Nation's No. 1 Wrestling Recruit Jax Forrest Enrolled at OSU

After months of speculation, Oklahoma State fans have their answer.

Jax Forrest, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2026 recruiting class according to FloWrestling, is enrolled as OSU and will likely utilize his five redshirt dates. OSU coach David Taylor told reporters the news during his weekly media availability.

“Just like our other (true freshmen), he’s got five dates to utilize,” Taylor said. “We’ll see how things go and how those dates are used. You’ve got to use them, and you’ve got to evaluate (as a coach).”

Forrest recently hinted on social media at the possibility he would be forgoing the remainder of his senior season at Bishop Court Catholic High School in Pennsylvania to enroll early at OSU. However, uncertainty lingered around whether Forrest would redshirt or grayshirt. 

Now, the only uncertainty remaining is how the Cowboys will utilize Forrest.

Forrest is projected to wrestle for OSU at the 133-pound weight class. Initial starter Richard Figueroa, a former 125-pound national champion at Arizona State, was benched in favor of freshman Ronnie Ramirez after enduring early-season struggles. And while Ramirez has turned heads halfway through his inaugural college campaign, freshman moments and growing pains have been visible. 

Could Forrest wrestle at 133 for the No. 5 Cowboys (8-1) when they host No. 15 Oklahoma (7-1) on Sunday at 5 p.m. in Gallegher-Iba Arena? That remains to be seen.

Forrest won the U23 World Championship at 61 kg and finished fifth at the Senior World Championships, downing multiple former NCAA champions in various events. If he were to be slotted into OSU's lineup Sunday, the task shouldn't be too daunting given Forrest's resume as a recruit.

Regardless, Taylor’s looming decision whether to stick with Ramirez or opt for his freshman prodigy could profoundly impact the trajectory of OSU’s season. Thus, the vitality behind it becomes all the more immense. 

“I think (Forrest) can look to the other freshmen that are there on the team,” Taylor said. “In the areas that they have had to improve in, I think it’s where you go from being a great high school wrestler to this next jump. He has great scoring potential, and there’s some things in his wrestling that he’s gonna have to clean up and get a little more disciplined. He’s wrestled at a really high level for a long time. But just like everyone, everyone’s got things they've got to improve on.

“We’ll continue to look at this and assess it from there.”

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Taylor previews ‘very different’ Oklahoma team

Taylor wasn’t coy on his assessment of this year’s Oklahoma team. 

“It’s a different team,” Taylor said. “It’s a different team than what they had last year. They had a lot of change, a lot of guys coming in out of the (transfer) portal. Their guys, they’ve been pretty good before, and they’ve done a pretty good job this year.”

The main difference in contrast to recent years? Simply put, Taylor said, the talent level.

The Sooners boast five ranked wrestlers, two of which hold top-10 slots in their respective weight classes. Ninth-ranked 197-pounder DJ Parker headlines OU’s lineup and could be an upset dark horse for the Sooner.

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Third-year Sooners’ coach Roger Kish has supplemented his lineup heavily through the transfer portal. That was no different this most-recent offseason, as Kish reeled in six transfers — highlighted by 184-pounder Brian Soldano from Rutgers. 

So far, that talent has vastly complemented OU’s returning starters. And it might be an element to watch heading into Sunday. 

“We’ve got to be ready to go,” Taylor said. “I would imagine that they would be pretty excited for this match and be ready to go. And that’s the fun part about wrestling dual meets — you’ve just got to be ready every single week. So, this will be a good test for our guys coming back from the break and getting the (second half) of the season kicked off.”

Taylor commends team for mental fortitude during break

Extensive breaks midseason are never easy to manage. Especially in wrestling, which Taylor noted. 

OSU’s most-recent dual came Dec. 22, 17 days ago, in a win at Nebraska. Its last home dual came two months ago Nov. 7 against Stanford.

Taylor commended his wrestlers for maintaining focus on the task at hand Sunday. And so far, Taylor said, no jet lag has been noticeable.

“Yeah — these guys are kids, but I think very much that they’re disciplined and the goals that they have are pretty big,” Taylor said. “I think just time at home with family and to get some time on their own to maybe work on some things you want to work on and maybe train at your own schedule, there’s a lot of value in that.

“So, I thought it was really beneficial. The (team’s) energy has been really good.”