Oklahoma State's Recruiting Success Could Signal New Era for Cowboys

Oklahoma State has been impressive in the recruiting department lately, and it could be a great sign for the future.

Going into this offseason, OSU looked lost. After going 3-9 last season, the Cowboys seemed to have no easy pathway to success. They tried to change the course of the program by firing coordinators Kasey Dunn and Brian Nardo.

Replacing those two with Doug Meacham and Todd Grantham, the Cowboys also brought in many new assistants to enter next season with an almost entirely new coaching staff under Mike Gundy. As the head coach enters his 21st season as the program’s leader, he knows that there will be challenges ahead.

While making coaching changes is helpful, the Cowboys still need their players to perform on the field. For the 2025 campaign, OSU is hoping its incoming transfers can provide an immediate boost.

Although bringing in mass amounts of transfers has become a viable option in this era of college football, the Cowboys have been best under Gundy with their home-grown talent and development. As recruiting players out of high school seems to mean less and less for long-term success, the Cowboys are trying to buck that trend.

Throughout the offseason, OSU has loaded up with its new coaching staff to try and bring in some of the nation’s top young talent, particularly around Oklahoma. As for the 2026 class, OSU is the leader in commits from the top recruits within Oklahoma, which is a massive plus for the Cowboys’ hopes of setting a culture and having long-term success.

With that recruiting class led by the No. 1 players in Arkansas (Danny Beale III) and Oklahoma (Tajh Overton), the Cowboys have a real chance to not only develop some possibly underrated talent, but also players who are already seen as future stars.

OSU might not find any great success over the next year or two, but if it can continue to secure commitments from some of the top recruits in the region, the Cowboys could soon make a run back to the top of the Big 12.