OSU's David Taylor Named 2025 NCAA Division I Coach of the Year

Oklahoma State wrestling head coach David Taylor may have had one of the most impressive rookie coaching debuts in recent history. Taylor replaced legendary Cowboy wrestling coach John Smith, who retired after the 2023-24 season. Following in such prestigious footsteps would have been a tall ask for any coach, but David Taylor was just the man for the job.

In his first season as head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling program, Taylor guided the Pokes to a third-place finish at the NCAAs as well as coaching a pair of NCAA Champions. He won a Big 12 championship and was nearly unstoppable during the regular season. The memorable wrestling season by Taylor and the Cowboys lit the wrestling world in Oklahoma on fire.



The Pokes broke numerous attendance records this season not only under the lights of Gallagher-Iba Arena but also on the road. On Monday Taylor was named the 2025 NCAA Division I Coach of the Year by the Open Mat. Taylor is an Olympic champion and three-time world champion.

Throw in a pair of Hodge trophies and Taylor's resume spoke for itself. All he was missing was the coaching credentials, and he got a stellar start in 2024-25. The Cowboys opened the season on the road with victories over Oregon State and Wyoming.

His first home victory came in week three when the Cowboys took down Arizona State. They closed out the year with a team victory at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, college wrestling's most prestigious regular season tournament. Oklahoma State fell to Iowa by a score of 21-16 to close out the season with an impressive 13-1 dual meet record.

Oklahoma State had a home attendance average of 7,597, marking the program's highest single-season amount on record and a nearly 30% increase from its 2024 average. Taylor led Oklahoma State to a title at the 2025 Big 12 Wrestling Championships, becoming only the second first-year head coach to lead a team to a Big 12 title. Two weeks later, Oklahoma State captured a team trophy at the 2025 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships with a third-place finish in Philadelphia.

Three Cowboys reached the NCAA finals, with two winning national titles: Dean Hamiti (174) and Wyatt Hendrickson (285). Six Oklahoma State wrestlers earned All-America honors. Wyatt Hendrickson became the third Oklahoma State wrestler ever to win a Dan Hodge Trophy, which is awarded to the nation's top NCAA Division I wrestler.

Hendrickson stunned Olympic champion Gable Steveson of Minnesota in the NCAA finals at 285 pounds. Despite a season for the ages, Taylor hasn't slowed down with making the Cowboys a true National Title contender moving forward. He landed the No.

2 recruiting class in 2025, and his 2026 recruiting class is on the verge of being ranked No. 1. He has added some monsters of the wrestling world to the Cowboys' RTC and was easily the best choice for Coach of the Year.

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