Can Oklahoma State baseball make run in SEC, NCAA tournaments? We examine Cowboys' resume
STILLWATER — With the second-most home runs of any Division I team, Oklahoma State baseball will try to use its potent offense and resurgent pitching to stretch the postseason out as long as it can.
The fifth-seeded Cowboys (36-19) open play in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament against fourth-seeded UCF at 11 a.m. Thursday in Surprise, Arizona.
OSU ended the regular season with 12 wins in its last 15 games, and had six players earn a spot on the coaches’ All-Big 12 Team, released Tuesday.
That group was headlined by outfielders Kollin Ritchie and Alex Conover as first-team selections.
Conover is batting .391 with 14 home runs and an on-base percentage of .504 as the leadoff hitter. Ritchie, typically the No. 3 hitter, is batting .347 with 29 homers and 73 RBIs.
They will continue to be key pieces of the Cowboys’ offense, which is top-20 in run production at 8.6 per game.
But can the power-hitting Pokes carry the load in the postseason? Let’s look at where the Cowboys stand heading into the postseason:
OSU baseball résumé
Record: 34-19 (18-12 Big 12)
RPI: No. 29 (as of May 19)
Projected seed: No. 2 in Starkville, Mississippi, Regional by USA TODAY; No. 2 in College Station, Texas, Regional by Baseball America; No. 2 in Tallahassee, Florida, Regional by D1Baseball.
Notable: Not that long ago, the Cowboys seemed to be on the wrong side of the NCAA bubble, but the strong finish, which included some significant wins, boosted them into the top 30 off the RPI. It seems unlikely that even a run to the Big 12 Tournament title would get OSU into a host berth, but another win or two would help keep the Pokes cemented as a No. 2 seed.
Why OSU baseball can make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament
It starts with the offense. OSU ranks second nationally with 137 home runs this year, 10 behind Georgia.
Ritchie is second individually as well, behind Louisville’s Tague Davis at 34.
Ritchie is also making his way up the OSU single-season list. While no one is ever going to match Pete Incaviglia’s school record of 48 homers from 1985, Ritchie is two away from passing Lamont Matthews (1999) and Monty Fariss (1989) for the second spot.
But the lineup is more than Ritchie. OSU has seven starters with at least 10 home runs and a slugging percentage north of .500.
If the Cowboys are going to go deep in the postseason, offense is going to be the key. This time of year, forcing an opponent to go to its bullpen is an advantage. High-quality arms are limited at just about every program, so if a team’s ace gets knocked around, the coach has to rethink his strategy.
OSU got itself to the regional final at Georgia last year by scoring 24 total runs in two elimination games. This team is capable of that type of punch.
Why OSU baseball can’t make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament
Circling back to that line about the limit on high-quality arms, the Pokes are in that group, too.
It’s not for a lack of talent, but a lack of health.
Hunter Watkins and Matthew Brown were expected to be in key roles as a starter and reliever, respectively, but neither has pitched this season because of injury.
Hudson Barrett opened the year as the Friday night starter, but battled injuries and now is in a relief role, though he has worked up to throwing multiple innings. TP Wentworth was serving as a mid-week starter and occasional reliever but was sidelined by an arm injury as well.
That has left new OSU pitching coach Blake Hawksworth to piece together his rotation, and even though it hasn’t always gone smoothly, the job Hawksworth has done is worthy of recognition.
The pitching staff was giving up 6.6 runs per game through the first 40 games, but has dropped that number by more than half a run through the last 15.
The Big 12 Tournament will give a glimpse into how Hawksworth and head coach Josh Holliday might want to use the staff in the postseason. But a regional can be taxing on a bullpen, and the Cowboys will need good innings out of anyone they hand the ball to.
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 X at @ScottWrightOK. 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.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OSU baseball's NCAA postseason resume entering 2026 Big 12 tournament
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