Columbia News

No. 25 Missouri wrestling will compete in the 2025 Big 12 Championship, taking place at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from March 8 to March 9. The first session begins Saturday at 10 a.m. CT, with most matches available for streaming on ESPN+. The finals are scheduled for Sunday at 8 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPNU.

Missouri finished its regular season with a record of 5-10 overall and 4-4 in Big 12 duals. Of their 15 duals, eleven were against ranked opponents, including seven in the NCAA top 15. Six of Missouri’s ten starters recorded multiple wins over ranked opponents during the season. Senior Keegan O'Toole led this group with five such victories.

Despite facing injuries and lineup changes throughout the season, Missouri’s starters accumulated a total of 84 wins and secured 46 bonus-point victories. Redshirt sophomore James Conway led with 14 wins, followed by redshirt junior Josh Edmond with 13 and Keegan O'Toole with 12. In his first year as a starter, Cam Steed tied Kade Moore for the team lead in pins, each recording four.

Keegan O'Toole returned to competition against Iowa State on February 22 after missing two months due to injury. He closed out his season undefeated at 12-0, achieving a fall over Caden Schmidt and maintaining a bonus rate of over ninety percent. Earlier in the season, O'Toole defeated No.2-ranked Levi Haines of Penn State in sudden victory.

At last year’s Big 12 Championship, Missouri placed fourth with a total of 115.5 points. Keegan O'Toole won his second conference title at 165 pounds by defeating Iowa State's David Carr. Nine Tigers earned automatic qualification to the NCAA Tournament.

The National Wrestling Coaches' Association currently ranks Missouri No.25 nationally, with seven wrestlers appearing in the final NCAA Coaches’ rankings for their weight classes. Keegan O'Toole is Missouri’s highest-ranked individual at No.5 among wrestlers at 174 pounds.

Missouri has previously won three Big 12 Conference titles and twelve conference championships overall when including nine MAC Championships. Since Tyron Woodley’s win in 2003, twenty-three Tigers have claimed individual titles at the Big 12 tournament; most recently was Keegan O’Toole last year at 165 pounds.

Head Coach Brian Smith has been named Big 12 Coach of the Year three times: in 2012, 2022, and again in 2023.

"As a reigning Big 12 Champion, many wrestlers will be coming for Keegan O'Toole's crown at the conference tournament," according to information provided by Missouri wrestling staff.

O'Toole is defending his title after going undefeated through last year’s tournament at his weight class and winning his third career conference championship.

The NCAA announced pre-allocations for this year's national tournament on February 27 using criteria that include win percentage and rankings; as a result, the Big 12 received sixty-one qualifying spots distributed across all weight classes.

Seeding for this weekend's event places eight out of ten Missouri starters among seeded competitors; Gage Walker (125) and Jesse Cassatt (197) are unseeded while O’Toole is seeded second at 174 pounds.

Throughout this season, injuries sidelined several key veterans: Noah Surtin announced medical retirement in December; Rocky Elam was ruled out for the season due to injury; both Colton Hawks and Keegan O’Toole missed significant time but have since returned ahead of postseason competition.