Oklahoma State looks to make more improvement in 3rd season under Steve Lutz

The Cowboys have made steady improvement since coach Steve Lutz inherited a 20-loss program in 2024. They return starters Kanye Clary and Parsa Fallah from a 20-win team that earned an NIT berth last season. Their 10 newcomers include six transfers, four who started at least 27 games for their respective teams last season. Oklahoma State's only NCAA Tournament appearance the past nine seasons was in 2021.

Clary, a senior point guard, is the most experienced of the Cowboys' holdovers. He averaged 10.6 points and 4.6 assists per game and tied a program record with more assists than turnovers in 23 consecutive games. ... Fallah, a 6-10 senior forward, averaged 14.7 points and 6.0 rebounds in 26 starts before suffering a season-ending knee injury in late February.

The Cowboys lost four players who scored at least 10 points a game last season, including top scorer Anthony Roy (16.9 ppg). ... Luka Bogavac, a 6-6 guard, started 21 of 33 games and led North Carolina last season with 52 made 3-pointers. He averaged 9.8 points a game. ... 6-9 forward Jordan Burks made 60 3s last season at UCF while averaging 13.3 points and 4.8 rebounds. ... The incoming big-man transfers are 6-11 Andrija Grbovic from Arizona State and 7-foot Julius Halaifonua from Georgetown. ... Kashie Natt (10.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg and Conference USA-leading 69 steals) and Jacob Walker (11.5 ppg) were teammates at Sam Houston last season.

Oklahoma State's season opener is against Incarnate Word at home Monday night. The Cowboys have nonconference games against Southeastern Conference teams Texas A&M and Oklahoma. They won't face a team in the preseason AP Top 25 poll until going to No. 18 Iowa State on Jan. 9 in their third Big 12 game.

Oklahoma State struggled in Big 12 play during Lutz’s first two seasons, going 13-25. ... The Cowboys have had a winning record in conference games only twice in the past 16 seasons. They were 11-7 in 2020-21, their last NCAA tourney season, and 13-5 in 2012-13.

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