Oklahoma State Wrestling's Future Is Bright With Incoming Wrestlers

STILLWATER – There hasn’t been this much fervor surrounding Oklahoma State wrestling in quite some time. The Cowboys are coming off their best season in several years, which featured a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships, including two individual national champs in Dean Hamiti and Wyatt Hendrickson, who also won the Hodge Trophy. 

Hendrickson won the U.S. Open a few weeks back, before dominating his way to a Pan American championship this past weekend. Hendrickson is on his way out the door for the Pokes, leaving behind one of the best heavyweight years in program history.

But even with talent on its way out the door following graduation, the future of Cowboy Wrestling is bright with the finishes of LaDarion Lockett and Jax Forrest. 

USA Wrestling

LaDarion Lockett

Lockett rolled his way to a gold medal at 74 kilograms, winning 11-0, 3-2 by disqualification and 11-0 in the finals. As for Forrest, he won the gold at 61 kgs with three-straight tech falls, 10-0, 10-0 and 11-0 in the finals at the Pan-American Championships over the weekend.

Lockett is an incoming freshman and is coming off four-straight HS titles, with his senior season at 175 pounds. He won a U17 World Championship back in 2023 and a U20 title at 74 kgs at the U.S. Open last month. 

X

Jax Forrest

As for Forrest, he’s entering his senior season with Bishop McCort in Pennsylvania, and is the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2026 class. He’s coming off a state title back in February and has had an impressive spring, winning a gold medal the US National Championships in Las Vegas in late April and capped it with a gold at the Pan-Am Championships over the weekend. 

There’s still a lot of time left before the 2026 can sign, which also includes the No. 3 overall prospect in the country, Dreshaun Ross, out of Iowa. So, there’s certainly a lot of work left to be done. But with the resurgence of the success in Stillwater behind David Taylor and Co., and influx in recruiting money, things appear to continue in the right direction.