Cowgirl Head Coach Jacie Hoyt Meets With The Media

Jacie Hoyt Media Availability

Head Coach Jacie Hoyt
On players taking on leadership roles...
"This is a really unique team for us because we are so incredibly player led. We have so many leaders in their own different ways. You've got Stailee Heard, who is going to lead by example and show up and do her job and compete every day. And then you've got someone with a lot of emotion and passion for the game in someone like Praise Egharevba. I think if you polled the team, they would all tell you different people in their own different ways. Jadyn Wooten is one that I've really seen grow and mature in that area, just because of her consistency. She's really impressed me with her ability to show up and just be the same every day and understand getting people in their spots and doing her job herself. So, she's someone who has really stood out to me, just in her progress from last year to this year. We've got a team full of leaders, which is a good place to be as a coach."

On meshing as a team during the offseason...
"Part of the reason why I'm so excited about this upcoming season is that we have more continuity. Last year, I felt really good about our continuity, this year I feel even better. That just goes such a long way, and then we were able to add a really elite [transfer] portal class, seventh-best portal class by ESPN, so of course that's exciting. I feel like every single player who transferred was so intentional with their decision of wanting to be here and wanting to be a part of what we have. I think we have a unique way of doing things and a culture that a lot of people are attracted to right now, and so to see those veteran players really come together with the portal kids that are so talented, it's just been really cool to see."

On the importance of the team's depth...
"If you look across the board in any sport, any team, depth is a separator for people. We were very fortunate to stay healthy, for the most part, last year. So that's the first key, but then just knowing that those injuries might come or those foul situations might happen, just being prepared. Our depth is something that I think is a huge separator for us right now. We have good problems to manage as a staff, more problems in that sense than I've had since I've been here, but we're really excited about it."

On incoming freshman guard Lena Girardi...
"We don't back away from freshmen here. Stailee [Heard] was kind of the start of our recruiting and playing underclassmen; she made the all-freshman team, and then Jadyn [Wooten] followed and did the same thing the next year, and we have the same expectations for Lena. She's very talented, she's got a work ethic like I've never seen; we have to kick her out of the gym. She's just got that winning DNA inside of her because of whose daughter she is. So, I've seen her be a leader for our team in that sense of kind of establishing 'Hey, this is how I'm going to show up and be prepared every single day and how I'm going to work every day.' For the upperclassman to see this little freshman coming in and doing that, that's pushing them to be better. We have very high expectations for Lena; she's a really special person and a really special player."

On the expectations for senior guard Micah Gray...
"I don't think that they're any different. With that being said, they're very high. Micah was an incredible impact player for us last year. She had games where she put the team on her back, she hit some really, really big shots for us. The thing I love about Micah is you're really not going to be able to tell if she's having a good game or a bad game; she's very consistent, she's very level. That can be really good for a team, we really need that sometimes because I'm very passionate and fiery, and sometimes you need to scale that back. And that's who Micah is for us. I think Micah understands that whereas last year, she was the fourth or fifth person on the scouting report going into games, this year she's going to be one of those top names. With that, it's going to be harder for her, I think she understands that. We've had those conversations, but it doesn't mean that we are lowering the standard for what she's going to be able to do."

On this year's Bedlam matchup...
"We're excited. Bedlam games have been the most intense, fan-packed games that I've been a part of since I've been here. Those are the types of crowds and atmospheres that we all dream of playing in, so we're really excited to get back to that. OU has an incredible thing going; it's not just Bedlam, to get that caliber of teams matched up in the non-conference [schedule], it's going to be really neat for everyone in the state."

On the evolution of the program since her arrival...
"When I first got here, I think we were coming off a nine-win season, and now here we are coming off a 25-win season with very high expectations. But that has been the whole point, this is exactly where we want to be. If I'm being honest, I want to be in an even higher spot with higher expectations. That's all the process that we are willing to go through. The kids who stayed here or came here, they want the smoke. We're not shying away from that, we understand that the target is on our back in a different way than what it has been, ever, since I've been here. But we're leaning into that, we're attacking it, we're running to it, we're not running from it. We're very excited."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Praise Egharevba

Lena Girardi

Micah Gray

Stailee Heard

Jadyn Wooten

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