2025–26 Oklahoma State Final Grades: Cowboy Golf, Track End the Year on High Notes

STILLWATER — The spring season was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for Cowboy sports, with some teams starting in a bit of a ditch before surging late, while others started strong but found themselves unable to maintain the momentum.

Overall, the spring can be considered a success for the four Cowboy sports. Throughout the series, only four Oklahoma State teams earned an A grade. One of them was a spring Cowboy sport and Cowboy track, just barely missed out on an A- due to a real jerk of a grader who refused to round up.

This is the final installment in a four-part series looking back at how each OSU team finished in the 2025-26 athletics calendar year. Be sure to check out Part 1: Fall Sports, Part 2: Winter Sports and Part 3: Cowgirl Spring Sports.

​Cowboy Track

Postseason: 16th

Conference: 7th

All-Americans:

Kevin Kemboi (triple jump)
Denis Kipngetich (10K and 5K)
Brian Musau (5K meters)
Steven Schmidt (Decathlon)
Adisu Guadie (10K)
Laban Kipkemboi (Steeplechase)
Will Bynum (4×400 relay)
Mason Page (4×400 relay)
Riley McGowan (4×400 relay)
Charlie Thorne (4×400 relay)

Final Thoughts: Freshman Kevin Kemboi finished second nationally in the triple jump with a school-record leap of 16.84 meters.

Brian Musau continued his inevitable dominance in the 5K, finishing sixth this time around after placing fourth in 2024 and first in 2025. Denis Kipngetich finished 11th overall, crossing the line less than five seconds after Musau.

Earlier in the week, Kipngetich took fourth in the 10K to earn first-team All-American honors in the event for the second time after claiming third in 2024. Adisu Guadie finished 13th in the 10K with a time of 28:22.86, which put him just over 22 seconds behind Kipngetich.

Steven Schmidt became the first Cowboy to earn All-American honors in the Decathlon event after taking 13th place with 7,479 points.

Laban Kipkemboi finished 13th in the Steeplechase to earn second-team honors, while the men’s 4×400 meter relay earned honorable mention All-American honors.

Added together, this group scored 16 points at the NCAA Championships, putting the Cowboys three points shy of the program’s point total last season, which marked a high mark for this decade.

Grade: B+

Cowboy Golf

Postseason: Semifinals

Conference: Champions

All-Americans:

Preston Stout (First Team)
Ethan Fang (Honorable Mention)
Eric Lee (Honorable Mention)

​Final Thoughts: Preston Stout birdied the 18th hole to secure a 1-stroke victory over Alabama’s William Jennings for the Individual National Championship honors after the Cowboys’ 14-under 274 win.

He and the Cowboys fell to eventual national champion Auburn in the semifinals 3-0. Stout is the program’s 10th individual champion, and his eight wins tie him for third place on the school’s all-time career wins list.

Ethan Fang finished with one win this season and multiple top 10s, while Eric Lee won a regional title while also producing multiple top 10 showings this season.

The trio also helped Oklahoma State win back-to-back conference titles with help from fellow Pokes Gaven Lane and Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson.

Grade: A​

Baseball

Record: 39-22, 18-12 Big 12

Postseason: Regional Finals

Conference: Semifinals

All-Americans:

Kollin Ritchie (First Team)
Aidan Meola (Third Team)

Final Thoughts: Oklahoma State put together quite the strong finish to salvage what initially appeared like a bit of a down year for the program. The Cowboys started out 17-11 overall before going 22-11 during the last two months of the season.

They have now competed in regional play for 13 consecutive seasons, but haven’t made it to Super Regionals since forcing a game three at Texas Tech in 2019.

Most of the best moments were powered by Kollin Ritchie, who ended the season fourth nationally in home runs with 31 in 60 games, including one that put the Pokes up in the seventh inning over Alabama in the Tuscaloosa Regional.

For context, Ritchie finished three short of the nation’s leader (Louisville sophomore Tague Davis), and he sits second in the program’s all-time record book for single-season home runs.

Aidan Meola hit 17 home runs this season to finish second on the team. He also finished fourth nationally in RBIs per game (1.38).

Grade: B-

Cowboy Tennis

Record: 14-11, 1-7 Big 12

Final Thoughts: Oklahoma State dropped its last seven matches, five of which finished 4-0, to end the season on a sour note.

Four of those losses came at home to teams ranked 29th or better, which is relevant because the Pokes enjoyed their best home start ever this season after racing out to an 11-0 mark in the Greenwood Tennis Center.

Haydar Gokpinar led the team with a 14-4 record in singles play, while Nicolas Kobelt and Aaron Williams secured 12 doubles wins this season.

Grade: D+