Hello, basketball season.
The Oklahoma women's basketball team tips off its 2026-27 season in less than a week after giving us a sneak peek on Sunday with a 124-39 thumping of Southern Nazarene in an exhibition game. There are high expectations, as usual under Jennie Baranczyk, with the Sooners looking to finally get beyond the Sweet 16 after losing to a future finalist there the past two seasons.
It's been a long offseason since March, so whether you forgot or are just jumping on the bandwagon, here are three storylines you need to know before OU's season gets going:
1. Sooners will experience life without Raegan Beers
Although Raegen Beers transferred from Oregon State and spent just two years in Oklahoma, she felt like an OU lifer. Now, the Sooners have to move on without her.
Beers was the centerpiece of OU's offense over the past two seasons as a dominant force in the paint, listed at 6-foot-4. She was First-Team All-SEC last year while averaging a double-double with 15.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
Without Beers, point guard Aaliyah Chavez will immediately become the Sooners' top scoring threat, but that still doesn't fill their void down low, which will be especially crucial in SEC play. Baranczyk really didn't do much over the offseason to replace Beers, while also losing backup center Beatrice Culliton.
The Sooners targeted Iowa State transfer Audi Crooks, who was the top player in the portal this offseason, but she ultimately landed down the highway at Oklahoma State. OU then had to settle for Maryland transfer Isimenme 'Isi' Ozzy-Momodu as its only transfer addition at center. Ozzy-Momodu won't crack the starting lineup after averaging 8.0 points and 6.4 rebounds last season.
The only other option OU has at center is sophomore Daffa Cissoko, who appeared in only nine games last year.
With no dominant center, Baranczyk went with a smaller lineup in the Sooners' exhibition game, and she likely will all season. Time will tell if that spaces out the floor more to bolster Chavez, or if OU will regret not preparing better for life after Beers.
2. This is Aaliyah Chavez's time to not only take over Oklahoma, but college basketball
When Chavez committed to OU as the No. 1 overall player in the 2025 class, Trae Young boldly predicted her to be the next face of women's college basketball, mentioning her alongside names like Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark. This is the year Chavez should become a household name among college basketball fans.
Chavez immediately showed as a freshman that she wasn't overhyped, even while adjusting to the college game and running the offense as a freshman. She was named 2026 ESPN National Freshman of the Year and All-SEC Second Team (which was a snub) after putting up 18.4 points and 4.2 assists per game, and also totaling 43 steals.
The hype has only grown for this season, with Chavez being named Preseason First-Team All-SEC. She then went out in her season debut and scored 14 points while dishing out nine assists in the Sooners' exhibition game. She also had a team-high plus-minus of +51.
Yes, it was Southern Nazarene, but it's OU clear will run through Chavez this season, which could unlock unlimited potential and take over college basketball.
3. OU tips off season in foreign territory
The Sooners definitely aren't easing into the new season.
OU will tip off 2026-27 with a matchup against No. 12 North Carolina across the pond in Paris, France, at 1:30 p.m. CT on Monday, Nov. 2. This isn't new scheduling for Baranczyk, other than leaving the country. She took the Sooners on the road to take on No. 3 UCLA for their second game of the season last year.
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