Oklahoma
Oklahoma State football recruiting became a speedy process for Idabel’s Matrail Lopez
STILLWATER — Matrail Lopez had a busy weekend in Tulsa already planned, with a Friday night basketball game and a Saturday afternoon 7-on-7 football event.
Yet in between, he and his family decided to squeeze in a trip that turned out to be immensely impactful in laying the groundwork for Lopez’s college future.
On Feb. 3, the morning after helping the Idabel boys basketball team defeated KIPP Tulsa 88-41, Lopez drove to Stillwater for a brief unofficial visit at Oklahoma State’s football facility.
A few days earlier, OSU offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn had driven down to Idabel in the far southeast corner of the state, where he watched Lopez at basketball practice.
“I talked to him after practice and he offered me,” Lopez said. “He’s a cool dude. He’s outgoing and I think he’ll be like family going up there. He made me know they wanted me.”
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After his wild weekend traveling from Idabel to Tulsa to Stillwater to Tulsa and finally back to Idabel, Lopez decided OSU was the place for his college future. He announced his commitment on social media, becoming the Cowboys’ first commitment in the 2025 recruiting class.
“We were on a time crunch for the visit, because we had to get back to Tulsa, so we only had a couple hours,” said Sammy Lopez, Matrail’s father. “I was really impressed with Coach Dunn, because we could’ve taken pictures and done all this other stuff, but he wanted to sit down and talk, get to know us and talk a little football.
“That really impressed us.”
Beyond that, a few key pieces fell into place for Matrail and his family.
Matrail got his first offers from Texas-San Antonio and Washington State during his junior season last fall. In mid-January, Tulsa and North Texas came in, and Dunn’s trip to Idabel followed shortly after.
Even though it’s a four-hour drive from Idabel to Stillwater — “We joke that we’re three hours from anything,” Sammy said — the fact that Matrail can stay in his home state and play Power Five football became a big selling point for the Cowboys.
“My mom’s really happy,” Matrail said with a laugh, referring to his mother, Karess, who is an assistant basketball coach for the Idabel girls team where Matrail’s twin sister, Mercades, is the starting point guard.
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The first four programs to offer Lopez liked him as a defensive back.
“Oklahoma State was the first one to offer on the offensive side, which was really intriguing,” Sammy said.
A 5-foot-11, 175-pound receiver, Matrail has been training at C4 Sports Performance and Fitness, operated by Sean Cooper. Located in Durant, C4 is still nearly a two-hour drive from Idabel. But it has been worth it.
“It gives an opportunity for kids this way to get that elite training,” said Sammy, who coaches softball and baseball at Idabel. “We don’t have that where we are. Sean has done a great job providing opportunities for kids in small towns.”
Matrail is a multi-sport star. He’s a double-figure scorer at point guard on Idabel’s basketball team, which is ranked No. 6 in Class 3A, and he plays shortstop for his father on the baseball team.
“Growing up, baseball was my favorite sport,” he said. “I kind of fell in love with football in high school.”
And the feeling was mutual from Idabel football coach Scott Pratt.
“He’s a great young man, just a high-character kid,” Pratt said. “He’s the same way every day. He doesn’t have good days and bad days. Just a good kid, fun to be around. Academically, he’s a great student, never an issue.
“Athletically — and I’m pretty partial — the last two years, he’s done some really good things for us and been a major contributor for us being successful because of what he’s done for us in all three phases of the game.”
More: How Oklahoma State basketball was hampered by shaky late-game play in Bedlam loss to OU
Over the last two seasons, Idabel is 20-5 with playoff losses to either the eventual state champion or runner-up. And the Warriors did all that with Matrail playing a key role on offense, defense and special teams.
As Idabel went 11-1 last season, Matrail had 814 receiving yards with 10 touchdowns on 41 catches (19.9 yards per reception). He added 484 rushing yards with nine touchdowns on 37 carries (13.1 yards per attempt). At safety, he had 61 tackles and three interceptions, adding an interception return, a kickoff return and a punt return for touchdowns to bring his total to 22 scores.
“Just a tremendous athlete,” Pratt said. “He comes from an athletic family. For us, he’s dangerous with the ball in his hands.
“From an athletic standpoint, guys like him don’t come around all the time, so we’re fortunate to be able to coach him and be around him.”
When recruiters called Pratt, he mostly let Matrail’s athletic exploits speak for themselves through video, but the coach constantly points back to Matrail’s character away from the field — something that comes back to how Sammy and Karess have raised all their children.
“We really stress that we want our kids to be good kids first,” Sammy said of Sammy III, Jaylee and twins Mercades and Matrail. “And then good students. Then the athletic part falls in line third. Those are the things that are very important to us.”
Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were shocked by the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night in Paycom Center, losing 124-97. This is OKC’s second loss in as many days, losing last night in Phoenix to the Suns 108-105.
The Thunder’s record is now 30-7 and they are 6-6 in their last 12 games. The No. 1 seed in the Western Conference is playing its worst stretch of basketball in over two years.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points on 7-of-21 shooting to keep his 20-point streak alive. OKC shot a rough 28.2% from three-point range and 66.7% from the charity stripe.
Here are three takeaways from the Thunder’s 27-point home loss.
1. Inability to Make Shots
The glaring struggle for the Thunder tonight was on offense, with the team shooting 36.6% from the floor and 28.2% from three-point range. It’s difficult for any team to win shooting that poorly in a game.
