Cowboy Wrestling set to host No. 3 Nebraska - Oklahoma State University Athletics

No. 2 Oklahoma State Cowboys
(1-0, 0-0 Big 12) | Head Coach: David Taylor (Third Season)
vs.
No. 3 Nebraska Cornhuskers | 7 p.m. CT
(1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) | Head Coach: Mark Manning (27th Season)

Dual 2 | No. 3 Nebraska | Nov. 13, 2026
Venue: Gallagher-Iba Arena
Stream: ESPNU (Shawn Kenney & Rock Harrison)
Radio: 93.7 KSPI-FM (Karsten Melton)
Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com

Social Media: @CowboyWrestling

The Basics
No. 2 Oklahoma State wrestling hosts No. 3 Nebraska at Gallagher-Iba Arena on Friday at 7 p.m. CT. The Pokes are fresh off a 45-0 home-opening victory over Drexel, a dual where they didn't allow a takedown. The Cowboys hosted a successful inaugural Cowboy Invitational where they took the team title and nine individual titles.

On the Air
The Cowboys host the Cornhuskers at Gallagher-Iba Arena on Friday at 7 p.m. CT, with the dual streaming nationally on ESPNU. Shawn Kenney and Rock Harrison will be on the call. On the radio side of things, Karsten Melton begins his first full season as the radio voice of Cowboy Wrestling, with the radio broadcast carried on Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM. Live stats and results can be found on okstate.statbroadcast.com, trackwrestling.com and @CowboyWrestling on X.

Series History
Oklahoma State has a stranglehold over its history with Nebraska, holding a 53-4-1 advantage over the Huskers. The first matchup in the series came all the way back in 1919 where the Cowboys won 23-19. Of teams the Cowboys have faced at least 40 times, they have the highest winning percentage over Nebraska (.922). In Stillwater, the Pokes are 25-1, while in the David Taylor era, they are 2-0, with both wins coming last season, including a 33-6 victory at National Duals when Nebraska was ranked No. 2. The two teams last faced off in Lincoln on Dec. 21, 2025, with the Cowboys winning 22-12 in the hostile environment. Nebraska head coach Mark Manning is 2-12 against OSU in his 30 years as a head coach.

In The Rankings
The Cowboys enter the 2026-27 season ranked No. 2 in the NWCA Coaches Poll. That ranking marks the highest rank to start a season since 2016. Oklahoma State is the highest-ranked team in the Big 12, sitting seven spots ahead of No. 9 Iowa State. On the individual side, three Cowboys (Jax Forrest – 133, Landon Robideau – 157 and Konner Doucet – HWT) rank No. 1 in their respective weight classes, with Sergio Vega at 149 pounds and Cody Merrill at 197 pounds just one spot behind at No. 2, respectively. All other weights feature a Cowboy representative in the top 15.

Orange Out
Friday's dual is the time to Orange out Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys will wear their traditional orange singlets in honor of the occasion. Fans are expected to match the Cowboys, wearing as much orange as possible as the Cowboys take on third-ranked Nebraska for the Cowboys' last home dual until January.

Cowboy Domination
The inaugural Cowboy Invitational saw many fireworks take place, with the Cowboys won the team title at the inaugural Cowboy Invitational, winning 53 of 64 bouts against non-OSU opponents and crowning nine individual champions. Statistically, the Pokes netted eight pins, 21 tech falls and 10 major decision victories. Note that OSU vs. OSU matchups isn't counted, according to the NCAA.

Michigan State Success
Oklahoma State freshman Jordyn Raney claimed the individual title at the Michigan State Open. Raney is 7-0 to start his Cowboy Career, going 5-0 in East Lansing at 149 pounds, including a 2-0 decision over Arizona State's No. 17 Pierson Manville for Raney's first ranked win as a Cowboy. Bennett Berge, Tagen Jamison and Lorenzo Norman all took home runner-up finishes, each claiming bonus-point victories.

Funk You Can Feel
Sophomore Jax Forrest is back and looking to build on one of the most impressive freshman campaign's we've seen in recent memory. Forrest left high school last December and hasn't looked back, going 19-0 and winning a national championship at 133 pounds just four months following his departure. The sophomore began his season with a Cowboy Invitational title, pinning two straight to reach the finals before tech falling No. 9 T.K. Davis of Gardner-Webb to claim the title. In his first dual action, Forrest defeated Cole Hagerty of Drexel in convincing fashion with a 17-2 tech fall in just over four minutes.

Vega Genesis
The only freshman to match Forrest's resume is that of teammate Sergio Vega. The 141-pound national champion didn't surrender a takedown all season, finishing with a staggering 24-0 record. Vega is set to move up to 149 pounds this season and ranks No. 2 entering the 2026 campaign and, just like Forrest, worked his way through the Cowboy Invitational to claim the title in his first collegiate bouts at 149 pounds. Against Drexel, Vega took home his first ranked win in dual action this season, defeating No. 24 Anthony Santianello, 6-1.

