Penn State Wrestling Legend David Taylor Named Head Coach at Oklahoma State

Penn State wrestling great and Centre County resident David Taylor has been named the next head wrestling coach at Oklahoma State.

The Cowboys announced the hire Monday night on social media after reports surfaced over the weekend that Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg flew to State College to pitch the job to Taylor.

"Forever grateful for my Penn State family, I am looking forward to this new chapter with @CowboyWrestling @OSUAthletics," Taylor wrote on X, formerly Twitter, late Monday night. He also changed his X user name from @magicman_psu to @magicman_osu.

The 33-year-old Taylor will succeed the legendary John Smith, who led the Cowboys to five NCAA team championships and 33 individual titles during his 33-year tenure before retiring at the end of the 2023-24 season. Oklahoma State finished 10th at the NCAA Championships in March.

Before becoming a three-time world champion and 2020 Olympic gold medalist, Taylor put together a stellar collegiate career as one of the most decorated wrestlers in Penn State history. After redshirting in 2009-10, Taylor won two NCAA titles, appearing in four national finals, two Hodge Trophies as the nation's best wrestler and four Big Ten championships.

He finished his Penn State career with a record of 134-3, with 50 pins, 42 technical falls and 29 major decisions.

Following his graduation in 2014, Taylor put down roots in Centre County as he soared to the heights of international wrestling.

In addition to training with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, he established the highly regarded M2 Training Center in Pleasant Gap, where current Nittany Lion wrestlers Levi Haines and Tyler Kasak trained before starting at Penn State. He and his wife, Kendra, also own K2 Roots juice shop in downtown State College, appeared to be working on another downtown business venture and, last summer, purchased a 9-acre farm in Penns Valley.

Taylor fell to fellow former Nittany Lion Aaron Brooks in the best-of-three 86kg final at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last month at the Bryce Jordan Center, a loss that apparently opened the door to a seismic hire in the world of college wrestling.

The post Penn State Wrestling Legend David Taylor Named Head Coach at Oklahoma State appeared first on StateCollege.com .