Cowgirl Basketball Looking to Bounce Back Next Season
Oklahoma State is looking to get back on track next season.
Last season, OSU women’s basketball struggled throughout. With roster turnover and constant injuries, the team never had an opportunity to build on its momentum from 2022-23.
That 2023 season featured a trip to the NCAA Tournament in coach Jacie Hoyt’s first season in Stillwater. Getting back to that point will be a challenge for the Cowgirls, who were picked to finish 11th in the Big 12 preseason poll.
“The teams that were really great last year are, for the most part, returning their whole roster, and then you add in, you know, Arizona and Utah, and I'm leaving a bunch of people out,” Hoyt said. “But the teams that we added are very, very good and competitive as well. So, other than the fact that I know how good the Big 12 is this year, I don't necessarily know playing styles and some of those things with the newer teams. I mean, you don't really get to worry about that.”
While the Cowgirls will have plenty of competition in conference play, getting results on the court will always require a solid team. Building teams in any sport can be difficult in the era of the transfer portal and NIL, but the Cowgirls managed to find a balanced path forward.
“I think for us, I'm very thankful we kept the core group of kids that we wanted to keep, that was a huge starting point for us to be able to know what we were working with,” Hoyt said. “But it's it is challenging. I'm still learning them, they're still learning me, and unfortunately, I don't think that's going to go away with the portal."
Making it back to the NCAA Tournament and competing for a Big 12 title will continue to be the Cowgirls’ goals. However, finding that type of success consistently is difficult. Yet, Hoyt and the Cowgirls will have an opportunity to get the program moving in the right direction again in 2025.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.