Oklahoma State Legend John Smith Announces Retirement
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State legend John Smith announced his retirement Thursday, ending a 33-year run as head coach of the Cowboy wrestling program. The legacy of his career is astounding.
Under his watch, OSU produced five NCAA team championships, 33 NCAA individual championships, 490 dual wins, 153 All-America honors, 23 team conference championships, 132 individual conference championships and two Hodge Trophy winners. His accomplishments place him among the top coaches in the history of the sport.
Smith, 58, is the longest tenured wrestling coach in Oklahoma State history and trails only James Wadley (men’s tennis) and Henry Iba (men’s basketball) as the longest tenured head coaches at OSU, regardless of sport.
His 490-73-6 career dual record gives him the most wins in school history and the third-most wins in the history of Division I wrestling. His numbers for All-Americans, conference championships and individual conference champions are the most at OSU by a wide margin and are believed to be the most in NCAA wrestling history.
He also coached his teams to eight perfect dual season records, an all-time conference record of 171-24-5 and 21 top-five finishes at the NCAA Championships. His wrestlers won better than 70 percent of more than 16,000 bouts during his time as head coach and went on to claim double-digit spots on Team USA at the world level. “It has been an honor to coach for more than 32 years at the same institution,” Smith said. “I can’t even begin to tell you what Oklahoma State has done for me, my wife, my immediate family and brothers and sisters who all graduated from OSU. My journey started at age 17 here at Oklahoma State and it has allowed me to accomplish everything I ever wanted.”
Beyond the numbers, Smith is recognized widely for his contributions to the sport. He is a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, a two-time selection as the National Wrestling Coaches Association coach of the year and a 15-time selection as conference coach of the year. He was also the first wrestler to be inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and is a member of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. “Coach Smith is a hero and truly the greatest of all time,” … rest at … OKstate.com/Cowboy-wrestling-oklahoma-state-legend-john-smith-announces-retirement
Active College Coaches – Top 25 part 2- NCAA Divisions II & III – TDR # 31-83
Top 25 Active College Coaches’ Lists as of March 2024
Recent retirees are included and noted in the lists. The following are active head coaches now or in a recent year. We welcome input and corrections. Contact us at martinkfleming@gmail.com
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Top 25 Division II ACTIVE Coaches with at least 79 wins
- Pat Pecora (Pitt-Johnstown) 661
- Mike Denney (Maryville Univ./Nebr.-Omaha) 389 – retired in 2023
- Steve Costanzo (St. Cloud Univ.&Dana College) 333
- Jim Makovsky (Minn. St.-Mankato/Valley City St.) 326
- Robert Fisher (Kutztown Univ.) 241
- Doug Henry (Gannon Univ.) 234
- Heath Grimm (Upper Iowa Univ.) 229
- Jason Reitmeier (Augustana College-S.D.) 225
- Mike Wehler (Mercyhurst, West Liberty State) 215
- James Kisgen (McKendree) 173 {II} since 2010
- R.C. LaHaye (Lander/Grand Canyon) 135
- Othello ‘O.T.’ Johnson (U. N.C.-Pembroke) 133
- Jason Warthan (Indianapolis Univ.) 132
- Jason Ramstetter (Adams State College) 131
- Chuck Piper (Colorado Mesa) 129– retired in 2022
- Kenn Caudell (Belmont-Abbey College) 127 – retired in 2023
- Dalton Jensen (Nebraska-Kearney) 112
- Shawn Nelson (Findlay Univ.) 107 inc.
- Seth Bloomquist (Shippensburg State) 105
- Todd Steidley (Central Oklahoma) 101
- Dax Charles (Colorado State-Pueblo) 94
- Dock Kelly (Anderson) 93 now at NAIA school
- Brett Hunter (Chadron State) 88
- Brian Tucker (Seton Hill) 87
- Joey Simcoe (Grand Valley/Tiffin) 79
- Danny Irwin (Wheeling Jesuit/West Liberty) 79
ACTIVE Coaches(D-III)– Top 25 (or so) with at least 150 wins
- Roger Crebs (Lycoming College) 450
- Lonnie Morris (Johnson & Wales) 446
- Ron Beaschler (Ohio Northern Univ.) 391
- Bruce Haberli (New York University) 345
- Dave Mitchell (Luther College) 327
- Tim Fader (Wisc.-Eau Claire/Whitewater/La Crosse) 319
- Martin Nichols (Ithaca College) 313
- Jon Laudenslager (Wilkes University) 290
- John Oostendorp (Coe College) 278
- Jay Jones (Rhode Island College) 274
- Bryan Brunk (Messiah College) 266
- Brad Bruhn (SUNY-Cortland) 236 – retired in 2022
- Dave Malecek (Wisconsin-LaCrosse State) 232
- Sebastian Amato (Trinity College) 228
- Drew Black (Wesleyan Univ.) 227
- Duane Ritter (SUNY Oneonta State) 207
- Jon Egan (Roger Williams) – 193
- Mike Howard (SUNY-Oswego State) 189
- Eric Keller (Wartburg College) – 183
- Jon McGovern (Dubuque University) – 178
- Craig Thurber (Thiel College) – 171
- Jamie Gibbs (Baldwin-Wallace) – 169
- Brian Anderson (Wabash College) – 167
- Joe Galente (College of New Jersey) 158
- Leo Kocher (University of Chicago) 154 – inc. retiring in 2024
TDR blog
After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
Martin Fleming, Editor
Takedown Report
Takedown Report 