during spring ball, and it’s hard to blame him. Jaleel Johnson, DeSean Brown, Malik Charles, James Williams, Keviyan Huddleston, Billy Walton — the Cowboys have options.
5. CB — I think people will soon realize how big LaDainian Fields’ return is. I’m not sure who will feature most prominently opposite him, but I think Mo Horn, Kollin Lewis and Kobi Foreman are all solid.
6. TE — Given the state of this position over the past handful of years (or maybe a decade) in Stillwater, I’m cautiously optimistic, but I think Donovan Green is one of the more promising dudes OSU has had in the room in a while.
7. LB — There’s some depth here with Ethan Wesloski, Tate Romney, Isaiah Chisom, Trip White and Carl’veon Young.
8. OL — In theory, I like this group, but there is some “prove it” to it as to how some guys handle the step up in competition and whether others can stay healthy.
9. S — I’m still not entirely sure who will emerge here, but I think the likes of Christian Bodnar, Quinton Hammonds, Cameron Epps and Vincent Holmes are all good options.
10. DT — Again, I like pieces in this room but am interested to see what it looks like when the bullets are live. It would also be a big help for this unit if Iman Oates can get that extra year.

Kyle: Man, from the hip, my top five are:
1. QB
2. RB
3. WR
4. DBs
5. LB

Tyler: This is a great question that I felt a lot more confident in back in the spring when I was seeing these guys regularly. It all feels a little bit muddled now. The top of the list reflects groups I’m extremely high on at the moment, the bottom half is more reflective of just general uncertainty as opposed to low expectations.

1. QB — I actually thought Mestemaker looked as bad as I’ve seen him all spring during the public scrimmage. I’m a little worried that he might force some bad throws, as he did to start the scrimmage, this fall should he find himself under pressure and/or trailing by multiple scores. But even if he does that at times, I fully expect him to light up most opponents this fall.
2. RB — I have similar faith in Caleb Hawkins.
3. LB — Ditto for Ethan Wesloski.
4. CB — I just really like what I’ve seen from the two-deep during practice and LaDainian Fields impressed me late last season.
5. WR — The depth at the position in combination with Mestemaker’s arm gives me confidence the receivers will produce as a whole. Wyatt Young hasn’t jumped out to me as much as expected yet. I still need to see someone on this team prove they can be a No. 1 WR in the Big 12 capable of carrying that load each week.
6. Edges — Jaleel Johnson had a great scrimmage and these guys earned praise from Morris as maybe the most impressive group during the spring. I’m buying into the hype, though this is the point on the list where we move from my eyes to a combination of what I saw and what I heard.
7. Safeties — Largely based on spring, might deserve to be higher, but it’s tougher to evaluate them than corners during 7-on-7 drills we saw during spring.
8. TE — Feels like a one-man show with Donovan Green, and I’m not sure how good that performance is just yet. Not a knock on him, I just didn’t leave spring with a huge understanding of his skill, it’s hard to watch everyone.
9. DL — I personally find it impossible to draw strong conclusions on the lines during spring ball given important contact and winning leverage battles are for those guys.
10. OL — Expected starters missed the spring. This is by far the position I have the worst feel for headed into the fall.

R11: Where do you see our Offense ranking in the Big 12? The league? Same for defense.

Marshall: I think the offense is going to be right up there. Morris has proven to be an excellent play-caller, and the guys largely responsible for the most prolific offense in the country last season are now in Stillwater. Again, you have to note the jump up in competition for a lot of those guys, but unless the offensive line is just a calamity, I think this’ll be a Top 3 unit in the league.

I’m less confident in the defense, which is probably evident by my position power rankings. I can certainly see the path for this being a solid unit, but a lot of it is less proven than the offense. Given how good I think the offense will be, if this defensive group can hang in the Top 10, I think it’ll be a successful season in Stillwater.

Kyle: Three Offense, five Defense. Also a bit of a guess because there are some many variables and new pieces that have to gel and adjust.

Tyler: With the transfer portal, this is another good but impossible question to confidently answer, but I will do my best.

I think Oklahoma State’s offense will finish somewhere between third and seventh in the conference this fall. I’m largely basing this off Mestemaker’s arm talent, familiarity with his play-caller and the core group of returning (from UNT) offensive talent and coaches around those two guys. I expect Texas Tech, BYU, Utah, Kansas State, Houston, and Arizona to compete offensively roughly in that order.

I will put Oklahoma State’s defense somewhere between eighth and 12th in the conference. It feels like there is too much familiarity between the players and coaches to be one of the worst units in the conference. However, I have yet to see true game-wreckers on defense. It is a lot harder to evaluate defenses during the spring, so my confidence is also a lot lower on this side of the ball.

Aubrey Kearns, an infielder transferring from Morehead State, announced that he was transferring to Oklahoma State via his X account.

