Cowboys Set for NCAA Championships in Philadelphia

Thursday, March 20

Philadelphia, Pa.

All Day

Oklahoma State University

NCAA Championships

Photo by: OSU Athletics

March 17, 2025 | Cowboy Wrestling

Notes Brackets

The Basics
The No. 3 Oklahoma State wrestling team (13-1 overall; 9-0 Big 12) closes the 2025 season this weekend at the NCAA Championships, which run from March 20-22 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Fresh off a dramatic team title at the Big 12 Championships, Oklahoma State is a serious threat for some more hardware with nine national qualifiers and seven wrestlers seeded in the top eight at their respective weights.

On the Air
The entire NCAA Championships will be broadcast through ESPN's family of networks. Each of the three morning sessions can be seen on ESPNU with a crew of Shawn Kenney, Rock Harrison, Tim Johnson and Quint Kessenich. Sessions 2 and 6 are scheduled to air on ESPN, while Friday night's session will be televised on ESPN2. Mike Couzens, Jordan Burroughs and Kessenich will be on the call for all three evening sessions and will be joined by Harrison on Thursday and Daniel Cormier the following two nights. Additionally, Shane Sparks and Trent Hidlay are providing MatCast coverage on ESPN+ until the championship round. Rex Holt also returns as the voice of Cowboy wrestling to provide live radio coverage, which will be carried on Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM all weekend long. Live results and brackets can be found on trackwrestling.com.

Championship Schedule
The NCAA Championships are divided into six sessions over a three-day span. Each day will consist of a morning and evening session. A look at the full schedule (all times CT):

Thursday, March 20
Session 1: Preliminary & First Rounds – 11 a.m. on ESPNU (Eight Mats)
Session 2: Second Round, Consolation First Round – 6 p.m. on ESPN (Eight Mats)

Friday, March 21
Session 3: Quarterfinals, Consolation Second & Third Rounds – 11 a.m. on ESPNU (Eight Mats)
Session 4: Semifinals, Consolation Fourth & Fifth Rounds – 7 p.m. on ESPN2 (Six Mats)

Saturday, March 22
Session 5: Consolation Semifinals, Placement Matches – 10 a.m. on ESPNU (Four Mats)
Session 6: Championship Matches – 6 p.m. on ESPN (One Mat)

About the Cowboys
The 2024 offseason sparked a new era for Oklahoma State as longtime head coach John Smith announced his retirement and wrestling legend David Taylor was hired as the eighth head coach in program history. That momentum has continued to soar following OSU's 13-1 run through the dual schedule and first Big 12 tournament title since 2021, which was accomplished through 153.5 team points, six finalists and one individual champion. The Cowboys impressed all throughout the regular season as well, taking down 10 ranked teams and spending much of the spring semester at the No. 2 spot in the NWCA Coaches Poll. Currently combining for the program's best bonus rate since 1934 at 45.6%, the Cowboy lineup features nine national qualifiers, seven of which were seeded in the top eight, giving it all the pieces necessary to contend for a team trophy this weekend.

Leading the charge is returning national finalist Dustin Plott, who is on the hunt to become the 16th four-time All-American in program history. He owns an 18-4 record this season and beat Oklahoma's DJ Parker back in December to become the 46th Cowboy with 100 career victories. Newcomers Dean Hamiti Jr. and Wyatt Hendrickson have both made an immediate impact in their first year as Cowboys and are slated as top-three seeds this weekend. They have combined for a 44-1 record thus far and are widely considered two of the biggest bonus-point threats in the entire country. At the Big 12 Championships, Hendrickson came through in the final match of the tournament by winning his third career conference crown and cementing the team title for OSU. In the lighter weights, Troy Spratley and Tagen Jamison have also formed a formidable duo as the No. 7 seeds at 125 and 141 pounds, respectively, and each own several marquee wins within their fields.

