OSU Cowgirl Wrestling Club Adds John Smith as Volunteer Assistant

John Smith has found a new way to impact the future of wrestling.

The OSU Cowgirl Wrestling Club on Sunday announced that Smith, legendary wrestler-turned-legendary coach, has agreed to help out as a volunteer assistant coach. This comes a little more than a year removed from when Smith retired as the Oklahoma State Cowboys’ coach after a coaching career that saw him lead OSU to five NCAA team titles, 33 NCAA individual titles and 490 dual wins. Not a bad resume for a volunteer assistant.

Cowgirl Wrestling is proud to welcome John Smith as our new Volunteer Assistant Coach. One of the most accomplished figures in wrestling history, Coach Smith brings unmatched experience, knowledge, and passion to our program. pic.twitter.com/FGYJ6BhdUk

— OSU Cowgirls Wrestling (@CowgirlsWrestle) August 17, 2025

Former OSU All-American Izzak Olejnik is the Cowgirls’ head coach. He was a two-time MAC champion and one-time NCAA All-American at Northern Illinois before transferring to OSU for his final season (and Smith’s final season as OSU’s coach). He wrestled to a seventh-place finish at the NCAA championships under Smith, beating future Cowboy national champ Dean Hamiti in the process.

Smith was a two-time national champ for OSU during the 1980s and finished his Cowboy career with a record of 154-7-2. As good as he was on a collegiate mat, Smith was even more heralded internationally. He won gold at the World Championships on four occasions between 1987 and 1991. Smith also won gold at the Olympics in 1988 and 1992.

To go with the coaching acumen listed above, Smith also produced 153 All-Americans, 23 team conference titles, 132 individual conference champions and two Hodge Trophy winners in his 33-year run coaching the Cowboys.