Cowgirls Get Seven Seed and Head to Women's Basketball Mecca for NCAA Tournament

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State Cowgirls head coach Jacie Hoyt cried before the even even started when she introuduced her staff to the crowd of some 250 supporters. Hoyt talked about how special it was to even be gathered here after last year’s team limped through an injury riddled season. Through the tears of joy she talked again about how much she loves this team. Then she waited until almost the very end of the 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Selection Show to cry more joyful tears when the Cowgirls were announced as the seven seed in the Spokane 4 Regional. They head to Storrs, Ct. to open with 11 seed South Dakota State (29-3). With a win then Oklahoma State (25-6) would face the winner of two seed UConn (31-3) and Arkansas State (21-10).  

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Jacie Hoyt and daughter Harlow during the announcement.

It may be safe to say that her players and the crowd gathered were coached up well. Hoyt told them before they were going to be on national television and she wanted to have the most enthusiastic celebration of all. It might be hard to top the dancing player from the Kentucky team, but the Cowgirls players, staff, and the crowd were screaming to the hilt. This is a celebration for Oklahoma State.

“A lot of hard work goes into being one of the very few teams to play,” Hoyt said afterwards. “I think you have a 17 percent chance to be in that tournament, so to be one of the few teams in it means a lot. The staff helped me go out and get the right kids and thankful for a team that is so bought in. They would run through a wall for us and we would run through a wall for them.”

“It feels amazing,” All-Big 12 guard Stailee Heard said. “Just enjoy it and have fun and let’s do what we intend to do.”

The announcement of the Cowgirls came in the final regional and the final sub regional. After Notre Dame and South Bend passed by on the GIA video board, a place OSU had been highly speculated to land, then it looked like Norman and OU, before finally being UConn, Storrs, Ct. and the opener with a Jack Rabbits team that has won 20 games in a row. The Cowgirls were strung along by the bracket announcement. 

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Cowgirls react to NCAA and going to UConn.

“They did, I was convinced we were going elsewhere, but it was worth the wait, ready to get out to the East Coast,” Hoyt added when asked about how the bracket was announced and it looked like they were going to Norman for a potential Bedlam matchup in the second round. She actually coached against Geno Auriema at Kansas City and she said she tries to sit near him recruiting or at clinics and soak it up.

“This is what dreams are made of,” Hoyt continued. “March is about anything can happen this time of year, but obviously we have a huge game ahead of us (South Dakota State). It will be neat to be out there and in the mecca of women’s college basketball playing on UConn’s homecourt.”

Two of the Cowgirls leaders in Stailee Heard and Anna Gret Asi were keeping up and paying close attention. Asi thought the Cowgirls deserved a higher seed and she was also suspicious that they were going to land in Norman.

“A little bit, overall we go where we go,” Asi said. “We don’t care where we play at.OU in Norman would have been a cool Bedlam rematch kind of thing, but overall it doesn’t matter where we play.”

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Heard reacts to the NCAA announcement.

Heard was hyper following and you could read her face during the last stretch to see what she thought. 

“I paid attention and I looked everyday,” Heard said. “I was just pumped and I’ve been pumped all week. We had a really good week working on ourselves. I feel like we are ready and will walk in and focus on who we have to play.”