South Carolina Adds a Historic First Meeting Against Oklahoma State — And a Potential Crooks Reunion Storyline
Dawn Staley’s roster reload for 2026-27 continues to take shape through aggressive non-conference scheduling, and the newest addition carries a genuinely interesting subplot attached to it. South Carolina is one year removed from a national championship game appearance, and Staley clearly isn’t shying away from stacking the schedule with quality competition to prove her program still belongs at the top.
A first-ever meeting, announced by the visiting team
The newest wrinkle came Friday, when Oklahoma State’s own program account confirmed a two-game series with South Carolina, framing the news simply: “Plan accordingly.” Under the arrangement, star center Audi Crooks and the Cowgirls will travel to Columbia on December 6 to face the Gamecocks at Colonial Life Center, with South Carolina returning the favor at a neutral site in Oklahoma during the 2027-28 season. Notably, this will mark the first time in either program’s history that the two teams have met on the court — giving the series real novelty on top of its competitive stakes.
A legitimate defensive test awaits
Oklahoma State isn’t an arbitrary scheduling addition, either. The Cowgirls have reached the NCAA Tournament in three of the past four seasons, including a second-round appearance last year — a track record that suggests real postseason relevance rather than simply a name on paper. At the center of that success is Crooks, one of the most dominant offensive players in the country, which sets up a genuine measuring-stick matchup for South Carolina’s defense heading into December.
The Crooks connection that gives this game extra intrigue
Crooks’ own path adds a layer of storyline that goes beyond typical scheduling analysis. This upcoming season will be her first at Oklahoma State after beginning her career at Iowa State, where she was nothing short of dominant — averaging 24.6 points per game over her final two seasons with the Cyclones and leading all of Division I in scoring during 2025-26. When she entered the transfer portal last spring, reports suggested she was genuinely on South Carolina’s recruiting radar as a potential target. The Gamecocks ultimately went a different direction, instead landing guard Jordan Lee from Texas and forward Oliviyah Edwards, a former Tennessee signee.
That near-miss recruitment gives this early-season matchup an added competitive edge. Should South Carolina come away with a decisive home win over Crooks and Oklahoma State, it would serve as a pointed reminder of exactly what the Gamecocks passed on — and potentially validate the roster-building decisions Staley made instead. Beyond the storyline appeal, a quality win over an NCAA Tournament-caliber opponent would also meaningfully strengthen South Carolina’s overall strength of schedule heading into conference play.
A broader non-conference slate already loaded with marquee names
While South Carolina hasn’t yet released its complete non-conference schedule, the pieces already announced paint the picture of an intentionally difficult early slate. The Gamecocks will face Big Ten opponent Maryland in Paris, France on November 2, take on North Carolina from the ACC on November 8, meet USC in Greenville on November 15, square off against UConn at Mohegan Sun Arena on November 24, and travel to Duke on December 3 as part of the annual ACC-SEC Challenge.
Why this matters heading into the season
Taken together, this schedule reflects a program with no interest in padding its win total against lesser competition. Between international travel, blue-blood programs like UConn and Duke, and now a historic first meeting against a Big 12 team led by one of the nation’s most productive scorers, South Carolina appears to be deliberately building the kind of resume that positions the Gamecocks for another deep postseason run — while giving Staley plenty of high-stakes opportunities to test her retooled roster well before conference play even begins.
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