No. 2 Recruiting Class Ready to Wrestle

STILLWATER, Okla. - Recruiting is an essential piece to maintaining the greatest dynasty in American sports.

Oklahoma State's 2015 recruiting class ranks second in the nation according to InterMat, FloWrestling, Amateur Wrestling News and DICollegeWrestling.

This is the second consecutive year that OSU has brought in the No. 2 class. It is also the third time in the last seven years the Cowboys' freshman class have been ranked in the top two.

The expectations are high for this class as the seven wrestlers signed by OSU combined to win 21 high school state championships. They all know that their high school success means nothing at the college level though.

"I feel like you start over," Nick Piccininni said. "As soon as you step on the mat it's all about what you do there. If you prove yourself, good. If you don't, well then none of that matters. You're not going to be remembered for what you did in high school."

Piccininni, who is originally from East Setauket, N.Y., became the second Long Island wrestler to win four state championships. When it came time to decide what school he would attend, Piccininni had to make a choice between staying home or pursuing his goals.

"You have to sacrifice things," Piccininni said. "I'm trying to get better and be a national champion and the best I can, so if I have to leave New York to do that, then that's what it is going to take."

Two other incoming recruits are from out-of-state as well.

Lincoln Olson is from Linwood, Mich., and like Piccininni, is a four-time high school state champion, but is excited to now be a part of such a historic program.

"It's a big step," Olson said. "At my high school, I was the best kid there, but here I'm surrounded by all of these good wrestlers and I feel like it just sets the bar a lot higher and expectations are a lot higher too."

The third out-of-state recruit, Andrew Marsden, already has a connection to the Cowboy wrestling team. His brother, Austin, is an All-American heavyweight for OSU.

"He can teach me the little things so I don't get yelled at," Andrew said.

Andrew has certain goals that he hopes to achieve during his first season as a Cowboy wrestler.

Marsden said he wants to "try to take Austin down a few times, get as high as I can at tournaments and show (coach) John Smith that I can do this."

The Marsden brothers don't have the only interesting Cowboy wrestling connection. Incoming recruits Kaid Brock, Tristan Moran and Joe Smith all competed at Stillwater High School where they won the 2014 Oklahoma 6A team state championship with current Cowboy, Chandler Rogers.

Moran said, "It's great being with Chandler Rogers again and we're just trying to make it happen again, just on a bigger scale this time."

Joe Smith's connection to the team is deeper than most, as his new head coach just so happens to also be his father. Growing up the son of a wrestling coach has had a positive impact on his career.

"I think of it as a bonus because I have connections with the coaching staff," Smith said. "They can relate to me a little more. They don't have to worry about offending me and they can push me as hard as they want."

The No. 2 ranked class has fans, as well as the wrestlers themselves, excited about the upcoming season, but Brock knows that a ranking doesn't mean success is guaranteed.

Brock said "It feels good, but it's still just a ranking. Eventually we have to go out there and prove it."

The Cowboys will open its season when they wrestle Iowa in Kinnick Stadium on November 14th. The match, tabbed as "Grapple on the Gridiron," will be the first time in NCAA history that two NCAA wrestling teams will compete in a Division 1 football stadium.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Kaid Brock

Andrew Marsden

Tristan Moran

Lincoln Olson

Nick Piccininni

Chandler Rogers

Joe Smith

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