On the road to the Cowboys’ 2023 season, Oklahoma State updated its online roster this week, so it’s time to overanalyze newcomer numbers and measurements.

There was a lot of interesting tidbits from this roster refresh, but let’s start with the newcomers. Here is a look at how OSU’s early enrollees are listed:

Quarterback is the most publicized position in the sport, so let’s start there. Michigan/Texas Tech transfer Alan Bowman will rock No. 7 at OSU. He wore No. 10 at Tech and No. 15 at Michigan. At 6-foot-4, 209 pounds, Bowman is the tallest and heaviest scholarship QB on OSU’s roster.

Then there is freshman Zane Flores, who is listed at 6-3, 200 pounds and will rock No. 6. He wore No. 12 at Gretna High School in Nebraska.

Iowa transfer receiver Arland Bruce IV ought to look extra fast in No. 1. He wore No. 10 with the Hawkeyes. Washington State transfer De’Zhaun Stribling will do his best Dallas Dez Bryant impersonation in No. 88. And with how new No. 0 still is, JUCO transfer defensive back Lardarius Webb Jr. ought to look sweet there.

As far as standout measurables, look no further than Utah Tech transfer defensive tackle Justin Kirkland, who comes in at 6-4, 346 pounds, making him the heaviest player on the Cowboys’ spring roster. Tulsa transfer Anthony Goodlow also stands out at 6-5, 283 pounds, heaviest among Cowboys listed as a defensive end.

Number Changes

A few Cowboys will wear new numbers come spring ball, with a bunch jumping on single digits that opened up. Here is a look at some of the standouts:

Jaden Nixon — 23 ➡️ 3
Jaden Bray — 85 ➡️ 5
Cameron Epps — 23 ➡️ 7
Blane Green — 28 ➡️ 8
Jeff Roberson — 45 ➡️ 22

No More Cowboy Back

The Cowboy back position appears to be no more.

The tight end/full back hybrid has split again, and now players are listed as either tight ends or full backs — except for Blaine Green, who is listed as a wide receiver again.

Tight ends — Tabry Shettron, Josiah Johnson, Bryce Drummond, Quinton Stewart, Ian Edenfield
Full backs — Jake Schultz, Luke McEndoo, Braden Cassity

Missing from the Roster

The Feels Like 45 guys were the first to point this out, but defensive end Ben Kopenski and offensive lineman Logan Nobles are absent from this roster.

Kopenski was listed as a redshirt senior last season, but he should have one season of eligibility remaining because of the pandemic. In a crowded room of pass rushers, Kopenski made plays when given the opportunity, finishing the past two seasons with 17 tackles, six tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.

Nobles was a redshirt freshman last season. He has not appeared in a game for OSU, according to the Cowboys’ online statistics.

Full Roster

STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State wrestling team will compete in the Big 12 Tournament this weekend in Tulsa. OSU coach John Smith met with reporters Tuesday to preview this weekend’s festivities.

After five losses on the bounce, the Cowboys have fallen out of the projected NCAA Tournament field, according to a pair of highly regarded bracketologists.

CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm and ESPN’s Joe Lunardi each have the Cowboys in their “First Four Out” category after Oklahoma State lost to Baylor on Monday night in Stillwater. Palm has the Cowboys as the first team out of the field, while Lunardi has them as the second team out.

According to Palm, OSU fans should cheer against Michigan, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Mississippi State, the last teams in his projected field. Joining the Cowboys in Palm’s “First Four Out” category are Penn State, North Carolina and Arizona State.

As for Lunardi, he has North Carolina ahead of the Cowboys in his “First Four Out,” with Clemson and Michigan also in the category. Lundari’s “Last Four In” is a little different: Mississippi State, Boise State, Wisconsin and Arizona State. So, Lunardi thinks higher of Arizona State’s chances than Palm does, but Palm thinks higher of Boise State, who is in his projected field as an 11 seed.

