Were Oklahoma State Cowgirls Disrespected with Preseason Top 25 Ranking?

After all the work, the Oklahoma State Cowgirls did this offseason, was their preseason AP Top ranking deserving of that work.

Oklahoma State Cowgirls head coach Jacie Hoyt. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Oklahoma State Cowgirls were picked to win the Big 12 women’s basketball title earlier this month. The AP Top 25 preseason voters aren’t so sure.

The preseason poll was released on Tuesday and as many expected — including OSU head coach Jacie Hoyt — the South Carolina Gamecocks were ranked No. 1. The Cowgirls will play USC on Dec. 6 in Columbia, S.C., in a nationally televised game on ABC.

But when it came to Big 12 teams, the Cowgirls were not the top ranked team. That happened to be TCU, which was No. 15. Oklahoma State was ranked No. 22 while West Virginia — which won the Big 12 Tournament championship in March — was No. 24.

Oklahoma State in the AP Top 25

Oklahoma State Cowgirls guard Stailee Heard. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Some of this could be recency bias. TCU won the Big 12 regular-season title last year and reached the Elite Eight for the second straight year. The Horned Frogs finished No. 6 in the final AP Top 25 last season. Guard Olivia Miles — who played for TCU just one season after transferring from Notre Dame — was selected No. 2 overall in the WNBA draft.

Oklahoma State was not ranked in the final AP Top 25 last year and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to eventual champion UCLA. Hoyt has taken the Cowgirls to the NCAA Tournament in three of her first four seasons. But they enjoyed their first NCAA Tournament win under her in March.

Hoyt and her staff went to work and put together the No. 1 transfer portal class in the country after most of her roster left either due to eligibility or transfer. Stailee Heard is the only holdover from a season ago.

Among the newcomers are two of the most respected players in the country — center Audi Crooks, formerly of Iowa State, and guard Liv McGill, formerly of Florida.

The Cowgirls were selected to win the league, but it was a close vote by the coaches. TCU was right behind them. Coaches see different things than the national media. It’s possible voters looked at the Horned Frogs’ recent track record of back-to-back Elite Eight berths and have more trust in what TCU can do based on that track record.

In their minds, the Cowgirls may be upstarts. Even with the hard work in the transfer portal and the Big 12 preseason poll ranking, there’s probably a “prove-it” mindset in the minds of national media, even with the influx of experienced talent that has performed at a high level.

Hoyt likely welcomes the “prove it” mentality. She has said to reporters this offseason that they’re chasing something more than making it to the NCAA Tournament. If there’s hope, it’s that TCU wasn’t highly regarded two seasons ago before it broke through.

So maybe there is some disrespect for the Cowgirls. But they have the tools to prove the ranking wrong.