2026 Recruiting Class and Commitments (3 Commitments)

I don’t know of any more high school players that we are recruiting. I think we are done until portal season in the spring.
 
I don’t know of any more high school players that we are recruiting. I think we are done until portal season in the spring.
Yea I think the rest will be portal players. Which im completely fine. Jennie did well in this 2026 class, im not mad about this class at all. Now if we can get a true Big out of the portal, a SG or two Ill be happy.
 
East Ridge guard Vienna Murray was Minnesota’s highest ranked uncommitted senior prospect until announcing Saturday she will play college basketball at Oklahoma next year.

“I think it was the best overall fit for me,” Murray told the Minnesota Star Tribune on Saturday. “Their style of play, culture, and how they see me fitting in is what really stood out.”

Murray, ranked as the No. 3 prospect in Minnesota’s 2026 class by Prep Hoops Girls, picked the Sooners after visiting Norman, Okla., last weekend.

The versatile 6-1 standout had six visits this fall, including Arizona State, Florida, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin.

East Ridge finished 18-9 last season, including 17-1 o win the Suburban East. Murray averaged 17.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 2.7 assists as a junior.
 
I was looking back to see when we offered Chavez (July 2021) and stumbled into the below tweet from Aaliyah when she made an unofficial visit in October 2021


Looking at the bottom left photo and I realized Aaliyah was standing next to LeeLee Bell at the football game...also Keziah was also on an unofficial visit that weekend..bottom right photo. So that was a very important weekend for the future of OUWBB.
 
I was looking back to see when we offered Chavez (July 2021) and stumbled into the below tweet from Aaliyah when she made an unofficial visit in October 2021


Looking at the bottom left photo and I realized Aaliyah was standing next to LeeLee Bell at the football game...also Keziah was also on an unofficial visit that weekend..bottom right photo. So that was a very important weekend for the future of OUWBB.

That isn’t Leelee Bells.
 
An interesting article to read in this thread:


As best I can tell we only had 5 players in for official visits and got commits from 2 of them...we make sure the for players that official visit that we are within negotiating distance for NIL/Revenue Sharing expectations. I will bet for Jayda Porter we had a competitive number and then she went to A&M she liked Joni Taylor and they made an offer she couldn't turn down and it was contingent on a quick acceptance. Something similar for Krstevski and Trinity Jones and they never made it in for official visits.

An important part of Nikki Hays Fort's job is to help the coaching staff allocate the NIL/Revenue Sharing budget among all the player slots. I think that may also explain why we have a roster of 11...emphasizing quality over quantity.
 
I really hope all 11 players on the roster are quality and able to contribute. I wonder about the international player since there is so little information available about them. We will need both of them, IMO. I'm really excited and optimistic about this upcoming season but not being able to land an experienced guard via the portal might bite us in the rear in the games I'm which there are injuries or foul issues, or if our young guards struggle, but hopefully I'm wrong and that won't be an issue for us this year! BOOMER!
 
I really hope all 11 players on the roster are quality and able to contribute. I wonder about the international player since there is so little information available about them. We will need both of them, IMO. I'm really excited and optimistic about this upcoming season but not being able to land an experienced guard via the portal might bite us in the rear in the games I'm which there are injuries or foul issues, or if our young guards struggle, but hopefully I'm wrong and that won't be an issue for us this year! BOOMER!
yea it will be interesting… It makes things more interesting with the fact we have a PG that is able to score from anywhere which makes us so much more hard to play against.

From what I understood the two international players are still coming back from injuries.

So Im assuming the bench that will contribute will be Beatrice, Caya, Keziah, Zya or Brooklyn. Im not sure who is going to fill in the open spot.
 
OU got a visit this weekend from Cydnee Bryant a 6’3” post from California…she also visited OU volleyball. She is ranked ESPN #33, Jr All Star Girls #50, 247 Sports #33 and Rivals #27

 
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An interesting article to read in this thread:


As best I can tell we only had 5 players in for official visits and got commits from 2 of them...we make sure the for players that official visit that we are within negotiating distance for NIL/Revenue Sharing expectations. I will bet for Jayda Porter we had a competitive number and then she went to A&M she liked Joni Taylor and they made an offer she couldn't turn down and it was contingent on a quick acceptance. Something similar for Krstevski and Trinity Jones and they never made it in for official visits.

An important part of Nikki Hays Fort's job is to help the coaching staff allocate the NIL/Revenue Sharing budget among all the player slots. I think that may also explain why we have a roster of 11...emphasizing quality over quantity.
Jones committed to Clemson today.
 
An interesting article to read in this thread:


As best I can tell we only had 5 players in for official visits and got commits from 2 of them...we make sure the for players that official visit that we are within negotiating distance for NIL/Revenue Sharing expectations. I will bet for Jayda Porter we had a competitive number and then she went to A&M she liked Joni Taylor and they made an offer she couldn't turn down and it was contingent on a quick acceptance. Something similar for Krstevski and Trinity Jones and they never made it in for official visits.

An important part of Nikki Hays Fort's job is to help the coaching staff allocate the NIL/Revenue Sharing budget among all the player slots. I think that may also explain why we have a roster of 11...emphasizing quality over quantity.
We are 3 for 5 on players that visited and made commitments. Still waiting on last weekends visitor to make her decision.

Committed:
  • Sina Hollerl 6'0" - OV's to UCLA, Michigan, Utah, UNC & 4 others
  • #36 Lee Lee Bell 6'2"
  • #91 Vienna Murray 6'1"

Waiting on
  • #33 Cydnee Bryant 6'3"
Now that the NCAA decided to push the 5 for 5 off another year, I bet they will look to pick up a player or two in the portal knowing the current Senior class will not get another year.

Also, interesting to see how the average height of the roster has changed since Jennie took over.
SeasonApproximate Average Height
2021-22~ 5′11″ (≈ 71 inches) University of Oklahoma+2SoonerStats+2
2022-23~ 6′0″ (≈ 72 inches) University of Oklahoma+2On3+2
2023-24~ 6′0½″ (≈ 72.5 inches) SoonerStats+2Sports Reference+2
2024-25~ 6′1″ (≈ 73 inches) University of Oklahoma+1
2025 (projected)~ 6′2″ (≈ 74 inches) SoonerStats
 
Regarding team height...a couple of months after Jennie was hired in 2021, I was at the Norman Panera Bread and Jennie came in. I spoke to her welcoming her to be our coach...the first thing she said to me about the team (paraphrased) "we have some good guards but we will get taller".

I think on SG/SF you can see Jennie clearly has a type...Verhulst, Smith, Lofton, Hollerl, Murray, Chastain are all 6' or a little taller and can shoot 3s.
 
I really hope we can get Bryant to commit. When was the last time we landed 2 girls that were 6'3 or taller and rated in the top 35 via ESPN hoopgurlz or any other reputable database rankings? Prob the Paris sisters...and we all know how well they did and how good the team was while they were on it. If we can't land Bryant I truly hope JB aggressively pursues a Big elsewhere, if it's high school or the portal. Fingers crossed!
 
I found out today that Cydnee’s older brother was a 2025 1st round pick for San Antonio (14th)…one and done player at Arizona
 
I found out today that Cydnee’s older brother was a 2025 1st round pick for San Antonio (14th)…one and done player at Arizona
Yes. Good thing is College WBB don’t allow 1 and done go into the WNBA. You have to at least be a Junior in college I believe. Someone can correct me if I am wrong.
 
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