The Open Mat presents awards annually in three categories for each division of college wrestling at the conclusion of the season. Awards are presented for Freshman of the Year, Coach of the Year and Wrestler of the Year.

David Taylor replaced legendary coach and wrestler John Smith as Oklahoma State's head wrestling coach after the 2023-24 season.

In his first season as head coach at Oklahoma State, Taylor guided the Cowboys to a team trophy and crowned multiple champions at the 2025 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

On Monday, Taylor was named 2025 NCAA Division I Coach of the Year by the Open Mat.

Taylor, an Olympic champion and three-time world champion, wasted little time making an impact at Oklahoma State. The Cowboys opened their season on the road, picking up dominant road victories over Oregon State and Wyoming, outscoring the two teams 69-9. Oklahoma State cruised to a 33-6 win over Arizona State in the team's home opener.

In December, Oklahoma State won the team title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, college wrestling's most prestigious regular season tournament. The Cowboys not only won the team title in Las Vegas but did so in dominant fashion, winning by 77 points over runner-up Nebraska. A week later, Oklahoma State won the Bedlam dual over Oklahoma, 35-3.

Oklahoma State reeled off dual wins over several nationally ranked programs, including Virginia Tech, NC State, West Virginia, Northern Iowa, Iowa State Missouri and Little Rock. OSU's lone dual loss came on Feb. 23 to Iowa, 21-16, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

The Cowboys finished the season with a 13-1 dual meet record. Oklahoma State had a home attendance average of 7,597, marking the program's highest single-season amount on record and a nearly 30% increase of its 2024 average.

Taylor led Oklahoma State to a title at the 2025 Big 12 Wrestling Championships, becoming only the second first-year head coach to lead a team to a Big 12 title.

Two weeks later, Oklahoma State captured a team trophy at the 2025 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships with a third-place finish in Philadelphia. Three Cowboys reached the NCAA finals, with two winning national titles, Dean Hamiti (174) and Wyatt Hendrickson (285). Six Oklahoma State wrestlers earned All-America honors.

In addition, Wyatt Hendrickson became the third Oklahoma State wrestler ever to win a Dan Hodge Trophy, which is award to the nation's top NCAA Division I wrestler. Hendrickson stunned Olympic champion Gable Steveson of Minnesota in the NCAA finals at 285 pounds.