No. 6 Virginia Tech Wrestling Hosts No. 3 Oklahoma State

Head coach Tony Robie has been around for plenty of big-time matchups during his tenure in Blacksburg. None may be bigger, though, than the one Virginia Tech (10-2) hosts on Sunday in Cassell Coliseum at 2 p.m. against No. 3 Oklahoma State (13-1).

Robie described the buzz surrounding Sunday’s dual to FloWrestling earlier this week.

“I don’t know what the numbers will look like, but I anticipate it will be among the best crowds we've ever had in Cassell Coliseum,” he said. “I've had a lot of people reach out. They're excited about it, and that's important for our program to draw attendance like that, to get people excited, to get people to travel from all over the state of Virginia and from this region to come watch us compete.

“It's great for our program. I think it's great in terms of how we're viewed within our athletic department. And we're excited for the challenge and the opportunity to wrestle Oklahoma State.”

Sunday's matchup is a rematch of last season's dual in Stillwater, in which the Cowboys thrashed the Hokies, 34-9. Virginia Tech is hoping to avoid a similar fate during one of the weekend's most highly anticipated duals.

Projected Key Matchups

A meeting of top-10 programs, this dual could feature nine ranked matchups, per InterMat. Although one or both lineups are subject to change, here are the most important for the Hokies.

The bouts at 125 and 133 are likely both coin flips, if lineup projections hold.

125: No. 3 Eddie Ventresca (VT) vs. No. 7 Troy Spratley (OSU)

This bout between two All-Americans very well could be the match of the day. They squared off twice last season: once during the Virginia Tech-Oklahoma State dual in Stillwater in which Spratley won the bout 10-1, and again during the NCAA Semifinals that resulted in a 6-4 Spratley victory in sudden victory tie-breakers.

Both wrestlers are legitimate national title contenders. The two-time All-American Ventresca is currently 16-2 on the year, picking up ranked wins against NC State’s 2025 National Champion then-No. 1 Vincent Robinson, North Carolina's No. 13 Kysen Terukina, Stanford’s No. 10 Nico Provo, and former Hokie No. 23 Cooper Flynn of Chattanooga. Ventresca’s win against Robinson was his fourth in the pair’s series dating back to last season. Notably, Robinson defeated Spratley in the National Championship bout last year, 2-1, and again by a score of 3-2 during the quarterfinals of the National Duals Invitational in November. Overall, Spratley is 0-3 all-time against Robinson. Coming off of a NCAA Runner-Up finish in 2025, Spratley is 11-2 on the year with ranked wins over West Virginia’s No. 5 Jett Strickenburger and Iowa State’s No. 11 Stevo Poulin.

On paper, this is an even matchup, despite Spratley’s 2-0 record against Ventresca. According to WrestleStat, Spratley is 23-14 against the pair's common opponents, compared to Ventresca’s record of 25-12. This bout may come down to the wire, just as their last matchup did.

133: No. 6 Aaron Seidel (VT) vs. No. 10 Jax Forrest (OSU)*

Of all of the matchups in this clash of top-10 programs, this particular one has drawn the most national attention, if it takes place. These freshmen phenoms are very familiar with each other. Forrest, a former teammate of Virginia Tech commit Bo Bassett at Bishop McCort in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, is currently 2-0 all-time against Seidel, picking up an 11-4 decision during the 2025 Mid-Winter Mayhem tournament and a 7-1 victory in the Pennsylvania 2A state final the following March.

Seidel is 15-0 this season, a tally that includes two pins, 12 technical falls, and one major decision. He has ranked wins against Rutgers’ No. 24 Dylan Shawver, NC State’s No. 25 Zach Redding, and Stanford’s No. 7 Tyler Knox.

Forrest, the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2026, currently sits at 7-0 on the season after joining the Cowboys in January via early enrollment, including six wins by bonus points. He has ranked wins against Northern Iowa’s No. 22 Julian Farber and Missouri’s No. 28 Gage Walker.

*Despite this bout's potential to be an exciting rematch featuring two of the nation’s best newcomers, it’s unclear if it will actually take place on Sunday. Forrest has one remaining appearance left before he loses his redshirt, and with Oklahoma State’s dual against Iowa coming up at the end of the month, it would make sense to sit him against the Hokies. There’s also a chance that Forrest could instead wrestle in an open tournament this weekend to increase his match totals in preparation for the postseason. In either case, Taylor would likely insert Ronnie Ramirez (7-3) to face Seidel.

These next three matchups lean toward Oklahoma State, but Tech has an outside chance to pull upsets in each of them.

157: No. 15 Ethen Miller (VT) vs. No. 7 Landon Robideau (OSU)

This matchup is a battle of experience versus youth. Miller, the graduate student transfer from Maryland and three-time NCAA qualifier, currently holds an 11-3 record in the 2025-26 campaign, with ranked wins over Stanford’s No. 10 Daniel Cardenas and Virginia’s No. 30 Colton Washleski. Robideau is having a strong freshman season, posting a 12-1 record and dropping ranked opponents in Cardenas, NC State’s then-No. 4 Jackson Arrington, and Iowa State’s No. 8 Vinny Zerban.

