The OSU/A&M Board of Regents voted Friday to keep tuition and mandatory academic fees flat for the fourth consecutive year.
Oklahoma State President Jim Hess said the vote reaffirmed the university’s commitment to putting students first and fulfilling its landgrant mission.
“We are called to widen the doors of opportunity, and by holding the line on tuition, we ensure that a world-class education remains within reach for every Oklahoman willing to work for it,” Hess said in a press release. “This decision supports our mission to educate the next generation of leaders, from the classroom to the community.”
OSU/A&M BOR Chair Jimmy Harrel said the vote will maintain affordability and accessibility of college education.
BY RAYNEE HOWELL I
One protester at the “No Kings Day” protest in Stillwater felt it was fate that led her to the Payne County Courthouse lawn.
Shyann Mills normally works Saturday afternoon, but she got off early and had a feeling.
“I felt drawn to go,” Mills said. “I don’t want to just sit back and do nothing. It doesn’t feel right to me.”
It also didn’t feel right to do nothing for the couple hundred others who attended the protest of President Donald Trump’s policies and actions. They came waving American flags, pride flags and signs in protest.
Inspiration hung in the air as people continued to arrive, exceeding the expectations of some.
“Two-hundred fifty people pulling together at the courthouse lawn on their Saturday afternoon in the rain was impressive,” protester Ann Glasgow Towers said.
See PROTEST on page
On a summer morning in Stillwater, long before most students begin to stir, a quiet transformation is already underway. Sidewalks are edged, turf is trimmed and the blooms in front of the Price Family Garden are carefully inspected for health and harmony. Walk past the Alumni Center and you’ll spot three human-shaped topiaries waving hello. Head toward the library, and a giant cowboy hat made entirely of grass greets you with OSU pride. These whimsical additions are part of a fresh wave of creativity from Landscape Services — an ongoing effort to make the campus not only
but also memorable. At the center of it all is John Lee, Oklahoma State director of Landscape Services, who walks the grounds with pride — not just in the innovative installations or lush greens, but in the team that brings the campus to life, day after day.
“We have the greatest team,” Lee said. “Quite literally; we can represent that with two national awards.”
Courtesy Ann Glasgow Towers
Ann Glasgow Towers expressing her views on current tax policies with a sign she created for the
Kings Day” protest in Stillwater.
RAYNEE HOWELL NEWS
OSU employees, Stillwater residents seek wildfire support
RAYNEE HOWELL NEWS & LIFESTYLE EDITOR
Oklahoma State employees who were affected by the March 14 wildfires are still picking up the pieces, and it has not gone unnoticed by their peers.
A group of OSU staff members organized a voluntary support effort to help their co-workers receive assistance. Partnering with OSU Human Resources, the group created online wishlists from Walmart and Amazon.
The lists contain items specifically requested from those in need Any items purchased will be sent to Melissa Sturgeon, director of HR consulting services, to protect employee privacy.
The wishlists will be open until June 30, and the items will be distributed privately the second week of July.
Stillwater residents, including OSU employees, can apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Small Business Administration (SBA) loans through
mid-July. SBA is taking applications through July 21 and FEMA is taking them through July 22.
FEMA is available for necessary expenses and serious needs. Applicants can receive up to $43,600 in federal grants.
SBA helps cover losses not addressed by insurance and FEMA. Homeowners can be eligible for up to $500,000 for real estate and $100,000 for personal property. FEMA and SBA can be reached with the following information:
FEMA
Phone: (800) 621-3362
Online: disasterassistance.gov
SBA
Phone: (800) 659-2955
Online: sba.gov/disaster
SBA is available for in-person assistance at Meridian Technology Center, Business Technology Building, Rooms 127 and 129, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. until further notice. FEMA is available in the same area through Wednesday.
news.ed@ocolly.com
“It is our land-grant mission to provide those opportunities to as many students as possible, for the betterment of our communities, the state and our country,” Harrel said in a press release.
The OU Board of Regents on Thursday approved a 3% increase in tuition and fee rates. Joseph Harroz Jr., University of Oklahoma president, told the OU Daily that the increased tuition will allow for higher financial aid for students.
Need-based scholarships should increase and the cost of attendance should decrease, according to his comments in an OU Daily article.
