Oklahoma State announced plans to renovate the wrestling program’s locker rooms last September.

The locker room has since been completed, and on Tuesday, the program revealed photos of the renovations.

It’s highlighted by a large mural of the five All-Americans from the 2021 NCAA Tournament, cafeteria tables, a lounging area and some showcasing of their NCAA and Big 12 Tournament trophies.

They also revealed the donors that made the renovations happen. Initially, the Pollard family’s donation was anonymous.

Mike and Glynda Pollard of Tulsa were the lead donors on the facility upgrades. They also endow some scholarships in the Spears School of Business and rank 132nd on the current Oklahoma State Posse Donor list.

“When you look at this locker room, I can literally say we have the best locker room in wrestling in the world — not the nation, probably the world,” OSU coach John Smith said in an OSU Max interview. “Those are things that Oklahoma State wrestling needs. We’ll continue to be able to use something like this to attract some of the best wrestlers in the country.”

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OSU men’s golf advanced past stroke play and into match play at the NCAA championship this week, but it could not survive friendly fire from its own Big 12 brethren. Texas took down the Pokes in the quarterfinals round of match play on Tuesday 3-2, putting an end to the Pokes’ run at a championship in Scottsdale, Arizona.

With the loss, OSU moved to 6-3 all-time in the quarterfinal round.

Tuesday’s opening match began with star OSU sophomore Bo Jin falling 3-and-2 to Texas’ Parker Coody. The Longhorns added their second point of the match as Cole Hammer downed Aman Gupta in the anchor match. Both grabbed early 1-up leads for the Pokes but both could not sustain it.

OSU’s Brian Stark got OSU on the board with a 2-up win over Travis Vick in the second match, and star senior Eugenio Chacarra took down Pierceson Coody 1-up in a dramatic win.

But their wins alone were not enough to put the Pokes over the top, as Texas’ Mason Nome bested OSU’s Jonas Baumgartner for the dagger point. Nome closed out his match with a 2-up win by making birdie at the ninth.

OSU’s stunning one-and-done showing in the quarterfinals was a reminder of just how #hard golf is and just how much parity exists within the sport. It came on the same day Bedlam rival Oklahoma was eliminated from the NCAA championship, a surprise turn of events that eliminated the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the latest men’s golf rankings that dropped just before the NCAA championship.

The post OSU Golf Falls at NCAA Championship with Loss to Texas in Match Play appeared first on Pistols Firing.

Oklahoma State’s men’s golf team advanced into the match play portion of the NCAA Championship on Monday after finishing fifth in stroke play at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, marking the ninth time since match play was implementation the Cowboys will be in the mix.

OSU advanced into match play after turning in a 298 in Round 4 on Monday. By virtue of its stroke-play finish it earns a 5 seed for match play and will face 4 seed Texas on Tuesday morning in the quarterfinals. Play began at 9:10 a.m. central time.

“Obviously today was not what we were looking for, but job one is done,” said OSU coach Alan Bratton. “You win this tournament by finishing in the top eight, then you have to win three matches. . . I think our depth is going to pay off as we go into match play.”

Vanderbilt took the No. 1 seed into match play, and Oklahoma, after a strong weekend, surged to take the No. 2 seed, which means if the bracket breaks right we could get a Bedlam brawl in the final match for the championship.

Monday was a rollercoaster round for OSU with senior Eugenio Chacarra nearly making an improbable comeback for the ages. After starting his day with bogeys at two of his first three and making triple and a double before the turn, he forced a four-man playoff before finishing as the national runner-up in individual.

Team scoring on Tuesday will be updated live for match play at golfstat.com. Golf Channel coverage will begin at 11 a.m. (CST).

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

Scores

Men’s Golf: Pokes finished Stroke Play in fifth at the NCAA Tournament  

OSU Bullets

• Pretty wild – yesterday the Pokes landed the No. 7 national seed. If they can win this weekend, they’ll land Super Regional hosting because of it. Here’s a schedule for this weekend’s regional in Stillwater and here’s the best explanation I’ve seen on why the Pokes were valued so high:

• Cowboy Golf is gearing up for a big day today – Pokes are teeing off against Texas this morning, will play in the semifinals this afternoon if they win, finals tomorrow.

Yesterday, the Pokes fell to the fifth spot from second, setting up the match with the No. 4 Horns. Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra had an unbelievably wild round finishing in a playoff for the stroke play title but finished second.

• Sign me up for a good OSU-Texas football game, they’ve been aplenty.

Case in point, six of the past seven meetings between the two squad has been decided by one-score, including games decided by a mere field goal in 2017 and 2018. This is also a series with the potential to go dormant after 2022 depending on how things unfold with the SEC move for the Longhorns and Sooners.

[GoPokes 247]

• Missed this last week – Guerin Emig quoted Mike Gundy on mental health awareness and had some great thoughts

• Pretty crazy to think Tylan was snubbed for one and the Pokes should have the all-time lead on Biletnikoffs. Don’t get me started on how unlucky the Larry Fitzgerald/Rashaun Woods timing was.

