The Oklahoma State Cowgirls are about to start the season with more options than they know what to do with, and that’s a pretty good problem to have.
Monday’s opener against Southern at 5 p.m. kicks off what could be the most anticipated season in program history, and the roster has been loaded up enough that the first couple months may feel like a live audition. Jacie Hoyt brought in the country’s top transfer class, Oklahoma State is the popular Big 12 pick, and now the challenge is figuring out which combinations actually click once the games count.
At the center of it all is Liv McGill, and the key word there is “assuming.” McGill did not play in Tuesday’s scrimmage, and Hoyt said she was “day to day.”
She didn’t explain why. When McGill is ready, she’s expected to be a major piece right away.
Last season at Florida, she averaged 22.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.6 steals per game and earned honorable mention all-American recognition.
Stailee Heard is the one familiar face from last year’s team, and she remains one of the steadiest players in the Big 12. In her fourth year with the Cowgirls, she’s coming off averages of 11.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game. That marked her third straight season in double figures, and there’s every reason to think she can make it four.
The rest of the lineup is where things get interesting. Nene Ndiaye started the exhibition game, though it’s unclear whether that was simply because McGill was out or because she’s locked into the starting five.
At Rutgers last season, Ndiaye posted her best numbers yet: 14.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, plus a 41.6% mark from 3-point range. The odds are she stays in the mix once McGill returns.
Yuting Deng also started in the exhibition and made the most of it, scoring 20 points against Langston. She played at Baylor last season and averaged 6.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per game, and her game is built more on getting downhill than living behind the arc.
She shot 42% from the floor, and how she handles tougher competition will be one of the early things to watch. If someone gets bumped from the starting group, Deng feels like the likeliest candidate.
Then there’s the biggest name in the portal. The Cowgirls landed the No. 1 player available, and all eyes are going to stay on her for obvious reasons.
Last season at Iowa State, she averaged 25.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. She’s already scored more than 2,000 career points, and she’s stepping into Hoyt’s faster-paced offense with plenty of expectations attached.
Behind the starters, Oklahoma State has the look of a team that could lean on a deep bench early. Ellie Brueggemann is one of the most obvious candidates to crack the first group off the bench, though she could also start at off-guard depending on what Hoyt wants. She averaged 14 points last season and shot 44% from 3-point range, so if she doesn’t start, she still profiles as instant offense.
LA Sneed started in place of McGill during the scrimmage, and when McGill is in the lineup, Sneed looks like the backup point guard. She comes over from Utah, where she averaged 6.3 points and 3.3 assists per game last season.
There’s also plenty of curiosity around the Division II player of the year. At Fort Hays State, she led Division II in scoring at 27.5 points per game and set the MIAA scoring record with 852 points. How that production translates to Division I is one of the more intriguing questions on the roster.
Zoe Canfield is another player trying to carve out a role after missing most of last season because of injury. She played eight minutes in the exhibition and could be useful as a 3-point threat, but she’ll have to earn her minutes.
The freshman Jelenc brings size the Cowgirls don’t have much of elsewhere. At 6-7, she’s the only player on the roster taller than Crooks. Hoyt may go smaller at times, and at other times Jelenc could get a chance, but she didn’t play in the scrimmage, so her role is still unsettled.
Callin Hake is in a similar spot. The former Nebraska guard transferred to Oklahoma State after receiving a fifth year of eligibility in October, but she wasn’t on the floor Tuesday.
That doesn’t rule her out for the opener, though it does leave her role unclear for now. Early on, she seems likely to settle in as a backup guard and defensive specialist.
For all the talent on the roster, the next step is about more than scoring. If Oklahoma State wants to move from good to great, the defense has to climb.
The Cowgirls allowed 64.2 points per game last season, which was solid in the Big 12 but only No. 173 nationally. Hoyt’s group needs to push that number into the Top 75 if it wants to become the kind of team she’s aiming for.
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