Sports

Iowa State Wrestling Coach Kevin Dresser Calls Out Big 12 Over Bizarre Disqualification Reversals

by

© Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register/USA TODAY NETWORK


The 2025 Big 12 wrestling tournament in Tulsa kicked off on Saturday, but before the tournament could even start there was plenty of drama. Prior to the first matches, news began to circulate that Oklahoma State sophomore Tagen Jamison, who is ranked fifth in the country at 141 pounds, had been disqualified for a situation during weigh ins.

Nobody knew exactly what the situation was, but a disqualification would put an end to Jamison’s season as all wrestlers must compete at their conference tournaments in order to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. FloWrestling content director Christian Pyles later reported that Jamison and at least one other wrestler, rumored to Oklahoma’s Cleveland Belton altered undergarments and participated in weight-loss activity during weigh-ins, both would warrant an automatic disqualification.

However, when it came time for both wrestler’s first-round matches, each took the mat as if nothing had occurred. Jon Kozak of FloWrestling later reported that both wrestlers had been cleared. The situation became even more controversial when Jamison, the fourth-seeded wrestler in the tournament, went on defeat top seed and 2023 national champion Andrew Alirez, who many considered the favorite to win another national title.

Jamison is a rising star for the Cowboys under first-year head coach David Taylor. He now faces Northern Iowa’s Cael Happel in the Big 12 championship on Sunday. The winner of that match could well be the No. 1 seed at the NCAA Tournament in Philadelphia after Beau Bartlett of Penn State and Jesse Mendez of Ohio State, the top-two-ranked wrestlers in the country, both lost the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Mendez is the defending national championship at the weight. Alirez redshirted in 2023-24 in hopes of making the Olympic team.

Iowa State Coach Kevin Dresser Shares Frustration With Big 12 Tournament Debacle

After the day came to a close, reports asked Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser to explain what exactly went down.

“I’m just disappointed. You know, nobody wants anybody to sit out. But if this was the NCAA Tournament there would have been two or three wrestlers that would not have wrestled,” Dresser said. “Because the NCAA wouldn’t have put up with the hooey that went on this morning.

“There’s policies and there’s procedures that you follow. So I hope all those guys learn, because they got a freebie today. Because if they pull that in Philadelphia, they’ll be watching. Just the fact that they were eliminated then they were put back in, I could go on and on.”

As it is, Jamison went from his season ending to perhaps being the top seed at the NCAA Tournament. And Kevin Dresser was clearly not pleased with the way it all went down.