For the first time in 33 years, Cowboy Wrestling will have a new head.
Oklahoma State University announced late Monday night that it will hire David Taylor as the seventh wrestling coach in program history. Taylor, 33, will replace legendary Cowboy wrestler and coach John Smith. John Smith retired in April after a 33-year coaching career during which he led OSU to five national titles and led the program with two championships.
Welcome to Stillwater, Head Coach David Taylor. Let's do some magic!#gopoke pic.twitter.com/PEFPkuRzRL
— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling) May 7, 2024
Taylor, known as the Magic Man, is one of the most decorated wrestlers in Penn State and U.S. history. He won the gold medal in the 86 kg category at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics 2021. He defeated defending Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani in the final to win the gold medal. Overall, Taylor has won four world championships since 2018, including an Olympic gold medal. However, Aaron Brooks defeated Taylor in the finals of the U.S. Olympic Trials last month, missing out on qualifying for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
Prior to his international career, Taylor won two NCAA individual titles at Penn State in 2012 and 2014 and also won the Dan Hodge Trophy twice. He ended his collegiate career in 2014 by defeating OSU's Tyler Caldwell 6-0 in the 165-pound championship match. Taylor was a four-time NCAA finalist and four-time Big Ten champion. The Nittany Lions also won the national championship each season Taylor played. Taylor was 134-3 in college.
Although Taylor has an impressive resume on the mat, he still doesn't have much coaching experience. But when he took over OSU in 1991, Smith was just 26 years old and had little experience as a coach. Since graduation, Taylor has remained at State University, training with the Nittany Lions Wrestling Club and assisting Cael Sanderson's staff. Taylor also has a well-known brand in the new era of college sports with NIL and transfers. He signed with Adidas in 2015 and developed his own line of wrestling apparel, called M2, which includes wrestling shoes. Mr. Smith also had his own shoes. Taylor also founded the M2 Training Center, a successful training facility in Pennsylvania that has produced some of the nation's top young talent under Taylor.
However, Taylor's appointment will come as a surprise to many, as interim head coach and OSU graduate Coleman Scott was widely expected to be hired. Scott left his position as head coach at the University of North Carolina in August to become associate head coach under Smith at OSU. This move to leave the Power Five job and take an assistant role led many to speculate that Scott plans to be Smith's successor. However, it was not announced publicly by either.