The Oklahoma State Cowgirls were coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance under first-year coach Jacie Hoyt. But the magic didn’t sustain in her second year.
The Cowgirls finished under .500, going 14-16 and 7-11 in Big 12 action. The season ended with a loss to TCU in the Big 12 Tournament.
Getting back to the NCAA Tournament is going to require the Cowgirls to flip the script in Hoyt’s third season. Doing so will take some work after nine of its players from a season ago left the program, most of which did so through the transfer portal.
In this edition of Portal Thoughts, we take a look at where the Cowgirls are now and what they have left to do.
Oklahoma State’s Losses (2)
Oklahoma State lost just two players to eligibility after last season.
One, guard Quincy Noble, transferred in from UNT and was one of the Cowgirls’ leading scorers with 12.8 points. She also had 1.4 steals.
The other was former Kansas State guard Emilee Ebert, who joined the team at midseason when it was short on numbers. Ebert was only able to play in 10 games before she suffered an injury and had to medically retire.
Oklahoma State’s Transfer Losses (7)
The Cowgirls turned over half of its roster as it exited through the transfer portal, though three of last year’s players will cross paths with Oklahoma State at some point next season.
Forward Lior Garzon, who averaged nine points and 4.2 rebounds last season, is now at Colorado, which joins the Big 12 in August. Center Hannah Gusters, who made a significant impact on the Cowgirls with 14.3 points, is now at UCF. And, guard Kennedy Fauntleroy, who left the program at midseason, is now at Arizona State. The Sun Devils also join the league in August.
Losing Garzon hurts. She’s been their best forward the last two seasons. Gusters was a game-changer in her limited time at OSU.
Guard Chandler Prater will play her final season at Mississippi State after she averaged eight points in her lone season with OSU.
Guard Ale’jah Douglas is now at Grand Canyon, guard Mia Galbraith is now at Texas State and forward Brianna Jackson is now at Troy.
Oklahoma State’s Transfer Gains (5)
The Cowgirls brought in five transfers, with the most notable being Micah Gray and Stacie Jones.
Gray, a junior guard, comes to Stillwater from Seton Hall where she averaged 11.9 points a season ago. This is the second straight cycle Oklahoma State has brought in a Big East transfer.
Jones, a graduate transfer from Mercer, averaged 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds as a forward.
Rhode Island center Ténin Magassa comes to the Cowgirls after a freshman season in which she averaged seven points and 4.6 rebounds.
Two other guards join the roster. Montana’s Macy Huard is a sophomore who averaged 7.4 points her freshman year. Virginia graduate transfer Alexia Smith averaged 4.1 points and 3.8 rebounds.
Oklahoma State’s Recruiting Gains (3)
OSU signed three players in the early period in November and they’re all on the roster for next season.
Guard Kennedy Evans out of Little Elm, Texas, was previously named an All-State performer for Braswell High School in Denton, Texas. She played her senior year at Legion Prep.
Guard Jadyn Wooten is out of Overland Park, Kan., where she was a 6A State Player of the Year for Blue Valley High School.
Forward Maria Anais Rodrigue is from Barcelona, Spain, and represented her country at the FIBA U16 Women’s European Championship in 2022.
Set to Return (6)
The Cowgirls do have a foundation to build from, in spite of the turnover in the transfer portal.
Last year’s second-leading scorer is back. Guard Stailee Heard was one of the top freshmen in the Big 12 and averaged 12.9 points and 6.3 rebounds. Guard Anna Gret Asi is also back. She led the team with 4.6 assists, while also averaging 12.7 points. She made nearly 39% of her 3-pointers.
Rylee Langerman is back as a graduate and is one of OSU’s more rugged defenders. She averaged 4.9 points and one steal.
Forward Praise Egharevba, guard Brenna Butler and guard Landry Williams all seek more playing time than a season ago.
What’s Left?
With 14 players on the roster, Oklahoma State likely doesn’t have any scholarships left to give. Now the hard work begins this summer as Hoyt tries to find the lineup that will work in an ever-changing Big 12 that will feature 16 teams in 2024-25.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
