Steve Lutz may have his deepest Oklahoma State roster yet, but the Big 12 coaches aren’t handing out much credit before the season even begins.
The league’s 2026-27 preseason coaches’ poll dropped Thursday, and the Cowboys checked in at No. 11. Arizona, fresh off a Final Four run last season, was picked to win the conference again.
For OSU, the number is familiar in the wrong way. Last year’s preseason poll slotted the Cowboys 12th, and they ended up 14th after finishing 20-15 overall and 6-12 in Big 12 play.
That stretch closed ugly, too, with seven losses in their final nine games. Lutz’s first season in Stillwater, in 2024-25, ended at 17-18 with a 7-13 mark in league play.
Still, there are reasons to think this group has more to offer.
Oklahoma State’s incoming class ranks No. 8 nationally, according to 247 Sports, and four freshmen - Anthony Felesi, Parker Robinson, Latrell Allmond and Jalen Montonati - are all in the mix to push for minutes right away. The Cowboys also landed four-star transfers Jordan Burks from UCF, Adrija Grbovic from Arizona State, Julius Halaifonua from Georgetown and Luke Bogavac from UNC, giving the roster another layer of depth and talent.
Then there’s Parsa Fallah. The Cowboys’ second-leading scorer is back after tearing his ACL late last season, and he received a temporary restraining order that allows him to take advantage of the recent NCAA rule change regarding eligibility.
So the ingredients are there for a bigger leap in Lutz’s third year. The question now is whether Oklahoma State can turn that talent into results.
The answer starts coming quickly, with the Cowboys opening the regular season against Incarnate Word on Nov. 2.
Here’s the full preseason coaches’ poll:
- Arizona (12) - 220 points
- Houston (4) - 214 points
- Kansas - 186 points
- Iowa State - 181 points
- Texas Tech - 180 points
- BYU - 148 points
- TCU - 137 points
T8. Cincinnati - 116 points
T8. West Virginia - 116 points
- Baylor - 102 points
- Oklahoma State - 98 points
- Arizona State - 75 points
- UCF - 55 points
T14. Colorado - 34 points
T14. Kansas State - 34 points
- Utah - 24 points
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