Oklahoma State wrestling announces Jimmy Kennedy, Thomas Gilman added to staff

Jimmy Kennedy and Thomas Gilman were officially announced as associate head coach and assistant coach on David Taylor’s new Oklahoma State staff.

The Cowboys made a landmark decision in the hiring of Taylor, a Penn State legend and Olympic Gold Medalist. Now with Kennedy and Gilman, the staff began to take shape.

Kennedy served as an assistant coach at Penn State the last three seasons while Gilman trained at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club.

“Jimmy is a coach that everyone wants on their team,” Taylor said in a release. “He not only scraps with kids and can lay the hammer down, but he’s also someone who just really cares about the well-being of the athletes. He connects with people and has an energy in the room that makes everyone want to get better.”

Kennedy will be Taylor’s right hand man while Gilman will take on the first coaching role of his career.

“Thomas is one of those people that elevates others around him,” Taylor said. “I can’t wait to watch him grow into his role as a coach. I know he will pour into these kids and be a great leader for this program.”

Before Penn State, Kennedy was an assistant coach at Northwestern, starting as a volunteer in 2019.

As a wrestler, Kennedy was a three-time All-American at Illinois from 2007-11 and was the World Championships representative for Team USA in 2014.

Gilman wrestled at Iowa from 2013-17 and was a three-time All-American for the Hawkeyes. He was also a runner-up in 2016 at 125 pounds.

Like Kennedy, Gilman had success at the international level. However, Gilman seemingly leveled up on the senior level.

He was a World Silver Medalist in 2017 and totaled four medals in his career. The highlight game at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021), winning a Bronze medal.

Gilman also won the 2021 World Championships, claiming gold and won a Silver Medal in 2022.

With likely more to come, Kennedy and Gilman were the first two pieces to a new era under Taylor at Oklahoma State.

Taylor won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 at 86 KG. He’s also a three-time World Champion and won a Silver Medal at the 2021 World Championships.Taylor was a two-time NCAA champion and four-time finalist while at Penn State. His losses in the finals came to Bubba Jenkins (Arizona State) and Kyle Dake (Cornell). Ironically, Jenkins was at Penn State but transferred to ASU when head coach Cael Sanderson arrived in 2010.