Cowboy Tennis Set for Home-and-Away Weekend

Oklahoma State Cowboys
(11-3, 0-0 Big 12) | Head Coach: Dustin Taylor (Fifth Season)
vs.
South Florida Bulls | 5 p.m. CT
(3-9, 0-0 American) | Head Coach: Ashley Fisher (10th Season)
&
Wichita State Shockers | 11 a.m. CT
(8-7, 1-0 American) | Head Coach: Darragh Glavin (Fourth Season)

Match 15 | South Florida | March 6, 2026
Venue: Greenwood Tennis Center
Stream: https://okla.st/WatchvsSouthFlorida
Stats: https://okla.st/StatsvsSouthFlorida

Match 16 | Wichita State | March 8, 2026
Venue: Coleman Tennis Complex
Stream: No Live Stream Available
Stats: https://okla.st/StatsvsWichitaState

Social Media: @CowboyTennis

The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's tennis team continues the 2026 campaign with matches against South Florida and Wichita State. The Cowboys begin the weekend by hosting South Florida on Friday night at 5 p.m. at the Greenwood Tennis Center, followed by a short trip up north to take on Wichita State (8-7) in Wichita at the Coleman Tennis Complex on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT. The Cowboys have won seven of their last eight matches and are coming off the win of the season against No. 14 San Diego on Tuesday morning, 4-3. The win marks OSU's highest ranked win since March 16^th, 2024, where they defeated No. 11 Illinois. In addition, the Cowboys are 9-0 at home this season.

Newcomers Making Their Names Known
The Cowboys have been fueled by the newcomers of the program. Starting with Georgia Southern transfer Aaron Williams, he has started his Cowboy career with near-perfection, going 8-2, including a key comeback win over Yale's Jim Ji, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5), to keep the Pokes in the match with the Bulldogs. The All-Sun Belt player has shined just as bright in doubles, winning seven of his eight, including a signature victory with partner Nicolas Kobelt over Princeton's No. 2 doubles team, 7-6(6), to take the doubles point against the Tigers. Freshmen Haydar Gokpinar and Charlie Valentine have shined to start their Cowboy careers. Gokpinar is 11-1 and sealed the match against Arkansas with a comeback win over Eric Padgham, 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-1. The Turkish native started his career with 10 straight wins, the most by a Cowboy to start his career since Lucas Gerch in 2014. Valentine picked up a key win against Memphis' Keoni Puig McCallan, 6-1, 6-2, and sits at 6-1 for his freshman campaign, having only dropped two total sets.

In The Rankings
The Oklahoma State men's tennis team ranked 34^th in this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I rankings. The Pokes sit as the sixth-highest ranked team in the stacked Big 12, behind TCU (7), UCF (9), Baylor (10), Arizona (15) and Arizona State (17). No Cowboys or Cowboy pairings are featured in the rankings as of March 3.

Series History
Oklahoma State and South Florida will matchup for just the second time ever. Oklahoma State won the previous matchup in 2016 against then 14^th-ranked South Florida, 4-1. Friday's match will be the first in Stillwater.
Oklahoma State will take on Wichita State for the 59^th time in program history. OSU has 41 wins over the Shockers. The Cowboys haven't dropped a match against Wichita State since 1996 and are riding a 15-match winning streak against WSU. The last Cowboy win came in sweeping-fashion in 2025, 4-0, in Stillwater.

Streaks & Trends
·      OSU has won eight of nine matches
·      OSU is 9-0 at the Greenwood Tennis Center
·      OSU has never lost to South Florida
·      OSU hasn't lost to Wichita State this century
·      Haydar Gokpinar and Nicolas Kobelt are 11-1 in singles on the season
·      Ian Bracks has wins on every court except six
·      OSU currently has 73 total team points through 14 matches
·      The 73 team points are the most through 14 matches since 1981
·      OSU currently has 54 total team points through nine home matches
·      Most team points through 14 matches in the Taylor era
·      Most team points at home through nine matches in the Taylor era

A Pair of Oklahoma State Wins Would…

Improve its record to 12-3
Make it 10-0 at home for only the second time in GTC history
Give it its best start to a season in the Taylor era
Improve its record over South Florida to 2-0
Give it its 42^nd win all-time against Wichita State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ian Bracks

Haydar Gokpinar

Nicolas Kobelt

Charlie Valentine

Aaron Williams

Oklahoma State University Athletics