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Here’s Why Oklahoma State Women’s Golf is Well-Positioned for Next Season

The Oklahoma State women’s golf team could be in for bigger things next season for these three reasons.
Matt Postins|
The Oklahoma State Cowboys logo.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys logo. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma State Cowgirls should feel good about where the women's golf program is headed as the summer begins.

After the NCAA Championships concluded, the Cowgirls finished No. 13 in the Division I Women's Golf Rankings for the 2025-26 season. Their top player, Marta Silchenko, was ranked No. 16 individually. OSU is used to being ranked. But this season they finished the campaign as the Big 12’s highest-ranked team.

Here are three reasons why Oklahoma State should feel good about the women’s golf program entering next season.

A Breakthrough at Nationals

The Cowgirls finished the season with a flourish. They not only got back to nationals but got to match play for the first time since 2021. That put them among the Top 8 teams in the country. They ended up being swept by Arkansas in the quarterfinals. But considering none of the Cowgirls were part of that 2021 squad, getting to the match play portion gives them something to chase next season.

In addition, two Cowgirls were named to the NCAA All-Tournament team. Ellie Bushnell finished the 72 holes of stroke play at 6-under while Silchenko finished at 5-under putting both in the Top 10. They were the first pair of Cowgirls to finish in the Top 10 in the same NCAA Tournament since 2004. Silchenko will play in the Palmer Cup this summer and Bushnell is on the threshold of setting the program’s record for career birdies.

The Band is Coming Back

Assuming no one hits the transfer portal, the five players that went to nationals are expected back. Along with Bushnell and Silchenko, that includes Yu-Chu Chen, Summer Lee and Tarapath Panya. Chen, Lee and Panya are sophomores or younger. Plus, with the potential of the “five-for-five-eligibility legislation being passed this month, it’s possible all five players may get more eligibility.

That list doesn’t include Lucy Darr, a sophomore from Stillwater who played in six events this season. Even though she didn’t play in the NCAA Tournament, her world amateur golf ranking rose more than 200 spots. Silchenko saw her ranking go from No. 203 to No. 43 year over year.

Another year of improvement and the Cowgirls could be even better next season.

The Reinforcement That’s Coming

The Cowgirls announced on Friday that they have a new player for next season — Tarleton State transfer Louise Depadt.

While with the Texans, she won back-to-back WAC Golfer of the Year awards and WAC individual conference championships in 2025 and 2026. In the NCAA’s individual rankings, she’s fourth among current Cowgirl players at No. 27. The OSU players ranked include Silchenko (16), Bushnell (64), Chen (121), Lee (265), Panya (310) and Darr (315).

She will make the Cowgirls a deeper team and make settling on a five-player rotation that much harder next season.

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Matthew Postins
MATT POSTINS

Matthew Postins is the publisher of Oklahoma State on SI. He is an award-winning sports journalist who was formerly the editor of the College Football America Yearbook and covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.

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