Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Basketball
Littell, Jim
Jim Littell
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Phone:
- (405) 744-2490
- Twitter:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cQ6BhqOiYU
Getting To Know Coach Littell
Littell Snapshot
· Two-Time Big 12 Coach of the Year (2016, 2021)
· Six NCAA Championship appearances
· One WNIT title
· Seven Cowgirls have achieved All-America status under his direction
· Two Cowgirls have been named Academic All-Americans on his watch
· Coached OSU’s First-Ever Big 12 Player of the Year in 2016 (Brittney Martin)
· Produced the 2021 WBCA Defensive Player of the Year and 2021 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year (Natasha Mack)
· Five WNBA Draft Picks (Toni Young, Tiffany Bias, Brittney Martin, Loryn Goodwin, Natasha Mack)
· 15 All-Big 12 selections and 44 Academic All-Big 12 picks
In his decade-long stint as Oklahoma State’s head coach, Jim Littell’s most decorated season emerged from the trying circumstances that 2020-21 presented.
While navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, Littell guided the Cowgirls to a second-place finish in the Big 12 Conference behind a program-record 13 league wins. His peers took notice, naming him the league’s coach of the year for the second time in his tenure.
The Cowgirls earned a berth in the NCAA Championship for the sixth time under Littell’s watch and recorded a resounding victory over Wake Forest in the first round before going toe-to-toe with eventual champion Stanford.
Individually, Natasha Mack burst onto the national scene, earning All-America status as well as national defensive player of the year honors. She also became the second Cowgirl to be named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and the fifth player selected in the WNBA Draft under Littell’s direction after hearing her name called by the Chicago Sky. Additionally, Mack became the program’s ninth unanimous all-conference selection since 2013 and was joined on the all-conference squad by second-team pick Ja’Mee Asberry.
For the first time in program history, OSU had two representatives on the league’s all-freshman squad with Taylen Collins and Lexy Keys both receiving the distinction.
In 2019-20, Littell recorded a milestone victory, as he notched the 800th win of his coaching career with a 70-63 road triumph over Kansas State.
Additionally, a pair of Cowgirls enjoyed marked success. For the second year in a row, Vivian Gray achieved All-America status and added Academic All-America honors to her resumé. Mack joined Gray as an all-league selection and was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year while also being selected to the league’s all-defensive team.
In 2018-19, Gray added her name to the list of Littell’s All-Americans. She was also tabbed as a unanimous first-team All-Big 12 selection as well as the league's top newcomer.
The 2017-18 campaign resulted in the Cowgirls making their fifth NCAA appearance under Littell with the Cowgirls reaching the second round after a convincing opening-round win over Syracuse. OSU won 21 games, including 11 league games, and notched a trio of victories against Top 25 opponents.
Individually, Loryn Goodwin and Kaylee Jensen were at the forefront of OSU’s bevy of honors. Both players were named unanimous All-Big 12 picks as well as honorable mention All-Americans. Goodwin went on to drafted by the WNBA’s Dallas Wings.
In the classroom, Jensen was named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and was one of six Cowgirls to achieve Academic All-Big 12 status.
During the 2015-16 campaign, Littell guided the Cowgirls to their fourth consecutive NCAA appearance. In the process, he became the program’s first Big 12 Coach of the Year and coached the program’s first-ever Big 12 Player of the Year in Brittney Martin. She was also chosen as the league’s top defensive player.
Littell directed OSU to its third consecutive NCAA berth during the 2014-15 campaign to cap the winningest four-year stretch in program history (89 victories). In the process, Martin earned All-America status and was a unanimous All-Big 12 selection.
The 2013-14 season produced a 25-win campaign as well as the program’s third NCAA Sweet 16 appearance. OSU reeled off a school-record 12 consecutive wins to start the year and closed the season with an overtime victory over Florida Gulf Coast and a triumph against No. 17 Purdue on the Boilermakers’ home floor to move on to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
OSU’s win total marked the third-best in school history and the squad’s 69 victories rank as the best three-year run in school history.
Littell’s third campaign resulted in three players receiving all-league honors with Tiffany Bias leading the way as a unanimous All-Big 12 selection and the program’s first-ever Big 12 All-Defensive Team selection. Martin and Liz Donohoe received honorable mention recognition.
