Cowboy Wrestling Adds Former Army HC Kevin Ward to Staff

Ward is a former Oklahoma State wrestler and has been the head coach at Army since the 2014-15 season. Ward wrestled at OSU from 2001-06, where he was a part of four national championship programs. He won a Big 12 title at 157 pounds in 2005 and brought home a runner-up finish the following season.

“I’m excited to welcome Kevin Ward back to Oklahoma State Wrestling,” Taylor said in OSU’s release. “Kevin was part of four NCAA team titles as a Cowboy wrestler, helped start a successful program from the ground up at Ouachita Baptist and has been a consistent force at Army for more than a decade. His return to the wrestling room here at OSU is going to help us reach our goals for the highest levels of success on and off the mat.”

Ward completely changed the atmosphere for Army during his 11 seasons as captain of the tank. He recorded an overall record of 59-53 and coached 54 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. Seven Black Knights made nationals this season, which was the most since 2021 and the second most in program history. He was the EIWA Coach of the Year in 2019 and was a finalist for the NWCA National Coach of the Year in the same season.

“It’s hard to put into words my appreciation for the opportunity to come back to Oklahoma State,” Ward said. “It’s where my college wrestling and coaching careers started, and it’s a program that has given me so much over the years. The opportunity to give back to the program is something that’s really special for me, and I’m thrilled to join Coach Taylor and his staff."

Since David Taylor took over at Oklahoma State, the Pokes have added either to their coaching staff or to the Cowboys' RTC names like Jimmy Kennedy, Tyler Caldwell, Kevin Ward, Bryan Pearsall, Lee Roper, Rebecca Roper and Zoheir El Ouarraqe. The RTC currently houses the likes of Daton Fix, Zahid Vallencia, Roman Bravo-Young, Joey McKenna, Gary Traub, Dustin Plott, Wyatt Hendrickson, Dean Hamiti, Mirzo Khayitov and Izzak Olejnik.