S&P Global— a national credit ranking agency — released a report stating that OSU’s enrollment trend, anticipated positive financial results and healthy financial resources will support an AA- rating. Fitch Ratings, another agency, found similar results.
OU holds a lower rating of A+, according to Fitch Ratings and S&P Global.
Stop in for fresh Fried Mushrooms or Pizza made to your liking!
Payton Little Tuition and mandatory academic fees will remain flat for the fourth consecutive year.
Payton Little
The historic March 14 wildfires burned down homes in several neighborhoods, including Pecan Hill in Stillwater.
Landscape
Continued from 1
That’s not just hyperbole. OSU’s Landscape Services team earned the Green Star Grand Award for Large Campus from the Professional Grounds Management Society in both 2019 and 2024. It’s a recognition that marks OSU’s campus as one of the most beautiful in the nation.
Lee’s story is closely connected to the land of Oklahoma State. He is a native of Ponca City and graduated from OSU in 2006. After spending five years running his own landscape contracting company, he returned to work at OSU. Lee has been with the university’s Landscape Services for almost 15 years, serving as the director for the past two.
“I was excited to join this team in a leadership position,” he said. “I’ve always been passionate about landscape and turf management, seasonal color and horticulture.”
That passion is evident not only in the lush greens and vibrant blooms that decorate the campus but also in the way Lee talks about his mission.
“We try to create an award-winning environment that supports everyone — students, faculty, staff, visitors, alumni,” he said. “This campus should feel like home.”
The work behind the scenes is both complex and collaborative. Lee oversees nearly 70 full-time employees across multiple teams — design, installation, maintenance, sustainability and shop support. Together, they care for more than 700 acres of campus grounds, including more than 40 miles of sidewalk and every stretch of green space between the buildings.
“We dream it, design it, install it and maintain it,” he said. “Anything on the campus landscape started in Landscape Services.”
That includes the whimsical topiaries that have appeared near the Student Union and the Alumni Center — nine in total — each one conceived and developed inhouse. From seasonal color swaps in the formal gardens to installing sustainable irrigation systems,
the team operates as a full-service landscape firm embedded within a university.
“The Price Family Garden — the Mother’s Garden — is organically grown and maintained,” Lee said.
“We design all of it in-house.”
That design is guided not only by aesthetics but also by careful ecological balance. Every planting is strategic, every pesticide-free choice intentional. Lee said his team prioritizes cultural practices like hand-weeding and selecting pest-resistant plants over chemical solutions.
“We think everything through,” he said. “We try to plant the right plants in the right place, ones that are hardy to Oklahoma weather and naturally resistant to pests.”
Take Theta Pond, for example — a crown jewel of OSU’s campus.
Landscape Services maintains the pond’s plant life, aeration systems and even its signature blue tint.
“We try to stay away from chemicals,” Lee said. “The dye we use helps control algae bloom naturally by limiting sunlight penetration.”
A master plan from 2011 still serves as Landscape Services’ guiding star.
Though now more than a decade old, the landscape master plan remains relevant thanks to the team’s adherence to its design language.
“You’ll see uniformity across campus — benches, trash cans, paving, signage,” Lee said.
“Everything signals to visitors, ‘You’re on OSU’s campus.’”
Matching architecture with landscape is another delicate dance.
Lee partners closely with campus architect Jana Phillips to ensure that landscape design accentuates, rather than obscures, the university’s buildings.
“We don’t want to hide the buildings; we want to highlight them,” he said. “It’s a partnership.”
Still, the work is physically demanding, and staffing is a constant challenge. With eight vacancies and only three student workers currently employed, Lee is quick to acknowledge the grit of his team.
“If you’re going to be on this team, you’ve got to be tough,” he said.
“It’s 111 degrees in the summer and
negative 8 in the winter. These are some of the hardest-working people on campus.”
To combat heat exhaustion, the team adjusts its schedule during hot months, starting as early as 6 a.m. The team provides electrolyte drinks and stresses the importance of prehydration.
“We teach them to take care of themselves the night before,” Lee said. “That’s how you stay healthy in this work.”
Despite the hard labor, student involvement remains a priority. Lee proudly listed recent collaborations with students, including a living wall near the new Agricultural Hall and a solar-powered trailer designed by engineering students to charge battery-operated landscaping equipment.