Thankful to the Lord and all those who’ve helped me in this journey. I’m grateful to announce I’ve committed to Oklahoma State University. pic.twitter.com/GEjn2Fk7qn

— Aubrey Kearns (@AubreyKearns26) June 15, 2026

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound sophomore hails from Nicholasville, Kentucky where he starred at West Jessamine High School. As a freshman for the Eagles in 2025, Kearns played both first and second base and batted .240 with six home runs and an on-base percentage of .318.

As a sophomore in 2026, he focused more on the offensive side, and it paid off. Kearns batted .387 with 12 home runs and boasted an OBS of .471. That spike in offensive output landed Kearns on the All-Ohio Valley Conference First Team as a designated hitter. Last year, he ranked in the Top 4 in the OVC in hitting, hits (82), home runs and RBI (59).

This commitment came just a day after the Cowboys landed Utah transfer pitcher Kaden Soder.

Here’s a highlight reel from when Kearns announced he was entering the transfer portal in May.

I am entering the transfer portal.
Grateful for my time at Morehead State.

2026 stats: 1.096 OPS
.387 AVG/.471 OBP/ .622 SLG
54G- 84 H, 12HR, 26 XBH, 59 RBIs
1st team all OVC

2yrs of eligibility
5’11 195lbs| RH/LHH | 3B, 2B, 1B

📞- (859)-533-3694
📧-aubkear26@gmail.com pic.twitter.com/V2kbvszWcc

— Aubrey Kearns (@AubreyKearns26) May 24, 2026

OSU Bullets

• A Nashville area offensive lineman committed to the Pokes yesterday (PFB)

• Josh Holliday’s squad added a Big 12 pitcher as well (PFB)

• CBS Sports has Eric Morris in the middle of the back as a Power Four coach – hinging on two different possible outcomes. 

“There was not as much variance in Morris’ results as anticipated, and that lack of variance compared to coaches below him in the rankings worked to his benefit, as he begins his Oklahoma State tenure at 46th,” wrote Tom Fornelli. “Morris has been a head coach for seven seasons at Incarnate Word and North Texas. He won 10 or more games in 2021 and 2025, but has finished somewhere between 5-7 and 6-5 in his other five seasons.

Who is Oklahoma State getting?” [GoPokes 247]

• Cowgirl Golf added a two-time conference player of the year (O’Colly)

• So. Many. Snaps.

The Most Experienced Rosters in College Football Based on Snap Count (2026) pic.twitter.com/SHEr9aW0iw

— College Football Report (@CFBReport) June 14, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• New Six Flags over Texas coaster sounds terrifying • 50 best pizzerias in the US – heinous mistake leaving out (the Stillwater) Hideaway

This was tough to read.

Most people give soft feedback because they care more about how the conversation feels than about whether the problem gets solved. This is selfish. Another thought on this… A lot of people don’t actually want direct feedback; they prefer something softer. When they hear direct feedback, they focus on how it makes them feel and not the substance. If you’re focusing on how feedback makes you feel and not its accuracy, you’re robbing yourself of the opportunity to get better. Exceptional results happen when people are willing to give direct feedback and to hear it. [FS]

Jake Baker, a 2027 offensive tackle from Tennessee, announced that he’s headed to Stillwater after high school.

#AGTG Very excited to announce my commitment to play football at Oklahoma State!! Go Pokes🤠@__CoachMorris @Coach_Brophy @Coach_Crill @BooneFeldt @_TheCoachHarris @AndrewLee_CFB @rajesh_murti @WesDr8ke @JasonMartinezz @Coach_Peavey @tthasselbeck @coachwilliams77… pic.twitter.com/b2PTjIVcjB

— Jake Baker 3⭐️ 6’6 290 (@JakeBaker_50) June 14, 2026

The 6-foot-6, 290-pound Nashville native picked the Pokes over the likes of Memphis, UConn, Tulsa and East Carolina. Eric Morris extended Baker his first Power Conference offer in May and then apparently sealed the deal this weekend as Baker was on-site for an official visit.

As such, Baker is still flying a bit under-the-radar, but we know how well Morris has done without strictly adhering to the rankings. Baker is unranked by 247Sports, but Rivals has him tabbed as the No. 1,527 prospect in the 2027 class and the No. 53 Tennessean, as of writing.

This is the Cowboys’ eighth commitment of the class. It’s also their third OL pledge in the last calendar week. OSU landed commitments from Houston transfer Sonny Mullen and three-star class of 2027 prospect Chase Clark both last Sunday.

