David Taylor takes in-home visit with coveted 2026 recruit, Penn State wrestling target

David Taylor and the Oklahoma State Cowboys appear to have their eyes set on one of the top recruits in the 2026 recruiting cycle, who happens to be right in the backyard of Cael Sanderson and the Penn State wrestling program. This weekend, the former Nittany Lions icon returned to central Pennsylvania, but this time to visit the home of Bishop McCort standout Jax Forrest.

The in-home visit was first reported by Seth Duckworth of Oklahoma Wrestle. David Taylor was joined on the trip by former NLWC member and new Oklahoma State assistant Thomas Gilman.

#okstate coaching staff with an in home visit with Jax Forrest.#5 p4p prospect in high school wrestling currently. Class of 2026 pic.twitter.com/EBHUWZINqa

— MatBoy (@Seth_Duckworth) August 18, 2024

As Duckworth notes, Jax Forrest is currently the No. 5 pound-for-pound recruit in high school wrestling. FloWrestling has the 2026 prospect even higher in its July 30 update of the 2023-24 high school rankings, coming in at No. 3 pound-for-pound behind Perrysburg’s (Ohio) Marcus Blaze and incoming Penn State freshman Luke Lilledahl.

Heading into his junior season, Forrest will look to top his stellar performance over the previous 12 months. Forrest gained notoriety over the winter for defeating Lehigh’s Luke Stanich, one of the top-ranked Division I wrestlers at 125 pounds, at the Mat Town Open. He followed it up with a PIAA state title and a fourth-place finish at 57 kg in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in April.

Will the rivalry between Penn State and Oklahoma State continue to heat up?

© Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

This is not the first time that David Taylor and the Cowboys have crossed paths with Cael Sanderson and Penn State wrestling recently.

Last week, Taylor was busy recruiting another top 2026 wrestler and Nittany Lion target, Bo Bassett. A teammate of Jax Forrest at Bishop McCort, Penn State and Oklahoma State are two of the 26 schools still vying for Bassett’s commitment after the rising junior removed Penn, Oklahoma, and Oregon State from contention Wednesday in his weekly recruiting update.

Taylor also made a headline-grabbing move on the senior-level circuit last weekend, recruiting ex-Penn State wrestling star Roman Bravo-Young away from the NLWC and to the Cowboy RTC. Bravo-Young is fresh off his first Olympic appearance in Paris earlier this month.

While wrestling season is still several months away, Taylor so far appears to be having success at using his status as one of the top contemporary American wrestlers to build momentum around the Oklahoma State program. We’ll see how things play out once both teams take the mats this winter, but the budding rivalry between the two powerhouses in State College and Stillwater will be fun to watch in the years to come.

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