Oklahoma State Picked Eighth in Big 12 Coach's Soccer Poll, Place Two on Preseason Team

(This story originated with the Big 12 Conference and was primarily written by Pokes Report publisher Robert Allen)

IRVING, Texas – Oklahoma State was picked eighth by the Big 12 soccer coaches in the preseason poll released by the Big 12 office on Thursday. 

Robert Allen - Pokes Report

Being picked eighth is not where Colin Carmichael expects to finish.

“We’ve been competitive over the past few seasons, but we haven’t been up to our standard,” Oklahoma State Cowgirls soccer coach Colin Carmichael told me on Triple Play Sports Radio. “We have a standard here that has been set for many seasons by a lot of players that put this program into postseason in the NCAA. We have a team that I am excited about that I believe with help us get back to that standard.”

Oklahoma State had 145 points in the poll as teams 5-8 were bunched up with just a 12-point difference separating Arizona State in fifth (157), UCF in sixth (151), West Virginia in seventh (149) and Oklahoma State

BYU was chosen as the projected champion of the 2024 Big 12 soccer season, as voted by the Conference's head coaches. The Cougars are the first team selected atop the preseason poll in consecutive years since West Virginia's seven-year streak from 2013-2019.

The 2024 season marks the first for the Big 12 as a 16-team league with the debut of Arizona, Arizona State and Utah and the return of Colorado.

For a second straight season, one point separated the top two teams. BYU received nine first-place votes and 206 points while 2023 regular season champions Texas Tech claimed six first-place votes for 205 points. TCU ranked third with 197 points and earned one first-place vote.

Last season, BYU advanced to the NCAA Women's College Cup for the second time in three seasons while the Red Raiders made it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Arizona State and Colorado also received bids for the postseason.

Pokes Report

The Cowgirls play on the best pitch in the Big 12.

Exhibition games will be played this weekend and Oklahoma State will host Tulsa at 7 p.m. on Friday inside Neal Patterson Stadium on the OSU campus. The season kicks off Aug. 15 with all 16 teams in action with Big 12 play beginning Sept. 12.

Oklahoma State will play that Aug. 15 on the road against nationally-ranked Nebraska before coming home to host Oral Roberts on Sunday, Aug. 18 at Patterson Stadium.

When asked who his top players would be this season Carmichael pointed at five players and the first two just happen to have been voted by the Big 12 coaches on the 2024 Preseason All-Big 12 Conference team. 

“We are playing with two attacking mids (midfielders) and that is Xcaret (Pineda) and Laudan (Wilson),” Carmichael said of his preseason All-Big 12 selections. “X was an All-Big 12 player last season and one of our leaders. Laudan was a freshman last year and played fantastic but was hampered by some injuries which kept her from getting some accolades, but she is an All-Big 12 kid for sure. X and Laudan are two of our best players.

Big 12 Conference

Xcaret Pineda playing at Texas.

Pineda is coming off a sophomore season in which she earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors. One of two Cowgirls to start every game a year ago, she was second on the team with six goals and 17 points and third with five assists. She led OSU with 60 shots, 25 of those on goal, and posted a pair of game-winning goals. In two seasons in Stillwater, Pineda has tallied eight goals and seven assists in 39 games.

Wilson enjoyed a successful freshman season with the Cowgirls in 2023. She tied for the team lead with six assists, including a record three in her Big 12 debut at Iowa State, to go along with three goals. Named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team and ranked No. 29 on the Top Drawer Soccer Women’s Freshmen Top 100, Wilson started 14 games a year ago.

Oklahoma State Athletics

Wilson is just a sophomore. 

Carmichael also mentioned Mollie Breiner from Tulsa, a fifth-year senior that is a leader on the back end; Alex Morris is a another fifth-year senior at wingback; and then Gracie Bindbeutel, who missed all last season with injury but was really good and All-Big 12 the season before.

“It’s good and I’m excited. Last fall was really a transitional year for us because we didn’t have a lot of starters or high minute players back for us. We had a lot of new faces and we tried to blend them the best we could,” Carmichael said. “We did already and we were 12-8, which is good for most people but not for us.”

They return nine starters and Carmichael believes they will be an aggressive “in your face” kind of team. 

“We are trying to play a high pacing game because we are really athletic and can put opponents under pressure,” added Carmichael.

Below is the Big 12 Soccer preseason all-conference team.