Jax Forrest has been receiving backlash from fans for his top seed at the upcoming 2026 NCAA Championships. Amid this, ex-Mizzou star, Cole Baumgartner, defended the OSU freshman, lauding his achievements on the mat.
Forrest’s latest outing on the mat was at the Big 12 Championships, where he competed in the 133-pound weight category. On March 7, he squared off against Arizona’s Kyler Larkin in the final round and registered a stunning 15-2 major decision victory. Following this win, he also won the Most Outstanding Wrestler honor at the championships.
The Oklahoma freshman is now seeded No. 1 at the upcoming NCAA wrestling championships. Shortly after the bracket and seedings were revealed, he faced backlash from some of the fans, who stated his seeding was unfair. One of the users on X wrote:
“The NCAA seeding committee just told everybody that most of the regular season means absolutely nothing. Jax Forrest is the 1 seed at the national tournament with a record of 13-0. I believe that is wrong.”
Amid this hate, Baumgartner, defended Forrest by stating his achievements, highlighting why he deserved the top seed.
“I hate to be out here defending an Okie state wrestler, but he is undefeated with wins over the 4, 5, and 6 seed. Not sure what else you need him to do.”
Jax Forrest Weighed in on his Big 12 Championships Win
Following his stunning win against Kyler Larkin in the Big 12 Championship, Jax Forrest addressed the media, where he laid bare his victory in the 133-pound category. He shared his training routine, revealing that he trains from early mornings to multiple times a day. Weighing in on his goal for the upcoming NCAA Wrestling Championships, he said:
“It’s just wrestling, you know? It’s what I train every day, multiple times a day, early mornings, late nights, is just for times like this.
“You know, I wasn’t thinking about the Big 12s until a couple weeks ago, you know, in my mind, this is just a stepping stone to nationals in two weeks. Based on what you tell us, you wanted that tech fall. That would have been a perfect symmetry for tech falls.”
He further opened up about where he got his athleticism from:
“I mean, that’s just I’m different, I guess. You know, my dad wrestled, my mom swam. So, athletics is just built in me, even though you wouldn’t guess it, but it’s just that mindset of just my dad instilled in me of just scoring points.
“And, you know, it would have been great to get that tech. I was really close, but there’s just a couple minor things that I’m going to need to get those take downs in third period in a couple weeks.”
Jax Forrest recently celebrated his win with a post on social media and received an encouraging comment from Bo Bassett.
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