Former Penn State wrestler David Taylor has been named the head coach of Oklahoma State wrestling, the Cowboys announced Monday.

Taylor wrestled for Penn State from 2009-14. He won two national titles while reaching four national title matches, and was a four-time Big Ten champion and a two-time Hodge Trophy winner. Taylor finished his time at Penn State with a 134-3 record that included 50 pins, 42 tech falls, and 29 major decisions.

Outside of Penn State, Taylor has won three US Open Championships and claimed a silver medal in three more. He also earned three gold medals in the Pan American Championships and the World Championships. He earned another gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.

Taylor will take over an Oklahoma State program that already has impressive esteem. The Cowboys went 14-1 and finished 10th in the NCAA Championships last season. Oklahoma State has been coached for 32 years by John Smith. Smith, an Oklahoma State alum, coached his alma mater to five national titles and 33 of his wrestlers to individual titles.

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Joe Lister

Joe, shockingly, was Onward State's managing editor from 2024-25. It was an honor. He's off employed doing journalism things, hopefully. If you want to complain about anything he's ever written, you can find him on Twitter (iamjoelister), email ([email protected]), or Signal (iamjoelister.93).

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