“There’s also an insect hotel made from a lightning-struck oak,” he said, grinning. “It looks exactly like the student’s sketch.”
For Lee, it all circles back to his roots — both literal and figurative. He paid his way through college mowing lawns and selling firewood, and he sees his current work as an extension of that love for labor and the land.
“I’ve always been an outdoors guy,” he said. “It’s a rewarding job. You see the fruits of your labor.”
His typical day starts early and rarely follows a script. From responding to campus requests to prepping for large-scale events like Homecoming, Lee stays several steps ahead.
“My role is to support the team and make sure we’re ready,” he said. “We plan backwards from big dates and pivot when emergencies come up — weather, floods, anything.”
But through it all, Lee remains focused on the purpose that brought him back to campus in the first place: Creating an environment that students and their families will cherish.
“I want this to be a place people are proud of,” he said. “If we’ve done our job right, they’ll want to come back, walk through the gardens, and say, ‘This feels like home.’”
news.ed@ocolly.com
As fences went up and construction trucks rolled onto fraternity row, Sigma Chi fraternity members, old and new, held out hopes for a new house of their own.
Over the past decade, six new fraternity houses have been built to meet the conditions of a more modern facility. The current Sigma Chi house opened for use about 45 years ago and has undergone only one remodel in that time frame.
The chapter has spent the past three years putting a plan into motion to build a new 87-member house with new commercial-grade mechanical systems paired with institutional quality construction, red iron framing and concrete floors. Sigma Chi also plans to feature new amenities to turn its gymnasium into a multi-use facility.
“We need a more modern facility to not only improve structure, system efficiencies, etc., but also more closely match the expectation of today’s college student and their parents…” said Jim Kuykendall, Sigma Chi alumnus. “After more than three years of planning, designing, fundraising and plenty of prayer, we’re ready to build a new $17 million — we hope — $17 million house; 30,000 square foot facility.”
Donations, which currently sit at $12.1 million, are not the only thing halting construction. The alley between the fraternity house and its gymnasium is a public alley with a utility easement.
Sigma Chi acquired the old Pi Kappa Alpha property in 2019 and is planning to use it to fix the issue. A new parking lot with 50 spots, 46 allocated for current chapter members, would take up part of the property. The rest of the property would become a 24-foot wide, two-lane roadway to connect Third Street to the center of the current alley before turning west heading toward Lincoln Street. GH2 architects’ design will bridge over the easement and connect the buildings while providing an area for privatecovered drive.
“The increased width, the two-way flow design and the less obvious location... it will increase access and safety,” Kuykendall said.
Kuykendall, as a member of the donation campaign titled “The Next 100 Years of Leadership,” stood in front of the city council Monday to support the plan, asking for a new ordinance to close the public alley — located at 1101 and 1123 W. University Avenue, 206 S. Monroe St. and 221 S. Lincoln St. — while still giving access to the city for the easement maintenance and repairs.
“Closing the alley and essentially replacing it with a better option will not only allow safe and better access, but also enable integrated use of the chapter house and the multi-use facility,” Kuykendall said. “A byproduct of all this is it will essentially be able to clean up that area, bearing electrical lines, transmission or communication lines, removing wooden poles, adding landscape and green space; (it) will all be positive.”
With promised access to utility easements when needed, city staff recommended the alley’s closing. The council voted unanimously to advance the ordinance to a second hearing, making the Sigma Chi brothers one step closer to a new home.
news.ed@ocolly.com
Courtesy Jim Bowen
A cowboy hat near Edmon Low Library is one of the Cowboy-themed topiaries on the OSU camps. The school’s Landscape Services team won the Green Star Grand Award for a large campus from the Professional Grounds Management Society in 2019 and 2024.
The protest was one of thousands that occurred across the United States Saturday. It coincided with Flag Day, Trump’s birthday and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army’s founding.
Nationwide, the organizers who coined “No Kings” are a part of the 50501 movement. The political organization, meaning 50 states, 50 protests and one movement, is against the actions of the second Trump administration.
Good Trouble Stillwater planned the local protest at the last minute and worked with the Payne County Democrats to promote it.
