The Oklahoma State Cowboys are coming off their worst finish in program history after placing 18th at the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Despite that finish in 2023, there are a number of reasons for Oklahoma State fans to be excited about the 2023-24 season. The Cowboys were active in the transfer portal, have a number of returning All-Americans, and have solid freshmen coming out of redshirt. Check out the below article for a full breakdown of what to expect from Oklahoma State’s team in the 2023-24 season. 

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Overview

Head Coach: John Smith

Assistants: Zack Esposito, Chris Perry, Tyler Caldwell

2023 NCAA Tournament Finish: 18th

2023 NCAA Tournament team points: 28.5

2023 Big 12 Tournament finish: 2nd

2023 Dual Record: 14-3

Returning national qualifiers: 7 (Daton Fix, Sammy Alvarez, Izzak Olejnik, Dustin Plott, Travis Wittlake, Luke Surber, Konner Doucet)

Returning All-Americans: 4 (Daton Fix, Izzak Olejnik, Dustin Plott, Travis Wittlake)

Last NCAA champion: AJ Ferrari (2021)

Highest NCAA tournament team finish: 1st (34 times - last title in 2006)

Highest NCAA team finish under Smith: 1st (5 times - 1994, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006)

Most place winners under Smith: 8 (2017)

Last 10 NCAA Championships:

2013: 2nd

2014: 3rd

2015: 7th

2016: 2nd

2017: 3rd

2018: 13th

2019: 3rd

2020: Canceled (COVID)

2021: 3rd

2022: 14th

2023: 18th

125: Troy Spratley

The Cowboys were active in the transfer portal this offseason and used transfers to fill many of their “holes” from last season. Troy Spratley wrestled his redshirt last year at the University of Minnesota where he went 8-2 with his most notable wins coming over NCAA qualifiers Braxton Brown and Tanner Jordan. Most recently, Spratley made the finals of the U20 world team trials with wins over Bo Bassett and Jax Forrest before falling short in 2 straight matches against Luke Lilledahl. 

Last year, Trevor Mastrogiovanni and Reece Witcraft shared the starting spot at 125 for Oklahoma State. Mastrogiovanni started the year manning the role and looked to be an All-American threat rising to as high as #9 in the rankings. However, Mastro didn’t start after January 15 when Witcraft took over. While Witcraft qualified for the NCAA tournament, he went 0-2 while failing to score any team points for the Cowboys. Spratley should provide some much-needed consistency at 125 and has the potential to challenge for All-American honors next year. 

133: #2 Daton Fix

Daton Fix has one more year of eligibility left and is looking to end his career by securing the elusive national title. Fix is already a 4-time All-American finishing runner-up 3 times (2019, 2021, and 2022) and 4th last year. Fix is currently ranked #2 in our early NCAA rankings behind only Vito Arujau who defeated Fix in the semi-finals of last year’s NCAA Tournament 11-3. 

The major factor to consider next season for Fix is his desire to qualify for the Olympic team. Fix has been vocal about his desire to make the 2024 Olympic team at 57kg. That means there could be a chance we see Fix at 125 next year for the Cowboys. It also means Fix could wrestle internationally during the college season while wrestling a limited folkstyle schedule. Regardless of the weight, Fix is a national title contender next year and will be a crucial part of the Cowboys’ push to get back to trophy contention. 

Daton Fix's recent win over Austin DeSanto at Final X:

141: Sammy Alavarez/Tagen Jamison

Carter Young has held down the starting spot for Oklahoma State at 141 the last two seasons where he qualified for the NCAA Tournament both years. However, Young suffered a knee injury at the end of last year and will likely spend the 2023-24 season in redshirt.

In Young's absence, both Sammy Alvarez and Tagen Jamison are transfers looking to earn the starting spot at 141 for Oklahoma State. Alvarez is a 5th-year senior coming from Rutgers while Jamison is entering his 3rd year post high school but still has freshman eligibility due to a gray shirt and redshirt at Minnesota. Alvarez’s best collegiate results came during his freshman year (2019-2020) at 133 when he qualified for the NCAA Tournament, earning the #10 seed. That year, Alvarez recorded a number of ranked wins including wins over eventual All-Americans Ridge Lovett and Kai Orine. 

Tagen Jamison doesn’t have the same results as Alvarez in college due to his battle with injuries over the past 2 years. Jamison only wrestled 6 matches last year tallying a 4-2 record without any notable wins and 2 close losses to Caleb Rathjen (6-4 in OT) and Jake Bergeland (8-6). Despite his lack of college results, Jamison showed his true potential when he placed 3rd at the 2022 U20 US Open while recording wins over Cody Chittum (12-3), Joe Zargo (12-10), and Dylan Gilcher (8-2). On top of those results, Jamison won a Fargo title back in 2021 with a 7-2 victory over Iowa State's Casey Swiderski in the finals. 

