Jax Forrest Delivers Voltaic Debut as Cowboys Blank Sooners 37-0
Sold-out Gallagher-Iba crowd erupts as generational talent fulfills the hype in Bedlam rivalry
The moment the lights darkened ahead of the 133-pound bout, cheers erupted.
Lipps Inc’s “Funkytown” echoed through the Gallagher-Iba Arena sound system as the crowds grew louder by the second. The only thing that mattered to all 12,549 fans present for No. 5 Oklahoma State’s 37-0 win against No. 15 Oklahoma — the lone edition of Bedlam wrestling this season — was the name appearing on the videoboard.
“Jax Forrest.”
Cowboys’ coach David Taylor told reporters during his weekly media availability ahead of Sunday’s dual that Forrest, the No. 1 pound-for-pound recruit in the 2026 class, had officially enrolled early at OSU. That came shortly after Forrest had opted to forgo the remainder of his senior season at Bishop Court Catholic High School in Pennsylvania. Taylor spoke vaguely, it heightened the anticipation toward Forrest’s potential debut heading into Sunday.
Fans were in attendance to watch the lone Bedlam dual of the season. But Forrest stole the spotlight.
Oklahoma State freshman Jax Forrest pins Oklahoma's Carter Schmidt in 47 seconds during his collegiate debut at the Cowboys' 37-0 Bedlam victory Jan. 11, 2026, at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Forrest, the No. 1 pound-for-pound recruit in the 2026 class, recorded two takedowns before locking Schmidt in a cradle for the fall. – Photo by Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics
His skillset was on display the moment his match against OU’s Carter Schmidt started. He posted a takedown 15 seconds into the first period, before doing so again moments later. Then came the cradle before forcing Schmidt into a precarious position.
“I remember in the recruiting process, I told (Forrest), ‘Man, I’m gonna help you become a really good pinner,” Taylor said.
Less than a minute in, Forrest clinched the ultimate delicacy of a collegiate debut — a pin. It took him only 47 seconds.
THE DEBUT OF JAX FORREST WAS ELECTRIC 🤯🤯🤯
— NCAA Men's Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) January 12, 2026
In his first collegiate match, Forrest (133) of @CowboyWrestling gets a first period PIN over Oklahoma's Carter Schmidt. 🧷#NCAAWrestling x 🎥 ESPN+pic.twitter.com/LH1V6FZJ5l
Although Taylor clarified he hadn’t worked on pinning techniques with Forrest, his pin of Schmidt suggested otherwise.
“I just was wrestling, got him in a position and (thought), yeah confetti’s gonna come down and I’m gonna keep this guy on his back,” Forrest said.
As he rose from the mat shortly after the nearside official blew the match dead, the commemorative golden confetti did fall.
Forrest raised his finger pistols in the air and leading fans in a “O-S-U” chant before glancing around the arena and taking a moment to relish the product of his victory. The roar of the home crowd bellowed around him as “Forrest” chants echoed throughout the arena.
“It was honestly surreal,” Forrest said. “It’s something I’ve gone back and forth, a lot of thinking, a lot of talking with coaches about what the plan is for me. Honestly, it couldn’t have gone any better, going out there, working on the things I’ve been practicing on. A sold-out crowd, over 12,000 people, it couldn’t have gone any better for me.”
Less than one month removed from clinching the U23 World Championship at 61 kg and a fifth-place finish at the Senior World Championships, Forrest headlined one of college wrestling’s premier rivalries. The pundit-proclaimed generational talent had arrived at long last. He fulfilled the hype, and those present merely earned a firsthand experience of it.
“It was just a crazy experience,” OSU 174-pounder Alex Facundo said. “It didn’t even seem like a wrestling match. It just seemed like a welcome party to him, and that was awesome to see.”
But Forrest wasn’t the lone storyline of the night.
The Cowboys (9-1) clinched their 21st-consecutive victory against OU, and their first shutout win against the Sooners since February 1992. OSU posted a clean sweep of the 10 bouts, logging four bonus point victories, three of which came from freshmen wrestlers.
Oklahoma State's Alex Facundo, left, Zack Ryder, center, and Cody Merrill each recorded victories during the Cowboys' 37-0 Bedlam shutout of Oklahoma on Jan. 11, 2026, at Gallagher-Iba Arena. – Photos by Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics
Facundo downed No. 7 Carter Schubert of OU with a 7-2 decision. OSU’s 10th-ranked 184-pounder Zack Ryder dominated No. 11 Brian Soldano through a 10-6 decision, while No. 8 Cody Merrill scraped by the Sooners’ (7-2) ninth-ranked DJ Parker via a 3-1 decision.
Taylor, in his second season at the helm, said he knew of the rivalry prior to his hiring, but didn’t initially grasp its magnitude. As of Sunday, however, that has likely changed.
“I’m not from Oklahoma State so I (didn’t) share that same passion for it, but I’ll tell you what I did when I got here — I shared it,” Taylor said. “What’s meaningful to this university is meaningful to me. Bedlam is a meaningful thing to the state of Oklahoma. It’s a meaningful thing to our university.
“What we did tonight, it was special. We’ve talked about selling this place out — we’ve been talking about it. If you have a boring team, people probably won’t show up the same (way). Guys are excited to compete and they’re working hard to score to the end, and I think that people are starting to recognize that and realize that this is a special place to come and watch.”
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OSU has wrestled eight freshmen this season. Growing pains and “freshman moments,” as Taylor has called them, were on display throughout the early stages of the year. Despite that, however, the Cowboys haven’t been strangers to dominant outings.
If anything, OSU’s win was a product of a complete team effort.
Regardless of how Taylor plans to utilize Forrest with four dates remaining to maintain redshirt status, OSU fans and coaches are aware of the talent they have looming on their roster. Had it not been for Taylor pushing for Forrest to enroll early, Sunday’s Bedlam spectacle would have never occurred.
And most importantly, Forrest's ballad within OSU wrestling lore would have been put on hold.
“I just believe that this year, his best path to success was being here (at OSU) for the second semester,” Taylor said. “Getting this opportunity and getting the opportunity to be around this team and know that we had a young team, (it made sense). We’re building — this is what we’re building. We have a lot of really, really good young kids.
“That was a pretty good first match in college, huh?”
No. 5 Oklahoma State 37, No. 15 Oklahoma 0
Jan. 11, 2026 | Gallagher-Iba Arena | Stillwater, Oklahoma
125: No. 7 Troy Spratley (OSU) dec. No. 24 Conrad Hendriksen (OU), 3-0
133: Jax Forrest (OSU) fall Carter Schmidt (OU), 0:47
141: No. 2 Sergio Vega (OSU) dec. No. 25 Tyler Wells (OU), 3-1
149: No. 18 Casey Swiderski (OSU) MD Alex Braun (OU), 13-2
157: No. 6 Landon Robideau (OSU) TF Layton Schneider (OU), 21-6, 5:47
165: Kody Routledge (OSU) MD Peyten Kellar (OU), 11-3
174: No. 12 Alex Facundo (OSU) dec. No. 7 Carter Schubert (OU), 7-2
184: No. 10 Zach Ryder (OSU) dec. No. 11 Brian Soldano (OU), 10-6
197: No. 8 Cody Merrill (OSU) dec. No. 9 DJ Parker (OU), 1-0
HWT: No. 7 Konner Doucet (OSU) dec. No. 23 Juan Mora (OU), 2-1
📺 Watch Jax Forrest's Full Bout
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