Oklahoma State NCAA champion Wyatt Hendrickson named Dan Hodge Trophy winner

Oklahoma State wrestling national champion Wyatt Hendrickson was named the 2025 Dan Hodge Trophy winner Monday. WIN Magazine revealed it was the second closest race in the history of the award.

The Hodge Trophy is wrestling’s version of the Heisman Trophy in college football. Hendrickson received 30 first place votes while Penn State’s Carter Starocci received 26. Penn State had another nominee, Mitchell Mesenbrink, who was the 165 pound champ, and he received three first place votes.

CLICK HERE to watch Unstoppable on Prime Video — The true story of the indomitable spirit of Anthony Robles

Hendrickson concluded his college wrestling career with the Cowboys after graduating from the Air Force Academy. He defeated 2x NCAA champion and 2021 Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson (Minnesota) in the finals 5-4.

“The 145th national champion for Oklahoma State and third wrestler to win the Hodge, Hendrickson narrowly won one of the most competitive Hodge votes in history, as the Cowboy acquired 30 out of 59 first-place votes, with Penn State’s Carter Starocci (184) earning 26 and fellow Nittany Lion Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) acquiring three,” Tristan Warner of WIN wrote. “The Hodge Trophy Voting Committee is comprised of a retired college coach from each region of the country, a representative from each of the national wrestling organizations, select national media members and past Hodge winners.

The heavyweight champion also won the official Hodge Fan Vote, receiving 16,001 votes out of the total 32,961 verified fan votes that were cast online March 25-28. Starocci finished second in the fan vote with 13,108, while Mesenbrink finished third with 3,852.”

Hendrickson showed something was different this year. He forced a tight scramble in the first period against Steveson but trailed 4-2 going into the third period. Despite giving up a takedown, Hendrickson fired a shot with less than a minute to go. Hanging onto a single leg, Hendrickson kept sliding forward, beating Steveson’s sprawl and switched to a double for a go ahead takedown. 

“At the beginning of the week, Brandon Mason, our doctor, we went to Life Church and he was, like, hey, guys great sermon,” Hendrickson said. “I was listening to the sermon. He was talking about David and Goliath. And David had a vision of victory before he stepped on the mat.

“I kind of carried that with me all week. Even though he went after Goliath and everyone was, like, this can’t be done, he had a mind of a champion, he had a vision of victory. Leading up to this tournament I knew that my head had to be in the right place if I wanted to end up on top.”

Hendrickson finished his final season 27-0, had 13 pins, eight tech falls and a bonus rate of 81.5%. He is a three-time All-American (twice with Air Force) and a 2025 NCAA champion. He’ll spend the next three years in Stillwater training for the 2028 Olympics before transitioning fully to military service for the remainder of his career.