Oklahoma State’s wrestling program had a pretty decent 2024-25 season. With Olympic gold medalist David Taylor taking over as the new head coach of the Cowboys, the team bagged a top-5 finish in the 2025 NCAA Championships and even earned their 56th Big 12 title. Not a bad start for the new management. And now, as the new season inches closer, the “Magic Man” has already gotten the ball rolling to bring his squad up to speed.

Under Taylor, the Cowboys hope to regain their former glory. OSU won its last national wrestling trophy way back in 2008, but the new leadership is already showing signs of brighter days ahead. While the PSU alum is helping the Cowboys RTC members make a mark on the international level, Taylor is also doing his best to prepare the team for better domestic results before things get intense later this year.

A post by the official Cowboys RTC on X from July 31 shares how David Taylor and OSU are set to clash against a rather unexpected guest before locking horns with bigger fish in the NCAA in November. “Cowboys Vs China tonight in Dallas,” reads the caption of the post, as the social media update shared snaps of the wrestling team arriving at the location for the grind ahead.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the OSU posted on Instagram sharing snippets of their training session with the Chinese national team in Stillwater. In the brief video clip, OSU stars were seen grappling with their Asian comrades. And now, it looks like it’s time to show what they learned from shedding all that sweat on the mat. And going by the latest X post, Taylor’s boys looked pretty confident going into the dual with the more experienced national team all the way from China.

And they had all the reasons to be in a peppy mood. In the dual so far, David Taylor’s team has upset the Chinese stars at every possible opportunity. 4x USA Wrestling All-American Konner Doucet took down China’s 2-time Asian Championships medalist Habila Awusayiman 3-0. A strong start, and the team hardly has had to look back.

Ronnie Ramirez, who just became part of Taylor’s squad as a member of the Class of 2025, impressed his coach by defeating 2024 Olympian Zou Wanhao by 4-3 in the 61kg weight bracket. In the 74kg bracket, OSU’s 2024 NCAA All-American Casey Swiderski beat the U23 Asian Championship top-5 finisher Shen Tao 12-1 via tech fall. U23 Asian Championships bronze medalist Narenmanduhal had to cede ground to Cody Merrill in the 92kg weight class.

Alex Facundo, who only recently left Penn State to follow David Taylor to Oklahoma, took down Asian Championship gold medalist Cao Nan 4-1 in the 86kg bracket. Only Dee Lockett fumbled, as the U17 World Champion was subdued by the U23 Asian Championship gold medalist Lu Feng in the 79kg weight bracket. Quite a brilliant way to start things off, indeed! But Taylor is hardly feeling relaxed. After all, the Cowboys have a big year ahead of them.

A big W for David Taylor & Co., but this is only the beginning

Just hours ago, OSU’s home dual schedule was unveiled, and from the looks of things, it’s going to be every wrestling fan’s dream lineup. In the 2025-26 season, Taylor and his boys will host seven of the NCAA’s top programs: Iowa, Iowa State, Little Rock, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma, Stanford, and Utah Valley. More duals against powerhouse programs, including Arizona State, Nebraska (second-place finisher in the 2025 NCAA D1 Championship), and Missouri, are also slated over the season. Safe to say  that the triumph against the Chinese will definitely help boost the morale ahead of the duals.

Moreover, with David Taylor’s strong advocacy, the National Duals will make their comeback after a long time, and Oklahoma will play host for the historic event. While Penn State’s head coach, Cael Sanderson, might not be a big fan of the upcoming November event, the tournament could be a fantastic way to test the waters before the national championship, and David would view tonight’s dual against the Chinese national team as a good way to establish some groundwork for the road ahead.

So, do you think the Cowboys will be able to carry the momentum from Thursday’s duals into the NCAA season? Can Taylor lead the white and orange wrestlers to their first national victory since OSU last won it in 2008? Share your thoughts below.