2019 Big 12 Wrestling Championship: Oklahoma State’s Joe Smith named No. 7 seed at 165 pounds

Oklahoma State’s Joe Smith will be the No. 7 seed at 165 pounds for the Big 12 Championship after not wrestling at the weight all season.

The Big 12 coaches finalized the brackets during a meeting late Friday night prior to the two-day tournament, which begins at 11 a.m. Saturday at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Smith defeated fellow two-time All-American and Stillwater product Chandler Rogers 2-0 in a best-of-three wrestle-off Monday night to claim the 165 spot for OSU. Rogers was given the No. 3 pre-seed prior to the wrestle-off, and Smith was awarded the No. 8 seed after beating Rogers.

Smith would’ve faced Iowa State’s Logan Schumacher in the first round, and likely met top-seeded Branson Ashworth of Wyoming in the quarterfinals. Now, however, Smith will face Utah Valley’s Demetrius Romero in the quarterfinals if the Cowboy defeats Northern Colorado’s Macoy Flanagan in the opening round.

OSU didn’t have Smith in the lineup until December at The Reno Tournament of Champions. He went 14-4 during the season at 174 pounds, and didn’t wrestle at 165.

Smith won the Big 12 title at 157 pounds during his freshman and sophomore seasons before going to earn All-American honors at the NCAA tournament with seventh- and fourth-place finishes, respectively.

Here’s the complete tournament schedule:

Saturday, March 9

Session I: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Preliminary, Quarterfinals

*FloWrestling

Session II: 5-9 p.m.

Semifinal, Consolation quarterfinal

*FloWrestling

Sunday, March 10

Session III: Noon to 2 p.m.

Consolation Semifinals, third- and fifth-place bouts

*FloWrestling

Session IV: 7 p.m. Championship Matches

*Fox Sports Southwest