Tagen Jamison's win over Cody Chittum at the 2022 US Open:

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149: Jordan Williams

With Victor Voinovich transferring to the University of Iowa, Jordan Williams is the favorite to start next year for Oklahoma State. Williams was the #12 overall recruit out of the class of 2022 and put together a solid redshirt year against a challenging schedule. Williams suffered close losses to NCAA qualifiers Kellyn March, Marcos Polanco, Caleb Tyus, and Saul Ervin while defeating NCAA qualifier Ethen Miller. Williams isn’t currently ranked in our early rankings, however, we should expect him to work his way into the top 24 and has the potential to work his way into All-American contention.

157: Cutter Sheets/Daniel Manibog

157 is the biggest unknown for Oklahoma State next year with no clear front-runner to take the spot. Cutter Sheets and Daniel Manibog look to be the best choices for the Cowboys right now but this could be a weight we see filled by someone currently in the transfer portal. Sheets, the younger brother of All-American Wyatt, was 15-6 last year in redshirt while wrestling 149. While that’s a solid record, he didn’t have any wins over NCAA qualifiers and might be undersized for 157. Manibog is in his 5th year at Oklahoma State and was 15-5 last year as Kaden Gfeller’s backup. Like Sheets, Manibog’s record was solid but he didn’t record any wins to suggest he has shown he has the ability to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

165: #6 Izzak Olejnik

Olejnik is a 6th-year senior who comes to Oklahoma State after spending his first 5 years at Northern Illinois. While Olejnik was solid in his first few years as a starter, he had a breakout year last season when he placed 8th at the NCAA Tournament while recording wins over Tanner Cook, Holden Heller, and Carson Kharchla. Olejnik is currently ranked #6 in our early NCAA rankings and will once again be a threat to reach the podium at 165 pounds. 

Izzak Olejnik after winning in the blood round over Carson Kharchla:

174: #6 Dustin Plott

Dustin Plott has been a consistent top 8 wrestler over the past few years for Oklahoma State and earned his second-straight 6th-place finish at the NCAA Tournament last year. Plott took out Ethan Smith, Demetrius Romero, and Aaron Olmos at NCAAs while only losing to Chris Foca, Mekhi Lewis, and Nelson Brands. Plott might be a tier behind Starocci and Lewis at 174 but it’s not unrealistic to see Plott climb up the podium a few spots this year and earn more team points for the Cowboys.

Dustin Plott after making the 2023 U23 World Team:

184: #9 Travis Wittlake

Travis Wittlake moved up from 165 to 184 last year for the Cowboys and proved he can challenge some of the best wrestlers in the country despite the weight bump. While Wittlake went 1-2 at NCAAs, during the regular season Wittlake recorded notable wins over a number of ranked wrestlers while only losing to top 10 ranked guys in the weight. Wittlake will be right in the mix to challenge for All-American honors this season as he’s currently ranked #9 in our early D1 rankings at 184. 

197: #11 Luke Surber

Luke Surber dropped from heavyweight to 197 last year and finished in the round of 16 at the NCAA Tournament. Surber most notable victory came over 3-time All-American Rocky Elam which caused him to peak at #14 in our rankings last year. While Surber is ranked to finish outside of the podium, Surber has proven he’s capable of making significant improvements from year to year and will be an interesting challenger to watch next year at 197. Surber's improvement and potential was most recently put on display when he defeated Silas Allred at the 2023 U23 Nationals. 

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285: #24 Konner Doucet/Christian Carroll

As a sophomore last season, Konner Doucet qualified for the NCAA Tournament in his first year in the starting lineup for the Cowboys. Doucet earned the #20 seed but ultimately went 0-2 losing close matches to Tyrell Gordon (2-1) and Jaron Smith (7-3). Doucet has proven to be in a tier of other NCAA qualifiers who could win a match or two at NCAAs but are unlikely to score any significant team points at the NCAA Tournament. Unless Doucet makes major improvements, we should expect a similar performance for Doucet next year.

Oklahoma State could make things interesting by inserting Christian Carroll into the lineup at heavyweight next year. Carroll is currently ranked as the #8 recruit out of the class of 2023 and most recently made the U20 world team at 125kg. With the current depth at heavyweight, it might be best for Carroll to redshirt this season to allow a majority of the top-ranked wrestlers to graduate. For perspective, 8 of the top 10 ranked heavyweight wrestlers are seniors along with 15 of the top 18. Carroll isn’t a sure thing to All-American in 2023-24 but would likely be a top 5-10 ranked heavyweight in the 2024-25. For that reason, I think we see Carroll make the most of his redshirt and Doucet man the heavyweight spot for the Cowboys. 

Christian Carroll after making the U20 World Team:

What Will Oklahoma State Finish At The 2024 NCAA Tournament?

Oklahoma State is currently ranked #11 in our early season rankings with a total of 38.5 points. Last year the Cowboys earned only 28.5 points at the NCAA Tournament so that’s already an improvement. Along with that, Oklahoma State is currently earning zero points combined at 125, 141, 149, and 157. That means there is significant room for improvement and potential for the Cowboys to shoot up the rankings throughout the season. At this point, Oklahoma State fans should feel confident about a top-10 finish at the 2024 NCAA Tournament. If Troy Spratlely, Sammy Alvarez/Tagen Jamison, and Jordan Willams prove to be All-American contenders, then a trophy finish is certainly attainable for Oklahoma State in 2024.