Bias went on to earn All-America status for the second consecutive year. She was also drafted by the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, giving Littell’s program two consecutive years with a draft pick by the league.
In 2012-13, Littell guided OSU to its first NCAA berth since 2010. The Cowgirls got out of the gate quickly, starting the year with 11 consecutive victories to log the best start in school history. Coupled with its six wins to close out 2012, Littell’s squad held the nation’s longest winning streak for a month and a half. A pair of victories over Top 25 opponents in Big 12 play preceded Littell’s first NCAA victory, a convincing triumph over DePaul.
Individually, Littell coached Bias and Toni Young to honorable mention All-America status, while Martin was named a freshman All-American. Young capped her career as a first-round draft pick by the WNBA’s New York Liberty and Martin finished her freshman campaign with an invite to USA Basketball’s U19 Team Trials.
Littell took over the Oklahoma State women’s basketball program under unthinkable circumstances one game into the 2011-12 season and admirably guided the Cowgirls through the most trying season in program history.
Following the tragic deaths of head coach Kurt Budke and assistant coach Miranda Serna on Nov. 17, Littell assumed his current role and directed the Cowgirls to the 11th 20-win season in program history and saw his squad extend its school-record string of postseason appearances to six in a row.
For the previous six years, Littell had served as OSU’s associate head coach and was an integral part in the resurgence of the Cowgirl program.
After serving in an interim capacity for his first four games, Littell was officially elevated to the head coaching position on Dec. 9.
It didn’t take Littell long to write his own chapter in the school’s record books, leading the squad to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament title in his first season as head coach.
The Cowgirls notched their first win over a Top 25 program under Littell’s guidance on Jan. 7 with a 70-51 triumph over No. 23 Texas. It took OSU just 17 days to earn its second win over a ranked team with Littell at the helm as the Cowgirls knocking off the defending national champion, Texas A&M.
Sandwiched in between OSU’s Top 25 triumphs was a down-to-the-wire Bedlam victory over Oklahoma, which snapped the Cowgirls’ eight-game losing streak against their in-state rivals. In the midst of a four-game losing streak, Littell rallied the Cowgirls with three consecutive victories to close the regular season and prime the squad for its postseason run.
OSU’s WNIT semifinal victory over San Diego resulted in Littell’s 20th victory as head coach, making him the first coach in program history to achieve the feat during their first season. A season-best crowd of 6,157 filed into Gallagher-Iba Arena and helped propel the Cowgirls to a 75-68 victory over James Madison in the title game.
Individually, Littell’s first campaign resulted in a pair of players earning postseason recognition with Bias garnering second-team All-Big 12 honors and Donohoe being named the league’s freshman of the year.
As associate head coach, he was instrumental in the Cowgirls producing the nation’s largest turnaround and the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth in more than a decade in 2007. He also helped OSU to NCAA berths in 2008 and 2010 as well as WNIT appearances in in 2009 and 2011.
Prior to his move to the Division I level, Littell constructed a hall of fame career during his 14-year tenure at Seward County (Kan.) Community College,
A 2009 inductee into the National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame, Littell compiled an eye-popping set of numbers at his former post as the Lady Saints won 87 percent of their games, tallying a 418-61 ledger and producing nine Jayhawk West Conference titles under his guidance.
A nine-time conference coach of the year, Littell was named the WBCA National Coach of the Year in 2001 and was selected as the top coach in the region on four occasions, earning the distinction in 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2005.
Littell led Seward County to its first Region VI title in 1999 and followed up with regional titles in 2002, 2004 and 2005. In both 2000 and 2001, Littell led the Lady Saints to a No. 1 ranking in the final NJCAA poll and a combined record of 32-0 against conference opponents. His 2002 squad produced three All-Americans, a perfect 38-0 mark and the school’s first-ever national championship in any sport. He was named the NJCAA National Tournament Coach of the Year that same season. The 2001-02 season capped a three-year run by the Lady Saints that produced 104 wins against just two losses.
