Air Force wrestling All-American Wyatt Hendrickson visits Oklahoma State
Two-time heavyweight All-American Wyatt Hendrickson took a visit to Oklahoma State, according to a post on his Instagram page.
In the caption, Hendrickson wrote: “1 of 4,” indicating he has three more visits after entering the portal out of Air Force. When Hendrickson appeared in the portal, he was listed with a “do not contact” tag.
He had one year of eligibility left due to the 2021 COVID season. Hendrickson was granted special permission to pursue a graduate year before his military service.
Over the course of four seasons at Air Force, Hendrickson went 96-11 and was a two-time All-American, finishing third the last two seasons.
As far as the other visits for Hendrickson go, there is speculation he’ll visit Missouri as one of the other three schools on his list.
Hendrickson lost only two matches each of the last two seasons. He fell 13-7 to Michigan’s Lucas Davison, who was an NCAA finalist in 2024. He also lost to Iowa State’s Yonger Bastida in the Big 12 finals.
In 2023, Hendrickson lost to eventual national champion Mason Parris (Michigan) and Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet, the ’23 runner up and ’24 champion.
The sought after heavyweight is the top one available in the portal. Meanwhile, Rutgers saw the return of Yaraslau Slavikouski out of the portal after the All-American weighed his options.
Wyatt Hendrickson visits Oklahoma State
Hendrickson took his first visit with the Cowboys and would provide an immediate national title boost to the heavyweight part of the lineup. However, he’ll have to do it without legendary coach John Smith, who just retired after the season.
Coleman Scott will serve as the interim head coach for Oklahoma State.
Smith released a statement after making the decision.
“It has been an honor to coach for more than 32 years at the same institution,” Smith said. “I can’t even begin to tell you what Oklahoma State has done for me, my wife, my immediate family and brothers and sisters who all graduated from OSU. My journey started at age 17 here at Oklahoma State and it has allowed me to accomplish everything I ever wanted.”
Smith is Oklahoma State’s all-time winningest coach with a dual record of 490-73-6. His 490 dual wins is the most among active coaches and third overall at the Division I level, only behind Harold Nichols and Dale Thomas. Smith joined Nichols and Thomas as the only Division I head coaches to reach even 450 career dual wins.