Miller is currently riding a six-bout win streak. If he can hold up early against Robideau and rely on his experience down the stretch, he may be able to pick up crucial team points in the Hokies’ favor.

197: No. 14 Sonny Sasso (VT) vs. No. 7 Cody Merrill (OSU)

Sasso and Merrill enter this matchup after wrestling two distinct campaigns. After starting off the season red hot, the usually steady Sasso (18-5) stumbled a bit in late December and into January, however, he’s won his last three ACC bouts, including a clutch 11-10 decision over No. 25 Patrick Brophy that iced the NC State dual. Meanwhile, Merrill has largely cruised in his second season in Stillwater, earning ranked wins over Missouri’s No. 12 Evan Bates, West Virginia’s No. 18 Rune Lawrence, and Stanford’s No. 13 Angelo Posada. He also took Iowa State’s four-time All-American No. 2 Rocky Elam to the brink in a thriller that came down to sudden victory tiebreakers.

The former No. 2 overall recruit in the Class of 2024 and Greco-Roman bronze medalist at the 2022 U17 World Championships, Merrill is by far the best opponent Sasso has faced all season. Sasso will need to have his best performance of the year to compete against the ‘Pokes’ offense-happy upperweight.

285: No. 17 Jimmy Mullen (VT) vs. No. 7 Konner Doucet (OSU)

This clash of heavyweights features two consistent performers for their respective programs. Mullen has anchored the top-half of the Hokies’ lineup this year, going 19-5 and earning ranked wins over Wyoming’s No. 11 Christian Carroll, Duke’s No. 23 Connor Barket, and Illinois’ No. 13 Luke Luffman. He has also closed out several duals for Virginia Tech this season, including against Stanford when he pinned Luke Duthie to seal the meet.

After sitting behind eventual National Champion Wyatt Hendrickson for the majority of last season, Doucet has been a stalwart for Taylor’s squad this season. He’s 12-2 so far on the year, and has ranked wins over Cornell’s then-No. 29 Ashton Davis, Arizona State’s No. 18 David Szuba, Oklahoma’s No. 21 Juan Mora, and Missouri’s No. 25 Jarrett Stoner. He also dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision against Iowa State’s No. 1 Younger Bastida, who has yet to lose this season.

Mullen will need his best stuff against Doucet, who has a 67% bonus point win rate against elite competition this year.

The remaining projected matchups more heavily favor the Cowboys:

141: No. 22 Tom Crook (VT) vs. No. 2 Sergio Vega (OSU)

149: Drew Gorman (VT) vs. No. 9 Casey Swiderski (OSU)

165: No. 33 Mac Church (VT) vs. No. 2 Ladarion Lockett (OSU)

174: No. 30 Sergio Desiante (VT) vs. No. 7 Alex Facundo (OSU)

184: No. 32 Jaden Bullock (VT) vs. No. 9 Zack Ryder (OSU)

Things to know:

• No. 7 Collin Gaj likely will not wrestle for the Hokies at the 149-pound spot after he suffered an ankle injury against Virginia last week. He didn't take the mat against No. 13 North Carolina on Friday night. Expect freshman Drew Gorman to go in his place.

• This is just Virginia Tech’s third ever matchup with Oklahoma State. The series began in 2010-11 at the NWCA National Duals, when the Hokies took down the then-No. 2 Cowboys, 18-16.

Outlook

This is a tough matchup for Virginia Tech. Oklahoma State is one of the best programs in the country for a reason, and under head coach David Taylor, the Cowboys have only continued to improve. The lineup that the ‘Pokes bring to Blacksburg almost certainly figures to be in the national title team race come March. Consequently, in order for the Hokies to pull off the upset, they’ll need to wrestle a nearly perfect dual.

It’s difficult to see how Tech can stick around in this one, given Oklahoma State’s sheer talent across the board. Of the five key bouts listed above, those at 125 and 133 are the best matchups for the Hokies. Bonus point wins in these matches would give Tech plenty of momentum early in the dual with the home crowd behind them, but unless Crook, Gorman, or Miller can pull off an upset or two, it’s likely that the Cowboys could be in control from there on out.

The bouts at 197 and 285 are especially important for the Hokies to potentially reclaim some momentum and score needed team points after the dual works through the Cowboys strong middleweights. Sasso and Mullen could fare better in their bouts, but they may come too late to make a sizable difference in the team score.

In addition to winning every key matchup mentioned above, Tech needs to take at least one of the remaining five matchups in which they are heavy underdogs. As always, bonus point wins throughout the dual will be critical for the Hokies to remain competitive, but against this Oklahoma State lineup, that could be a tall task; the Cowboys have lost just three three bouts by bonus points in 14 duals this season.

Prediction

Oklahoma State’s complete lineup proves too much for Tech, despite a spirited effort in front of a home crowd. Ventresca and Seidel pick up decisions, but overall the Hokies struggle to respond to the Cowboys' pace.

Team Score: Oklahoma State - 30, Virginia Tech - 6