Under his watch, the Lady Saints recorded seven 30-win seasons. After finishing with a 14-16 record during his first season, Littell’s squads never produced less than 25 wins in a season and averaged nearly 32 wins per year against less than four losses over the course of his final 13 seasons.
The most impressive number of all may have come in the form of Seward County’s home record in his 14 seasons. From 1995-2004, the Lady Saints did not lose a home game, posting a 135-game winning streak inside the SCCC Activities Center to set the NJCAA national record. During the course of his final 13 seasons, Littell’s squads won 99 percent of their home contests, producing an astounding record of 189-2.
All told, his squad’s produced 11 All-Americans and five Region VI Most Valuable Players. Nine times, one of Littell’s players was tabbed as the Jayhawk West Conference Most Valuable Player, while four players from Seward County earned the league’s freshman of the year honor under his direction.
Prior to his run at Seward County, Littell spent one season at Garden Plains High School, posting a 21-3 mark. As head coach at Friends University from 1983-88, he produced a 95-39 record and a pair of conference championships. He also served as the assistant men’s coach at Cameron (Okla.) University from 1988-89.
Littell began his coaching career at Oxford High School in 1978 where he produced a 94-14 mark and a Kansas Class 2A state championship in 1981.
A 1977 graduate of Southwestern College, Littell and his wife, Barb, are the parents of two sons, Jerame, and Jon, a former standout for the Cowboy baseball team, as well as one daughter, Jaci. Jon and his wife, Lexie, welcomed the family’s first grandchild, Linkyn Grace, on May 27.
Year-By-Year At Oklahoma State
2020-21 19-9 (NCAA Second Round)
2019-20 15-15 (Season Shortened Due To COVID-19 Pandemic)
2018-19 14-16
2017-18 21-11 (NCAA Second Round)
2016-17 17-15 (WNIT First Round)
2015-16 21-10 (NCAA First Round)
2014-15 20-12 (NCAA First Round)
2013-14 25-9 (NCAA Sweet 16)
2012-13 22-11 (NCAA Second Round)
2011-12 21-12 (WNIT Champions)
Littell Snapshot
· Two-Time Big 12 Coach of the Year (2016, 2021)
· Six NCAA Championship appearances
· One WNIT title
· Seven Cowgirls have achieved All-America status under his direction
· Two Cowgirls have been named Academic All-Americans on his watch
· Coached OSU’s First-Ever Big 12 Player of the Year in 2016 (Brittney Martin)
· Produced the 2021 WBCA Defensive Player of the Year and 2021 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year (Natasha Mack)
· Five WNBA Draft Picks (Toni Young, Tiffany Bias, Brittney Martin, Loryn Goodwin, Natasha Mack)
· 15 All-Big 12 selections and 44 Academic All-Big 12 picks
In his decade-long stint as Oklahoma State’s head coach, Jim Littell’s most decorated season emerged from the trying circumstances that 2020-21 presented.
While navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, Littell guided the Cowgirls to a second-place finish in the Big 12 Conference behind a program-record 13 league wins. His peers took notice, naming him the league’s coach of the year for the second time in his tenure.
The Cowgirls earned a berth in the NCAA Championship for the sixth time under Littell’s watch and recorded a resounding victory over Wake Forest in the first round before going toe-to-toe with eventual champion Stanford.
Individually, Natasha Mack burst onto the national scene, earning All-America status as well as national defensive player of the year honors. She also became the second Cowgirl to be named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and the fifth player selected in the WNBA Draft under Littell’s direction after hearing her name called by the Chicago Sky. Additionally, Mack became the program’s ninth unanimous all-conference selection since 2013 and was joined on the all-conference squad by second-team pick Ja’Mee Asberry.
For the first time in program history, OSU had two representatives on the league’s all-freshman squad with Taylen Collins and Lexy Keys both receiving the distinction.
In 2019-20, Littell recorded a milestone victory, as he notched the 800th win of his coaching career with a 70-63 road triumph over Kansas State.
Additionally, a pair of Cowgirls enjoyed marked success. For the second year in a row, Vivian Gray achieved All-America status and added Academic All-America honors to her resumé. Mack joined Gray as an all-league selection and was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year while also being selected to the league’s all-defensive team.
