Cowboy Baseball's Big 12 Slate Set to Begin Against UCF

Oklahoma State will be on the road to begin conference play.

Oklahoma State head baseball coach Josh Holliday is pictured during the college baseball game between the Oklahoma State University Cowboys and the UT Arlington at O'Brate Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Sunday, Feb., 23, 2025. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oklahoma State is set for its first Big 12 matchup of the season.

While basketball and wrestling have owned Stillwater’s attention for the past few months, Cowboy baseball is getting into full swing and looking to have another big year under Josh Holliday. Although OSU is sitting at 12-4, it’s had some bad losses along the way, at least in terms of scoring margin, and getting back on track will be key for the Pokes.

Of course, all of the issues OSU has had up to this point could be forgotten with a nice run in conference play. On Friday night, OSU will be in Orlando for its first Big 12 game of the season, beginning a three-game weekend series against UCF. 

All three matchups set to be streaming on ESPN+ this weekend, OSU fans will have a chance to watch their team try and have a successful start to the conference slate. Last season, OSU managed to go only 15-12 in Big 12 games and lost to West Virginia in its conference opener.

Of course, this season is a fresh slate, and OSU has a chance to begin marching its way back into hosting a regional in Stillwater.

The road ahead won’t necessarily be easy for Holliday and the Cowboys, but there’s always a chance for something special in Stillwater under his leadership. As usual, there will be some nonconference matchups sprinkled in throughout the conference schedule, with the Pokes returning home to face South Dakota State a couple of times next week after these UCF matchups.

While OSU will certainly try to improve on the 15-12 mark it had in conference play last season, it will also be looking to get back into the upper echelon of the Big 12 entirely and look to find some similar success to the 2024 campaign. Although that season eventually ended with a premature exit in the Stillwater Regional, OSU finished 19-9 in conference play and went on to win the Big 12 Championship.

There will surely be ups and downs in Big 12 play, just as there have been in nonconference battles up to this point. Yet, if OSU can weather the storms that are sure to come, Holliday might be ready to have a season that reminds everyone why he’s been in charge for the past decade and a half.

It’s impossible to predict where the Cowboys might end up by the end of the season, but their journey begins again on Friday night against the Knights in Orlando.