The Cowboys of Summer: Part 1

Well folks, summer is coming to end. Google is telling me that Fall begins on September 22nd, but Google is wrong. Fall doesn’t begin on September 22nd. Fall begins on September 3rd, at 2:30pm CST:

Over the last two weeks, Oklahoma State students have been busy with moving in, rush, finding their classes, maxing-out their bursar card (Monopoly money, right?), and hanging out under the neon palm trees. Ahhh, I’d go back in a heartbeat. It’s an exciting time in Stillwater, but for many, the fall semester doesn’t truly begin until Mike Gundy and his squad run through the smoke at Boone Pickens Stadium.

Three. More. Sleeps.

It’s been a busy few months, so let’s take a look back over the biggest OSU news stories of the summer. This the first of a two part series. Look out for Part 2 on Friday.

Recruiting

The summer is always a crucial time for recruiting, and this summer has been very favorable for the Cowboy’s future. Coach Gundy has begun eyeing the 2017 class, and the Pokes already look like they have a solid squad coming to Stillwater for the ‘17 season. Basketball has been focused on picking up some last minute recruits to round out the team for this upcoming season, and new coach, Brad Underwood, has attracted some big time talent.

Football:

#Magnificent17 began in the Spring with commits Brendan Vaughn, Jelani Woods, Brendon Evers, Tyon Merchant and the Wallace twins, but we have seen the class blow up over the summer months.

(In order of verbal commitment)

JD King - Fitzgerald, GA - 3 Stars - RB - 5’11/205 lbs

Chuba Hubbard - Sherwood Park, AB - 3 Stars - RB - 6’1/190 lbs

Nelson Mbanasor - Pflugerville, TX - 3 Stars - DE - 6’3/250 lbs

Brock Martin - Oolagah, OK - 3 Stars - DE - 6’3/210 lbs

Kris McCune - Mesquite, TX - 3 Stars - S - 6’1/195 lbs

Lamarcus Morton - Gilmer, TX - 3 Stars - WR - 6’0/175 lbs

Derek Kerstetter - San Antonio, TX - 3 Stars - OT - 6’5/280 lbs

Spencer Misko - Keller, TX - 3 Stars - DE/CBB - 6’4/225 lbs

Dan Moore - Beaumont, TX - 3 Stars - OG - 6’5/315 lbs

Braydon Johnson - Arlington, TX - 3 Stars - WR - 6’0/185lbs

Thabo Mwaniki - Denton, TX - 3 Stars - ATH - 5’11/180 lbs

Shamond Greenwood - Garland, TX - 3 Stars - WR- 6’3/195 lbs

Basketball

Coach Underwood picked up two big men this summer, however, the tragic death of Tyrek Coger (which will be featured in Part 2) and Lucas N’Guessan’s lengthy eligibility process has been disheartening. #FlyHighTyrek

Tyrek Coger - Raleigh, NC - JUCO - PF - 6’9/235 lbs

Lucas N’Guessan - De Lier, Netherlands - C - 7’0/ 215 lbs

Cowgirls Tennis National Title Run

Over the summer, the women’s tennis team had an incredible run, and made it all the way to the national title matches against Stanford. The Cowgirls took down Georgia, Ohio State and the number one seeded team, Cal, on their way to their final match up. The Cowgirls have never previously advanced past the Sweet Sixteen, so making it all the way to the finals is incredible. "I'm still at a loss for words, I mean, these girls know with everything we've been through this season and overcome, they know how proud I am of them," said Head Coach Chris Young.

In the finals, the Cowgirls picked up the first point, winning the doubles match. Stanford then chipped away at the Cowgirl’s lead during the singles matches. It all came down to Stanford’s Taylor Davidson, and Oklahoma State’s Vladica Babic. Babic took the first set from Davidson, but Davidson battled back and took the final two sets. This was Stanford’s 18th NCAA Women’s Tennis National Title. Like I said before, the Cowgirls have never made it past the Sweet Sixteen before, so coming this far was truly monumental. This is how it all begins. OSU Women’s Tennis has proved that they are a force to be reckoned with, and the momentum of the program is moving forward. We expect big things from this program in the future.

Mike Gundy’s Extension

The Oklahoma State Board of Regents approved a 2-year 8.3 million dollar extension for head football coach, Mike Gundy. This extension gives OSU a darn good head football coach for at least the next six football seasons.

"We appreciate the integrity of the football operations from top to bottom. He is unwilling to compromise on the high standards he sets for his coaches, staff and players, and he leads by example.” — Joe Hall, Board of Regents

Check out the full article here.

Marcell Ateman Injury

The dynamic duo of James Washington and Marcell Ateman won’t be hitting the field together right away for the Cowboys. Ateman underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in his foot in late July. Initial reports have him out until October but no one knows for sure. In a radio interview, Mike Gundy mentioned that Marcell will go in for an X-ray at the end of September. After that X-ray, the medical staff will be able to put together a more accurate timeline. Get well soon, Marcell!

Rickie Fowler’s Olympic Experience

While many of the top US golfers were backing out or declining to go to the Olympics, Rickie Fowler jumped on a plane for Brazil, wide-eyed and smiling. While Rickie appears to have a much larger following than some of the other US Olympic athletes, it seemed as if Rickie was just as excited to meet the other athletes, as they were to meet him.

This was outstanding:

In Rickie’s four rounds, he shot a 75-71-64-74. He tied Danny Willett for 37th in the games. Fellow American, Matt Kuchar, brought home a bronze medal.

Pretty cool story from Rickie here.

The Passing of Brooks Thompson

OSU great, Brooks Thompson, passed away at the age of 45 years old. He was in the hospital for about two months recovering from an organ failure, but more medical problems were arising as time went by. On June 9th, he passed away.

Brooks Thompson is considered one of the greats of Oklahoma State basketball. He was a two time All-Big 8 player, and was drafted by the Orlando Magic as the 27th pick in the 1994 draft. He played for four seasons, and then began his coaching career. His latest gig was as Head Men’s Basketball Coach of the UTSA Roadrunners, where he coached for 10 seasons.

Brooks’ passing was hard on a lot of former teammates and alumni. Many had great things to see about Brooks, including Doug Gottlieb.

What’s been happening at CRFF?

We had a great series over the best wins of Mike Gundy’s career. We ranked all 94 of them in 5 posts.

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Notes

Also, we compared Big 12 teams to Mexican restaurants, and the internet went crazy.

Summer Livin’!

Mason with the accuracy.

“Namaste”

Gilden? Glidden?? Glidden! Matt Ryan may not have remembered the former OSU receiver’s name, but David Glidden made sure that never happened again.

Part 2

We covered a lot of material in this part, but Part 2 will be just as news packed. We’ll talk about things like Oklahoma State Baseball’s trip to Omaha, Big 12 expansion topics and Mike Gundy’s mullet. Be on the lookout for the post on Friday!