Some protestors said the purpose of the protest was to reiterate that not one person rules the U.S. as it is a democracy. Trump and what those in the 50501 movement view as his administration’s authoritative actions, are the main concern. Issues at the forefront of the conversation include ICE raids across the country, the defunding of national programs and tax cuts benefiting the upper class.
Glasgow Towers held a sign that read “I literally want my tax dollars to support national parks, science, education, conservation, mental health and helping marginalized people.” She said she calls her senators and representatives almost daily asking for protection of personal federal data and critical programs such as Medicaid, SNAP and more. She said she feels lawmakers don’t want to hear from constituents who disagree with their views. The protest was an attempt to make them hear.
“I proudly pay my taxes every year, and I do it knowing that my money supports public lands, people who need housing and food assistance, children getting an education, solid weather forecasting data et cetera…,” Glasgow Towers said. “I do not want those programs to go away just to put that money into the hands of billionaires and corporations.”
Locals showed for protestors like Glasgow Towers. Cars drove by and honked, throwing thumbs-up and peace signs out their window. It was encouraging to some, including local community member Frankie Springer, who at first felt isolated and alone for his political views when he first moved to Stillwater. Springer volunteered to knock on doors for State Representative Trish Ranson during the election. The number of signs with her name across them in the yards around Stillwater made him realize there were others with similar beliefs.
As a result, he started the Blue Dot community, a group for those on the left of
A couple hundred people gathered outside
the political spectrum. The community holds weekly events for members to get together with those who share similar beliefs, whether it’s over coffee or a beer.
“I’m a firm believer that you cannot take action until you have a foundation in the community, and that is what I wanted to help establish in Stillwater,” Springer said.
Several of the Blue Dot members, including an administrator and a member of the 50501, attended the protest to exercise their right to protest and also meet new people who may want to join the Blue Dot community. Several other protests have taken place near the location, but the turnout surprised Springer and many new members joined the community.
“I’ve seen rallies and demonstrations at the intersection before, and they’ve always been small,” Springer said. “I’ve never seen one that took up both sides of the street.”
The No. 1 issue that stood out to Springer is the recent ICE raids. He specifically takes issue with ICE agents who are dressed in plainclothes.
Towers agreed, saying she is horrified with the masked agents separating families and “kidnapping” hard-working people.
“They’re supposed to serve and protect the communities, whether it’s local or federal,” Springer said. “You don’t get to not identify yourself as a member of a law enforcement agency. We give law enforcement members the authority to determine life or death in their interactions with the community, and they get to defend themselves; they basically get to choose when it is appropriate to defend themselves.”
Oklahoma State students have also experienced hardships resulting from the current administration’s actions. Doctoral student Elizabeth Cochrane lost a fellowship as a result of a cut
TIME OF GOD’S FAVOR!
“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” (Is.55:6 NIV)
It is worthwhile to take the time; to stop and consider your way of life and make resolutions; new steps to take to make your life more meaningful or productive. Maybe you are doing this, or maybe you have just given up on the whole idea.
Can you remember when you were a child, how time went by so slowly? It seemed like it took forever for the holidays to arrive. Now time passes so swiftly; the years seem to rush by. The turn of the century seemed so far away when I was younger. Now we are nearly twenty years into the 21st century.
I want to encourage you to stop and consider your life; especially the remainder. None of us know when our life may end. Jesus spoke of those who
would come into their purposes in the “eleventh hour;” right at the end of life’s work day.(Mt.20) You may think that it is too late to turn your life over to Christ; there is such little time left on “your calendar.” Yet, those who come in at the “eleventh hour” will receive the same wages as those who labored the whole day. We need to work in God’s purpose for our lives while we still have time. The Bible tells us the time is coming when “no man can work.” (Jn.9:4)
As you set your heart and get definite about trusting God with your life and serving him, you will find wonderful opportunities will open for you. You see God has his purposes for you planned out, and he will begin to open doors that you know nothing about. There will be such great satisfaction in serving and finishing what he has for you to accomplish. When your life does end, and it will, you will be so glad you have followed Christ. The Bible tells us that your labor for him is not in vain. (1 Co.15:58)
in science funding. With a focus in biology, she is also aware of the cuts to cancer research, which she said is disappointing as it affects so many Americans.
Cochrane is no stranger to standing up for what she believes in. Coming from a blue state, she’s attended several protests, but “No Kings” was her first in Oklahoma.
