Pictured: A sold out Gallagher-Iba Arena on the campus of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in 2017 for a wrestling dual with Penn State. Image courtesy of the Pistols Firing Blog (@pistolsguys).
Beat the Streets NYC communications coordinator Brandon Cain (@brandonmcain) contributed to this story.
News broke earlier this week regarding the firing of Andrew Howe (Associate Head Coach) and Jimmy Kennedy (Assistant Coach) for not getting the COVID-19 vaccine by October 1, per university requirements.
Without Kennedy on staff, standout Class of 2021 recruit, Carter Young, a three-time OSSAA state champion with a 124-5 overall high school record, decided to transfer home to Stillwater to wrestle for John Smith and the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Most recently, Young also stormed to a third-place finish at 61-kg at the Senior World Team Trials in Lincoln, Nebraska, earlier this month to earn a spot on the Senior World Team.
Young's transfer prompted the staff at The Open Mat to create an early starting lineup projection for the John Smith-led Cowboys heading into 2021-22.
The 2020-21 Oklahoma State Cowboys Highlights
2020 record: 10-0
2020 tournament: T1st at Big 12, 3rd at NCAA
Best Win: No. 13 Iowa State 16-15. Recap. Oklahoma twice: 24-10 (Recap) and 24-16 (Recap).
Oklahoma State, the winningest program in collegiate wrestling, is still searching for its first NCAA title since 2006. The Cowboys, who have won 34 team championships, took third this past season for their best finish since 2016 and 2013 when they took second to Penn State both times.
OSU coach John Smith entered a bit of a rebuilding year last season in 2021, with three true freshmen as regular competitors in Trevor Mastrogiovanni, Dustin Plott, and AJ Ferrari. All three were NCAA qualifiers, and Ferrari won the 197-pound NCAA title for OSU's first individual title since Dean Heil in 2017.
The Cowboys will have nine of their 10 starters back for the 2021-22 season, including two-time NCAA finalist and 2021 World Team member Daton Fix. OSU will need to fill 141, with multi-time All-American Boo Lewallen lost to graduation. Impact-transfer Young likely fills that void left at 141.
The Projected Starting Lineup
125: Trevor Mastrogiovanni (15-6)
Best Win: No. 11 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan), 6-0.
Mastrogiovanni will look to improve upon his true freshman season that saw him qualify for the NCAA tournament. He earned the No. 21 seed and picked up two wins at the big dance, including a shutout upset against No. 11 Dylan Ragusin of Michigan.
133: Daton Fix (13-1)
Best Win: No. 3 Austin DeSanto, 3-2, No. 10 Chris Cannon (Northwestern, 12-4.
Fix, a two-time NCAA finalist and two-time Big 12 champion, hopes the third time will be the charm. He hasn't had an entire NCAA season since his freshman campaign when he lost in the NCAA final in sudden-victory to Nick Suriano of Rutgers. Fix took an Olympic redshirt for the 2019-20 season, then served a USADA doping suspension until February this past season. Fix earned the No. 1 seed for the national tournament and again fell in the final in sudden-victory, this time to Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State.
Currently, Fix's focus is squarely on freestyle as he will be representing the USA in Oslo, Norway, at the 2021 World Championships next month. Daton earned the 61-kg spot for Team USA after a stellar 5-0 showing en route to a Team Trials title earlier this month in a load g1-kg field. Following Oslo, Fix will return to Stillwater and shift gears back to Folkstyle for NCAA action. In 2021, Daton earned 11 of his 13 wins with bonus points.
141: Dusty Hone (7-4) or Carter or Young (True Freshman)
Best Hone Win: Jeffrey Boyd (West Virginia), 4-2
Hone isn't done yet. The 2020 NCAA qualifier will be back after accepting an extra year of eligibility from the NCAA's COVID-19 waiver. In 2021, he only competed in 10 matches before he sustained an injury in the Cowboy Challenge final against Josh Edmond of Missouri. Cowboys coach John Smith opted to have Kaden Gfeller, a 2019 NCAA qualifier at 149 pounds, cut down to 141. Gfeller ultimately placed eighth at 141 at the Big 12 tournament.
Young could get the nod at 141 as a true freshman for the Cowboys. He boasts a 124-5 high school record and is a three-time high school state champion. Young is a great last-minute transfer pickup for John Smith and company. The former Wildcat has the potential to be an instant-impact starter for the Cowboys as a true freshman in 2021-22.
