Oklahoma
Youth Movement Lifts Oklahoma State To Runner-Up Finish At NCAAs – FloWrestling
Uncertainty.
For an Oklahoma State program that began the season with one returning starter, there were a lot of questions about how the program would follow up its first NCAA trophy finish since 2021. However, Cowboy coach David Taylor knew one thing: His team was going to get hardened in November.
“When you start the season, and there’s just a lot of uncertainty in our lineup going from last year having a very veteran team,” Taylor said. “We talked about this all year — just having that uncertainty. I think about each one of those guys, all 10 of those guys are wrestling in the national tournament. They all just had points of difficulty throughout the year and a lot of those guys had a really tough November. We had a tough early season and we knew we needed that as a team. We needed our guys to be kind of hardened and battle-tested. And then I think at the national tournament, our guys wrestled really well. I think that this young group is just really motivated and hungry and they wrestled their best at the national tournament, which that’s the goal.”
A season that began with uncertainty quickly morphed into one filled with excitement, thanks to a few transfers, a high school phenom enrolling mid-season, and multiple freshmen entering the postseason undefeated.
The Cowboys peaked at the right time, finishing second at the NCAA Championships, and made history with three true freshmen national champions in Jax Forrest (133), Sergio Vega (141) and Landon Robideau (157). Oklahoma State also had five more All-Americans in Troy Spratley (fifth at 125), Casey Swiderski (eighth at 149), Zack Ryder (eighth at 184), Cody Merrill (second at 197) and Konner Doucet (fourth at 285).
Forrest, said the historic milestone of the freshmen is a reflection of the team and its lofty goals. “I think it just shows how we’ve got some really good coaches, we’ve got some really good guys in the room, and we’re just going to continue to keep getting better,” Forrest said. “But like what coach was saying, yeah, we won nationals, that’s awesome. But now we want to win a team title. We want to beat Penn State. We have a great foundation, but then just keep going forward, keep getting better and just trusting the coaches and win it next year.”
Underdog Now Undeniable
Sergio Vega might have been one of the biggest underdogs on the NCAA finals stage, despite going into the match undefeated on the season. That was a reflection of his opponent — two-time NCAA champion Jesse Mendez, a senior from Ohio State who spent most of the season as a Hodge Trophy contender.
Vega kicked off the trio of Cowboy champs by defeating Mendez 4-1 in sudden victory. After securing the winning takedown, Vega raised his fist, smiled and went to embrace his family, sitting matside.
“It means everything,” Vega said. “I remember telling my brother at the beginning of the year, like it’s going to be awesome when I win the nationals and run up to my family and stuff. It’s been my favorite part of watching the national tournament since I was a little kid. I just always thought it was so cool that their families were always right next to them, and then being able to experience that, there’s nothing like it I’ve experienced in my life. So, it was awesome.”
Robideau’s Redemption
Landon Robideau went into the NCAA Championships with two losses — one against Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor and another versus Arizona State’s Kaleb Larkin. To make the finals against Taylor, Robideau had to avenge a handful of losses. He had to beat Larkin, who defeated him in the Big 12 finals, and he had to beat Penn State’s PJ Duke in the semifinals, who defeated Robideau in the 2025 U.S. Open.
“I was just excited,” Robideau said. “I know a lot of people thought my spot in the bracket was tough or was going to be hard. But I said it all year — I want to wrestle the best guys and I think to prove you’re the best at the weight, you have to wrestle them. I lost to Larkin. I had to wrestle him in the quarters, and I was excited for the match. A lot of people, I think, were writing me off for (PJ) Duke, saying he’s the best guy at the weight. I get to wrestle Duke and I was excited for it. And then Antrell (Taylor), same thing — I lost to him. I knew I was going to win. But I think just having that excitement to go into the tournament, wanting to wrestle hard and just showcase my skills was the most important.”
Konner’s Curtain Call
Konner Doucet represented Oklahoma State at the NCAA Championships twice before two-time All-American Wyatt Hendrickson transferred from Air Force and took over at heavyweight for the Cowboys.
In the current state of college athletics — with the transfer portal and NIL — it would’ve been easy for Doucet to leave Oklahoma State for opportunities elsewhere. Instead, Doucet elected to stick with the Cowboys and spent a year training with Hendrickson before getting a final shot as a senior.
Doucet registered the highest bonus-point rate of his career and capped his senior season by placing fourth at the NCAA Championships.
Taylor recalled embracing Doucet after the senior earned All-America status by pinning Pitt’s Dayton Pitzer in the blood round.
“It was so awesome,” Taylor said. “You could just see that round is a very emotional round. I think from the stands, it’s emotional. When you’re watching it as a fan, it’s emotional. But being down there on the floor, last year, for the first time? I mean, the emotion of that round is like nothing else that you really kind of prepare for, probably. For him to be there and All-American, obviously, at that time, I felt like our team race was pretty competitive, for second, third place. Felt like that was a big moment for him to not only get the win, but to pin him and be an All-American, and just continuing to move forward.”
Oklahoma isn’t done yet.
The Sooners’ bats kept them in the Atlanta Regional with an emphatic showing in the Atlanta Regional on Sunday.
Deiten LaChance’s grand slam highlighted OU’s eight-run fourth inning, which turned Sunday’s contest against No. 2-overall seed Georgia Tech on its head.
Prior to the fourth, it looked as if it was going to be the Yellow Jackets’ night.
