Former Air Force heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson to compete for Oklahoma State Wrestling

Wyatt Hendrickson, a two-time All-American from the Air Force Academy, is all set to join the Oklahoma Cowboys for the fifth and final year of his eligibility. Hendrickson entered the wrestling transfer portal after the recently concluded NCAA Championships.

Hendrickson's move to the Oklahoma Cowboys was fairly inspired by the presence of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist David Taylor in its staff roster. Taylor recently joined the Oklahoma Cowboys as its wrestling head coach.

In a recent episode of The Barn Session podcast with Sammy Cokeley, Hendrickson opened up about joining the Cowboys.

"After praying, one place stood out to me. I said, what a great opportunity if David Taylor could be my coach. I’m gonna be going to Oklahoma State, baby!" Hendrickson said (17:55).

Hendrickson, a member of the Air Force Academy Falcons, required the approval of the Air Force to compete for a different school which he obtained last month.

Hendrickson will be a great addition to the roster of the Oklahoma State Cowboys, especially with its new coach, Taylor, in one of his first major coaching assignments. The Cowboys' recent form has not been good with the side finishing 10th at the NCAA Championships in March. However, with Hendrickson's arrival, the Cowboys might hope for a change of fate in their results.

Hendrickson made a name for himself in collegiate wrestling with an overall wrestling record of 103-11 while representing the Air Force Academy. The Kansas native qualified for the nationals in all four years of his collegiate career with the Air Force Academy and also finished third in the last two editions of the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

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Wyatt Hendrickson lost to Lucas Davison in the semifinals of the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships

Wyatt Hendrickson

The two-time All-American Wyatt Hendrickson started the NCAA Championships in blistering fashion by defeating some high-profile collegiate wrestlers. The Kansas native beat the likes of Nick Feldman (Ohio State) by a dominant margin of 14-5.

However, Hendrickson's superb run ended in the championships' semifinals after Michigan's Lucas Davison got the better of him. Davison produced a dominant performance to beat the Air Force wrestler by decision.

Hendrickson's third-place match was against Missouri's Zach Elam, an opponent whom he had already beaten in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Wyatt Hendrickson got the better of Elam once again and defeated him 14-2 by decision to finish third in the NCAA Championships 2024.

This is Hendrickson's second consecutive third-place finish in four appearances at the championships so far.