149: Kaden Gfeller OR Victor Voinovich
Best Win: Jeffrey Boyd (West Virginia), 12-3.
Boo Lewallen, a three-time All-American, decided not to use his extra year of eligibility and will not return. Gfeller is expected to compete against true freshman Victor Voinovich for the starting spot. In June, Voinovich, a two-time Ohio state champion, competed for the Serbian National Team at the Junior European Championships. The Ohioan is also a Top-10 recruit in the Class of 2021. Due to experience, Gfeller seems like the natural choice here, while Voinovich probably redshirts. Depending on how 141 shakes out, Hone could be an option, too.
157: Wyatt Sheets (11-9)
Best Win: No. 22 Justin McCoy (Virginia), 6-2.
After an incredible postseason run, one that saw him become an All-American as the No. 33 seed, Wyatt Sheets is back . He did not receive an at-large bid then received the No. 33 seed when Justin Ruffin of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville withdrew. Sheets went 5-3 in the tournament to earn All-American status for the first time in his career.
Sheets accomplished the feat while competing on a torn ACL in his left knee, which he was scheduled to have surgery on the Saturday of the NCAA tournament. If Sheets' return is delayed because of his recovery, Indiana transfer Joey Sanchez or true freshman Travis Mastrogiovanni, younger brother of Travis, could be options.
165: Travis Wittlake (22-3)
Best Win: No. 7 Ethan Smith (Ohio State), 7-4.
Wittlake, a two-time All-American and 2020 Big 12 champion, will look to be on the podium for a third straight season. As a true freshman, he was the No. 4 seed before the NCAA tournament was canceled, then took fourth in 2021, defeating six ranked opponents on the season. He'll once again be the Big 12 favorite at the weight and a national title contender.
174: Dustin Plott (15-6)
Best Win: Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa), 8-5), Fitz Thomas (Appalachian State), 7-5.
Plott found his spot in the OSU lineup as a true freshman in 2021. He began his season by rattling off 10 straight wins. He took fourth place at the Big 12 tournament and earned the No. 18 seed for the NCAA tournament, where he went 1-2. Plott is expected to be part of the Cowboys' young core building toward national team title contention.
Plott showed flashes of brilliance, but injuries severely hampered the back half of his rookie season. Hopefully, he returns healthy this season.
184: Dakota Greer (21-5)
Best Win: No. Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech), 7-5
Three-time All-American Dakota Geer, who placed fifth in 2021 and seventh in 2019, has decided to return for the rare sixth college season.
In 2021, Greer added another 21 wins to his resume en route to a podium finish. With that, Greer now has over 120 wins on his college resume, including his time at Edinboro before arriving in Stillwater.
His return to the college mat adds some much-needed veteran depth to the starting lineup.
197: AJ Ferrari (20-1)
Best Win: No. Myles Anime (Michigan), 5-1. No. 4 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt), 4-2. No. 3 Jacob Warner (Iowa), 13-4.
The champ is here.
Ferrari set the collegiate wrestling scene into a buzz with his run to become the third freshman in OSU history to win an NCAA title. His lone loss came in dual action with a 3-2 defeat to then-No. 1-ranked Noah Adams of West Virginia.
But Ferrari isn't a lock to repeat at 197 as a sophomore. Ferrari will have to contend with former NCAA finalists Nino Bonaccorsi (197 in 2021). Max Dean (184 in2019), and previous All-Americans Jacob Warner (Iowa), Rocky Elam (Missouri), Jake Woodley (Oklahoma), Ben Darmstadt (Cornell), Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming), and others.
Oh, and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Myles Amine will be in the mix during his final season of eligibility with the Wolverines in 2021-22.
This season, 197 pounds may be the nation's most compelling weight class alongside 174 pounds.
285: Austin Harris (12-8)
Best Win: No. 3 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan), 7-4, No. 11 seed Zach Elam of Missouri, Win by Fall.
Harris, who started his career at 174 and 184, is an undersized heavyweight that showed tremendous growth in 2021. He came one win shy of All-American status in 2021. Still, as the No. 29 seed, Harris earned ranked wins over No. 3 seed Matt Stencel of Central Michigan and No. 11 seed Zach Elam of Missouri.
Harris will be OSU's starter at heavyweight unless Ferrari moves up (which is unlikely). Konner Doucet, who Harris beat at the Cowboy Challenge Tournament, will provide depth at the weight.
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