Oklahoma State Hoping/Needing Another Arlington Celebration to Advance to NCAA?
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State finished the regular season this weekend at home with Arizona State and they swept the Sun Devils winning 6-2, 9-6, and 7-4 over a team that could have been the third seed in the upcoming Big 12 Tournament but was knocked to fifth by the Cowboys. Oklahoma State won 9-of-their-last-10 games to finish 27-22 overall and 15-12 in the conference.
“The last couple of days have been a breath of fresh air, quite honestly,” OSU head coach Josh Holliday said on the postgame on the Cowboy Radio Network. “As far as the big picture goes, I just pride myself on these kids and what we can do and that is get better every day, and play them one at a time and that is what the kids are doing.”
Holliday doesn’t sugarcoat anything. The Oklahoma State season was rough, especially in the middle when the Cowboys went 5-10 from March 5 through April 1. That included losses to Winthrop, Illinois State, Dallas Baptist, West Virginia, two to Utah on the road, and they were swept on the road at Kansas.
They did rebound to get their record back above .500 in both league play and overall. Now, it is time for the Big 12 Tournament, Oklahoma State has won that twice under Josh Holliday and they may need to win it again to keep the NCAA streak alive. The Cowboys have made the NCAA Tournament every season under Holliday except for the COVID interrupted season where no NCAA postseason was held.
Holliday excepts the challenge.
“They deserve to be noticed. Our win total was impacted by a number of games that we lost due to weather,” Holliday explained further. “We had one of those years where we didn’t have the advantage of any space. We’ve had to create a mad dash here at the end to get back in the race. We are where we are, and the hardships and struggles have helped us to get better. I’m pleased at the emotional and physical commitment the kids have made to the program and fought the urge to let go and to persevere.”
Oklahoma State (15-12), who won the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship, earned the No. 7 seed and will take on No. 10 Baylor (13-17), who will be making its first appearance in the tournament since 2022 at 4 p.m. CT on Wednesday. No. 6 Kansas State (17-13) and No. 11 Houston (12-17) will bring the first day of action to a close with a battle at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
The 2025 Championship, which features an increase to 12 teams, will be played in a single-elimination format for the first time. All 12 teams participating in the event own a top 90 RPI, with eight in the top 50. All-session and single-session tickets for the 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship at Globe Life Field can be purchased here.
2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship Schedule
Wednesday, May 21
Game 1 – No. 5 Arizona State vs. No. 12 BYU – 9 a.m. – ESPN+
Game 2 – No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 9 Texas Tech – 12:30 p.m. – ESPNU & ESPN+
Game 3 – No. 7 Oklahoma State vs. No. 10 Baylor – 4 p.m. – ESPNU & ESPN+
Game 4 – No. 6 Kansas State vs. No. 11 Houston – 8:00 p.m. – ESPN2 & ESPN+
Thursday, May 22
Game 5 – No. 4 Arizona vs. Game 1 Winner – 9 a.m. – ESPN+
Game 6 – No. 1 West Virginia vs. Game 2 Winner – 12:30 p.m. – ESPN+
Game 7 – No. 2 Kansas vs. Game 3 Winner – 4 p.m. – ESPNU & ESPN+
Game 8 – No. 3 TCU vs. Game 4 Winner – 7:30 p.m. – ESPNU & ESPN+
Friday, May 23
Game 9 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner – 4 p.m. – ESPN+
Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner – 7:30 p.m. – ESPN+
Saturday, May 24
Game 11 – Championship Game – 6 p.m. – ESPNU & ESPN+
*All times listed as Central.
