David Taylor, Oklahoma State closing the gap on Penn State wrestling

Penn State wrestling is the standard of the college wrestling world. Winners of 12 of the past 14 NCAA Championships, there isn’t a more dominant dynasty in sports right now.

Naturally, the question that arises amid such a dominant streak is, who will be the team to end the run? While there’s still vast separation between the Nittany Lions and the rest of the field, Penn State legend turned Oklahoma State head coach David Taylor showed at last week’s NCAA Tournament that he has the skillset to narrow the gap with his alma mater.

NCAA wrestling dynasties aren’t uncommon

Penn State isn’t the first – and likely won’t be the last – team to go on a dominant run in college wrestling.

Oklahoma State was the first dynasty, winning 27 titles in the first 41 years of the sport between 1928 and 1961. Excluding the canceled seasons during World War II, the Cowboys won seven straight championships from 1937 to 1946.

The Cowboys have four-peated (1928-1931, 2003-2006) and three-peated (1933-1935, 1954-1956) twice each. Although the program hasn’t won a title since 2006, Oklahoma State’s 34 national championships are still 10 more than anyone else in the sport.

Iowa started its run in the 1970s, winning an NCAA record nine straight titles from 1978 to 1986 under legendary coach Dan Gable. The Hawkeyes also have a six-year national championship run between 1995 and 2000. The program three-peated between 1991 and 1993 and again between 2008 and 2010.

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From 1975 to 2000, the Hawkeyes won 20 of 26 championships. Iowa’s 24 national titles are second all-time. The school last won a championship in 2021.

While Penn State wrestling may be the current team on the mountaintop, the program’s run is similar to that of Oklahoma State and Iowa in decades past. The Cowboys won 65.8% of the NCAA Championships during their run, while Iowa won 76.9%.

The Nittany Lions have won 85.7% of the national titles since Cael Sanderson started his run in Happy Valley. Although notably higher than the other two, Penn State has been the sport’s dominant program for a significantly shorter period than Oklahoma State or Iowa.

Could David Taylor topple Penn State wrestling?

All dynasties end, but some just take longer than others. Nobody thought Oklahoma State could be beaten until Iowa started to dominate. College wrestling thought the sport had only two powerhouses until Sanderson elevated the Nittany Lions.

Right now, with the program’s returning production and high-level recruiting, it seems like Penn State’s run of dominance could never end. But eventually, water always finds its level.

That doesn’t mean a new team will emerge to rival the big three. Rather, it may be a resurgence from one of the previously dominant programs, like Oklahoma State under David Taylor.

The former Penn State wrestling star made a splash in year one, taking talented wrestlers from the transfer portal and helping them reach the next step. Dean Hamiti was a two-time All-American at Wisconsin, yet never seemed able to compete with the top wrestlers in his weight class. But after transferring to Stillwater, Hamiti won the NCAA title at 174 pounds, going 27-1 with wins over No. 2 Levi Haines and No. 1 Keegan O’Toole.

Taylor also pushed Wyatt Hendrickson to reach his potential, helping the heavyweight pull off one of the greatest upsets in NCAA history, defeating Gold Medalist Gable Steveson in the 285-pound Final. After being unable to break through the ceiling at Air Force, Hendrickson went 27-0 with an 81.5% bonus and is a finalist for the Hodge Trophy.

It may happen, but not yet

The 2025 Penn State wrestling team. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

While Taylor reviving Oklahoma State and leading the Cowboys back to a top-three finish at the 2025 NCAA Championships is a good story, there’s still much ground to cover before the program reaches what Cael Sanderson has built in State College.

Last year, Penn State wrestling outscored second-place Cornell by an NCAA record 100 points. At the NCAA Championships last weekend, the Nittany Lions outscored Nebraska by 60 points and finished 74.5 points ahead of Oklahoma State in the standings.

Taylor is making splashes on the recruiting trail, earning the commitment from the No. 1 overall recruit in 2026, Jax Forrest. However, it will take time for Taylor to build enough depth to compete with Penn State wrestling on a team level. He has financial backing from the school and the Cowboys’ NIL fund, but at the end of the day, the transfer portal is meant to fill holes in a lineup. Iowa discovered the perils of leaning too heavily on the portal this season, finishing a distant fourth last weekend in Philadelphia.

And the Nittany Lions are still more than capable of flexing their muscles with prospective prospects. According to reporting this week, Cael Sanderson was able to hold off a late push from Taylor and the Cowboys for Ohio State transfer Rocco Welsh. While Welsh has yet to commit officially, Penn State wrestling remains the favorite for the 2024 NCAA Finalist.

Ultimately, Taylor’s now proven ability to produce can’t be overlooked. That should become even more evident with an influx of talented young wrestlers into the program. So, don’t be surprised if the Cowboys start to gain ground on the Nittany Lions as Oklahoma State continues to build over the next several seasons.

However, as long as Cael Sanderson is in the corner, it will be tough for any program to overtake Penn State wrestling permanently.

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