Here is a more digestible look at all the bubble teams mentioned above heading into Tuesday’s games, ordered by NET ranking:

So among those bubble teams, the Cowboys are middle of the pack in terms of NET ranking. If the selection committee likes Quad 1 wins, the Big 12 provides teams with ample opportunity as only Wisconsin has more than OSU and West Virginia, but the Cowboys and Mountaineers have had significantly more bites at that apple. The Badgers’ five Quad 2 losses and one Quad 3 loss are holding them back. The biggest thing holding OSU back is that pesky Quad 3 loss to Southern Illinois, a team that ranks 118th in the NET.

Although it might seem like a bad thing that Texas Tech, OSU’s next opponent, has won four of its past five, the Red Raiders provide OSU another opportunity to pick up a sixth Quad 1 win on Saturday. Tech is up to No. 55 in the NET and is in Lunardi’s “Next Four Out” category. Should OSU win in Lubbock and win a game in Kansas City, it might just be enough to get the Pokes in, at least according to projections. If the Cowboys could win Saturday and pick up a pair of wins in Kansas City, things look all the more promising. But a sixth straight loss to end the regular season would put the Cowboys on the back foot heading into the conference tournament.

Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news.

OSU Bullets

• Pokes lost to Baylor 74-68 at Gallagher-Iba last night – not good for the NCAA Tournament hopes

• Not unrelated to the big announcement, OSU was ranked top-20 in the country in college athletics facilities currently (247 Sports)

• OSU unveiled a $325m plan to enhance the Athletic Village – here’s the gist of it:

Oklahoma State Athletics laid out the “OSU Vision Plan” on Monday morning, laying out concepts for facility upgrades for softball, wrestling, basketball, track, football, equestrian and golf. All of the upgrades will cost an estimated $325 million. OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg said the plan is for “pretty much all” of that money to come from donors.

[PFB]

• Avery Anderson, on the record, processing being out for injury is pretty tough stuff (TulsaWorld)

• Pokes move from No. 15 to No. 12 in the D1Baseball rankings (D1Baseball.com)

• Lindy Waters signed a two-year deal with OKC Thunder (NewsOK)

Non-OSU Bullets

• The big event that will be the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Tulsa
• Tips on being a better listener as a boss
• How Florence Butt founded HEB

BOX SCORE

PHOTO GALLERY

STILLWATER — The Cowboys were down big again before making their fifth straight loss look a little more respectable.

Oklahoma State lost to Baylor 74-68 on Monday night in Gallagher-Iba Arena. Here are five thoughts on the game.

1. Well, There Was Some Fight

The Cowboys trailed this game by 17 with 4:01 to play before pulling to within four with 35 seconds left.

It looks better on paper. Will that do anything for OSU come Selection Sunday? Who knows?

It was another tough night from 3 for the Cowboys, but three of their nine 3-point makes came in the final 1:13. The game seemed lifeless at a point, but credit to the Cowboys for finding life again. But almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Not being down by 19 is a better strategy than a ridiculous comeback.

2. The Road to the NCAA Tournament Narrows Further

After getting off the bubble in a good way on Feb. 11 against Iowa State, the Cowboys have fallen out Joe Lunardi’s projected field with one regular season game to play.

The best OSU can do now is finish 8-10 in Big 12 play with a win in Lubbock on Saturday. Here is a look at where Mike Boynton teams have finished in the league year-by-year and whether that team made the Tournament:

2021-22: 8-10, banned
2020-21: 11-7, danced
2019-20: 7-11, no tournament (but the dance was unlikely)
2018-19: 5-13, didn’t dance
2017-18: 8-10, didn’t dance

So the last time OSU went 8-10 and was able to play in the NCAA Tournament, the Cowboys were left out. That was Boynton’s first season. It was also a time before the NET ranking was implemented. The Cowboys made the NIT that year.

Bracketologists have an educated guess at the bracket, but it’s hard to say for sure what exactly the NCAA Tournament’s selection committee thinks of OSU and the Big 12 as a whole.

At this point it would be good for OSU to at least win in Lubbock and win in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament next week. The Cowboys might have to win a second round game as well. If the Tournament isn’t in the cards, the NIT plays its semifinal and final rounds in Las Vegas now, so there’s that.