In 2018-19, Gray added her name to the list of Littell’s All-Americans. She was also tabbed as a unanimous first-team All-Big 12 selection as well as the league's top newcomer.
The 2017-18 campaign resulted in the Cowgirls making their fifth NCAA appearance under Littell with the Cowgirls reaching the second round after a convincing opening-round win over Syracuse. OSU won 21 games, including 11 league games, and notched a trio of victories against Top 25 opponents.
Individually, Loryn Goodwin and Kaylee Jensen were at the forefront of OSU’s bevy of honors. Both players were named unanimous All-Big 12 picks as well as honorable mention All-Americans. Goodwin went on to drafted by the WNBA’s Dallas Wings.
In the classroom, Jensen was named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and was one of six Cowgirls to achieve Academic All-Big 12 status.
During the 2015-16 campaign, Littell guided the Cowgirls to their fourth consecutive NCAA appearance. In the process, he became the program’s first Big 12 Coach of the Year and coached the program’s first-ever Big 12 Player of the Year in Brittney Martin. She was also chosen as the league’s top defensive player.
Littell directed OSU to its third consecutive NCAA berth during the 2014-15 campaign to cap the winningest four-year stretch in program history (89 victories). In the process, Martin earned All-America status and was a unanimous All-Big 12 selection.
The 2013-14 season produced a 25-win campaign as well as the program’s third NCAA Sweet 16 appearance. OSU reeled off a school-record 12 consecutive wins to start the year and closed the season with an overtime victory over Florida Gulf Coast and a triumph against No. 17 Purdue on the Boilermakers’ home floor to move on to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
OSU’s win total marked the third-best in school history and the squad’s 69 victories rank as the best three-year run in school history.
Littell’s third campaign resulted in three players receiving all-league honors with Tiffany Bias leading the way as a unanimous All-Big 12 selection and the program’s first-ever Big 12 All-Defensive Team selection. Martin and Liz Donohoe received honorable mention recognition.
Bias went on to earn All-America status for the second consecutive year. She was also drafted by the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, giving Littell’s program two consecutive years with a draft pick by the league.
In 2012-13, Littell guided OSU to its first NCAA berth since 2010. The Cowgirls got out of the gate quickly, starting the year with 11 consecutive victories to log the best start in school history. Coupled with its six wins to close out 2012, Littell’s squad held the nation’s longest winning streak for a month and a half. A pair of victories over Top 25 opponents in Big 12 play preceded Littell’s first NCAA victory, a convincing triumph over DePaul.
Individually, Littell coached Bias and Toni Young to honorable mention All-America status, while Martin was named a freshman All-American. Young capped her career as a first-round draft pick by the WNBA’s New York Liberty and Martin finished her freshman campaign with an invite to USA Basketball’s U19 Team Trials.
Littell took over the Oklahoma State women’s basketball program under unthinkable circumstances one game into the 2011-12 season and admirably guided the Cowgirls through the most trying season in program history.
Following the tragic deaths of head coach Kurt Budke and assistant coach Miranda Serna on Nov. 17, Littell assumed his current role and directed the Cowgirls to the 11th 20-win season in program history and saw his squad extend its school-record string of postseason appearances to six in a row.
For the previous six years, Littell had served as OSU’s associate head coach and was an integral part in the resurgence of the Cowgirl program.
After serving in an interim capacity for his first four games, Littell was officially elevated to the head coaching position on Dec. 9.
It didn’t take Littell long to write his own chapter in the school’s record books, leading the squad to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament title in his first season as head coach.
The Cowgirls notched their first win over a Top 25 program under Littell’s guidance on Jan. 7 with a 70-51 triumph over No. 23 Texas. It took OSU just 17 days to earn its second win over a ranked team with Littell at the helm as the Cowgirls knocking off the defending national champion, Texas A&M.
Sandwiched in between OSU’s Top 25 triumphs was a down-to-the-wire Bedlam victory over Oklahoma, which snapped the Cowgirls’ eight-game losing streak against their in-state rivals. In the midst of a four-game losing streak, Littell rallied the Cowgirls with three consecutive victories to close the regular season and prime the squad for its postseason run.
