Brad Underwood to Oklahoma State: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction

After guiding the No. 14-seeded Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks to the round of 32 in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, head coach Brad Underwood is moving on to fill the same role for the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Gary Parrish of CBS Sports reported the news Monday, and ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman confirmed Underwood is making the move to Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Stephen F. Austin was close to advancing to the Sweet 16 but lost to the No. 6-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish 76-75 on Sunday. Underwood did lift the Lumberjacks to a 70-56 upset over the No. 3-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers to begin the Big Dance.

In all three of his years at the helm, Underwood guided Stephen F. Austin to the Southland Conference title in both the regular season and conference tournament, securing an NCAA tournament berth each year. He posted an overall record of 89-14, per Sports-Reference.com.

Before Underwood took the job in Nacogdoches, Texas, he had a notably long stint at his alma mater, Kansas State, as an assistant coach for the Wildcats from 2006 to 2012. He then followed Kansas State coach Frank Martin to South Carolina and served as an assistant before progressing to his first head coaching gig.

The Big 12 is arguably the best conference in the country. It sent seven teams to the NCAA tournament this year, including the Mountaineers and Sweet 16 squads Kansas and Oklahoma. At least Underwood has familiarity with the conference as a player and coach from his time at Kansas State.

The Cowboys fired former head coach Travis Ford on Friday after nine seasons. He went 12-20 during the 2015-16 campaign and just 3-15 in conference play.

The standard of excellence Underwood established at Stephen F. Austin is unrealistic for the Cowboys faithful to expect for at least a couple of years. But if he can lure enough talent to Oklahoma State, he has proved he can accomplish something special on the March Madness stage.

Jerry Meyer of 247Sports is among those who believes Underwood won't have much trouble bringing in top prospects:

Getting players to buy in at an upstart mid-major program wasn't hard for Underwood. His challenge will be keeping morale up as the Cowboys endure growing pains while trying to claw their way back into the conference title picture.

With a recent program history that boasts the likes of NBA players Marcus Smart and Markel Brown, there's at least some foundation at Oklahoma State for Underwood to build a winning culture on.