Higher External Expectations Just One of Many Changes Cowgirls Prepared to Navigate

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STILLWATER — Oklahoma State coach Jacie Hoyt has spent most of the last two years stumping to get the Cowgirls more respect between signature wins that never seemed to quite move the needle.

That probably won’t be the case this year as the Cowgirls start the year ranked 22nd in the preseason AP Top 25 and were picked by Big 12 coaches to win the conference for the first time ever.

All because Hoyt crushed the transfer portal with headliners including Iowa State transfer Audi Crooks and Florida transfer Liv McGill.

“This is by far the most talented roster that I’ve ever been privileged to coach. … We know we have a lot of firepower, a lot of different weapons,” Hoyt said at Big 12 Media Days on Wednesday. “And I think our team understands that people are going to have to make sacrifices that maybe they haven’t had to make before. But ultimately they came here to win. They came here to write a legacy for themselves, to write a legacy for Oklahoma State.”

Crooks was the consensus top talent in the portal this offseason. When OSU announced her signing, Hoyt held up a clapperboard, the thing used to signal takes in movies, which read, “THE SUPER TEAM,” take #1.

“I think for me it was a lot about preparing myself for Oklahoma State’s style of play, right,” Crooks said. “They like to get up and down, and that is what I want to do, that is what I aspire to do because that is kinda what the pros do.”

When asked about sacrifices, Crooks said she’s prepared to kick the ball out to open 3-point shooters if the Cowgirls are knocking them down. That has traditionally been Hoyt’s bread and butter. OSU lives and dies by the 3 as much as any team.

But that could change somewhat, as this is a clear upgrade for Hoyt inside, considering Crooks averaged 25.8 points per game last season, which was good enough for second in the nation.

McGill averaged 22.5 points per game, putting her almost nine full points ahead of her closest teammate. She also finished second in rebounds, averaging 6.1, and attempted a team-high 591 shots, which was 259 more than the next Gator.

For comparison, returner Stailee Heard was one of three Cowgirls to top 300 shot attempts last season and none of them exceeded 390.

“One of the things I pride myself on is doing whatever it takes to win,” McGill said. “In the past, I had to put up a lot of shots, and I think with my teammates now I’m not going to have to do that.”

McGill said she’ll likely showcase her passing and defensive abilities more this season. She still managed to average 6.3 assists last season for a total of 195. That’s 18 more than any Cowgirl had last season. And she averaged 2.6 steals, again putting her more than 0.5 steals per game ahead of any Cowgirl.

According to On3’s Talia Goodman, OSU’s big three of Heard, Crooks and McGill combined to score 70 points in a private scrimmage against a No. 10 Iowa ranked closer to the No. 8 team than the No. 11 team.

Iowa beat Oklahoma State 93-86 in a closed scrimmage today, sources told @On3.

— Talia Goodman (@TaliaGoodmanWBB) October 17, 2026

Crooks reportedly paced the team with 25 points and presumably also led the team with eight rebounds. Heard finished one rebound behind her and locked down the No. 3 scoring spot with 21.

Anyone who has watched Cowgirl basketball in the last several years understands the significance of Heard potentially being third in the lineup with respect to scoring.

McGill nearly took the scoring lead with 24 while adding 10 assists.

As impressive as those numbers are, they don’t really point to the depth or sacrifices Hoyt spoke of at Media Days. It wouldn’t be shocking, or unusual based on recent seasons, to see OSU’s scoring leaders to fluctuate heavily between a wide number of players to start the season as this team figures itself out in real time.

Fans will get a chance to watch that process in person as the Cowgirls face Langston in an exhibition open to the public on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

Although the scrimmage against Iowa was reportedly a losing effort for OSU, Hoyt spoke of the importance of that game on Wednesday and seemed to confirm that late-addition transfer from Nebraska, Callin Hake, is on track for the season despite missing the scrimmage.

“We don’t have a single player on this roster who has played a single minute of basketball together,” Hoyt said. “So that was really great for us to get that experience in a game-like setting. …

“Just in general, we’re just trying to learn as much as we can about ourselves. … It was very affirming for the things that we think that we’re good at, and ultimately we just had fun competing.”