OSU’s WNIT semifinal victory over San Diego resulted in Littell’s 20th victory as head coach, making him the first coach in program history to achieve the feat during their first season. A season-best crowd of 6,157 filed into Gallagher-Iba Arena and helped propel the Cowgirls to a 75-68 victory over James Madison in the title game.
Individually, Littell’s first campaign resulted in a pair of players earning postseason recognition with Bias garnering second-team All-Big 12 honors and Donohoe being named the league’s freshman of the year.
As associate head coach, he was instrumental in the Cowgirls producing the nation’s largest turnaround and the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth in more than a decade in 2007. He also helped OSU to NCAA berths in 2008 and 2010 as well as WNIT appearances in in 2009 and 2011.
Prior to his move to the Division I level, Littell constructed a hall of fame career during his 14-year tenure at Seward County (Kan.) Community College,
A 2009 inductee into the National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame, Littell compiled an eye-popping set of numbers at his former post as the Lady Saints won 87 percent of their games, tallying a 418-61 ledger and producing nine Jayhawk West Conference titles under his guidance.
A nine-time conference coach of the year, Littell was named the WBCA National Coach of the Year in 2001 and was selected as the top coach in the region on four occasions, earning the distinction in 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2005.
Littell led Seward County to its first Region VI title in 1999 and followed up with regional titles in 2002, 2004 and 2005. In both 2000 and 2001, Littell led the Lady Saints to a No. 1 ranking in the final NJCAA poll and a combined record of 32-0 against conference opponents. His 2002 squad produced three All-Americans, a perfect 38-0 mark and the school’s first-ever national championship in any sport. He was named the NJCAA National Tournament Coach of the Year that same season. The 2001-02 season capped a three-year run by the Lady Saints that produced 104 wins against just two losses.
Under his watch, the Lady Saints recorded seven 30-win seasons. After finishing with a 14-16 record during his first season, Littell’s squads never produced less than 25 wins in a season and averaged nearly 32 wins per year against less than four losses over the course of his final 13 seasons.
The most impressive number of all may have come in the form of Seward County’s home record in his 14 seasons. From 1995-2004, the Lady Saints did not lose a home game, posting a 135-game winning streak inside the SCCC Activities Center to set the NJCAA national record. During the course of his final 13 seasons, Littell’s squads won 99 percent of their home contests, producing an astounding record of 189-2.
All told, his squad’s produced 11 All-Americans and five Region VI Most Valuable Players. Nine times, one of Littell’s players was tabbed as the Jayhawk West Conference Most Valuable Player, while four players from Seward County earned the league’s freshman of the year honor under his direction.
Prior to his run at Seward County, Littell spent one season at Garden Plains High School, posting a 21-3 mark. As head coach at Friends University from 1983-88, he produced a 95-39 record and a pair of conference championships. He also served as the assistant men’s coach at Cameron (Okla.) University from 1988-89.
Littell began his coaching career at Oxford High School in 1978 where he produced a 94-14 mark and a Kansas Class 2A state championship in 1981.
A 1977 graduate of Southwestern College, Littell and his wife, Barb, are the parents of two sons, Jerame, and Jon, a former standout for the Cowboy baseball team, as well as one daughter, Jaci. Jon and his wife, Lexie, welcomed the family’s first grandchild, Linkyn Grace, on May 27.
Year-By-Year At Oklahoma State
2020-21 19-9 (NCAA Second Round)
2019-20 15-15 (Season Shortened Due To COVID-19 Pandemic)
2018-19 14-16
2017-18 21-11 (NCAA Second Round)
2016-17 17-15 (WNIT First Round)
2015-16 21-10 (NCAA First Round)
2014-15 20-12 (NCAA First Round)
2013-14 25-9 (NCAA Sweet 16)
2012-13 22-11 (NCAA Second Round)
2011-12 21-12 (WNIT Champions)
Inside Oklahoma State Athletics: Dave Smith Previews the 2025 Cross Country Season
Thursday, September 11
Cowboys Face to Face: Tony Allen
Monday, September 08
Mike Gundy Previews Cowboys vs. Tulsa - Oklahoma State News Conference (9-15-2025)
Monday, September 08
Cowboy Football Ch. 2: Trailer vs Oregon - Opportunity
Saturday, September 06
