Details released for proposed Lexy Keys renovation, expansion…
Lexy Keys knew she wanted to play basketball in Oklahoma.
When she was growing up, she was a fan of the Sooners. But her basketball journey first led her to Oklahoma State. There, Keys was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team and made a team-best 51 3-pointers in her sophomore season.
In her three seasons with the Cowboys, where she started 71 of her 88 games, she averaged 9.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
For her senior season, Keys decided to make a change. So, she transferred to the Sooners from Oklahoma State this offseason. Now she’s getting ready to don the Crimson and Cream colors for the first time this season when the No. 23 Sooners host Wichita State at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman for their season-opener on Monday.
“I expected it to be a lot harder, the transition,” Keys said. “Just being in-state and I’m from Oklahoma. Grew up an Oklahoma fan and then going to OSU, I expected it to be a lot harder. It’s always you know, ‘The other school,’ that kind of thing but honestly it’s so special here. And that’s a cliche answer but honestly it truly is. They’ve honestly welcomed me with open arms and they’ve been really great to me.”
Keys, out of Tahlequah, OK, is a two-time state champion who won the Class 3A state tournament Most Valuable Player award. She was named as a top five Oklahoma girls high school basketball player in her senior season before joining Oklahoma State for the beginning of her college career.
And when she entered the transfer portal, Oklahoma head coach Jennie Barancyzk made a really good impression on her.
“Something that really stuck out to me is relationship is really important to me,” Keys said. “She was really personable and the thing that stuck out is she really wanted to know deep down who I was. She asked hard questions that weren’t even half the time about basketball. Just really getting to know who I was and I think that’s what makes her special.”
Led by third-year head coach Baranczyk, the Sooners will look to appear in the program’s third consecutive NCAA Tournament.
In 2023, Oklahoma won a share of its first Big 12 regular season championship since 2009, compiling a 14-4 conference record. Texas topped the preseason Coaches poll and the Big 12 poll. Oklahoma, who split the 2023 regular season crown with Texas, checked in at fifth in the Big 12 conference preseason poll, in front of 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship winner Iowa State in sixth.
The Sooners have multiple new faces this season as they begin a new era without their Big 3 of Ana Llanusa, Taylor Robertson or Madi Williams for the first time in 2,186 days. But with the other transfers, it’s made Keys even more comfortable in the transition. Now, she’s just ready to show it on the court.
“I think learning from experiences just makes you stronger in the end,” Keys said. “Knowing each other’s stories forms great relationships and I think relationships are what makes a good team.”
