The possibility of Jax Forrest donning an Oklahoma State singlet this season is quickly becoming a reality. 

The U23 World champion and Senior World fifth-place finisher recently announced he would be making the move to Stillwater and enrolling early at Oklahoma State. 

It remains to be seen exactly how the Cowboys will utilize the Pennsylvania high school product who wrapped up his career at Bishop McCort last week with a fourth Powerade title. 

“Just like our other (true freshmen), he’s got five dates to utilize,” Oklahoma State coach David Taylor said. “We’ll see how things go and how those dates are used… You’ve gotta use them, and you’ve gotta evaluate. He’s got a lot of things going on with the transition.”

Forrest could’ve opted to wrestle out the season with a high-powered Bishop McCort team and chased another Pennsylvania state championship. Instead, he’s accelerating his timeline and jumpstarting his college career early. 

“You see this reclassifying thing in football, and in wrestling it hasn’t really happened,” Taylor said. “He’s a unique kid at the right time. He’s a great student, his wrestling ability is pretty special, so it’s kind of the right time, right fit.” 

Forrest has quite the welcoming party in Stillwater. He joins standout true freshmen #18 Ronnie Ramirez (133), #2 Sergio Vega (141), #5 Landon Robideau (157) and #2 Dee Lockett (165), who have already been causing ripples in the college wrestling landscape. 

“I think he can look to the other freshmen that are there on the team,” Taylor said. “In the areas that they have had to improve in, I think it’s where you go from being a great high school wrestler to this next jump. He has a great scoring potential, and there’s some things in his wrestling that he’s gonna have to clean up and get a little more disciplined. He’s wrestled at a really high level for a long time. But just like everyone, everyone’s got things they've got to improve on.”

Forrest projects as a 133-pounder, which means he’ll be competing with Ramirez and 2024 125-pound national champion Richard Figueroa for a spot in the lineup, should he wrestle this season.

During the first semester, neither Ramirez nor Figueroa broke through to secure the spot in the lineup. The Cowboys were in a similar situation last year at the same weight, as Taylor rotated veteran Reece Witcraft and freshman Cael Hughes. But now in 2026, Taylor may have an ace up his sleeve that was absent last year at the weight class. 

‘Different’ Oklahoma Squad

It’s Bedlam week, and it’s the first home installation of the rivalry in Taylor’s tenure at Oklahoma State. While Taylor has conveyed the message that the rivalry is just another match for the Cowboys, he’s hopeful the Bedlam name draws a good crowd.

“I’m really hopeful for a great experience for everybody,” he said. “I think people are excited to watch this team at home. You add in the element of Bedlam, the state of Oklahoma coming, I think we’re gonna have a great crowd this weekend and (we’re) just looking forward to wrestling again.”

Oklahoma coach Roger Kish has supplemented the Sooner lineup through the transfer portal, and he brings in an experienced team in 2026. Taylor called this Oklahoma team “very different” from the one the Cowboys wrestled last year. 

“A lot of change over there, a lot of guys coming out of the portal,” Taylor said. “They’ve been pretty good before, and they’ve done a pretty good job this year. I think they’ll be ready to go. This will be a good test for our guys coming off their break and getting the next part of the season kicked off.”

Oklahoma added a bounty of top-end wrestlers through the transfer portal, most notably 2024 All-American Peyten Kellar (165) from Ohio. The Sooners also added a handful of NCAA qualifiers in Rafael Hipolito (157) from Virginia Tech, Brian Soldano (184) from Rutgers, Tyler Wells (141) from Minnesota and Jack Gioffre (149) from Virginia. The Sooners could be welcoming Kellar and Gioffre against Oklahoma State after battling injuries.