“It just goes to show that there’s a community wherever you go, which is really nice, like you can always find someone to connect with,” Cochrane said.
At the protest, Cochrane said she talked to several community members who spoke about how to get involved with the local government. Raising awareness on how to help on a smaller scale was important for her and others in the crowd, including Vietnam veteran Richard Bronson.
Bronson hoped the protest would cause people to actually
stop, look and listen. He said he wants to make people aware of Trump seizing more power, but he had no interest in conforming to a political party or joining a political group.
“I’m not a Democrat or a Republican,” Bronson said. “I hate all of them, but I think they both spend too much time telling us how bad the other guys are doing instead of doing something about it.”
Bronson said he was surprised to see the number of cars honking in support. Yet he recalled a few people driving trucks waving Trump flags and raising their middle fingers high toward the protesters.
The number of thumbsup stuck out more to some protesters. Mills said it was satisfying to be supported while protesting. Her beliefs on the Trump administration mirror that of several other protestors.
“We live in a democracy,” she said. “We don’t answer to one and only one person.”
Courtesy Ann Glasgow
of the Payne County courthouse to protest the Trump administration and its actions.
Friday, June 20, 2025
Fast Finish
Musau wins 5,000-meter title to pace OSU at NCAA track championships
PEARSON GILLAM STAFF REPORTER
With one lap remaining in a tactical 5,000-meter race last Friday, Oklahoma State sophomore Brian Musau unlocked one more gear to fend off Villanova’s Marco Langon and secure the NCAA title.
It completed Masau’s indooroutdoor sweep in the event and marked his second straight AllAmerica finish in the 5K, adding to his growing legacy at OSU.
The performance was one of the many highlights for OSU at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
In the field, senior Blair Anderson recorded a leap of 8.02 meters (+2.4 wind) on his first attempt, enough to maintain second place and be named a first team All-American for the long jump. Anderson’s new personal best made him the third Cowboy to earn first team All-America honors in the
event outdoors, and he came one centimeter shy of the school record of 8.03 meters set by Jacob FinchamDukes in 2017.
On the women’s side, Emma Robbins closed out her stellar collegiate career with a fourth-place finish in the hammer throw, earning her first team All-America honors for the second time. Robbins’ exceptional consistency at OSU leaves a lasting impact on the program as she claimed school records in the hammer and weight throw. She will leave Stillwater as one of the most accomplished throwers in program history.
Fellow Cowboy Fouad Messaoudi posted a personal-best time of 13:25.48 in the 5K to join Musau on the podium and claim first team All-America honors. In the 10,000 meters, sophomore Denis Kipngetich placed ninth, good for second team All-America honors. The performance added to OSU’s consistent success in the event as at least one Cowboy has
placed in the top ten six straight years at nationals.
For the Cowgirls, freshman Isca Chelangat captured second team All-America honors in the 5K, while Annie Molenhouse did the same in the heptathlon. Molenhouse’s string of events included a personal record of 13.94 in the 100-meter hurdles, contributing to her total of 5,669 points.
Despite a resilient race from junior Kaylie Politza that featured a tumble to the track, she fell short of qualifying for the 800-meter final. Lastly for the Cowgirls, Josphine Mwaura made her NCAA championship debut in the 10K last Thursday.
In the men’s 1500-meter qualifier, senior Alex Stitt got caught in a tough race that was decided in the last 100 meters, resulting in a 20th-place finish.
The Cowboys totaled 19 points across the four days, good enough to
rank eleventh out of 72 teams and marking their highest since 1984.
The men added to their accolades on Wednesday, earning a second-place finish in the USTFCCCA Program of the Year standings.
The award takes into consideration a program’s finishes at the NCAA Championships in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field, where OSU placed eighth, fifth and 11th, respectively. This 25-point finish is the program’s second-best, only next to the 23 in the 2013-2014 season.
Musau himself carried two fifthplace finishes (cross country and indoor 3,000 Meters) and two championship performances (indoor and outdoor 5,000 Meters), helping catapult the Cowboys to the top.
