Jax Forrest explained his choice to pick Oklahoma State wrestling over Penn State and others who were in on the recruiting battle.
Forrest is a guy any school would have liked to have, and it came down to Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma State and Penn State.
Ultimately, the Big 12 OSU, led by Penn State wrestling legend and Olympic Gold Medalist David Taylor, won out.
HOW IT BEGAN
Letโs go back to where Forrestโs relationship began.
Ironically, it involves a current Penn State wrestler.
One of Forrestโs few losses was to Luke Lilledahl at Ironman 2022.
Not long after that, he had a weekend off and spent it in Stillwater, where he got to know the Oklahoma State family, particularly Daton Fix and Zoheir El Ouarraqe.
โI have a really close relationship with Zo and heโs someone whoโs been helping me so much throughout this process,โ Forrest said. โThe one thing that really stuck out to me that was different about Oklahoma State is just all their supporting staff and Zo and all the other people that my parents know down there and everything.โ
Forrest also liked that, although the Oklahoma State family wanted him to choose their school, the didnโt pressure him.
โWhat was really cool about them is they all just wanted me to choose what was best for me,โ he said. โObviously, (me going to) Oklahoma State is what they wanted, but they were super open to wherever I was gonna go. So thatโs what really stuck out to me about this place that Iโm going to be going to.โ
MEETING OBJECTIVES
For a guy like Forrest, whoโs 118-3 in his career at Bishop McCort with 108 of those wins coming by either bonus points or forfeit, no goal seems to be unreachable at or even beyond the college level.
All-America?
Absolutely.
Multi-time national champ?
You bet.
Hodge Trophy winner?
Yes.
Olympic champion?
Why not?
For Forrest, making this decision came down to what school would provide him with the most help in achieving these goals.
โThatโs very broad,โ Forrest said, โbut I think with that, my style of wrestling, just who I am kind of, obviously there are more things that go into it. So just for me, how I wrestle, I wanted to be somewhere where theyโre gong to contribute to develop how I wrestle because I wrestle a different style. Right from there, thereโs different coaches that are known to do that, that arenโt known to do that. That just changes everything, so everything that goes into it is just me wanting to achieve my goals at the highest level and with the least amount of crazy things that go on around it and adversity.โ
DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?
Graphic by Oklahoma State Wrestling: David Taylor
As Forrest began to narrow his recruitment, he noticed that he and Taylor, known as โThe Magic Man,โ shared similarities.
Forrest was in middle school when Taylor won Olympic Gold in 2021 and ultimately decided learning under that guy wouldnโt be too bad.
Thatโs a big reason Oklahoma State wrestling won the recruiting battle over Penn State.
โHeโs done all the things that I want to achieve,โ Forrest said, โand I think just the fact that weโre similar in a lot of ways with how we wrestle, how we are on and off the mat, I think heโs somebody who could get me to achieve those goals. Sitting down with my parents, I think thatโs been the real game-changer.โ
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT
Forrest confirmed what most on the outside expected, which was that he expects to compete at either 141 or 149.
Whatever weight class he competes at, heโs part of a bright future Taylor and company are building.
Forrestโs commitment to OSU followed one from Dreshaun Ross, who is right behind Forrest at No. 3 in the Class of 2026 ย rankings.
Wrestling Recruiting: Big-Time Penn State Target Commits to David Taylor, Oklahoma State
The 2025 recruiting class is strong in Stillwater, too, with FloWrestling ranking it second behind Cornell and ahead of Penn State, which is third.
โItโs awesome,โ Forrest said. โI know those guys. I was on visits with Dreshaun and I know D pretty well and I already know some guys on the team. I know Sergio (Vega). Theyโre all really good kids and I know them and I know that they have goals similar to mine. Itโs just been my calling. Through everything, it just seems like this was the place that stuck out in my mind of where is going to help me be my best and still be able to be myself and not have to change anything about me.
โI think weโre going to be a team thatโs going to be good. Weโre going to be on the come up. Obviously, theyโve already been doing some really big things and Iโm sure Coach David is going to keep trying to keep making the best team he can and thatโs going to be exciting. The future is unknown, obviously, but I have faith that itโs going to be good.โ
Overall, Forrest is sure he made the right choice.
โI donโt have any regrets and I wonโt have any regrets about going to Oklahoma State.โ