Non-OSU Bullets

• Tough read but really appreciate how this journalist and mother processed Uvalde
• We’re dying daily

Pretty interesting to chew on – who will the Big 12 bottom feeders be when teams are added? (20 min podcast)

The post Daily Bullets (May 31): Cowboy Golf Starts Match Play Today, Pokes Climb to a National Seed appeared first on Pistols Firing.

STILLWATER — Not only will the Cowboys host an NCAA Regional, they’ll host a Super in they win.

Oklahoma State is the 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, it was announced Monday. Arkansas, Grand Canyon and Missouri State are the other teams in the Stillwater Regional. The Cowboys will start the things off with a game against Missouri State on Friday (the time of the game is TBD as of writing).

The Cowboys are 39-20 this season, finishing fourth in the Big 12 regular season standings (but just a game away from first) and in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. OSU has the highest seed among any Big 12 team.

The Cowboys’ stiff nonconference schedule set them up to be the Big 12’s highest-rated seed. OSU played 16 nonconference games against teams in the NCAA Tournament’s field. In those 16 games, OSU was 10-6. That includes a game against Missouri State, who is in the Cowboys’ Regional. OSU beat the Bears 5-1 on March 8.

“The seedings, I really had no idea what to expect just because the committee has a lot to digest in terms of what they choose to do and how they prioritize. or rank, your accomplishments, if you will,” OSU coach Josh Holliday said. “But I felt real good about what our team had done this year, in particular the character they revealed late in the season. We had a tough stretch there a couple weeks back, and we responded and bounced back from that. I thought that was a tremendous sign of our toughness and of our grit to keep playing hard despite the fact that a few things didn’t go our way.”

It’s the 46th time the Cowboys will play in an NCAA Regional, fourth-most of any program. It’s the Pokes’ ninth Regional appearance under Holliday, and it’s the fourth time OSU will host under Holliday.

Here is a quick breakdown of the teams in the Stillwater Regional.

1. Oklahoma State

Overall Record: 39-20
Conference (Conference Record): Big 12 (15-9)
Batting Average Leader: Jake Thompson (.349)
Home Run Leader: Jake Thompson (14) and Nolan McLean (14)
Innings Pitch Leader (ERA): Justin Campbell (3.43)

2. Arkansas

Overall Record: 38-18
Conference (Conference Record): SEC (18-12)
Batting Average Leader: Chris Lanzilli (.318)
Home Run Leader: Braydon Webb (14)
Innings Pitch Leader (ERA): Connor Noland (4.07)

3. Grand Canyon

Overall Record: 41-19
Conference (Conference Record): WAC (25-5)
Batting Average Leader: Juan Colato (.384)
Home Run Leader: Tayler Aguilar (20)
Innings Pitch Leader (ERA): Nick Hull (3.89)

4. Missouri State

Overall Record: 30-27
Conference (Conference Record): Missouri Valley (8-13)
Batting Average Leader: Spencer Nivens (.352)
Home Run Leader: Dakota Kotowski (23)
Innings Pitch Leader (ERA): Adam Link (4.50)

Josh Holliday’s Post-Selection Show News Conference

The post OSU Baseball: Cowboys Get 7 Seed in NCAA Tournament appeared first on Pistols Firing.

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

Happy Memorial Day from the folks at PFB.

Scores

Men’s Golf: Pokes are in second through day three 

OSU Bullets

• Really nice – the Cowgirls will be the highest-ranked team on their side of the College World Series bracket – taking on unranked Arizona on Thursday

• The Pokes snuck into hosting a regional this weekend – meanwhile, the Sooners won the Big 12 tournament yesterday and will not be hosting a regional

• There was a lot more news from Saturday, check out Sunday’s Bullets for a nice refresher if you missed it

• Doug Gottlieb shared some thoughts on OSU’s appeal to the NCAA and NIL – his explanation on why the appeal wasn’t heard made a lot of sense while his measured thoughts didn’t resonate:

“…And Oklahoma State had smartly appealed and because of COVID there was no appeal hearings, and because it was under appeal, when you had the best player in the country [Cade Cunningham], you got to play in the NCAA Tournament.”

[HCS]

• Boone Pickens Stadium is No. 3 among Big 12 venues in this ranking and the Cowboys have the third-highest national championship odds in the Big 12

• The Pokes surged into second through three days of stroke play at the NCAA Tournament

• Pretty slick shots from Saturday’s games:

Non-OSU Bullets

• Liked this take on “humility as kindness” (some political thoughts but his process was good)
• Cases for Paolo, Chet, and Jabari to be taken first in the NBA Draft (why Chet is a good fit for OKC)
• A little cheesy but “Slow Down: a Dad’s Reflection” is good (faith-based)

The post Daily Bullets (May 30): Cowgirls Path to the Title Clear, Pokes Earn a Regional at O’Brate appeared first on Pistols Firing.

The NCAA on Sunday night unveiled the Regional sites for this year’s NCAA baseball championships, and Oklahoma State’s new O’Brate Stadium will be under the bright, shiny spotlight this postseason. The Cowboys were named as one of 16 Regional hosts, along with Texas from the Big 12. TCU, Texas Tech and OU were among the more notable snubs to not earn regional hosting duties.