“It is impossible to not think about [the NCAA Tournament picture] because if you’re a basketball player, then obviously that’s what you think about and you’re one of the teams that people are talking about being on the line,” Boynton said. “It’s why I don’t try to do the pretend like it’s not a real thing approach because when they leave the gym, they’re talking about it. They talk to their parents and their friends, and they’re talking about it. When they turn on their TV at night if they’re watching basketball, they’re talking about it. So, let’s just talk about it in a real fashion about what’s realistically in front of us.

“We had an opportunity against a Top 10 team, would’ve been great, didn’t get it done. We still gotta go to Lubbock against a team who is playing much better than when they came here a couple weeks ago. If you win in that one, it’s another really good win against a really quality opponent and you give yourself — I don’t want to say breathing room because you don’t have much breathing room at this point — but you give yourselves an opportunity.”

3. 3-Point Shooting Bites the Pokes Again

OSU started the night 0-for-7 from 3, attempting those first seven shots in 5:15.

The easy response is to say stop shooting them if they aren’t going in, but every one of those seven came from capable 3-point shooters are were good looks. They were shots college basketball teams have to take. OSU then hit two in a row before missing another seven straight. From the 2:21 mark in the first half on, OSU went a much more respectable 7-for-16 from deep, but when shots finally started falling, it was too late.

Then on the flip side of that, the high-scoring Bears went 11-for-31 (36%) from deep on the night. Stars LJ Cryer and Adam Flagler each hit a trio of triples, and Dale Bonner — getting more minutes in place of an injured Keyonte George — also went 2-for-3 from deep.

OSU is not an outstanding 3-point shooting team, and that won’t change between now and the end of the season. But the Cowboys are better than the 28% they shot against Baylor or the 22% they shot against Kansas State and the 11% they shot against West Virginia. The timing of this string of bad shooting games seemingly couldn’t be worse.

4. Two Bright Spots

I’ve been waiting for a win to write about Tyreek Smith’s performances over recent, weeks, but it’s been too long between OSU wins.

Smith might’ve been the Cowboys’ best player during this bad stretch. It doesn’t necessarily show on the stat sheet, but his physical presence often forces teams out of a rhythm and he makes positive hustle plays.

Against Baylor, Smith finished with four points, six rebounds and a gnarly block. Four of Smith’s rebounds were offensive part of a 22 offensive rebound night for the Cowboys, the most this season. He did, though, leave the game with an ankle sprain and didn’t return.

Then there was freshman Quion Williams, who has been under some Twitter scrutiny over recent weeks. His potential as a do-it-all big guard showed Monday with his 12 points, six rebounds and two assists. He was 2-for-3 from 3-point range. OSU is now 4-2 in games he has hit a 3-pointer, with the two losses being to Baylor.

5. What to Make of This Rough Stretch

The Cowboys are on a five-game losing streak.

For what it’s worth, three of those games came against teams in the top 11 of the latest AP Poll. But also for what it’s worth many of those games haven’t been too pretty.

The Cowboys will get a break from the nation’s elite starting Saturday. But a Texas Tech team awaits that has won four of five ahead of a trip to Lawrence on Tuesday night. The Red Raiders are fighting for their own NCAA Tournament bid and will get the Cowboys in front of an always rabid Lubbock crowd.

The league is a grind, there is no doubt. But five-game losing streaks aren’t going to cut it when the margins for making the NCAA Tournament and not making it are as tight as they are for the Cowboys right now.

“You’re only as good as your preparation,” Boynton said. “I say that all the time. I believe it firmly. What I told our guys is if we’re capable of playing with that type of effort [in the final minutes], that type of competitive fire, that type of fight, then we’re gonna find a couple more wins here before this thing is over. Maybe it’s Saturday, maybe it’s next week, I don’t know, but the deal is continue to lose yourself in the process. Don’t get consumed with the fact that it’s not going as well for you.”

STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State basketball team fell to Baylor 74-68 on Monday in Gallagher-Iba Arena. After the game, Mike Boynton, John-Michael Wright and Bryce Thompson met with reporters to recap the Cowboys’ fifth straight loss.

The Cowboys needed a win in the worst way, but they weren’t able to shake some flaws that have become all too frequent this season. Though, they put up one heck of a fight late.

Oklahoma State fell to No. 7 Baylor 74-68, in their final home game of the season. OSU trailed by 19 with five minutes left but a late surge saw the Cowboy pull within four with 35 seconds remaining. They were this close to a historic comeback.

The Cowboys came in ranked ninth in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting percentage and the Bears read the scouting report. Seven of OSU’s first 10 shots were from beyond the arc. Most of them wide open. None of them good. The Cowboys found themselves down by 10 less than six minutes into the game before John-Michael Wright and Quion Williams knocked down consecutive deep balls — an early aberration that got the crowd going and helped spark a mini-comeback.

The Cowboys surged back with effort but lost ground with a lack of execution.

OSU bested Baylor 13-5 on the offensive glass in the first half and pulled back within three at the 9:11 mark and then again at 6:49. Tyreek Smith bullied the Bears in his 10 first-half minutes, scoring four, grabbing rebounds (four offensive boards) and blocked a shot.

Unfortunately, the Bears went on a 19-4 run in the back end of the first half to take back control. It’s tough to trade 3-pointers with the Bears. OSU shot 4-of-18 from 3 in the first half compared to the conference’s top 3-point shooting team Baylor (8-of-16) and the Bears pulled back away, taking an 11-point lead into halftime.

A disturbing trend of missed shots and opportunities continued on Monday. After a 3-of-4 start to the second half, OSU made just one shot in 12 from the field, including missing five-straight shots at the basket. That was enough for Baylor to take control of the game.

The Bears settled down to an 11-of-31 finish from 3 edging out OSU’s 9-for-32 mark. It was one shy of the Cowboys’ season high in 3-point attempts. The Cowboys owned the offensive glass (22-13) but only converted those boards into 10 second-chance points.

With nothing to lose, the Cowboys went to a pressure defense and turned Baylor’s miscues into nine-straight points in just 1:41 to pull within nine points with 1:11 to go.

After inconsistent shooting all night, OSU made five-straight shots to make this a ball game. Consecutive 3s made by Wright and Bryce Thompson and Wright pulled the Pokes within 69-65 with 35 seconds left capping a 15-2 run. Given the time, the Cowboys had to play the foul game but Dale Bonner made three of his four attempts to help ice the game. But this was just another tipped ball or two away from the Cowboys pulling off a historic win. The key would obviously be to not find yourself down 19 with five minutes to go, but you can’t say this team doesn’t fight.

John-Michael Wright led the Cowboys with 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting. He was one of the main offenders when it came to missed deep shots, but he also did his best to make up for them late, knocking down a pair of 3s in the last couple of minutes to put the Pokes back in it.

Freshman Quion Williams played his best game as a Cowboy, scoring a career-high 12 points on just eight shots. He shared the team lead with Smith with six rebounds (four offensive) and dished out two assists. He was active and, more times than not, found himself in the right place at the right time. Caleb Asberry pitched in a dozen points himself to go with five assists and four boards.

With the loss, Oklahoma State moves to 16-14 on the year and 7-10 in the Big 12. The Cowboys’ 11-5 home record is their best since Mike Boynton’s first season in 2017-18.

According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, OSU came in as his last team into the NCAA Tournament. During the ESPN halftime show, Lunardi implied that a loss to Baylor would drop the Pokes out of the field for the time being. The Cowboys will get one more chance to strengthen their resume on Saturday before the conference tournament next week. They finish their regular season against a surging Texas Tech team in Lubbock at 5 p.m.

