“That door opened back up, and I wasn’t sure it was ever going to… They opened that door back up, and I’m not going to let them down again,” said the American freestyle wrestler turned coach, Thomas Gilman. It’s been a back-and-forth year for the Olympic bronze medalist, who said his goodbyes to the Nittany Lions last year for the greener pastures of OSU… only for him to return to Pennsylvania a year later! On the larger scale, this is yet another chapter in the Penn State-OSU rivalry, but on a smaller scale, there’s just the man and his reasons to leave. So let’s hear it from Gilman himself about his departure, return, and hopes for the future.

For all the curious cats digging for details, the Baschamania podcast holds the answers, as the wrestling star was the latest guest to settle in for a conversation with host Justin Basch. Now that he’s a Pennsylvania man once more, Gilman discussed all the things he was looking forward to doing again in the city. “I’m really excited, you know, obviously excited to reunite with old friends, you know, friends. I didn’t, you know, lose, or there’s no like reconnecting. It’s like physical daily reconnection,” Gilman said. Now that sounds like a heartfelt sense of comfort and home, doesn’t it?

Indeed, it is. After all, it’s all about reuniting with old pals like Zain Retherford and Nick Lee. “Yeah. Like Zane, you know, we’re excited to get back hanging out with him and his wife and the strength coach and Nick Lee and all those guys,” said Gilman. Looks like Penn State, with a powerful reunion in the works, is soon to witness a serious uptick in its coaching firepower!

But it’s not just about reunions; it’s about embracing the new energy in the room. Gilman added that he was excited to restart his journey at Penn State and mentor all the fresh faces on the team. “But like the new guys, it’s going to be awesome. I’ve been around [Luke] Lilledahl a little bit when he was coming up, committing and stuff. Excited to develop that relationship.” But Gilman was also excited about the prospect of training the Japanese star Masanosuke Ono. “And it sounds like Ono is quite the character,” he said with a chuckle. “Decided to get my paws on that cat.”

And to set the record straight, his excitement to wrestle alongside Penn State’s young guns isn’t just about reliving those good ol’ days but also about reigniting the fire he has within himself. Coaching is not the only thing on Thomas Gilman’s mind. “I’ve had those conversations (regarding competing and coaching) with Coach Cody and Coach Cael, and they’re open and supportive of anything. If I want to just do the coaching thing…great, or if I want to jump back on the mat and compete, that’s awesome too.” 

Be it coaching or competing, it’s going to be interesting to see Thomas Gilman back in the Penn State coaching lineup. If nothing, it only adds to the Cowboys-Nittany Lions intrigue heading into the 2025-26. Gilman is back, but he also revealed some of the reasons behind his return on the podcast.

What made Thomas Gilman break ties with David Taylor’s Cowboys?

There wasn’t one singular reason, but rather a multitude of them. One of the big ones was that the working environment just wasn’t a good fit for Thomas Gilman. “Right when we got down here, it seemed like there were issues”—Gilman made it clear himself.

But what exactly were the locker room conflicts? While he offered a glimpse of what was happening and what he went through, Gilman didn’t dive into the specifics. But his tone did hint at some deeper misalignment. And the locker room tensions? They were merely a part of what seemed like a persistent lack of synergy between him and the Cowboys.

“Were they with me? Were they with the staff? I think that everybody is at fault. I’m not going to point fingers… I think that it was mutual. There are no hard feelings… You can have a disagreement and move on and still be fine,” Gilman stated, being honest yet graceful. While he made it clear that there wasn’t any dramatic fallout or a public clash, it still proved to be an incompatible fit. “There are no hard feelings… You can have a disagreement and move on and still be fine.”

But now Thomas Gilman is back where he belongs, with his friends and with a whole roster of pumped-up wrestlers waiting to hit the mats and begin their quest for yet another NCAA title. So for anyone waiting to see the fall of the Cael Sanderson empire, well, they’re just going to have to continue waiting because the Nittany Lions look like they’re only just getting started.