Penn State wrestling to welcome back ex-NLWC wrestler, per reports

Penn State wrestling appears to have struck another blow in the emerging war with Oklahoma State. According to multiple reports Sunday evening, Cael Sanderson is set to bring former Nittany Lion Wrestling Club wrestler Thomas Gilman back to Happy Valley one year after he followed David Taylor to Stillwater.

Gilman had previously been a member of the NLWC from April 2020 until May 2024, when he left State College to follow former Nittany Lion David Taylor to coach Oklahoma State. He spent the last season coaching the lightweights for the Cowboys.

🚨BREAKING: Per source, Oklahoma State’s premiere lightweight coach Thomas Gilman is officially heading back to State College! The surprises this off-season just keep on coming… pic.twitter.com/LG6ngv7uYx

— The Wrestling Room (Pat Mineo) (@MrPatMineo) April 7, 2025

During his four years in Happy Valley, Gilman won the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team trials at 57 kg. in Fort Worth, Texas. He then finished with a Bronze Medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, an event that was delayed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gilman went on to win Gold at the 2021 World Championships, 2022 Pan American Championships, 2022 U.S. World Team Trials, and 2022 Tunis Ranking Series before finishing with Silver at the 2022 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. He returned to the top at the 2023 Pan American Championships in Argentina. Gilman failed to make the next two international events he competed for, finishing second to Zane Richards at the U.S. World Team Trials in 2023 and then falling to Spencer Lee in the Olympic Team Trials in State College last spring.

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Budding rivalry between Penn State and Oklahoma State

So far, it has been an eventful offseason between Penn State wrestling and Oklahoma State. The Cowboys made quite a splash with first-year head coach David Taylor this winter, finishing top three at the NCAA Championships with two wrestlers taking home individual national titles.

Taylor then made headlines by landing several Penn State wrestlers who had entered the transfer portal. First, it was a pair of Nittany Lions who had been pushed out of potential starting lineup spots in Gary Steen (125/133) and Alex Facundo (157/165/174).

However, the biggest move this spring so far has been at 174/184 pounds.

Cael Sanderson went into the portal and picked up former 2024 NCAA runner-up Rocco Welsh from Ohio State. With Levi Haines (174) and Josh Barr (197) both back in 2026, the Nittany Lions were set to have a competition between Welsh and former top-1o recruit Zack Ryder for the starting spot at 184. But within days of Welsh’s decision, Ryder had entered the portal and announced his commitment to Oklahoma State. Ryder had a close relationship with Taylor when they both competed for the NLWC.

Sanderson welcoming Gilman back to State College adds another wrinkle to this growing rivalry. While the two teams finished 74.5 points apart at the most recent NCAA Championships, it is hard to ignore what Taylor is doing both on the recruiting trail and transfer portal. Penn State wrestling will once again be heavy favorites to win the national title in 2026 because of the depth Sanderson has built in State College. But Taylor is showing he can develop wrestlers from the transfer portal and is already making headway with top wrestlers in the upcoming recruiting classes. Don’t be surprised if by 2027 or 2028, the Cowboys have surpassed the rest of the field in college wrestling and nipping at the heels of the Nittany Lions.

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