No. 1 for a Reason
All eight of last year's All-Americans return to Stillwater and they get to blend in with the No. 1-ranked recruiting class of 2026, according to MatScouts. The class has the likes of Dreshaun Ross, the top-class of 2026 heavyweight and a Fort Dodge, Iowa, native who went 146-2 in high school, only dropping two matches his freshman year and winning via tech fall or pin in every match his senior year. Ross is joined by the Raney brothers, Jayden and Jordyn, a pair of brothers who combined for a staggering 11 Kentucky state titles and both rank in the top 10 for the class of 2026, winning three total state titles while still in middle school. Blue chip recruit Rocklin Zinkin joins the class and has already made noise, winning four straight at the Cowboy Invitational to take the 125-pound title. Joining Zinkin, Mikey White started wrestling just four years ago and has already claimed an Indiana state title and, in his first work as a Cowboy, took the throne at 184 pounds on Nov. 1 at the Cowboy Invitational.

Pokes Gone Global
Oklahoma State is no stranger to success on the global stage, and this summer was no different. Former NCAA champion Wyatt Hendrickson returned to the Senior World Championships for the second straight year and claimed a bronze medal at 125kg for Team USA in Astana, Kazakhstan. At the U20 World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, incoming freshman Dreshaun Ross and returning NCAA champion Landon Robideau brought home medals for Team USA, with Ross winning silver at 125kg and Robideau taking bronze at 70kg.

New on the Mic
Karsten Melton is the new radio voice of Cowboy Wrestling. A Stillwater native, Melton has been attending OSU Athletics events since he was four years old. He graduated from Stillwater High School in 2019 and then graduated from OSU in 2023 from its prestigious sports media program. Since graduating, Melton has been a high school broadcaster, calling Perry High School football, basketball, and wrestling. He also assisted with broadcasting home OSU wrestling duals last season. The past two years Melton has been working and continues to work with Edmond Santa Fe High School and with high school streaming service, KREF Sports. When needed, Melton has filled in for a variety of OSU sports, including softball, baseball, soccer and wrestling. He also produces the Eric Morris and Steve Lutz radio shows.

Wrestling's House of Horror's
No venue in America has a richer wrestling tradition than Gallagher-Iba Arena, home of the Oklahoma State wrestling program since 1939. In its beginning as Gallagher Hall, the gymnasium was named for Ed Gallagher, but when renovations were completed in January 1988, it was renamed Gallagher-Iba Arena to honor the late Mr. Henry P. Iba, Oklahoma State's legendary basketball coach. Alongside 54 NCAA championship banners, Gallagher and Iba's names have looked over Oklahoma State's historic venue for nearly 40 years.

Since 1939, Oklahoma State has captured 25 NCAA team titles, completed 45 perfect campaigns at home and won more than 90% of its duals inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The building's opening coincided with the longest home unbeaten streak in program history, as the Pokes won their first 37 duals inside GIA as part of a 67-dual unbeaten streak at home. That stretch still stands as the program's longest home unbeaten streak, as OSU never suffered defeat from 1933 to February 1951.

Oklahoma State's next-longest home unbeaten streak occurred from the 1959 finale to the middle of the 1967 season, going undefeated for 57 duals in a row. Not far behind, the Cowboys won 51 consecutive duals inside Gallagher-Iba Arena from 1986-1993, good for the third-longest such streak in program history. More recently, John Smith guided the Cowboys to a 26-dual home winning streak from 2018-2022. Not long after the streak was snapped, Oklahoma State defeated South Dakota State on February 4, 2022, for the program's 500th victory inside the venue.

An Oklahoma State Win Would…

Improve its record to 2-0
Improve its record against Nebraska to 54-4-1
Improve its record against Nebraska in Stillwater to 26-1
Mark David Taylor's third win against a top-3 team
Mark Taylor's 30^th career dual win
Improve David Taylor's record to 3-0 over the Cornhuskers
Improve its home winning streak to 15 duals
Improve OSU to 15-0 at home under David Taylor
Improve OSU's dual record to 30-2 under David Taylor
Improve OSU's record to 60-8 in its past 68 duals
Improve OSU's record in the month of November to 19-1 since 2020

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bennett Berge

Konner Doucet

Jax Forrest

Tagen Jamison

Cody Merrill

Lorenzo Norman

Jordyn Raney

Landon Robideau

Dreshaun Ross

Sergio Vega

Mikey White

Rocklin Zinkin

Oklahoma State University Athletics