The Thunder found open look after open look across the perimeter, but were unable to convert at a high rate. The Hornets were able to consistently help off of perimeter shooters to bring more defensive attention around Gilgeous-Alexander and inside the paint.
Poor shooting creates poor spacing and poor spacing creates ugly offensive execution. Poor spacing and shooting defined OKC’s woes against Charlotte.
2. Young and Hungry Hornets
Charlotte was by far the more energetic team in its win, amped up on both ends from start to finish, flying in for every loose ball. The young team came in looking to send Loud City home unhappy and they succeeded.
The Thunder were on the back end of an away/home back-to-back, having to quickly fly in from Phoenix to prepare for the game. The Hornets smelt blood in the water early, taking the game from their very first run.
After the game was tied at 33 at the end of the first quarter, Charlotte blazed into a 23-7 run throughout a large part of the second quarter to grasp a firm control of the flow of the game. The Thunder’s struggling offense could not find any momentum to claw back into the hole they fell into.
Charlotte’s shooting performance was remarkable from distance. With a plethora of shots taken with great difficulty, the Hornets managed to shoot 51.4% from three-point range.
The Hornets came in hungry and caught the reigning champions by surprise.
3. Gilgeous-Alexander Keeps Streak Alive Amid Struggles
Gilgeous-Alexander scoring above 20 points, with 21, to keep his historic 20-point streak alive, is the lone positive from a rough loss. Despite struggling through constant full-court pressure and double teams from the Hornets, the reigning MVP was able to muster just enough to keep his hunt for the record alive.
Gilgeous-Alexander shot 7-of-21 from the floor and 1-of-6 from three in the loss, adding six assists to his totals. He was OKC’s only 20-point scorer on the night.
The Canadian’s streak of scoring 20-or-more points now sits at 108 games, 18 behind Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 126.
The Sooners have added reinforcement to their backfield for the 2026 season in the form of Colorado State transfer Lloyd Avant.
The rising junior has committed to Oklahoma, and will join the program with two years of eligibility remaining. He’ll add explosiveness and versatility to an OU running back corps headlined by returning workhorses Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock.
It’s a return to the Sooner State for Avant, who spent his freshman season at Tulsa in 2024. He signed with the Golden Hurricane out of high school as a three-star recruit. At the time, TU’s head coach was Kevin Wilson, who’s now on staff with Oklahoma as an offensive analyst.
Avant made an immediate impact at Tulsa as a true freshman, rushing for 259 yards and a TD and adding a kick return touchdown. But after Wilson’s dismissal, the 5-foot-10, 200-pounder elected to enter the transfer portal and eventually landed at CSU. There, he became a weapon in several facets for the program during his lone season with the Rams. He totaled over 900 all-purpose yards, 417 of which came on the ground and 261 of which came via pass reception. He scored six total TD’s and averaged nearly six yards per touch.
Upon Avant’s second portal entry, the Sooners quickly emerged as the team to watch in his recruitment. He visited campus Sunday and didn’t take long to lock in his decision.
A native of Humble, Texas, Avant gives Oklahoma six scholarship running backs heading into the new season. He joins Robinson, Blaylock, Andy Bass, and a pair of incoming freshmen in Jonathan Hatton and DeZephen Walker. It’ll also be of some intrigue to see whether OU offers him the chance to return kicks. As a team, the Sooners attempted just two kickoff returns in 2025, opting almost exclusively for fair catches. That philosophy could change with a proven special teams weapon like Avant in the stable.
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Charlotte Hornets (12-23, 12th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (30-6, first in the Western Conference)
Oklahoma City; Monday, 8 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -15.5; over/under is 232.5
BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma City hosts Charlotte looking to continue its three-game home winning streak.
The Thunder have gone 17-2 at home. Oklahoma City scores 121.9 points while outscoring opponents by 14.7 points per game.
The Hornets have gone 5-13 away from home. Charlotte ranks fourth in the league averaging 15.1 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 36.7% from downtown. Kon Knueppel leads the team averaging 3.6 makes while shooting 42.8% from 3-point range.
The Thunder’s 13.6 made 3-pointers per game this season are the same per game average that the Hornets allow. The Hornets are shooting 45.6% from the field, 2.5% higher than the 43.1% the Thunder’s opponents have shot this season.
The teams square off for the second time this season. The Thunder won 109-96 in the last meeting on Nov. 16. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 33 points, and Miles Bridges led the Hornets with 15 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Chet Holmgren is averaging 18.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks for the Thunder. Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 25.0 points over the last 10 games.
Bridges is averaging 20.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists for the Hornets. Brandon Miller is averaging 4.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 6-4, averaging 118.9 points, 42.5 rebounds, 24.7 assists, 9.9 steals and 5.7 blocks per game while shooting 48.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.3 points per game.
Hornets: 5-5, averaging 118.7 points, 45.6 rebounds, 28.8 assists, 7.6 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 45.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.8 points.
INJURIES: Thunder: Nikola Topic: out (groin), Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee), Ousmane Dieng: out (calf), Jaylin Williams: out (heel), Isaiah Hartenstein: out (calf).
Hornets: Mason Plumlee: out (groin), Grant Williams: out (acl), Ryan Kalkbrenner: day to day (elbow), Tidjane Salaun: day to day (ankle), Moussa Diabate: day to day (wrist).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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