David Taylor has taken OSU by storm. The former champion wrestler turned coach has hit the ground running in his debut season, going 13-1 in the regular season and winning spectacularly at the Big 12 Championships. To say his acquisition has been a game changer is an understatement. But despite all that he’s accomplished, Taylor was just snubbed for an important award.
Off the mat, Taylor has drawn in record-breaking crowds at the Gallagher-Ibn-Arena and has influenced wrestlers like Zahid Valencia to join the Cowboys RTC. But of course the wins have been electric too. The Big 12 victory may have been the highlight, but Taylor also delivered an impressive 3rd place finish at the NCAA Championships, just a short year after the team finished dead last in 2024. Not to mention the fact that Dean Hamiti Jr. won them their first national title since 2021, followed by Wyatt Hendrickson‘s showstopping win against Olympic champion Gable Steveson.
So yes, the David Taylor era has been filled with some pretty high highs. And yet, when it was time for the Big 12 Conference to announce their individual awards, the title of Coach of the Year went to Doug Schwab of the University of Northern Iowa. It’s not entirely surprising considering Schwab was also named the NWCA Division I Men’s National Coach of the Year at the NCAA Championships. At the end of the day, Taylor isn’t the only coach who has delivered some impressive results this season.
2024-25 #Big12WR Coach of the Year
Doug Schwab | @UNI_wrestling pic.twitter.com/rawTwe2HcC
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 28, 2025
David Taylor might’ve been making the headlines, but Schwab has also had a fairytale season of his own. This year, he coached the Panthers to a 14-1 record in the regular season. These 14 wins are also the most the Panthers have earned since the 1990-91 season. Furthermore, the Panthers also had 10 wrestlers representing the program at the Wells Fargo Arena, with Parker Keckeisen even coming in as the national runner-up in the 184 lbs weight class. Furthermore, Cael Happel also secured All-American honors after his top five finish in the 141 lbs weight class.
Keckeisen and Happel’s results have meant that Schwab has also now coached 22 wrestlers to All-American status in his career. To put things into perspective, it was the best season out of all 15 of Schwab’s seasons with the team and also one of the best in the program’s 101 years of history. Their 9th place finish at the NCAA Championships was also the program’s best finish since they earned Division 1 status in the 1980-81 season. It’s clear that Schwab is a more than deserving winner, but he wasn’t the only winner of the night.
David Taylor lost out, but his star wrestler did not
Along with the Coach of the Year award, the Big 12 conference also named the Wrestler of the Year and the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. And in what is probably a surprise to no one, it was none other than Wyatt Hendrickson who was named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Year, as voted by the league’s coaches.
It marks yet another important moment of the David Taylor era, as Hendrickson is the first Cowboy to win this honor since Dean Heil in 2017. His victory at the Big 12 Championships propelled his team to the overall title, while his victory against Gable Steveson was a bona fide David vs. Goliath moment. Hendrickson is in a class of his own, and there’s no questioning his claim to this award.
As for the Scholar-Athlete of the Year, that award went to Utah Valley’s Terrell Barraclough. “Terrell being recognized by the Big 12 Conference as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year is a testament to his excellence off the mat,” said UVU head coach Adam Hall. Indeed, Barraclough was the picture of academic and sporting excellence as he balanced a perfect 4.0 GPA in the MBA program while becoming an All-American. What’s even more impressive is that the MBA program is said to be one of the most difficult programs at UVU.
Hall further added, “He has served as a great representative of our program all year, and I’m glad his efforts in the classroom are recognized. His 4.0 GPA in the MBA program demonstrates his dedication to being the best version of himself. Although he only spent one year with us, he leaves the school as one of the all-time great student-athletes.”
This trio of victors has truly pushed the limits during the 2024-25 season. Although there may be some debate as always, when it comes to awards like these, why these 3 won the votes this time is clear as day. And who knows, perhaps David Taylor might seal the win next year.
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