Oregon State players spent media day in Portland on Tuesday talking about a five-point exhibition loss like it was a signature win. The Beavers fell to defending national champion Michigan in that tune-up, and multiple players pointed to the result as evidence the program can compete at the top of a reshaped Pac-12 in the Oregon State basketball 2026-27 season under first-year head coach Justin Joyner.
The roster looks almost nothing like last season’s. Oregon State brought in a dozen new players to pair with lone returner Josiah Lake II, a near-total overhaul for a program now coached by Joyner after two years playing outside the Pac-12 in the West Coast Conference.
A Near-Miss Against The Defending Champions
The Beavers played Michigan in an exhibition and lost by five points, a result several players framed as proof of concept rather than a setback. BYU transfer forward Xavion Staton said the showing validated what the program is building in Corvallis.
“It was really great getting to play in Canada early on, but getting to play that exhibition, I feel like we really showed that we can hang with anybody,” Staton said. “What we’re building here in Corvallis, it’s gonna be special.”
A player identified in the source only by the surname Freitag broke down the box score to make the case that the margin understated Oregon State’s performance. “I think when you can go into the defending national champion’s gym, shoot 21-of-32 from the foul line, lose the turnover margin by ten and still only lose by five…you’ve got a pretty good team,” the player said.
That same player also pointed to a stretch of the game when Oregon State trailed by 13 points with a minute and a half left in a half, then cut the deficit to three by the break. “It speaks levels to our depth, our maturity and our will to bounce back,” the player said. “And that should give us a lot of confidence.”
Personnel Changes Reshape The Roster
Staton is the headline addition up front. The seven-footer was a four-star recruit in high school who averaged a double-double as a junior, giving Oregon State size it lacked in recent seasons. He appeared in nine games at BYU last season before his year was cut short by injury.
San Francisco transfer Legend Smiley adds depth to the backcourt, one of several newcomers brought in to replace nearly the entire rotation around Lake II. The scale of the roster turnover means Joyner is building continuity from scratch in his first year running the program.
Why Players Believe Improvement Is Coming
The confidence voiced in Portland centers on correcting specific mistakes from the Michigan exhibition rather than a wholesale change in approach. “Our mistakes, if we close those up, that’s about a ten-point win in our eyes,” the same player said, turning a five-point loss into an argument for a double-digit swing once those errors are fixed.
That math underpins the larger goal players are setting for conference play. “We know how good our competition is,” the player said. “But once conference play comes through after non-conference, we’re looking to win the Pac-12, and I’m gonna stand on that heavy. It’s about trusting our work and what we do, and I believe we can get it done.”
The same sentiment carried into comments about the team’s preseason trajectory. “So you know we’re cleaning that up, but the confidence we got going into the [Cal] exhibition game, but mostly the season, we feel we should be one of the best teams in the Pac-12,” the player said.
Return To The Pac-12
This season marks Oregon State’s return to Pac-12 play within the conference’s new format, after two years in the West Coast Conference following the realignment that scattered the league’s former membership. The Beavers used a summer trip to Canada as part of their preseason buildup before facing Michigan in the exhibition.
What’s Next
Oregon State had an exhibition scheduled for Saturday against Cal in Corvallis, a final tune-up before the Beavers open the regular season at home against Weber State on Monday, Nov. 2. That game will be the first real test of whether the confidence expressed at media day translates into results once the Pac-12 schedule begins.
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