Under coach Dave Smith, OSU has secured a top-five finish in five different seasons, with three of those being from in the past three years.
sports.ed@ocolly.com
THURSDAYS IN JUNE
Courtesy OSU Athletics
Brian Musau capped off his 2025 season with an outdoor title in the 5,000 meters, matching the indoor championship he won this season.
sports
Big 12 announces 2025-26 men’s, women’s basketball opponents
CAYDEN COX STAFF REPORTER
With the Big 12 expanding from 10 to 16 teams in recent years, gone are the days of men’s and women’s basketball teams playing a home and road games with every school in the conference.
Nowadays, the Big 12 reveals an 18-game scheduling circuit each season. On Thursday, the conference unveiled its pairings for all in-conference basketball games.
Cowboy opponents
Home: Baylor, BYU, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State, West Virginia
Cowgirl opponents
Home: Baylor, BYU, UCF, Houston, Texas Tech, Utah
Away: Arizona, Arizona
State, Cincinnati, Kansas
State, TCU, West Virginia
Home and away: Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas
OSU will host Utah for the first time as well as welcoming in NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago in Baylor and Iowa State.
Like their male counterparts, the Cowgirls will visit Fort Worth and Ames, to go along with marking firsts in the Grand Canyon State. The Cowgirls will visit Arizona State for the first time in program history and will make a visit to the McKale Center for the first time since 1994. Coming off a season in which her team won a program-best 14 conference games, head coach Jacie Hoyt will look to improve on that total. sports.ed@ocolly.com
Second year head coach Steve Lutz can prepare for some big crowds at Gallagher-Iba Arena as his team will host a Houston team that played in the NCAA championship game this past season. OSU will also host three additional teams in ESPN’s way-tooearly Top 25 as it welcomes BYU, Iowa State and Kansas to Stillwater. OSU will visit familiar sites, with trips to Ames, Iowa, and Fort Worth and Lubbock in Texas on the docket. The Cowboys will also visit some unfamiliar places as they head to Arizona State for the first time since 1996. The Cowboys will make history when they hit the road for the McKale Center, marking their first time traveling to Arizona’s home court. With seven conference teams punching a ticket to the NCAA Tournament this year, the Cowboys will look to capitalize on hosting five of those opponents.
Payton Little
Jaydn Wooten and the Oklahoma State women’s basketball team will face Colorado, Iowa State and Kansas two times each in the 2025-26 season.
Hendrickson, Valencia to represent Team USA at World Championships
Two members of the Cowboy Regional Training Center have clinched their spots on Team USA and are headed to the World Championships.
Wyatt Hendrickson and Zahid Valencia each won their best-of-three series in two matches at Final X last Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Their victories have enabled both to represent the United States at the World Championships, taking place from Sept. 13 -21 in Zagreb, Croatia.
Hendrickson controlled the 125-kg opening bout with a 10-0 tech fall in 1:38 and followed it with a high-scoring 20-14 decision to sweep Trent Hilger. The reigning NCAA heavyweight champion and Dan Hodge Trophy winner continues to dominate on the mat with an impressive resume this summer, including a gold medal at the Pan-American Championships and a U.S. Open title.
Hendrickson will make his second appearance on the Senior World Team, having previously made the 2023 team after winning gold at the U23 World Championships.
Since Hendrickson arrived in Stillwater last year alongside head coach David Taylor, the pair has been phenomenal. Hendrickson didn’t lose a single match when representing OSU this past season and is currently undefeated with Cowboy RTC.
“It feels great,” Hendrickson told reporters in a video posted by On3. “Coach (David) Taylor
is a great coach. When I talked to him for the first time before I even committed, it was just always being a champion. That was beyond NCAAs. We don’t want to just win nationals, we want to take over the world.
“Obviously saying that’s one thing, proving it’s another, and obviously we’re on a pretty good rolling streak right now.
This year we took third at NCAAs as a team, pretty good start for his first year.”
Valencia was previously 1-2 against four-time world champion Kyle Dake but
prevailed in two matches with 5-3 and 3-1 decisions to qualify for the World Championships for the first time.
While Valencia wrestled at Arizona State previously, making the transition to Cowboy RTC last year has been a massive addition to his resume, and now he gets a shot to be called a world champion.
“It wasn’t an easy move,” Valencia told reports in a separate video posted by On3.
“I was very happy at ASU, but something needed to change, for sure. The definition of
insanity is the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. So I knew I had to get out of my comfort zone, and man, I’ve been so grateful, so blessed.
