Analyst: Conference realignment 'ruined' Final Four squad Oregon State

Conference realignment has uprooted college sports, but the Oregon State women's basketball program was one of the more notable casualties of it this offseason; losing two of their three top scorers, Raegan Beers and Talia von Oelhoffen, to two teams, Oklahoma and USC, that'll be joining the proverbial big leagues in the SEC and Big Ten, respectively.

On3's Talia Goodman believes that conference realignment has "ruined" the Beavs this offseason given the significant transfer losses as OSU transitions to a conference-less schedule -- unless you count the Pac-2 as a conference, which you shouldn't -- during the 2024-25 academic calendar.

“You really see Oregon State struggling right now. That’s the big one,” said Goodman during a recent appearance on the Andy Staples On3 Podcast. “It’s hard. Their best players are leaving,  is going to Oklahoma, [and]  is going to USC and joining their little super team that they have there now.

“It’s been really a tough offseason for them. And you feel for them because they were phenomenal; I saw them in the tournament this year, and they were phenomenal and so much fun to watch. They had so much potential, and realignment just kind of ruined it for them, which just sucks. But they’re the big one that is suffering. There are a few others for sure, but they’re the big one.”

Oregon State's football program similarly lost 25 players while only recouping 14. DJ Uiagalelei, an FSU addition, and Damien Martinez, a Miami pickup, are arguably just as big of a loss as Beers and von Oelhoffen. The Pac-12's death led to the death of Beavs fans' ambitions for the upcoming calendar year.

Oregon State can receive Big 12 invite soon

The silver lining for OSU is the potentially looming Big 12 invite that's looming for both the Beavs and Wazzu.

That silver lining isn't all that much a bright spot in the meantime, however, since it won't go into effect for at least another year and doesn't bring all the transfer losses back to the women's basketball and football programs.

Too little too late in many ways for the Beavs.