The rest of the Cowboy lineup is balanced out by several proven veterans who have each qualified for the national tournament multiple times. One of the main stories of the year has come at 197 pounds, where Luke Surber's had a bounce-back season and is tied for the team lead in wins with a 22-3 record. He garnered the eighth seed at his weight, just like 165-pounder Cameron Amine, who is 16-7 on the year despite facing 17 national qualifiers. Caleb Fish, the No. 12 seed at 157 pounds, also brings a wealth of experience having wrestled 147 matches in his career, by far the most on the team. After missing most of the season due to injury, Teague Travis made his return at the Big 12 Championships and placed fourth at 149 pounds to secure the conference's final automatic bid.

Seeds and Matchups
125: No. 7 Troy Spratley vs. No. 26 Keyveon Roller (UVA)
141: No. 7 Tagen Jamison vs. No. 26 Eligh Rivera (PRIN)
149: No. 33 Teague Travis vs. No. 32 Wynton Denkins (CAMP)*
157: No. 12 Caleb Fish vs. No. 21 Logan Rozynski (LEH)
165: No. 8 Cameron Amine vs. No. 25 Nick Hamilton (UVA)
174: No. 3 Dean Hamiti Jr. vs. No. 30 Avery Bassett (LH)
184: No. 4 Dustin Plott vs. No. 29 Kole Mulhauser (PRIN)
197: No. 8 Luke Surber vs. No. 25 Patrick Brophy (CIT)
HWT: No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson vs. No. 31 Max Vanadia (MSU)
*Preliminary round

At the NCAA Championships
No program in college sports represents tradition quite like Oklahoma State wrestling, which boasts 34 team national titles, 143 individual champions and 486 All-Americans. The legacy began with Ed Gallagher, who guided the Cowboys to 11 of the first 13 NCAA titles ever awarded. Art Griffith and Myron Roderick then helped capture 15 more championships over the next 26 tournaments, while John Smith's legendary career was highlighted by four consecutive titles from 2003-06 and an NCAA-record five individual champions in 2005.

Consistency is Key
With nine wrestlers headed to Philadelphia this weekend, Oklahoma State is joined by Virginia Tech and Penn State as the only programs to secure 29 national qualifiers over the last three seasons. That consistency throughout the lineup has been a constant over the years in Stillwater, having qualified at least nine wrestlers in 16 of the last 17 seasons and at least eight every year since 1993.

Can't Teach Experience
The Cowboy lineup is one of the most experienced groups in the nation, possessing six seniors who have all competed in over 100 career matches and will exhaust their eligibility this weekend. Four members of that group have surpassed the century mark in wins alone. In addition, all nine Cowboy wrestlers headed to Philadelphia have qualified for the national tournament at least once. Headlining the group is longtime starter Dustin Plott, who has found the podium three times and made the 184-pound finals last season. Cameron Amine also earned All-America honors three times throughout his career at Michigan, while Wyatt Hendrickson and Dean Hamiti Jr. are both two-time placewinners at the NCAA Championships. Two other Cowboys have reached the blood round in Troy Spratley and Caleb Fish, and this weekend's lineup doesn't even include Reece Witcraft, Carter Young, Konner Doucet or Brayden Thompson, who've contributed seven NCAA qualifying seasons between them.

Big 12 Champions Once Again
Last weekend, Oklahoma State claimed the 56th overall conference championship in program history and first since 2021 as it scored 153.5 team points to edge out second-place Northern Iowa by four. That point total ranks fourth-most in tournament history and was aided by six finalists and nine top-five placers. OSU has now won 20 of the 29 Big 12 tournament trophies ever awarded, as well as both regular season titles in 2012 and 2013. With the victory, David Taylor became the second coach in Big 12 history to win a team title in his first season as head coach, joining Cael Sanderson who won with Iowa State in 2007.

Constant Attack
All season long, the Cowboys have been consistent in their offensive attack. With that mindset, OSU wrestlers have combined for 162 bonus-point wins in 355 total bouts*, good for a 45.6% bonus rate. If the season ended today, that would be the program's highest mark in over 90 years.
*Does not include unattached matches

Year                Bonus %        Total Matches
1. 1933-34      48.1                77
- 2024-25       45.6                355
2. 1983-84      44.7                351
3. 2023-24      43.6                598
4. 2018-19 42.6                605
5. 2000-01 42.0                605