OSU places 28th in the 2025-26 Learfield Directors’ Cup
Despite not sponsoring women’s volleyball and not receiving credit for equestrian because it is not an NCAA sport, Oklahoma State finished 28th in the 2025-26 Learfield Directors’ Cup standings. The Cowboys and Cowgirls have now placed in the top 30 nationally for seven consecutive years and 12 times in the last 13 years while finishing second in the Big 12 this season.
The Cowboys and Cowgirls also finished in the top three of the Big 12 in each of the last eight years. OSU’s average finish in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings since the 2020-21 academic year is 23.67, the highest in the Big 12.
The performance in this year’s Directors’ Cup was the result of an NCAA Championship by the men’s cross country team, an NCAA runner-up finish by wrestling, a third-place finish by men’s golf, a fifth-place finish by women’s golf, and a ninth-place finish by softball. In addition, women’s cross country finished 12th, men’s outdoor track and field finished 16th, women’s basketball finished 17th and baseball finished 17th.
The Cowboy cross-country team finished first at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships with 57 points and an average time of 28:47.94 in the men’s 10,000-meter run. Brian Musau, Fouad Messaoudi and Denis Kipngetich finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
OSU wrestling finished second behind Penn State with 131 points at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. It marked the first time in program history that three
freshmen won individual championships at the national tournament in the same year. Jax Forrest knocked off Ohio State’s Ben Davino 5-2 in the 133-pound match, Sergio Vega defeated Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez 4-1 in the 141-pound match and Landon Robideau beat Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor 4-2 in the 157-pound match.
Cowboy golf finished third at the NCAA Championship by defeating Florida 3-2 in the quarterfinals, but falling 3-0 to eventual national champion Auburn in the semifinals. In the quarterfinal, Eric Lee defeated Luke Poulter, Preston Stout defeated Matthew Kress and Gaven Lane defeated Jack Turner. The semifinal saw Lee, Ethan Fang, and Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson lose, ending OSU’s season.
Cowgirl golf qualified for match play for the first time in six seasons, advancing to the fifth round of the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship, where it fell to No. 3 Arkansas. OSU was swept in the quarterfinal, as Ellie Bushnell, Summer Lee, Yu-Chu Chen, Marta Silchenko and Tarapath Panya were defeated by their opponents.
Cowgirl softball rebounded in the 2026 season, hosting its sixth regional in the last seven seasons.
In the Stillwater Regional, the Cowgirls defeated Stanford 11-5 to advance to the Lincoln Super Regional. OSU could not return to Oklahoma City, as Nebraska swept the Cowgirls in the super regional.
OSU women’s cross country finished 12th in the women’s 6,000-meter run at the NCAA Cross Country Championships with an average time of 19:52.32.
Isca Chelangat finished 7th with a time of 18:56.1, representing the only top 10 finish for the Cowgirls at the national tournament.
At the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Brian Musau finished sixth in the 5000-meter race with a time of 13:47.18 and Denis Kipngetich finished fourth in the 10000-meter race with a time of 28:02.24. Kevin Kemboi performed well in the triple jump, posting a new personal best of 16.84 meters.
After another solid regular season, Cowgirl Basketball was able to recover from an early exit to Kansas State in the Big 12 Tournament and get their first NCAA Tournament win under Jacie Hoyt, beating Princeton 82-68 in the first round after a 48-point first half. UCLA would eliminate OSU in the following round, but an outstanding offseason that saw the Cowgirls land the No. 1 portal class in the nation, according to ESPN, brings high hopes for the upcoming season.
OSU baseball made it to its 13th consecutive regional under Josh Holliday, as it was selected to the Tuscaloosa Regional alongside Alabama, Alabama State and USC Upstate. The Cowboys opened with a disappointing 8-5 loss to Upstate, but stayed in the NCAA Tournament with an 8-7 win over Alabama State in 11 innings. OSU advanced to its second straight regional final by dominating Upstate 12-1 in the rematch, but could not end its super regional appearance drought when Alabama eliminated the Cowboys with a 9-7, 11-inning win.
During Chad Weiberg’s five seasons as athletic director, OSU has averaged a 24.8 national finish in the Directors’ Cup, the program’s second-best five-year stretch since the award began in 1993-94.
sports.ed@ocolly.com
