The Oklahoma State wrestling team advanced four freshmen to the finals of the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 20, placing second in team standings with one day left at the event in Cleveland. The Cowboys’ 111.5 points trail Penn State by 41.5 and lead Nebraska by 21.
This achievement marks the first time in program history that more than two freshmen have reached the NCAA finals for Oklahoma State. Previously, only pairs of freshmen made it this far, in 1946 and 1947. Before this year, just eleven OSU freshmen had been finalists, with none since 2021.
Head coach David Taylor said, “These guys are driven. I think what I liked most today was that not one of them celebrated about their win. These guys want to be national champions. That’s what they talk about, and that’s what they live their life around. It’s a hard thing to do as a kid, because it’s easy to be excited that they’re going to the finals, but that’s not how they are. We have an awesome group of kids. We had nine new starters this year, almost a brand-new group. It’s been an awesome ride. So, today was a good day, but tomorrow’s going to be a tough day too.”
The Cowboy finalists include true freshmen Jax Forrest (133 pounds), Sergio Vega (141 pounds), Landon Robideau (157 pounds), and redshirt freshman Cody Merrill (197 pounds). Forrest secured his spot with a major decision over Aaron Seidel of Virginia Tech and said, “It’s a dream come true… Now, not only doing this a lot earlier than I expected, but getting to do it with this team has been awesome.” Vega remained undefeated after defeating Brock Hardy from Nebraska and said he now truly believes he can win at this level.
Robideau upset top-seeded PJ Duke from Penn State while Merrill defeated Stephen Little from Little Rock in tiebreakers for their places in the finals. Robideau said he was motivated by doubters: “I heard people writing me off, and I love that… That wasn’t the finals, so I’m not satisfied.” Merrill added that his goal remains unchanged: “That’s to take it match by match and refuse to be denied.”
Oklahoma State also produced eight All-Americans for the first time since 2017—matching its school record—and increased its all-time total to 500 All-America honors.
The championships conclude Saturday at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.