On Monday evening, the Big 12 announced seeds for the upcoming conference championship this weekend and here’s how things broke down for the Cowboys:

• 125 — Reece Witcraft (Unseeded)
• 133 — Daton Fix – 1
• 141 — Carter Young – 4
• 149 — Victor Voinovich – 5
• 157 — Kaden Gfeller – 2
• 165 — Wyatt Sheets – 6
• 174 — Dustin Plott – 2
• 184 — Travis Wittlake – 3
• 197 — Luke Surber – 4
• HWT — Konner Doucet – 8

Everyone but Witcraft, who broke into the starting lineup late in the season after a descent from 133, received a seed. Every wrestler with the exception of Witcraft also received a seed high enough that if they wrestle to it, they will receive a bid to the NCAA tournament. The allocations and placement that each wrestler needs to wrestle to to receive bid to the NCAA tournament is listed below.

The tournament starts at 10 a.m. Saturday at the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK and can be streamed live on ESPN+.

STILLWATER — The unimagined has been imagined, but now it’s on Oklahoma State’s donors to turn it into reality.

Oklahoma State Athletics laid out the “OSU Vision Plan” on Monday morning, laying out concepts for facility upgrades for softball, wrestling, basketball, track, football, equestrian and golf. All of the upgrades will cost an estimated $325 million. OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg said the plan is for “pretty much all” of that money to come from donors.

“I think it’s a great day for the future, but it is really just a roadmap,” Weiberg said. “This is the plan, and as we’ve talked internally, with our team, [senior associate AD] Larry Reece and [deputy athletic director] Reid Sigmon and others involved, we’re very aware that now is when the work begins. This is just the start. Now, the real work begins both in the fundraising and acquiring the resources, but also in the next steps of the planning and construction. This will be a long process, but you got to start somewhere. Today is the start.”

As far as the pecking order of gets done first, that is also on the donors. If a donor is willing to pony up the money for a particular project that’s where it will go. Over recent years, it feels like most of the calls from the fanbase have come for upgrades to softball and wrestling in particular.

Wrestling just received an upgraded locker room, but the new practice facility is set to replace a small parking lot north of Gallagher-Iba Arena, so the already-existent locker room will be attached.

As far as softball goes, Weiberg said OSU “clearly” has an issue with the current stadium, that issue being that there aren’t enough seats. With as good as the Cowgirls have been under Kenny Gajewski (making three straight Women’s College World Series), those tickets have been among the hardest to get in town at the current stadium.

Then OSU track coach Dave Smith is one of the only Power Five coaches in the area without an indoor track. Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Kansas State all have some sort of indoor facility to train in. Even without the luxury, Smith’s Cowgirls just won a Big 12 indoor title, and last year Taylor Roe won an individual indoor national championship without an indoor track to train in.

So how do you decide who gets at the front of the line?

“That is part of the reason that we wanted to put a whole roadmap out in front of the family is the athletic department didn’t want to be the ones that were determining the priority,” Weiberg said. “We didn’t want to be the ones determining the speed or timeline. The priorities and the timeline, that will all be set by our supporters and their willingness to step up and help make these projects possible.”

OSU will get some sort of help in regards to the Human Performance Innovation Complex and Football Center. The Human Performance Innovation Complex part of that mouthful won’t need to be funded by OSU Athletics donors, but the football side will, maximizing some efficiencies. Weiberg said “all of football” will move into the new complex with some aspects obviously staying over in Boone Pickens Stadium for gamedays. The move makes sense with how often Mike Gundy’s Cowboys are across the street at the Sherman E. Smith Training Center compared to on the field at Boone Pickens Stadium.

So, as seemingly everything in this world comes down to, this will all be determined by money and just how fast OSU can get that money. There won’t be a new softball stadium or an indoor track ready next week. This was just the beginning of the next phase of Oklahoma State’s Athletic Village.

“So as far as the timeline, we don’t have one specifically for a couple of different reasons,” Weiberg said. “One, this will all be predicated on gathering the resources needed to do these, but regardless, it’s a years-in-the-making project. Even if we had all of the resources readily available now, you can see that these projects will take a lot of time to design and plan for and build. The timeline will be set by how we are able to gain the resources.”

