No one saw it coming that the Oklahoma State Cowboys would emerge as a leading contender in the 2024-25 NCAA season with David Taylor at the helm. With John Smith‘s retirement, the Olympic champion stepped up to the plate, fulfilling expectations and leaving the Cowboys fanbase beyond satisfied. Taylor guided the Cowboys to an impressive 13-1 dual meet record, securing the Big 12 Conference title and earning a commendable third-place finish at the NCAA National Championships.

With his leadership, the team achieved the remarkable feat of producing six All-Americans and two individual national champions. Taylor’s tenure kicked off with an impressive 38-6 win against Utah Valley, signaling a powerful beginning to his coaching journey. He skillfully led the team to a commanding 36-3 victory against Missouri, captivating an audience of 10,740, marking the fifth-largest home attendance in the history of the program.

Additional accomplishments? It appears that the list could potentially expand further. Amid the bustling transfer portal, speculation is rife that Richard Figueroa is poised to join the Cowboys. On X, The Wrestling Room (aka Pat Mineo) stated, “Per source, Figueroa turned down twice as much in NIL $ to become a Poke… Wanted to be part of the exciting new culture under DT and plans to train/wrestle at their RTC moving forward as well.”

It’s not every day that a college athlete opts to decline a huge NIL deal, which can be worth millions. However, when the opportunity to train under David Taylor arises, well, wouldn’t you jump to take it?

Figueroa’s season? The junior from Arizona State University kicked off the campaign holding the title of the nation’s leading 125 lbs wrestler, a recognition earned after his victory at the 2024 NCAA Championship. Following his recovery from an early-season injury at the Daktronics Invite in November, he made a notable comeback, achieving significant victories, including triumphs over top-10 competitors from Lehigh and West Virginia, which led to him being awarded the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honor in February.

Following a challenging moment at the Big 12 Championships, where he faced a loss against North Dakota State’s Tristan Daugherty, Figueroa advanced to the NCAA Championships as the No. 5 seed. Throughout the season, he upheld an impressive record, solidifying his position as a top contender in collegiate wrestling.

Clearly, Figueroa is eager for further challenges and is looking to train alongside Taylor. The Olympic champion has significantly influenced numerous careers during just one season of coaching the Cowboys, including a wrestler who opened up about Taylor after clinching the NCAA Championship.

The David Taylor Effect is real

In a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, NCAA champion Wyatt Hendrickson shared, “The very first text he ever sent me, the very first text he ever sent me. Obviously, we had a talk and he was like, ‘Hey, I want you to come to Oklahoma state.’ You know, and right after that, the first text he started sending me was just ‘Wyatt Hendrickson, 2025 national champion, national champion all the time.’” 

David Taylor has proven to be quite the visionary! “So I mean, just having that, you know, just kind of, you know, it kind of manifested the path and just keeping that goal in mind throughout the entire season was a big deal because you’re going to have days where you’re beat up, you’re hurt, you know, your knees tweaked,” added Hendrickson.

From the outset of the Oklahoma State camp, it became evident to Hendrickson the magnitude of the challenge he had undertaken. David Taylor saw him as a champion, and ultimately, he fulfilled that vision by helping him overcome Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson. It’s certainly a rare occurrence in the world of college wrestling. In the face of obstacles, the wrestler remained steadfast, drawing on the mental framework imparted by his coach throughout their rigorous training sessions.

“And, but I mean, to be the national champion, you got to work through those days and having coach Taylor there to kind of remind me of those on those hard days, it made a big difference because it kind of changed my mentality. Some days I was like, you know, I couldn’t; I was like, I don’t know what to do. And they’re like, ‘Hey, you can get, you can get stressed out or you can adapt’,” Hendrickson stated.

Collaborating with David Taylor was undoubtedly rewarding, and the mindset that the Olympic champion instilled in his wrestlers enabled them to accomplish remarkable feats on the mat. Oklahoma State University secured an impressive total of 102.5 points at the NCAA Championships, earning a commendable third-place finish in the team standings after they finished dead last, last year. Hendrickson played a significant role in this achievement, capturing the heavyweight title, and it’s clear that Taylor’s guidance was instrumental in making it happen.