The hosts plated five runs in the third inning to take a 7-2 lead, and a call went against OU in the bottom of the third.
How to Watch Oklahoma vs. Georgia Tech in the Atlanta Regonal Final
- When: Monday, June 1
- Time: 2 p.m.
- Channel: ESPNU
Trey Gambill had snaked a single through the Georgia Tech infield to plate a run and cut the lead down with two outs, but just before the pitch was thrown, the third base umpire raised his arm to indicate there had been a pitch clock violation.
Lucky to have just gotten out of the situation with a ball, Yellow Jacket pitcher Jackson Blakely struck Gambill out, which understandably did not go over well in Oklahoma’s dugout.
The setback only galvanized Skip Johnson’s Sooners, however.
OU responded by sending 11 batters to the plate in the bottom of the fourth, and the Sooners took a 10-8 lead.
It was an advantage they never relented.
Oklahoma added an insurance run in the seventh and four more in the eighth to ensure that the Sooners would head back to the team hotel with a decisive Game 7 of the Atlanta Regional on the mind.
Johnson will have a big choice to make in who starts the do-or-die contest on Monday afternoon (2 p.m., ESPNU).
In OU’s first game against The Citadel on Sunday, Johnson rolled with freshman Nick Wesloski.
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He pitched seven innings to get the Sooners into Sunday night’s contest against Georgia Tech. Oklahoma’s big offensive showing against the Bulldogs meant that Johnson could make any choice necessary in relief, so he threw Reid Hensley and Jaden Barfield for an inning each to seal the win.
Against the Yellow Jackets, OU started Cameron Johnson. He faced just three batters, allowing two runs on two hits, before Oklahoma turned to Jackson Cleveland.
Cleveland tossed three innings in relief. OU also used two innings of Gavyn Jones and LJ Mercurius picked up a save by pitching four innings on Sunday night.
The winner between Monday’s battle will meet 15-seed Kansas in next weekend’s Super Regionals. Georgia Tech would host the Jayhawks with a win, whereas the Sooners would head to Lawrence next weekend if they are able to oust the top seed left in the NCAA Tournament.
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Brent Venables got Oklahoma back to the College Football Playoff in 2025, and while the season was a massive success, merely making the 12-team field isn’t good enough for anyone in Norman — Venables included.
The Sooners enter 2026 with something that has been missing on both sides of the ball for a few years: continuity.
OU returns its starting quarterback, John Mateer, for the first time since Dillon Gabriel started Venables’ first two seasons as head coach.
Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle is back, and while Venables lost cornerbacks coach Jay Valai to the Buffalo Bills, Venables has everyone else back on his staff and he’s the architect of the defense.
The schedule will be tough again, but expectations are high for Venables’ fifth team at Oklahoma.
Here are three areas the Sooners need to improve to get back in the national championship picture.
Run the Ball
Venables hasn’t shied away from OU’s issues running the football.
He’s put improvement in the rushing attack at the forefront all throughout the offseason, from working to sharpen the mentality of the offense to bringing in pieces like right tackle E’Marion Harris and a virtually new tight end room to help the cause.
More consistency on the ground will take pressure off Mateer’s shoulders.
It will not only allow OU to control the clock and give its defense a rest, but it will also open up the passing game downfield if the second and third levels of opposing defenses truly have to worry about bottling up the run and the pass.
The inability to run the ball was the Sooners’ most glaring issue in 2025, so there is plenty of room for improvement this fall.
Limit Mateer’s Turnovers
At times, Mateer had to do everything for OU’s offense in 2025.
There were memorable moments, but Mateer also had a handful of head-scratching mistakes.
He threw a career-high 11 interceptions a year ago, and his downturn in turnovers in November coincided with the Sooners’ employing conservative game plans.
His worst moment came in the loss to Texas, where he threw three picks, but that performance came 17 days after thumb surgery, where he clearly was unable to throw the ball downfield with real accuracy.
But he threw a pick in each of his first three games on questionable decisions, then he threw a nearly catastrophic pick against Tennessee when the Sooners were just trying to milk the clock late.
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He tossed another three picks against LSU, and the pick six he threw against Alabama helped the Crimson Tide roar all the way back after digging a 17-point hole in the College Football Playoff.
Mateer’s freewheeling nature produced incredible moments, and that will lead to risky throws. The tradeoff in those moments is usually worth it, but he can cut down on his misfires elsewhere to find a balance between pushing the envelope and taking care of the football.
Avoid the Back-breaking Special Teams Plays
Oklahoma was excellent on special teams in 2025 for the most part.
Kicker Tate Sandell won the program’s first Lou Groza Award for his incredible season, and special teams played a big role in massive victories, like Isaiah Sategna’s first punt return in Tuscaloosa that set OU’s offense up deep in Alabama territory.
But the few special teams lapses were monumental.
Texas effectively put away the Red River Showdown by returning a punt for a touchdown, though Venables correctly pointed out a key block in the back that wasn’t called that helped spring the touchdown.
But in the Cotton Bowl, the call stood, and it’s the kind of play that cannot happen when lining up against the best competition on the schedule.
Then, in the CFP, punter Grayson Miller oddly dropped the football, leading to a blocked punt. Alabama was able to take that play and start clawing its way back into the contest.
Doug Deakin has done a phenomenal job with the Sooners’ special teams units, but there are still improvements to be made in 2026.
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