OSU on Sunday night teased a big announcement that seemed to hint at news of possible facilities upgrades, and on Monday morning, the athletics department wasted no time unveiling said teaser with a stunning $325-million plan through the “Vision Plan” which will include a new wrestling training facility, a new softball stadium, an indoor track, a new football operations center, a new training center for basketball, upgrades to the equestrian center [takes deep breath for dramatic effect due to length of renovations!], upgrades to Karsten Creek and repurposed areas in the west end zone of Boone Pickens Stadium and Gallagher-Iba for academics services.

“This is a time of conference realignment and unprecedented transformation in college athletics,” Weiberg said in a statement announcing the news. “With a history that includes 52 NCAA titles, for us to continue to achieve championship results, now is not the time to pause or rest on past accomplishments, but to honor those accomplishments by pushing forward and building upon what has been started. This vision plan provides a road map for the next phase of an athletics village that will be unrivaled in collegiate sports.”

The Vision Plan is still in its conceptual stages, OSU said, but it passed along renderings of future plans and … whoo boy is it big-time. Here’s an aerial view of the plans with labels for each separate project.

But wait, there’s more! OSU also passed along renderings for each of the projects in more detail and they are truly stunning. I’ll list them out below here for further detail starting with the new softball complex project.

Softball complex

First, here’s a look at the aerial view of the new plans for a softball complex. (Note: complex, not stadium.)

OSU said its plan for a new softball complex will be partially located on the former site of Allie P. Reynolds Stadium, where OSU baseball formerly played. The new home will include, among other things, chairback seating, tailgating corrals, and enhancements on the fan experience. There are plans to complete demolition of Allie P. which will pave the way for new parking for on-campus residents as well.

Basketball facility

The new basketball facilities look incredible and are among the more exciting features of the Vision Plan. The renovations include a new practice facility attached to GIA that will add on to the south side of the arena with two practice courts and other training areas.

Wrestling practice facility

Quite possibly the most overdue upgrade for OSU from a facilities perspective. OSU’s new wrestling practice facility looks like it’ll be state of the art with increased size of the wrestling room allowing for more mat space and other amenities. There will also be a dedicated space for spectators that is expected to “enhance recruiting and donor visits,” OSU said.

Human Performance Innovation Complex and Football Center

OSU plans to use this space as the new operations home of OSU football. It will be located adjacent to the practice fields and the Sherman E. Smith Training Center.

And just for fun, here’s a look again at the aerial view to see where this will fall exactly on campus.

Student-athlete success center

This is a big one. OSU plans to use the current areas used by OSU football in the west end zone to renovate after the Human Performance Innovation and Football Center is complete. This project will include expansion and renovation of the training table area, premium areas, new seating types and amenities and more. It appears this will also serve as a hub for academic services, general development and mental health resources.

Indoor track and field

The Vision Plan calls for a complete overhaul of the track and field facilities with a proposal for an indoor track and field facility located south of the existing outdoor track and field complex. The site is bordered by McElroy Road to the north, the football indoor facility to the south and North Knoblock to the east.

The land will include a 200 meter banked track, indoor field event space, spectator seating, training rooms, team meeting spaces, locker rooms, player lounges and office space for coaches.

Welcome plaza

Gallagher-Iba will also get a new renovation with the addition of a welcome plaza on the east facade of the building. The goal of the project “seeks to revive” the east entrance. It also proposes additional premium parking and enhancement of the fan experience and tailgating experience.

Equestrian

An additional covered arena will be added to the Pedigo-Hull Equestrian Center as part of the Vision Plan. The program got a new multipurpose team building in 2021 that includes a team lounge, study area and fueling station.

Karsten Creek Golf Course

Last (but certainly not least) is Karsten Creek Golf Course where renovations were, OSU said, “needed to improve the facilities infrastructure, create a more challenging course, and enhance the skills of the student-athlete.”

“Course enhancement will include new irrigation, drainage, fairways, cart paths, and greens,” OSU said. “Bunkers and tee boxes will be adjusted to increase the difficulty of play and advance the skills of the golfers. The practice facility will also be renovated to improve the tee boxes, landing zones, short game areaand practice putting greens.”