Oklahoma State freshman DE Michael Riles announces plans to enter NCAA Transfer Portal

Oklahoma State true freshman defensive end Michael Riles announced plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal roughly two weeks after the firing of longtime head coach Mike Gundy. Riles made the announcement with a Sunday night post on X/Twitter.

The 6-foot-4, 242-pound Riles will have four full seasons of collegiate eligibility remaining after not appearing in a game yet this season for the Cowboys. Riles will be the fourth Oklahoma State defender to reveal plans to transfer since Gundy’s firing on Sept. 23.

With 4 years of eligibility left i will be entering the transfer portal pic.twitter.com/wnGWxToNt8

— Michael Riles (@michaelriles8) October 5, 2025

According to NCAA rules, Oklahoma State student-athletes have 30 days from the date of the coaching change to enter the transfer portal, meaning more Cowboys players could still opt to transfer in the coming days and weeks before their personal portal window closes Oct. 24.

Riles is a three-star EDGE product of Port Arthur (Texas) Memorial, where he was the No. 53 EDGE, No. 80-ranked player out of Texas and the No. 559 player overall in the 2025 recruiting class, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. He picked the Cowboys over interest from Florida, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and UCF.

Riles joins a trio of Oklahoma State safeties — DeAndre Boykins, Dylan Smith and David Kabongo — to declare their intention to redshirt and likely transfer following Gundy’s ouster.

Gundy spent 21 seasons as Oklahoma State’s head football coach, amassing a 170-90 overall record and the 2011 Big 12 title. He was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year three times during his tenure and produced 18 consecutive winning seasons.

The school owes Gundy a $15 million buyout. He leaves Oklahoma State football as the program’s winningest coach of all time. In the 16 years before Gundy took over at Oklahoma State, the program had four winning seasons.

“Cowboy Football reached an unprecedented level of success and national prominence under Coach Gundy’s leadership,” Oklahoma State Athletic Director Chad Weiberg said in a statement. “I believe I speak for OSU fans everywhere when I say that we are grateful for all he did to raise the standard and show us all what is possible for Oklahoma State football.”

Oklahoma State offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Doug Meacham served as the team’s interim coach during back-to-back losses to Baylor and Arizona. The Cowboys have been outscored 86-40 since Gundy’s firing.