Oklahoma State Needs to Go All-In on Cowgirl Basketball

OSU must begin giving women's basketball the resources it needs to compete at the highest level.

Oklahoma State coach Jacie Hoyt celebrates during a women's college basketball game between the Oklahoma State Cowgirls (OSU) and the Houston Cougars at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. Oklahoma State won 83-52. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oklahoma State has been a solid team for the past few years, and it’s time for the program to go all in.

OSU women’s basketball has historically been a middle-of-the-pack program in the Big 12. Without much high-end success and never making it past the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, the Cowgirls have had one of their most successful runs ever in the past four years since Jacie Hoyt arrived.

While Stailee Heard has pledged her commitment to the program for next season, most of the roster from the 2025-26 season has already announced their intentions to find a new home in the transfer portal. Considering all of the struggles OSU has had on the men’s side in Gallagher-Iba Arena, pouring resources into Hoyt’s program could be the best path forward for the Cowgirls.

As of now, the landscape of women’s college basketball is still incredibly top-heavy. With perennial powerhouses like UConn and South Carolina typically dominating the sport, it’s almost impossible for a team like OSU to ever break into that tier.

Of course, that could all change if the Cowgirls could get an influx of NIL resources and the school’s full attention. Understandably, football will always be the top sport in Stillwater, but women’s basketball could have the potential to take over the No. 2 spot with some more attention.

Perhaps David Taylor’s wrestling squad will easily take that claim for years to come, but there’s no real reason women’s basketball couldn’t overtake men’s basketball, given the failures of the Cowboys over the past few years. Steve Lutz has the program moving in a generally positive direction, but Hoyt has already proven she can build and coach a winning program on the basketball court.

Women’s basketball has never been the top attraction on Eddie Sutton Court in Stillwater, but it’s often been the best team OSU has fielded in basketball. The commitment to the program should begin to reflect that.

Although it’s impossible to know every aspect of what goes on behind the scenes, it’s hard to imagine any portal exodus like the one Hoyt and company are going through now is about anything but money. Players will get better opportunities to make more elsewhere, and there’s simply no sense of loyalty in this era as a result.

Hoyt is a star coach and is still in the early stages of her career, and if OSU doesn’t want her to be the next Cowgirl leaving for a bigger opportunity, it might be time to go all-in on women’s basketball.