Chad Weiberg on the Hiring of New Head Coach David Taylor

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State Athletics announced late Monday evening the hiring of new Cowboy wrestling head coach, David Taylor. On Tuesday afternoon, the athletic department officially put out the release with quotes from athletic director, Chad Weiberg, as well as quotes from Taylor.

"With 34 national championships, the Oklahoma State wrestling program is the most successful in the country by any metric, regardless of sport,” said Weiberg. “We began this search knowing there is no goal that is unattainable for Cowboy Wrestling. No expectations are too high," Weiberg said. "The ambitions we have for ourselves led us to the hiring of David Taylor, someone of equally high goals and ambitions.

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"We are allowed to have very high expectations here because we have elite support and so many great people across multiple generations who care deeply about Cowboy Wrestling and the sport of wrestling," Weiberg said. "While there are many to thank for their help during this process, I'd like to particularly thank Chad Richison. Without his leadership support of our program, this wouldn't be possible. Like so many others, he cares deeply about the sport of wrestling, wants to see it continue to thrive in the state of Oklahoma at all levels, and shares my belief that a strong Oklahoma State program helps assure that continues to be the case long into the future.

"Replacing a legend like John Smith is a daunting task," Weiberg added. "He has been the face of Oklahoma State wrestling nearly four decades. In many ways, David has had a similar path in becoming our head coach. I know he respects and admires John and is up to meeting the high expectations we all share for this program.  I look forward to introducing him to the Cowboy family."

Taylor is just the eighth head coach in program history, taking over the program from legendary Oklahoma State wrestler and coach, John Smith, who announced his retirement in April.

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"It's an honor to be in this position and I'm extremely grateful," Taylor said in the release. "I'm looking forward to the future of Oklahoma State wrestling. It has an unbelievable tradition and I'm excited to be part of it moving forward. I've achieved everything I have wanted in my personal career, and this is no longer about me. I am just thrilled to be in the position to help others achieve their goals, and truly make an impact in the wrestling world and on the lives around me."

As we put in our article Monday evening, our sources at Pokes Report told us several top donors and boosters to the program had suggested Taylor as a candidate. Pokes Report did confirm Oklahoma State athletics director Chad Weiberg made a trip to State College, Pa., to meet with the former Nittany Lions wrestler and Olympic and multiple World Championship Gold Medal winner.

Taylor, who just finished his freestyle wrestling career at the 2024 Olympic trials in April, was a two-time national champion at Penn State, where he finished his career as a two-time Hodge Trophy winner, just the third multi-award winner in NCAA history, a four-time Big Ten champion and with a 134-3 overall record, including 50 pins, 42 tech falls and 29 major decisions.

Following his collegiate career, Taylor went on to post a 152-21 overall record in freestyle wrestling, which included three US Open Championship gold medals, three Pan American Championship gold medals, one World Cup gold medal, three World Championship gold medals and an Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo games. 

Taylor is now the third head coach hired by Wieberg, joining women’s basketball coach Jacie Hoyt and men’s basketball coach Steve Lutz. Lots of hiring going on in Gallagher-Iba Arena.