2027 OSU Commits

OSU Bullets

• Kenny Gajewski landed the first of two Big 12 transfers Saturday afternoon with former Utah catcher Kennedy Proctor. [PFB]

• Then he added another with two-way player Madison Hartley from Houston. Hartley hit 20 home runs last season as a sophomore but also has experience throwing strikes from the circle. [PFB]

• Josh Holliday also got in on the action with a commitment from former Utah pitcher Kaden Soder. [PFB]

• Showing Cowgirl fans what she can bring, recent OSU Softball commit Jade Barton (who was also in Stilly this week) with a couple of bombs to start summer camp for Impact Gold Jackson/Jazz 18U Fastpitch. 

Wrapped up Day 1 of the Summer Cup with 2 💣s! Back at it tomorrow! @igjacksonjazz @jazzvesely @KcJackson00 @OSUcoachG @Coach_Shippy @bergy_9 @JeffWildma83285 pic.twitter.com/0qfWBHF5qs

— Jade Barton – CO’ 2026 (@jademalibarton) June 14, 2026

• Carson Benge showing off the athleticism Cowboy fans remember. 

Mr. Pulchritudinous 😤 pic.twitter.com/TTHECpmcWW

— New York Mets (@Mets) June 13, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• An impressive run by the Knicks and an impressive performance by Jalen Brunson.

Jalen Brunson, NBA CHAMPION 🏆 pic.twitter.com/T44dvLmIoP

— NBA (@NBA) June 14, 2026

• This is incredibly sad. 

Breaking: Former San Francisco 49ers LB Aldon Smith has died, the team announced Saturday. pic.twitter.com/r9TIFIXwyV

— ESPN (@espn) June 13, 2026

Right-handed pitcher Kaden Soder announced he has committed to Oklahoma State.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kaden Soder (@kaden.soder)

Listed at 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, Soder was a junior this past season. In 22 1/3 innings, Soder had a 4.84 ERA with a 3-0 record and a save. He struck out 28 while walking a dozen.

This season was his first playing at the Division-I level, as the Las Vegas native spent the previous two seasons at the College of Southern Nevada (JUCO). He had a 6-3 record in his time in JUCO with a 3.68 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 78 1/3 innings. He was named his conference’s pitcher of the year as a sophomore, earning first team honors for the conference and the region.

Prior to that, Soder spent the 2023 season at Oregon but didn’t play. That was the year before OSU pitching coach Blake Hawksworth got to Eugene, but there could be a connection there nonetheless.

Houston two-way player Madison Hartley announced her commitment to Oklahoma State on Saturday evening. That news came after Utah transfer catcher Kennedy Proctor announced she has also pledged to be a Cowgirl.

Extremely grateful to announce that I’m going to be a cowgirl!🤠🤍🧡#committed pic.twitter.com/CUhlynOCGr

— madison hartley (@madisonhartle16) June 14, 2026

Hartley primarily played either first base or was the Cougars’ designated player this past season, but she also threw eight innings in the circle.

As a batter, she hit .345 with 20 home runs and 47 RBIs as a sophomore in 2026. That home run total tied for third in the conference, while she led her team in batting average, RBIs, walks drawn, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

She had more success in the circle as a freshman than she did this past season. In 41 innings across 23 pitching appearances as a freshman, Hartley had a 4.95 ERA and a 3-2 record. She had an 18.38 ERA in her limited work this past season.

That would lead me to believe that Hartley is likely coming to Stillwater to be a fielder/hitter first. Lexi McDonald slotted in at first for OSU midway through this past season, but it was her senior year.

Hartley hails from Georgetown High School (Texas) and played club ball with the Texas Bombers.

With Hartley and Proctor committing, the Cowgirls have gained 34 home runs from last season on Saturday alone.

Utah transfer Kennedy Proctor committed to Oklahoma State on Saturday. Through her first two seasons of college softball, Proctor has a .329 batting average with 20 homers and 69 RBIs.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by kennedy proctor (@kennedyproctorrr)

As a sophomore this past season, Proctor slashed .338/.461/.706, leading the Utes with 14 home runs and tying for a team lead with 13 doubles.

Here she is going yard on NiJaree Canady:

B6 | Proctor goes yard!

📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/JKb0clrGJA

— Utah Softball (@Utah_Softball) April 11, 2026

Proctor also had an outstanding freshman season in 2025, finishing with a .319 batting average in 135 ABs with six round-trippers and 10 doubles.

She hails from Rancho Santa Margarita, California by way of Tesoro High School, where she also lettered in volleyball and flag football.

Catcher was definitely a position of need for the Cowgirls this offseason considering Big 12 All-Defensive Team selection Audrey Schneidmiller and 2025 All-Big 12 First Team selection Amanda Hasler both finished out their eligibility this season.

The Cowgirls will have more work to do in the portal, particularly finding who will throw Proctor the ball next season. All-American Ruby Meylan and RyLee Crandall were also a seniors, and freshman Preslee Downing, who threw 40 2/3 innings, announced her intentions to hit the transfer portal. But, adding a catcher who has hit better than .300 in two Big 12 seasons is a more than solid start.