Oklahoma State University Athletics
October 30, 2026 | Cowboy Wrestling
Cowboy Wrestling sets sights on first NCAA title in 20 years
May 7, 2024, doesn't seem that long ago. It's 915 days before the date of Oklahoma State's first dual of the 2026-27season. It's also the date that third-year head coach David "Magic Man" Taylor was hired and when Cowboy Wrestling began a new era. Since that moment, Taylor has built a program that has returned to the national scene and is now trying to turn that momentum into the program's first NCAA title in 20 years.
The 2025-26 squad went 15-1 on the season, winning its second straight Big 12 Championship and finishing runner-up at the NCAA Championships to mark its best team finish since 2016.
The freshmen trio of Jax Forrest, Landon Robideau and Sergio Vega hit the ground running, shocking the wrestling world by becoming the first freshmen trio to win individual championships for one team. Forrest and Vega went undefeated in their debut campaigns, with Vega not surrendering a single takedown all season.
An impressive eight Cowboys became All-Americans last season and all eight return in 2026. The aforementioned national champs join the list of Troy Spratley, Casey Swiderski, Zack Ryder, Cody Merrill and Konner Doucet as All-Americans returning to OSU for another year.
It's not just returning talent bolstering the roster as Taylor went out and got the No. 1 ranked recruiting class of 2026, according to MatScouts. The class is highlighted by U20 Silver Medalist Dreshaun Ross, the combined 11-time Kentucky state champion Raney brothers (Jordyn and Jayden), a California standout in Rocklin Zinkin, a top-10 overall recruit in Michael White and Luke Hamiti, the brother of former Cowboy national champion Dean Hamiti Jr.
Taylor didn't stop on the recruiting trail. He went to the portal to round out an already talent-plentiful roster. Starting with All-American Bennett Berge from South Dakota State, Berge loads in at 184 pounds and enters Stillwater with the most collegiate victories on the team, netting 80 wins in his time as a Jackrabbit. Sophomore Lorenzo Norman hails from Stanford and comes to OSU with more than 30 wins and an NCAA Championships berth.
For more than 900 days, the wrestling world has seen the success and heard the noise coming from Stillwater: back-to-back Big 12 titles, a runner-up finish in Cleveland and three freshman national champions. Oklahoma State Wrestling is growing at an exponential rate, landing the No. 1 ranked recruiting class, securing the nation's top transfers and returning all eight All-Americans.
The minds of Cowboy fans across the country are starting to believe, and OSU's Magic Man has every piece in place for perhaps his greatest trick yet: bringing the NCAA team title back to Stillwater for the first time in more than 20 years.
The 2025-26 squad went 15-1 on the season, winning its second straight Big 12 Championship and finishing runner-up at the NCAA Championships to mark its best team finish since 2016.
The freshmen trio of Jax Forrest, Landon Robideau and Sergio Vega hit the ground running, shocking the wrestling world by becoming the first freshmen trio to win individual championships for one team. Forrest and Vega went undefeated in their debut campaigns, with Vega not surrendering a single takedown all season.
An impressive eight Cowboys became All-Americans last season and all eight return in 2026. The aforementioned national champs join the list of Troy Spratley, Casey Swiderski, Zack Ryder, Cody Merrill and Konner Doucet as All-Americans returning to OSU for another year.
It's not just returning talent bolstering the roster as Taylor went out and got the No. 1 ranked recruiting class of 2026, according to MatScouts. The class is highlighted by U20 Silver Medalist Dreshaun Ross, the combined 11-time Kentucky state champion Raney brothers (Jordyn and Jayden), a California standout in Rocklin Zinkin, a top-10 overall recruit in Michael White and Luke Hamiti, the brother of former Cowboy national champion Dean Hamiti Jr.
Taylor didn't stop on the recruiting trail. He went to the portal to round out an already talent-plentiful roster. Starting with All-American Bennett Berge from South Dakota State, Berge loads in at 184 pounds and enters Stillwater with the most collegiate victories on the team, netting 80 wins in his time as a Jackrabbit. Sophomore Lorenzo Norman hails from Stanford and comes to OSU with more than 30 wins and an NCAA Championships berth.
For more than 900 days, the wrestling world has seen the success and heard the noise coming from Stillwater: back-to-back Big 12 titles, a runner-up finish in Cleveland and three freshman national champions. Oklahoma State Wrestling is growing at an exponential rate, landing the No. 1 ranked recruiting class, securing the nation's top transfers and returning all eight All-Americans.
The minds of Cowboy fans across the country are starting to believe, and OSU's Magic Man has every piece in place for perhaps his greatest trick yet: bringing the NCAA team title back to Stillwater for the first time in more than 20 years.
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