Cowboys ready for first NCAA Championships in David Taylor era
David Taylor and his staff have been working for next week since the moment they landed in Stillwater.
The 2025 NCAA DI wrestling championships will be March 20-22 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Brackets and seeding were announced Wednesday, and Oklahoma State will be sending an incomplete lineup for the first time since 2022.
Seven of the nine Cowboys were seeded in the top eight – the team’s most since 2017.
Wyatt Hendrickson is the top-seeded Cowboy, who is the No. 2 heavyweight for the second time in three years. The Big 12 champion is 22-0 on the season with only four matches going the distance.
Hendrickson finished third in 2023 and 2024. He is set up for a semifinal bout with Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet, the reigning national champion. Third-seeded Kerkvliet is 2-0 in his career against Hendrickson with a 4-2 decision at the 2023 nationals and an 18-2 tech fall at the 2023 NWCA All-Star Classic.
Hendrickson said he has “no worries at all” after sustaining an upper body injury in the Big 12 Championship final.
Dean Hamiti arguably has the best chance for any Cowboy to win a national championship. He is the No. 3 seed at 174 pounds behind Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) and Levi Haines (Penn State). O’Toole beat Hamiti, 7-4, in sudden victory Sunday.
A year after becoming the national runner-up, Dustin Plott will wrestle through the 184-pound bracket as the fourth seed. He said his last NCAA tournament appearance feels different.
“In years past, I had a little more anxiety or maybe a little bit more buildup,” Plott said. “This year, I’m just at peace. I’ve trained, I’ve done everything I could and I’m confident I’m going to get the result I want.”
He will likely wrestle No. 1 Carter Starocci of Penn State in the semifinals. He said he hasn’t looked at his bracket but is excited to wrestle certain matchups.
“I just got to go wrestle the guy that’s in front of me, so the bracket doesn’t really matter,” Plott said. “I’m more focused on what I need to do to wrestle at my best and display all the skills that God’s blessed me with. If I start thinking too much about the other guy, I’m shutting myself down.”
Troy Spratley and Tagen Jamison received the seventh seed at 125 and 141 pounds, respectively. They each have 20-4 records and reached the Big 12 finals.
Cameron Amine and Luke Surber are the No. 8 seeds at 165 and 197 pounds, respectively. Amine is a three-time All-American, and Surber is looking for his first All-American finish.
Caleb Fish did not want to know what seed he got, but a friend told him he is the No. 12 seed at 157 pounds.
And Teague Travis is the 33rd and last placed wrestler in the 149-pound bracket. Travis is the first Cowboy to compete in pigtails since No. 33 Wyatt Sheets in 2021, who went on to become the lowest-seeded wrestler in NCAA history to finish as an All-American.
“He’s pretty determined in what he wants to go do,” Taylor said of Travis. “This morning he had a big smile on his face. He’s just looking forward to competing.”
Reece Witcraft was the only Cowboy who did not qualify for the tournament and did not earn an at-large bid. A year after graduating a perennial national title contender in Daton Fix, OSU will not be represented at 133 pounds.
“It’s tough,” Taylor said. “In wrestling, you get to control the outcome most of the time. That’s what makes wrestling special. When you leave it in someone else’s hands, then anything can happen.”
OSU is projected to finish third and just two points shy of Iowa based on seeds.
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