OSU Baseball's Postseason Fate Could Have Significant Impact on Program's Future

Oklahoma State ended its season on a high note, but its postseason fate still hangs in the balance.

OSU baseball has had a roller coaster of a season and is awaiting its fate as an NCAA Tournament hopeful. The Cowboys are looking to earn an at-large bid at 28-23, and their big finish to end the year could be enough to get them in.

While OSU couldn’t repeat its Big 12 Tournament run from a year ago, a win against Baylor and tight loss to Kansas might have been enough to put the finishing touches on an NCAA Tournament resume. 

Since arriving in Stillwater, Josh Holliday has had a clear standard for his teams, and those standards have often been upheld. In almost every regular season, the Cowboys have looked like one of the top teams in the nation and had some incredible moments.

However, those big games and great records in the regular season have far too often been overshadowed by OSU’s inability to meet expectations in the postseason. Holliday’s teams have seen an exit in the Stillwater Regional each time OSU has been fortunate enough to host in the O’Brate Stadium era.

Of course, Holliday has also led the team to the College World Series, making his lone trip to Omaha as OSU’s head coach in 2016. Entering this season, it appeared that OSU might be able to overcome its postseason demons and make another deep run and finally break its streak of bad luck in the Regional round.

However, the Cowboys’ season was anything but what was expected coming into the year. After being projected to win the Big 12 in the preseason, the Cowboys spent much of the year with a losing record and only overcame their struggles in the final month of the regular season to sit at their current spot.

Considering how they began the year, simply getting into the NCAA Tournament would be an accomplishment for OSU. Still, it would be an immense disappointment if OSU missed altogether, and it could have an impact on Holliday’s job.

While the final stretch of the season has likely been enough to keep the OSU icon around, the pressure will be mounting going into next season if OSU’s 2025 run is indeed over already.