OSU is 39-20 on the season and slated to make its 47th regional appearance in program history, which ties for the fourth-most all-time. Under Josh Holliday, it marks OSU’s ninth-straight Regional berth and the fourth time they’ll enter the postseason as host for a Regional. The three previous times came first in consecutive years in 2014 and 2015 followed by 2019, when it was held in OKC.

Here is a rundown of each of the selected regionals:

The Big 12 had a really strong year as one of the best conferences in baseball, but that wasn’t necessarily reflected when viewing the bigger picture. The ACC and SEC each had four programs get selected for Regional sites. The Big 12 and Pac-12 each had two.

Should OSU hold serve at home in its own Regional it will advance into just its sixth Super Regional in program history, following previous appearances in 1999, 2007, 2014, 2016 and 2019. Only twice of the previous five Super Regional appearances — 1999 and 2016 — did OSU advance into the College World Series.

Matchups for the Regional are expected to be released Monday during the annual selection show as well as seeding, which will not affect Regional hosting assignments but could play a role in who does or does not get Super Regional hosting duties.

The post OSU Baseball Selected to Host NCAA Regional appeared first on Pistols Firing.

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

Scores

Baseball: Cowboys 8, Longhorns 1
Baseball: Cowboys 2, Longhorns 9

The Cowboys came up short to Texas on Saturday night after laying it on the Longhorns Saturday morning. Now they await the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Monday. [PFB]

Three Thoughts

• Nolan McLean did Nolan McLean things in both, especially in Game 1. Check out this web gem, just one of his impressive plays from Saturday. [PFB]

• Rondel Walker is leaving Stillwater for Fort Worth. On a personal note, I’m going to need take a personal day. [PFB]

• Less than a day after punching his third-straight ticket to OKC, OSU locked up head softball coach Kenny Gajewski through the next five years. [PFB]

Two Quotes

• Kenny G on OSU’s goals. “It’s not [just] getting to OKC. It was getting OKC our first years. That’s not the expectation.” [PFB]

• Aman Gupta shot the low round on Saturday at the NCAA Men’s Golf Tournament, turning in a 5-under 65. He had four birdies and no bogies in the back nine. Here he is on the round that has him ranked third on the leaderboard.

“It was just one of those things where as long as I trusted what I was doing and didn’t try to overthink it and just didn’t get too caught up in where I stood that it was gonna be a pretty good day, and it was really good.” [Golfweek]

The Cowboys are currently second on the team leaderboard.

One Question

• If you could have locked up any past OSU head coach (any sport), who would it be?

Non-OSU Bullets

• “It could be worth the wait!” An impressive meteor shower could happen on Monday night. [USA Today]

• Why you should upgrade your search engine from Google. [Seth’s Blog]

The post Daily Bullets (May 29): Cowboys’ Big 12 Tourney Ends in Semis appeared first on Pistols Firing.

The Cowboys’ attempt to fight through the loser’s bracket to the Big 12 title game was a valiant effort, but it came up just short.

No. 9 Oklahoma State fell to No. 19 Texas 9-2 in the second 4/5 semifinal. The Cowboys end their Big 12 Tournament run at 3-2.

After an 8-1 OSU victory over Texas on Saturday morning, it was the Longhorns’ turn to pile on the runs early Saturday afternoon.

Jake Thompson flipped on the scoreboard with his sac RBI in the bottom of the first. He ended the game 0-for-4, but that run was part of a five-RBI Saturday for the Cowboys’ now co-home run leader.

Caeden Trenkle led the Cowboys going 2-for-3 including a double to right centerfield. He also made a handful of plays in the outfield, recording four putouts.

The Horns scored two runs in the second and then piled on five more in the third at the expense of starter Hueston Morrill and Kale Davis. The pair combined to pitch four 2/3 innings, where they allowed eight hits and eight runs.

Left-handed reliever Dillon Marsh took the mound for the final four 1/3 innings and at least stopped the bleeding, or slowed it. He allowed three hits and just one run, striking out one. That was no small thing against the UT bats that got white hot on Saturday afternoon.

The Cowboys had a couple of chances to make it a game, but it was too little, too late. OSU loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth before Nolan McLean was struck out looking, stranding three Cowboys.

McLean did not have his best day from the plate, but he was one of only two Cowboys to score in Game 2. After an 0-for-4 outing Saturday morning, he went 1-for-4 in the afternoon. But that one, was a vintage McLean dinger, moving him into the tie for team lead with Thompson. They each have 14 on the year.

Despite the loss, the Cowboys had their fair share of highlight plays.

Thompson made a huge play with this missile from deep centerfield.

And Roc Riggio made this diving play in the sixth.

The Longhorns move on to face Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game at 5 p.m. Sunday. With the loss, the Cowboys fall to 39-20 and 15-10 in conference, the best Big 12 finish since 2018.

The Pokes are just on the outside looking for one of the 16 coveted regional host spots. The Pokes await their postseason seed. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show will air on ESPN2 at 11 a.m. Monday.

The post OSU Baseball: Cowboys Fall to Longhorns 9-2 appeared first on Pistols Firing.