The Oklahoma State Cowgirls are essentially set for the 2026-27 season with 12 players on the roster.
Most of them weren’t with OSU last season. Head coach Jacie Hoyt lost nearly everyone on last year’s team, either to graduation or to the transfer portal and had to start from scratch. She assembled the best transfer class of any team in the sport and has two freshmen on the roster.
With that, here’s a first look at what the Oklahoma State starting five could look like next season.
Liv McGill, G
McGill is set up to be the Cowgirl’s starting point guard this season. She joined Oklahoma State from Florida and was the No. 2 player in the transfer portal when she signed with OSU.
She had a tremendous season with Florida last season, as she averaged 22.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists on 43.1% shooting. She only shot 26.4% from the arc last season, but she’s capable of better. The Cowgirls wants to run the high screen and roll this season and having a point guard like McGill, who has proven she can score and make good decisions, makes her the right player to run the offense.
Stailee Heard, G
Heard is the only holdover from last year’s team and after three all-Big 12 seasons there’s little chance that she’s coming off the bench. Hoyt will show her the respect she deserves and start her opening night, as she has each of the last three years.
Last season Heard averaged 11.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. In each of her three seasons she’s averaged at least 11.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals. She’s been a model of consistency for the Cowgirls and, with a brand-new roster, she’ll be the connective tissue that holds the roster together and helps a new group of players acclimate to a new offensive and defensive scheme.
Talexa Weeter, G
Weeter was Hoyt’s first pull out of the transfer portal and she’ll be an intriguing player to watch this season. She played at Fort Hays State last season, but she was the Division II player of the year after she averaged 27.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. She can shoot nearly 40% from the arc and feels like a perfect fit for Hoyt’s offense.
It’s a jump from Division II to Division I, but high-level players have done it. Recently, Stephanie Soares went from NAIA to Iowa State and averaged 14.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game before an ACL injury ended her season.
Weeter doesn’t have to carry the team. She just needs to fit in and bring that shot with her.
Nene Ndiaye, G
Oklahoma State could go in many directions here, but the spot likely comes down to Ndiaye, Yuting Deng and Ellie Brueggemann. Both Deng and Brueggemann are quality 3-point shooters who could heat up offensively off the bench. Ndiaye can give the Cowgirls something the other two can’t — rebounding.
With Rutgers last season she averaged 14.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Her length (6-1) on the perimeter and inside alongside Weeter, Heard and their starting center gives OSU a chance to stretch the floor further. Oh, and she was a 41% 3-point shooter last season, better than both Dung and Brueggemann.
Audi Crooks, C
I mean this is no real surprise. When a program like Oklahoma State lands the No. 1 player in the transfer portal, she’s not coming to Stillwater to sit.
Crooks averaged 25.8 points and 7.7 rebounds last year for Iowa State and left the program as its No. 2 all-time leading scorer. She was also durable. She rarely missed a game for the Cyclones in three seasons.
The 6-2 senior is hoping to unlock something different with the Cowgirls. Hoyt sees her as the answer to working the screen-and-roll with McGill. She could be a more consistent 3-point shooter. OSU is a good program to land at if one wants to improve that for the next level — the WNBA.
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