STILLWATER — Utah transfer LA Sneed just couldn’t get coach Jacie Hoyt and Stillwater out of her head.
“I went on my visit, and the feeling just never left,” Sneed said. “Everybody talks about having that feeling, that that’s that one school, and that’s what I felt even after leaving here and visiting another school in the portal. I still was thinking about Oklahoma State, and ultimately, that just made me know that was my decision, and this was the best fit for me.”
Hardly a unique story, but maybe a bit surprising since Hoyt and her coaching staff spent a meaningful part of said visit pointing out everything Sneed did wrong.
“They also showed me things that I needed to work on and the process of that,” Sneed said. “And I’ve been doing that this summer, and it has been translating. I just know they believe in me, and that’s what’s been helping me tremendously.”
The future of Hoyt’s program in Stillwater, especially in the short term, will likely be decided by wins on the recruiting trail. Fresh off one of, if not the, best portal class in the nation, Hoyt and the Cowgirls face big expectations.
But after hearing Sneed and Audi Crooks, it sounds like Hoyt built that class, and by extension those expectations, by telling some of the nation’s most coveted transfers what was wrong with their games.
“I tell our players every day it’s my job to tell you the truth, and that truth is always going to be out of love,” Hoyt said. “Sometimes it might feel really good, and sometimes it’s gonna feel not so good. But that’s how I coach. That’s who I’m gonna be every single day.
“So I feel like on visits and in the recruiting process, it’s important for me to be honest about that because if they can’t take the feedback, it’s probably not gonna be a good match for me.”
Given the wealth of incoming talent and the well-documented return of Stailee Heard, who went through spring practices all alone, it’s understandable if fans aren’t quite sure who to really pay attention to now when it comes to Cowgirl hoops.
Sneed is probably one of those names worth circling. She earned one of five spots on the All-Big 12 Freshman Team last season after she averaged 6.3 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. Sneed also paced her team with 107 total assists for an average of three per game.
“She just has an ability to facilitate, and you know, obviously, with the way that we’ve always played, we’ve always been a team that really shares the ball and wants to make the extra pass and make reads and ball screens,” Hoyt said. “And I felt like she fit that really, really well. Where I needed someone in this offseason to really come in and play a big role was defensively, just being that defensive stopper, and I felt like she has the ability to do that, and I’ve seen her really excel in that in this summer.”
Sneed didn’t surprise Hoyt when she emerged as a playmaker at Utah last season. Both On3 and 247Sports ranked her as a top 32 prospect coming out of high school, and ESPN had her even higher as a five-star recruit.
“I loved watching her coming out of high school, and then hated to see her in our league,” Hoyt said.
Sneed said she’s enjoyed the summer in Stillwater. She predicted an amazing season for the Cowgirls this coming year.
But the sophomore knows there is a lot of hard work left between now and then. Sneed said she feels like every aspect of her game has improved over the offseason.
“Your freshman year to your sophomore year is your biggest jump, one of the biggest jumps, and I want that to be expressed in my game,” Sneed said. “And I think the teammates I’m around now, it’s going to make it easier for me as well, so I’m just excited for everybody to see us as a team and see myself grow individually.”
Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.
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