Zack Ryder, a 184-pound freshman who competed for Penn State this past season, revealed his commitment to Oklahoma State on Friday. Ryder went undefeated with an 8-0 record while redshirting at Penn State and has four years of eligibility left.
Oklahoma State coach David Taylor will be well-acquainted with Zack Ryder. Ryder chose to forgo his senior year at Minisink Valley High School in New York to train at the M2 Training Center, which was founded by Taylor.
Although Ryder didn’t compete for the Nittany Lions last season, there’s a good reason for that: he was behind Carter Starocci, the first five-time national champion in the sport’s history.
While redshirting last season, Ryder earned a share of the Black Knight Invitational title with Starocci. He pinned Michigan State’s Cory Thomas in the first round before defeating a ranked Brian Soldano 4-2. In the semifinals, Ryder faced Rutgers’ Shane Cartagena-Walsh, who later became the 16th seed in the NCAA Tournament. Ryder won 4-1 before a no-contest final against Starocci.
Ryder also claimed victory at the Southern Scuffle, defeating former Cowboy AJ Heeg in a sudden-victory final. At the Scuffle, Ryder pinned Virginia Tech’s TJ Stewart, an All-American in 2024, in the semifinals. He also beat Oklahoma’s ranked DJ Parker 9-2. Parker later reached the blood round at the NCAA Championships. Ryder’s strong performance at the Scuffle earned him Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors.
Ryder is an accomplished freestyle wrestler, having won U.S. Open titles for the past three years—two at the U17 level and most recently at U20. His success at the World Championships includes a second-place finish in 2024 at U20 after securing bronze in 2022 and 2023 at U17. Ryder’s U.S. Open appearances in 2023 and 2024 were through the M2 Training Center Taylor founded.
Ryder was ranked No. 6 on FloWrestling’s High School Big Board for the 2024 class.
While it was expected that Ryder would take the 184-pound spot for Penn State next season, the Nittany Lions added Ohio State transfer Rocco Welsh through the transfer portal. Welsh didn’t wrestle last season but made the NCAA finals at 174 pounds in 2024.
Dustin Plott, the Cowboys’ 184-pounder for the last two seasons, finished his eligibility this year. Brayden Thompson, who qualified for the NCAAs in 2024 at 174 pounds, and Jersey Robb are other 184-pound options for OSU.
Ryder is the third transfer to join the Cowboys this offseason, and the third from Penn State. Iowa State transfer Casey Swiderski started the trend, followed by Penn State’s Alex Facundo and Gary Steen.
Leave a Reply