“I feel like God put me in the right paths of where I need to succeed. The success just kind of proves what I was meant to do and make the move out there. I’m just so happy and so grateful.”
OSU commit Jax Forrest will wrestle Vito Arujau in a best-of-three series for the World Team spot at 61 kg on July 14 in Fargo, North Dakota.
“We have four guys wrestling at Final X,” Hendrickson said. “This is just the beginning. There’s gonna be a lot more coming in the future, for sure, I guarantee it.”
Joey McKenna, at 65 kg, was the third Cowboy RTC participant at Final X but fell in two matches (both by decision) to Real Woods, missing the cut.
Charles White
Former Oklahoma State wrestler Wyatt Hendrickson, pictured after a semifinal win at the NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championships, will represent the OSU Regional Training Center at the World Championships in September. Hendrickson won the 2025 NCAA heavyweight championship in his final season as a Cowboy.
Cowboy baseball hires Oregon’s Hawksworth as new pitching coach
After the retirement of longtime pitching coach Rob Walton, Oklahoma State baseball coach Josh Holliday is hiring his second-ever pitching coach in his 14th season with the Cowboys.
OSU is hiring Oregon pitching coach Blake Hawksworth to be the new pitching coach in Stillwater, the school announced Wednesday.
Hawksworth was drafted in the 28th round of the 2001 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. Before making his professional debut in 2002, he spent one season at Bellevue Community College, where he went 8-0 with a 0.18 ERA. He was named the most valuable player for both Bellevue Community College and the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC).
Hawksworth made his bigleague debut for the Cardinals on June 6, 2009, after spending time in the minor leagues. He went 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA that season and appeared in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Just one year later, he went 4-8 with a 4.98 ERA in 45 appearances and 90 ⅓ innings.
Hawksworth spent the 2011 season with the Dodgers after being traded there in the offseason. He made 29 appearances (12 starts), and he posted a 2-5 record with a 4.08 ERA.
After dealing with injuries to his elbow and shoulder, Hawksworth retired from
professional baseball in 2014.
Between his one-year tenures at Cal State Fullerton and Grand Canyon, Hawksworth was an MLB certified player agent for the Scott Boras Corporation from 2014-2017 and 2018-2019. He actively recruited top MLB and amateur prospects, signed the first overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft and captured over $20 million in draft revenue in four years.
He started his coaching career at Cal State Fullerton in 2017, where he led the Titans to the College World Series. The pitching staff posted a 3.64 ERA (No. 29 in the nation) and
a 2.94 strikeout-to-walk ratio (No. 17 in the nation) that season – five of whom were selected in the MLB Draft over the following two years.
Hawksworth was hired by Grand Canyon in 2020 where he led the Antelopes to an ERA of 3.44 and a 2.91 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Four pitchers from that rotation were selected in the MLB Draft from 2020-2022.
He went down to the high school level in 2021, spending the next two years as the pitching coach for JSerra High School in San Juan Capistrano, California. The Lions then won their first-ever
CIF Championship in school history.
Hawksworth returned to the collegiate level in 2023, becoming the director of baseball operations at UC Irvine. The Anteaters had a 38-17 record overall with a 19-11 record in the Big West Conference. He was hired by Oregon for the 2024 season, where the Ducks won the fifth-most games in school history (40) and set a school record for strikeouts (550). The team averaged 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings, which was their third-most in program history.
Last season, Oregon lowered
their ERA from 4.88 to 3.96 and decreased the amount of walks allowed from 279 to 227.
Hawksworth’s experience across the board will be crucial to keep the Cowboys’ pitching roster at a competitive level, and fans can expect a certain change in dynamic as he fills Walton’s shoes this season. “We are thrilled to welcome Blake and his family to Stillwater,” OSU coach Josh Holliday said in a release. “It became clear to me during the process that we have a lot in common, and we look forward to the future of Cowboy baseball with Blake on staff.”
Davis Hicks
Oklahoma State baseball coach Josh Holliday (center) is hiring Oregon pitching coach Blake Hawksworth to fill the same position on the Cowboy staff. Hawksworth replaces Rob Walton, who retired at the end of the 2025 season, his 13th as OSU’s pitching coach.
