Cowboy Wrestling: Assistant Coach Thomas Gilman Leaving OSU for Nittany Lion Wrestling Club

Word started to get out early this week that there might be a bit of a shakeup on David Taylor’s staff, and that was confirmed Thursday morning.

Thomas Gilman is set to leave Oklahoma State after one year in Stillwater to go coach at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club in State College. Gilman went on the BaschAMania podcast with Justin Basch to discuss the move. It’s about an hourlong interview that’s well worth the watch if you’re interested.

“The decision in the first place (to go to Oklahoma State), I’m not saying it was the wrong decision, I’m just saying the state of mind I was in when making the decision probably wasn’t a good headspace,” Gilman said. “It was fast. That’s probably the genesis of everything. Right when we got down here, it seemed like there was issues. Were they with me? Were they with the staff? I think that everybody’s at fault. I’m not gonna point fingers. I’ll put the blame on me for the most part, but also I’m gonna make people take accountability for their actions, so I think it was mutual. …

“No hard feelings, really — I don’t think — on either side. You can have a disagreement and move on and still be fine.”

Gilman wrestled at Iowa as a collegiate. He was a three-time All-American for the Hawkeyes and won a Big Ten title in 2017 at 125 pounds. He finished third at nationals that year and finished second the year before.

He trained at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club after his college career and continued to have success. He won gold at the 2021 World Championships and silver the next year. He made the U.S. Olympic team in 2020, taking home bronze in Tokyo. He also won gold at the Pan American Championships in 2022 and 2023.

In the interview, Gilman didn’t close the door on returning to the mat as a competitor moving forward.