Oklahoma State fans get an early look at the 2026-27 Cowboys on Sunday afternoon, and the price is right: free admission, free parking and a preseason test against New Mexico at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Tipoff is set for 2 p.m., with doors opening at 1. Parking is free and open to the public except for Lots 4 and 6B. Season ticket holders will have first priority for their regular seats, while open seating will be available on the 200 and 300 levels.
There won’t be a television or streaming option, but the game can be heard on the Cowboy Radio Network and the Varsity Network App with Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb on the call. Live stats will be available at okstate.statbroadcast.com.
This is the first chance to see a Cowboys roster that has been heavily reshaped in Steve Lutz’s third season. Oklahoma State is coming off a 20-win year and a second straight postseason trip, and this group looks very different, with 10 newcomers and what On3 ranked as the Big 12’s top transfer portal class. The program also brought in a consensus top-10 high school signing class.
The transfer haul gives OSU a wide range of options. Jordan Burks arrives from UCF after averaging 13.3 points last season, while North Carolina guard Luka Bogavac comes in after leading the Tar Heels with 52 three-pointers. The frontcourt additions include Kashie Natt, the former Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year; Jacob Walker, who earned Sixth Man of the Year honors at Sam Houston and was a Conference USA All-Freshman selection; Arizona State transfer Andrija Grbovic; and 7-foot Georgetown transfer Julius Halaifonua.
The freshman class brings its own buzz, headlined by McDonald’s All-American Latrell Allmond and Oklahoma native Jalen Montonati, the son of former Cowboy standout Brian Montonati. Guards Anthony Felesi and Parker Robinson round out the group.
Five players are back from last season, led by fifth-year starters Kanye Clary and Parsa Fallah. Clary started 31 games and averaged 10.6 points and 4.6 assists while posting a 2.31 assist-to-turnover ratio. Fallah, a 6-foot-10 forward, was an honorable mention All-Big 12 pick after putting up 14.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, and he is still working back from the knee injury he suffered in February that kept him out for the final seven games.
The returning group also includes sophomores Ryan Crotty, Benjamin Ahmed and Mekhi Ragland, who gained valuable experience as freshmen.
Oklahoma State already got some live work in late July, taking part in a three-game exhibition trip to Puerto Rico and beating local all-star teams by scores of 94-88, 120-92 and 100-92.
New Mexico should give the Cowboys a real early-season measuring stick. The Lobos were picked to win the Mountain West in Wednesday’s preseason media poll after finishing 26-11 last year under first-year coach Eric Olen and reaching the NIT semifinals for the first time since 1990.
Their backcourt is the centerpiece. Sophomore Jake Hall was named the conference’s preseason player of the year after averaging 16.4 points and earning Mountain West Freshman of the Year and first-team all-conference honors.
Hall hit 117 three-pointers, a New Mexico single-season record and the fourth-most by a Division I freshman. Uriah Tenette, also a sophomore, picked up preseason all-conference recognition after averaging 10.6 points and 2.9 assists.
Sunday will be New Mexico’s first basketball game in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The teams last met on Dec. 17, 2011, when the Lobos beat Oklahoma State 66-56 at the All-College Classic in Oklahoma City. This exhibition is the first game of a home-and-home preseason series that will continue next October in Albuquerque.
The Cowboys have been nearly untouchable in home exhibitions, winning 57 straight inside Gallagher-Iba Arena since a Nov. 22, 1988 loss to the Soviet National Team. Their last home exhibition came on Oct. 26, 2024, when they beat SMU 89-78 in OSU’s first-ever exhibition against an NCAA Division I opponent.
Bryce Thompson scored 24 points and hit all five of his three-point attempts that night. Five months later, the Cowboys beat the top-seeded Mustangs again in the second round of the NIT on SMU’s home floor to reach the quarterfinals.
Last October, OSU split a pair of road exhibitions against Division I teams, edging eventual NIT champion Auburn 97-95 in overtime before losing at SMU 86-71.
Under new NCAA rules, teams can now play up to three preseason exhibitions against Division I opponents this season, which gives Cowboy fans another free look at the team before the games count.
OSU’s next home date is Tulsa on Homecoming Friday, Oct. 23, at 2:30 p.m. before that night’s Walkaround festivities, and admission will again be free.
In Other News...
Oklahoma State Has A Chad Weiberg Problem It Still Wont Address
Oklahoma States recent run of good energy around its athletic programs has been interrupted by something far more awkward in Stillwater: uncertainty at the top of the department. Athletic director Chad Weiberg has become the subject of reports suggesting his future could be in jeopardy, with talk circulating around whether he could be fired or shifted into a different role. For a school trying to build on momentum, the silence around the situation has become almost as notable as the speculation itself.
What makes the matter linger is how little clarity has followed the initial reporting. Weiberg has not received any public statement of confidence or no-confidence from the university administration, leaving the question hanging in the open while the rumors continue to swirl. Until Oklahoma State decides to address it directly, the athletic department is left operating under a cloud that could eventually prove more disruptive than any on-field setback. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Just Got A Big Opening Against UCF
Fridays availability reports gave Oklahoma State a cleaner-looking path heading into Saturdays meeting with UCF. The Cowboys had two players moved up to probable, a small but useful sign as they head into a game where health could matter on both sides of the ball, while the Knights report pointed to a roster that may be stretched in some key spots.
UCFs list of unavailable players was long enough to raise real questions about depth, especially up front and at quarterback. For Oklahoma State, that kind of injury report can change the tone of a matchup quickly, because it suggests opportunities to pressure the line of scrimmage and force a team already dealing with personnel shortages to piece things together on the fly. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Is Starting To Look Different When Games Get Tight
Close games have started to look a little different around Boone Pickens Stadium, and Oklahoma State gave another example in its 42-28 win over UCF. The Cowboys and Knights traded momentum in a game full of lead changes, turnovers and missed field goals, the kind of messier fourth-quarter football that has often gone against Oklahoma State in recent seasons.
Drew Mestemaker was central to why this one tilted the Cowboys way, while UCF quarterback Keyone Jenkins kept the Knights in it with four touchdown passes. For UCF, the loss stretched a road skid that has become a real burden away from home, while for Oklahoma State it offered another sign that when the game tightens, the finish is beginning to look more dependable. [Read more 🡒]