Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Wrestling Signs Seven in Class of 2023
November 11, 2022 | Cowboy Wrestling
STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State wrestling program signed seven wrestlers in the 2023 class during the early signing period on Wednesday. The class includes the nation's No. 1 pound-for-pound wrestler Christian Carroll and top 182-pounder Brayden Thompson.
In addition to Carroll and Thompson, the class is made up of five in-state recruits, including Cael Hughes, Sam Smith and AJ Heeg from Stillwater, and Bixby's Jersey Robb and Jayce Caviness.
Carroll was a late grab for Oklahoma State, having flipped his commitment from Penn to OSU on Monday. A projected heavyweight for the Cowboys, he is a two-time Super 32 champion, 2021 junior freestyle national champion and was recently a member of the United States U20 Greco-Roman World Team that competed in Bulgaria this summer. A native of Elkhart, Indiana, Carroll is the top ranked senior in the senior class.
Coming from Lockport, Illinois, Thompson is ranked the No. 3 pound-for-pound wrestler in the class by FloWrestling and is the top recruit at 182 pounds. He committed to OSU in March shortly after he capped off a 45-0 junior season with an Illinois state title. This summer, Thompson won the Junior World Team Trials to earn the U20 World Team spot at 79 kg.
Hughes is ranked No. 22 on FloWrestling's Class of 2023 Big Board and No. 3 at 132 pounds. A 2019 Fargo champion in freestyle and finalist in Greco-Roman at the cadet level, Hughes is projected to be a lighter weight when he arrives at Oklahoma State. He heads into his senior season at Stillwater holding a 98-0 record as a Pioneer and looking to become the first four-time state champion for the school since Chris Perry.
Now a teammate of Hughes at Stillwater, Heeg committed to Oklahoma State in October following a visit to Stillwater shortly after decommitting from OU. He was a two-time state champion as a sophomore and junior at Edmond Memorial High School before transferring to Stillwater prior to this school year. The seventh-ranked 182-pounder by FloWrestling, Heeg is No. 32 overall on its Big Board and was a junior national finalist at Fargo this summer.
To complete the trio of Pioneers who will move from Stillwater High to Oklahoma State is Sam Smith, son of head coach John Smith. He won a 6A Oklahoma state championship at 106 pounds as a sophomore and placed second at 120 pounds in 2022.
The longest-tenured commit of the 2023 class for Oklahoma State is Bixby's Jersey Robb who gave his verbal commitment in November of 2021 and signed his NLI on Wednesday. Robb, a two-time state champion at 195 pounds, is projected to be a 197-pounder or heavyweight for the Cowboys. He is No. 53 on Willie Saylor's 2023 Big Board and is listed as the No. 13 195-pounder by FloWrestling. Robb is also a standout on Bixby's football team, which is ranked second in the state of Oklahoma.
Rounding out the class is Jayce Caviness who will wrestle his senior season at Bixby as a teammate of Robb. He was a 4A state champion for Stilwell High School last year at 126 pounds. He also placed second as a freshman at 106 pounds in 2020 and sophomore at 120 pounds in 2021.
In addition to Carroll and Thompson, the class is made up of five in-state recruits, including Cael Hughes, Sam Smith and AJ Heeg from Stillwater, and Bixby's Jersey Robb and Jayce Caviness.
Carroll was a late grab for Oklahoma State, having flipped his commitment from Penn to OSU on Monday. A projected heavyweight for the Cowboys, he is a two-time Super 32 champion, 2021 junior freestyle national champion and was recently a member of the United States U20 Greco-Roman World Team that competed in Bulgaria this summer. A native of Elkhart, Indiana, Carroll is the top ranked senior in the senior class.
Coming from Lockport, Illinois, Thompson is ranked the No. 3 pound-for-pound wrestler in the class by FloWrestling and is the top recruit at 182 pounds. He committed to OSU in March shortly after he capped off a 45-0 junior season with an Illinois state title. This summer, Thompson won the Junior World Team Trials to earn the U20 World Team spot at 79 kg.
Hughes is ranked No. 22 on FloWrestling's Class of 2023 Big Board and No. 3 at 132 pounds. A 2019 Fargo champion in freestyle and finalist in Greco-Roman at the cadet level, Hughes is projected to be a lighter weight when he arrives at Oklahoma State. He heads into his senior season at Stillwater holding a 98-0 record as a Pioneer and looking to become the first four-time state champion for the school since Chris Perry.
Now a teammate of Hughes at Stillwater, Heeg committed to Oklahoma State in October following a visit to Stillwater shortly after decommitting from OU. He was a two-time state champion as a sophomore and junior at Edmond Memorial High School before transferring to Stillwater prior to this school year. The seventh-ranked 182-pounder by FloWrestling, Heeg is No. 32 overall on its Big Board and was a junior national finalist at Fargo this summer.
To complete the trio of Pioneers who will move from Stillwater High to Oklahoma State is Sam Smith, son of head coach John Smith. He won a 6A Oklahoma state championship at 106 pounds as a sophomore and placed second at 120 pounds in 2022.
The longest-tenured commit of the 2023 class for Oklahoma State is Bixby's Jersey Robb who gave his verbal commitment in November of 2021 and signed his NLI on Wednesday. Robb, a two-time state champion at 195 pounds, is projected to be a 197-pounder or heavyweight for the Cowboys. He is No. 53 on Willie Saylor's 2023 Big Board and is listed as the No. 13 195-pounder by FloWrestling. Robb is also a standout on Bixby's football team, which is ranked second in the state of Oklahoma.
Rounding out the class is Jayce Caviness who will wrestle his senior season at Bixby as a teammate of Robb. He was a 4A state champion for Stilwell High School last year at 126 pounds. He also placed second as a freshman at 106 pounds in 2020 and sophomore at 120 pounds in 2021.
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