Four Spots in Oklahoma State’s Wrestling Lineup I’m Excited to See Get Worked Out

STILLWATER — We’re still a ways out from David Taylor having to put together his first wrestling lineup of the season, but it’ll be here before you know it.

This probably marks Taylor’s deepest roster to date, and he noted in a media availability last week that there are a few ways the lineup could shake out. Whomever starts the season might not necessarily end it. The five-for-five eligibility rule means Taylor can mix and match throughout the year to get ready for March.

“We obviously have a lot of different lineup combinations that potentially could happen,” Taylor said. “Ultimately, it’s in the kids’ hands in how those will get ironed out, who will wrestle, but everyone will just stay ready to go.”

With school getting going and the wrestling season slowly approaching, here are some spots that seem to be up for grabs this year.

The Lower Weight Opening

It looks as if the 141-pound spot in OSU’s lineup is up for grabs, though there is a world in which Jax Forrest bumps up in weight and it’s actually 133 that needs filling.

This hasn’t been officially confirmed, but the scuttlebutt is that reigning 141-pound national champion Sergio Vega will jump up to 149 for his sophomore year. Vega was listed at 141/149 on OSU’s updated roster.

The main contenders for this open spot appear to be freshmen twins Jordyn and Jayden Raney and the returning Tagen Jamison. Jayden was listed at 133/141 on the updated roster, while Jordyn and Jamison were each listed at 141/149.

Jordyn was the No. 5 pound-for-pound wrestler on Willie Saylor’s final big board for the 2026 class, while his brother was just one spot behind at No. 6.

The twins were decorated high school wrestlers whether that be in folk style, free style or Greco Roman. They left Union County High (Kentucky) with 11 state titles between them, with Jordyn winning six state titles and Jayden winning five.

After starting at 141 pounds for the Cowboys for two seasons, Jamison missed just about all of last season with injury.

He has a career record of 41-17, last wrestling at the Cyclone Open last season up at 149 pounds, where he went 4-1 with the only loss being to Missouri’s Seth Mendoza.

How Interesting Does Swiderski Make 165?

Vega wasn’t the only Cowboy cutting a lot of weight last season, so was 149-pound starter Casey Swiderski.

With Vega’s ascent, Swiderski has bumped up two weight classes up to 165 pounds. He tested that weight out at U23 Nationals this summer, where he took fifth with a tight loss to reigning 165-pound Big 12 champ Nicco Ruiz (Arizona State).

Dee Lockett manned the 165-pound spot for the Cowboys as a true freshman this past season. Considering he was a true freshman, his 18-4 record was rather impressive. He didn’t get on the podium after going 2-2 at NCAAs, but he climbed as high as No. 2 in the rankings as a true freshman.

“He hit a little bit of a difficulty towards the end,” Taylor said. “I wish maybe he would’ve hit it in the beginning of the year and then could’ve made some adjustments. Just kind of credit to him being really good. But I think he’s had a great rebound. It’s hard when you’ve been really good your whole life, and it’s really kind of the first time he’s really failed at something in his mind.

“It’s hard. It’s hard to not get what you want, but then you gotta kinda figure out a way to get what you want. Super, super talented guy. He’s had a good summer. Just really getting him ready for this next year.”

Most would pencil Lockett in as the favorite to emerge from this battle, but Swiderski is the type of guy that is going to at the very least make Lockett earn it. Just go back to NCAAs and watch Swiderski’s bout with top seed Shayne Van Ness that looked more like an MMA fight to see that he’s not just going to roll over for a guy.

These guys went ALL OUT!

Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness and Oklahoma State’s Casey Swiderski were determined to end their match in sudden victory 🔥#NCAAs pic.twitter.com/ssV0zB2vjy

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) March 25, 2026

174/184

It feels like there’s a chunk of guys who could be battling for the Cowboys’ spots at 174 and 184.

Alex Facundo started at 174 for the Cowboys last season, going 18-8 and 2-2 at NCAAs.

Zack Ryder started at 184, gutting out and eighth-place finish with a bum shoulder while finishing his redshirt freshman season at 15-11.

Those two are both back. Whether Ryder is ready to roll coming off that shoulder injury is its own question. There’s also a wonder if at some point Ryder could drop down to 174 (he was listed only at 184 on OSU’s roster).

Then Taylor brought in a transfer at each of those weights.

Lorenzo Norman joins from Stanford after going 31-14 with the Cardinal across the past three seasons. He only wrestled two matches last year before an injury kept him out.

Bennett Berge joins after wrestling at 197 pounds last season at South Dakota State. Berge is expected to bump back down to 184, where he was listed on OSU’s roster. He was a fourth-place finisher at 184 back in 2024.

Freshman Michael White is another guy who could potentially throw into that mix at 184. He was the No. 9 pound-for-pound wrestler on Saylor’s big board for the 2026 class after finishing his senior year of high school at 47-0.

Experience vs. Youth at Heavyweight

Perhaps the biggest surprise of that roster reveal was the fact that Konner Doucet was listed.

This will mark Doucet’s seventh year in Stillwater. Last season was his best yet, as he finished fourth at NCAAs and went 22-5.

But enter Dreshaun Ross, the No. 4 wrestler on Saylor’s big board for the 2026 class, making him the top heavyweight prospect in the country. Ross will wrestle this weekend at the U20 World Championships.

The weight class lost some of its bigger names from last season, meaning whichever wrestler emerges from this battle ought to compete for a spot high up on the podium come March.