Nothing is confirmed yet but it looks like Penn State wrestling legend David Taylor may not have wrestled his last match.
Per Justin Basch of the Baschamania Podcast, there is “a lot of steam picking up offline, with credibility” that “The Magic Man” will compete at 92 KG in the World Team Trials scheduled for Sept. 14-15 in Omaha, Nebraska.
There is a lot of steam picking up offline, with credibility, that David Taylor will be competing at 92kg at the WTT.
Nothing is official yet, but it seems the original plans, announced at the Press Conference, have changed. pic.twitter.com/1RY6KldGeU
— Justin Basch (@JustinJBasch) August 29, 2024
This past spring, Taylor became the head coach at Oklahoma State in a move that sent shockwaves through the wrestling community.
Taylor said at his introductory press conference that this marked the end of his competitive career, and it looked like a closed case. But plans change, and although they might not be changing here, Basch reported that seems the original plans, announced at the Press Conference, have changed.”
Taylor wouldn’t be the first to try to qualify for the World Championships while running a major college program.
In 2011, Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson, who helped Taylor to folkstyle greatness, competed at World’s months after winning his first of 11 (and counting) national titles at PSU.
Sanderson finished fifth, which looks modest considering the rest of his legendary career but, in reality, is extraordinary considering it had been seven years since his last freestyle competition.
Taylor isn’t nearly as far removed from competing. This past April, he wrestled another PSU great, Aaron Brooks, at 86 KG in a best-of-three series with a spot in the Paris Olympics on the line. At Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center, Brooks beat Taylor in two straight matches to make it to Paris, where he took Bronze. It looked like that was the end for Taylor, and it’s still possible that it was.
But things are more interesting now.
If Taylor competes at the World Trials and qualifies, he’d be going to Albania Oct. 28-31 as a three-time World Champ. The most recent of these titles took place last autumn in Belgrade, when he beat Iran’s Hassan Yazdani by fall.
Taylor also beat Yazdani for his Olympic Gold Medal Aug. 2021 in Tokyo.
Although all of this happened at 86 KG, not 92, one would think Taylor would have a shot at a fourth World Title and first since becoming Oklahoma State’s coach.
At Penn State, Taylor won two national titles, made two more title matches and won two Hodge Trophies (wrestling’s Heisman).
