Five Oklahoma State Wrestlers in Top 10 of Intermat’s Initial Rankings

Year 2 of the David Taylor era of Oklahoma State wrestling is nearly here, as last week Intermat released its initial rankings for the upcoming season.

Nine of the 10 weights had an Oklahoma State wrestler in the rankings with five Cowboys coming within the top 10. Here’s a quick look weight-by-weight at where Cowboys fell with notes on each weight below.

125 –Troy Spratley, No. 2
133 — Richie Figueroa, No. 11
141 — Cael Hughes, No. 21
149 — Tagen Jamison, No. 6
157 — Teague Travis, No. 17
165 — No Cowboy ranked
174 — Alex Facundo, No. 16
184 — Zack Ryder, No. 7
197 — Cody Merrill, No. 10
HWT — Konner Doucet, No. 10

125: Spratley enters this ranking where he finished last season — the national runner-up. Now a redshirt junior, Spratley went 24-5 last season beating five top-five opponents.

133: After winning a national title at 125 pounds in 2024 at Arizona State, Figueroa went 17-4 last season at 125 before transferring to OSU with the assumption he’ll bump up to 133. He could have some competition for the spot with guys like Rin Sakamoto or JJ McComas, but Figueroa has proven when he is on, he is among the best lower-weight wrestlers in the country.

141: Hughes started five of the Cowboys’ duals at 133 last season, yo-yoing the weight with Reece Witcraft. He was big for the weight, as he spent the majority of his redshirt year in 2023-24 at 141 pounds. Hughes was 8-1 last season, including pinning two-time All-American Kai Orine. There could be some competition here, too. For starters, Tagen Jamison has started at this weight the past two seasons, but there’s a wonder if Jamison could make 141 for another year. OSU also has a stacked class of freshmen. Could a guy like Sergio Vega push Hughes here?

149: Jamison went 23-6 at 141 last season, finishing second at Big 12s and was a win away from being an All-American. This will be a spot of intrigue, as Casey Swiderski transferred in from Iowa State this offseason. Swiderski was an All-American at 149 in 2024 but missed last season with an injury.

157: Travis was a warrior’s warrior last year. He suffered an injury in the second dual of the season that kept him out until the Big 12 Tournament. There, he cut down to 149 and earned an automatic bid to NCAAs with a fourth-place finish. Because he had such a small season resume, he was given the 33 seed in the NCAA bracket but still went on to win three matches. There could be competition at this spot, as well, because OSU has quickly gotten rather deep under Taylor.

165: The Cowboys don’t have a ranked wrestler at 165. It looks like a slot Dee Lockett could slide into unless he and the staff think it better to redshirt him.

174: In listening to various podcasts throughout the offseason, there is a general sense that Alex Facundo is going to be much better than this preseason ranking of No. 16. He started for Penn State in the 2022-23 season at 165 pounds, beating future OSU All-American Cam Amine. Last season, he cut down to 157 but lost 4-2 to teammate Tyler Kasak at the Black Knight Invitational. Kasak would go on to earn the No. 1 seed at NCAAs before a third-place finish, showing that Facundo was right there with one of the best in the country.

184: Ryder took a redshirt at Penn State last season, going 8-0 and winning the Southern Scuffle. The 184-pound division lost Dustin Plott, Carter Starocci and Parker Keckeisen but quickly reloaded with Ryder, Max McEnelly (Minnesota), Angelo Ferrari (Iowa) and Rocco Welsh (Penn State).

197: A pupil of former Cowboy wrestler-turned-UCF heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier, Merrill is a prospect many have been excited about. He went 12-2 while redshirting last season, beating three ranked opponents in the process.

HWT: Konner Doucet returns to the Cowboy lineup after sitting behind national champion Wyatt Hendrickson last year. He went 5-0 last season, winning the Michigan State Open. Before that, he qualified for nationals as OSU’s heavyweight in 2024 and 2023.