OSU Wrestling: Top Portal Prospect Wyatt Hendrickson Visits Oklahoma State

Wyatt Hendrickson landed in Stillwater, even if just for a layover.

Hendrickson, who has wrestled at heavyweight for Air Force the past four years, posted on Instagram on Monday that he visited Oklahoma State after entering the transfer portal last week. His caption was, “1 of 4,” alluding Stillwater was his first of four stops before deciding his next and final destination. Missouri, Michigan and Minnesota have also reportedly been in the mix to land the top prospect in the portal this offseason.

 

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Hendrickson is a two-time Big 12 champion and two-time All-American, placing third at heavyweight the past two seasons at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. He was Most Outstanding Wrestling after winning his first conference title at the Big 12 Wrestling Championships in 2022. Hendrickson beat OSU’s Luke Surber in the finals that year. Surber started at 197 pounds for the Cowboys this past season. Hendrickson has also led the country in falls the past three seasons, and in 2022 and 2023 was awarded NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler honors, which is given to the wrestler who earns the most points for their team during the season.

Transferring from a service academy was not a simple process for Hendrickson, prompting the late entry after competing at the United States Olympic Team Trials two weeks ago. He was unable to use his extra year of eligibility because of COVID at the academy and had to receive clearance from the United States Air Force to transfer in order to use that last year of eligibility. He reportedly entered the portal on Wednesday.

So far, OSU has had two portal commitments this offseason in Dean Hamiti and Caleb Fish, both of which wrestled at 165 pounds this past season. Hamiti is a two-time All-American from Wisconsin and Fish was a three-year starter at Michigan State. Those two additions are compared to the Cowboys losing only 149-pounder Sammy Alvarez so far to the portal despite coach John Smith retiring. OSU wrestlers are able to transfer within 30 days from Smith’s retirement, which would be May 11. OSU has yet to announce its next head coach, with Coleman Scott serving as interim head coach since Smith’s retirement.