Oklahoma
Can Oklahoma State baseball make run in Big 12, NCAA tournaments? Examining Cowboys resume
A month ago, it was fair to turn and look away from Oklahoma State baseball.
The Cowboys looked nothing like themselves. Losses piled up. The offense struggled. The pitching was worse.
Sitting below .500, the belief was that OSU would miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time under coach Josh Holliday.
My, how things can change.
There are few teams hotter than the Pokes entering conference tournament week. They’re coming off a three-game sweep of Arizona State. They’ve won 9 of 10 games.
OSU is suddenly back in the NCAA Tournament picture, too.
The Cowboys enter the Big 12 Tournament at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday as the No. 7 seed. They’ll face Baylor at 4 p.m. on ESPNU.
Here is what to know about OSU entering the postseason:
Oklahoma State baseball resume
- Record: 27-22 (15-12 Big 12, 7th)
- RPI: 45th (through May 18 games)
- Projected seed: USA TODAY: No. 3 seed in Chapel Hill Regional (last four in); D1Baseball: No. 3 seed in Corvallis Regional
- Notable: The Cowboys’ mid-season struggles and cancellation of several Big 12 games can be overlooked in part to a tough schedule. OSU’s strength of schedule ranks No. 11 in the country, according to D1Baseball.com’s RPI.
OSU baseball Big 12 Tournament preview
Never count out the Cowboys in this tournament.
The format is different — an increase to 12 teams and a change to single elimination — but the talent is just the same under Holliday.
The Cowboys get a boost by opening with Baylor, a team they took two of three from and nearly swept on the road less than two weeks ago.
But this is no easy field. Eight teams are ranked in the top 50 RPI and all 12 are in the top 90.
Should the Cowboys win, they face No. 2-seeded Kansas. The Jayhawks swept OSU in late March, signaling the downturn of OSU’s season. Another win could mean a date with No. 3 TCU.
Though that appears daunting, the Cowboys have won this tournament four times, including last season.
Why Oklahoma State baseball can make a run in NCAA Tournament
First, the Cowboys have to get in.
Though projections are favorable — Baseball America and D1Baseball.com both have OSU in as of Tuesday — a win or two in Arlington will go a long way to make them feel safe.
But get in and the Cowboys face significantly less pressure than the past three seasons. There will be no home regional, which OSU has lost each year at O’Brate Stadium since 2022.
Getting away from Stillwater could be a positive.
Plus, it helps that OSU has a bona fide ace in left-hander Harrison Bodendorf, who leads the league with 10 wins and is tied for second with a 2.43 ERA.
Mario Pesca and Hunter Watkins have also become reliable starters in the rotation.
And don’t forget about the Cowboys’ offense that can overwhelm opponents.
Slugger Nolan Schubart is third in the conference with 17 home runs after a slow start. Colin Brueggemann is not far behind with 14. And Brayden Smith has become a lightning bolt for the Cowboys’ lineup.
OSU has outscored its opponents 80-27 over the last 10 games.
Why OSU baseball can’t make a run in NCAA Tournament
Even though getting away from O’Brate Stadium might make some OSU fans who remember the past all too well feel a little better, it shouldn’t.
OSU is 18-12 at home and 5-12 in true road games.
That’s far from ideal.
So, which bullpen will show up? The one that has been rock solid in the final month or the one that was a total disaster in March?
Legendary pitching coach Rob Walton has worked his magic turning the staff around before he enters retirement. But things can turn in an instant for any college pitcher.
And though the Cowboys can slug, there are issues with the lineup. Schubart and Brueggemann are prone to strikeouts. And facing a team with strong lefties can neutralize the duo.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KSWO) – African American educator F.D. Moon was born 130 years ago on May 4, 1896, in what is now Lincoln County.
He began teaching in 1921 and in 1940 moved to Oklahoma City, where he became principal of Douglass High School.
Widely known as the “Dean” of African American education, Moon was elected to the Oklahoma City Board of Education in 1972, then became its first African American president in 1974.
He served during federally mandated desegregation in Oklahoma City Public Schools and died in 1975.
Copyright 2026 KSWO. All rights reserved.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is pressing federal regulators to make clear that states — not the federal government — have authority over sports-related prediction markets, arguing the platforms function like sportsbooks without state oversight.
Drummond and 40 other state attorneys general filed a formal comment Thursday with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, urging the agency to reaffirm that it does not have jurisdiction over sports-related contracts offered through prediction markets. The coalition said prediction markets have effectively become unregulated sportsbooks.
Prediction markets, including Kalshi and Polymarket, allow users to trade contracts tied to the outcome of future events. Drummond said sports-related contracts on those platforms amount to gambling and should be regulated by states.
“This is unequivocally gambling, which means it belongs under State authority,” Drummond said. “States have long had the right and responsibility to protect their own citizens from the dangers of gambling, and that should continue to hold true whether bets take place on a prediction market or inside a traditional casino.”
In their letter, the attorneys general said users can make the same types of wagers on prediction markets as they can at traditional sportsbooks. “Any distinction between sportsbook bets and prediction-market bets is illusory,” they wrote.
The coalition said prediction market users can wager on game winners, point spreads and player statistics, while bypassing consumer protections and tax requirements mandated by state gambling laws. The attorneys general argued the contracts are entertainment-based gambling rather than tools for financial risk management, placing them outside the CFTC’s jurisdiction.
The attorneys general also warned that sports gambling poses risks to public health and financial security.
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They said states are best positioned to protect residents from those harms and asked the CFTC to confirm through rulemaking that it lacks jurisdiction over sports-related contracts, leaving states with the power to regulate or prohibit sports gambling.
At least 10 people were hospitalized following a shooting at a party at Arcadia Lake in Edmond, Oklahoma, the Edmond Police Department confirmed late Sunday night in a post to its social media.
The department noted that it had responded to the scene alongside officers from Oklahoma City Police and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Ten victims were evacuated by ambulance to various hospitals in the Oklahoma metro area, police said, noting that the “total number of victims is expected to change as additional individuals transported themselves to area hospitals. There is no update on victim conditions at this time.”
Initial reports citing law enforcement scanners claimed that at least 15 people had been injured.
Edmond Police have set up a reunification center for families at a local Walmart, CBS Oklahoma City affiliate KWTV reported.
Police added there are no suspects in custody at this time, urging the public to reach out with any information.
According to KOCO-TV, KOCO-TV, an ABC-affiliate station in Oklahoma City, police said that there “was no known threat to the public” as of 11:15 p.m..
“We will release more information when it becomes available,” police said.
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