Jax Forrest Headed to Stillwater Next Week

U23 world champion Jax Forrest is heading to Stillwater a little early.

After a few months of speculation surrounding Forrest’s future, he told FloWrestling on Tuesday that he is headed to Oklahoma, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s hopping right onto the Cowboys’ roster.

“I’m going down (to Stillwater) next week and grayshirting, redshirting, I’m deciding between those two,” Forrest said. “But know I’m going down there. I’m gonna be in the room, depending on if it’s just RTC or if it’s in the college room on the team. It’s something that, I’m gonna go down there, test the waters a little bit, see how I’m feeling and then make a decision, but regardless of what I do, I know it’s for my best interests. I’m excited.”

The difference between taking a grayshirt vs. taking a redshirt? If Forrest grayshirts, he wouldn’t enroll as a full-time student but would still be able to practice with the Cowboy RTC to hone his skills. If he redshirts, he would be on the college roster and would have five dates to use between now and the end of the season.

While redshirting might sound a lot more exciting, the grayshirt would preserve Forrest’s redshirt for another year down the line should he need it.

Oh, and Forrest became just the seventh four-time Powerade champ in history Tuesday afternoon, which is where he caught up with Flo.

Forrest is the top recruit in the 2026 recruiting class, an honor he earned this summer by making the United States’ Senior World Team at 61 kg (about 134 pounds). He placed fifth at the Senior World Championships, finishing a singlet pull short of a medal.

To get there, Forrest won the U.S. Open after a late switch from the U20 division to the senior division. He beat 2018 NCAA champ Seth Gross in the Open final and also beat 2016 national champ Nahshon Garrett at the event. Forrest also bested Ohio State freshman Ben Davino at the Open. Davino is currently ranks second nationally at 133 pounds.

Forrest then wrestled two-time NCAA champ and 2023 world champ Vito Arujau in a best-of-three series at Final X, where Forrest won two matches to none.

Between his U.S. Open win and beating Arujau at Final X, Forrest won senior gold at the Pan-American Championships in May in Mexico. He outscored his opponents a combined 31-0 at that event.