Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Wrestling
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Phone:
- (405) 744-4541
Coleman Scott recently completed his first season as the associate head coach at Oklahoma State after joining the staff in August, 15 years removed from his graduation from OSU in 2008.
In Scott’s first season back on staff, the 2023-24 campaign saw Daton Fix and Dustin Plott each make the NCAA finals, while 165-pounder Izzak Olejnik finished fifth to give the Cowboys their most placers since 2021. Fix’s final season in Stillwater included becoming the Big 12’s first five-time champion and first five-time All-American in program history. Oklahoma State excelled in dual competition throughout the regular season, winning its first 14 duals to conclude the year with a 14-1 record. Three of those victories came against top-five ranked teams, as the Cowboys went on an outstanding run of defeating a ranked opponent in 10 straight duals and ultimately leading the country with a dozen ranked victories. The Cowboys also set a program record with a season attendance average of 5,871 fans and hosted their first sellout at Gallagher-Iba Arena since 2019. The Pokes would go on to finish second at the Big 12 Championships with 141.5 points, most by a runner-up in league history.
Scott originally began his coaching career in Stillwater, where he served as a volunteer assistant during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. During his two years on staff, Scott helped coach Cowboy wrestlers to four individual national titles, including two straight by fellow staff member Chris Perry and the first of three NCAA championships from Alex Dieringer. A dozen Cowboys earned All-America honors during Scott’s two seasons, including seven in 2013, which was tied for the program’s most in 23 years. Oklahoma State also captured the Big 12 title in both seasons and crowned 14 individual conference champions.
Following his two years as a volunteer at Oklahoma State, Scott was hired by North Carolina as a full-time assistant coach ahead of the 2015 season. He spent just one year on staff before being promoted in August of 2015 to become the program’s sixth ever head coach.
During Scott’s eight years as head coach, he guided the Tar Heels to a 75-49 overall dual record, good for the second-best winning percentage in program history at .605. That mark included a 23-17 record against conference opponents, and he coached 16 Tar Heel All-Americans and nine ACC individual champions.
North Carolina landed top-20 finishes in each of Scott’s final five seasons for the most successful five-year run at North Carolina since 1986-90. UNC posted multiple All-America wrestlers in every season throughout that stretch, with a Tar Heel reaching the national finals in each of his last three years.
In his final year on staff, Scott helped North Carolina secure its seventh individual national champion, as Austin O’Connor completed a perfect 23-0 season at 157 pounds. With the victory, O’Connor became just the second multiple-time NCAA champion in UNC history and first to garner All-America honors five times. With two other Tar Heels also reaching the podium at the NCAA championships, North Carolina completed its best team finish since 1995 with a 12th-place, 42-point outing.
Scott was a tremendous wrestler for the Cowboys from 2005-08, compiling a record of 120-24 with 50 bonus-point wins. He was the 13th four-time All-American in program history and claimed an NCAA championship at 133 pounds in 2008.
Oklahoma State captured the NCAA team title in Scott’s first two years on the team, and he played a vital role in OSU’s success. As a true freshman, Scott earned All-America honors with an eighth-place finish at 125 pounds and improved on the mark with a fifth-place result the following year. Scott became the 15th Cowboy to finish on the podium in their true freshman season and the second in almost 25 years.
As a junior, Scott bumped up weight classes to 133 pounds and was a national finalist before finally completing the job as a senior, capturing his first national title. Scott’s senior campaign in 2008 was his best in Stillwater, boasting a 33-4 record and scoring bonus points 13 times. At the NCAA Championships, Scott received the third seed before racing through the 133-pound field and ultimately pinning Iowa’s Joey Slaton in 49 seconds in the championship match.
Oklahoma State also won the Big 12 Championship in Scott’s freshman and sophomore seasons. As a true freshman, he brought home the 125-pound conference title and was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler. Scott would go on to win his second Big 12 title as a junior in his first season at 133 pounds.
A native of Waynesburg, Pa., Scott originally arrived in Stillwater as one of the top recruits in the nation after winning both the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award and Junior Wade Schalles Award as a senior at Waynesburg Central High School. He was the first Cowboy signee to ever receive the prestigious Dave Schultz award, and just three other Cowboys have earned the award since.
A consistent figure on the American freestyle circuit, Scott has garnered an extensive amount of international experience as both a wrestler and coach since 2008. The highlight of Scott’s freestyle career came in 2012, when he claimed a bronze medal at 60 kg at the London Olympics.
Despite winning the United States Olympic Team Trials that year, Scott’s victory didn’t automatically cement his Olympian status due to a unique situation in which the USA had not yet qualified the weight class for the Olympic Games. Reece Humphrey and Shawn Bunch, the top-two ranked American wrestlers at the weight, were at a tournament to qualify the weight class at the time of the Trials, forcing Scott to beat them both in a three-person wrestle off for a place on the Olympic roster. He did just that, defeating both wrestlers at “The Grapple in the Big Apple” to seal his spot in London.
At the Olympics later that summer, Scott reached the semifinal round before ultimately walking away with a bronze medal. With the result, Scott became the 13th Olympic medalist in Cowboy wrestling history.
Scott was also a six-time member of the Senior National team, placing third at the World Team Trials in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2015, as well as second at Phase II of the Trials in 2014. A 2008 champion at the U.S. Open, Scott also captured a gold medal at the Pan American Championships in 2016. Following his career as an athlete, Scott served on staff for the World champion USA Men’s Freestyle team in 2017 and the USA Women’s Freestyle team the following two years.
In June, Scott will be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member alongside fellow Cowboy alumnus Tadaaki Hatta.
He and his wife Jessica have three children: daughter Leighton and sons Stetson and Cash.
NCAA Team Championships
2005 - 125 pounds
2006 - 125 pounds
NCAA Individual Championships
2008 - 133 pounds
Big 12 Individual Championships
2005 - 125 pounds
2007 - 133 pounds
NCAA Individual Champions Coached
2013 - Jordan Oliver, 149 pounds; Chris Perry, 174 pounds
2014 - Alex Dieringer, 157 pounds; Chris Perry, 174 pounds
2021 - Austin O'Connor, 149 pounds (UNC)
2023 - Austin O'Connor, 157 pounds (UNC)
Big 12 Team Championships as a Coach
2013 Reg. Season - Volunteer Assistant Coach
2014 - Volunteer Assistant Coach
Senior Level Experience
2008 U.S. Open - Second
2009 World Team Trials - Third
2010 World Team Trials - Third
2011 World Team Trials - Third
2012 Olympic Team Trials - First
2012 London Olympics – Bronze
2014 World Team Trials Phase II - Second
2015 World Team Trials - Third
2016 Pan American Championships – Gold
Senior Level Experience as a Coach
2017 - Senior Men's World Team
2018 - Senior Women’s World Team
2019 - Senior Women’s World Team
