Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Dreshaun Ross of Fort Dodge dominates his Southeast Polk opponent during last year’s state championship round in Des Moines.

The most decorated and highly sought-after recruit in Fort Dodge history has always been a dichotomy of sorts when it comes to the attention that follows a superstar.

Quietly and yet true to character on Sunday, Dreshaun Ross announced his collegiate decision: he will be an Oklahoma State Cowboy.

The Dodger junior picked the Cowboys and his first love — wrestling — over a slew of other major offers from some of the nation’s best football and mat programs. The announcement sent shock waves through the media and fanbases who had been anxiously wondering which school — and sport — Ross would ultimately chose when all was said and done.

There was no press conference or public ceremony that accompanied the statement, though. Ross released a simple social media post to make it official on Sunday afternoon.

“I think the biggest separator between Oklahoma State and the other programs was becoming dominant,” said Ross, who had recently narrowed his wrestling list to OSU, Iowa, Iowa State and Penn State. “Not that I couldn’t do that at other schools, but I think at Oklahoma State, I’ve got the best opportunity to become the greatest wrestler I can be. I also feel like going somewhere further away forces me out of my comfort zone, which will be better in the long run.

“My goals are to be a multi-time national champion and make the world teams along with that. I think Oklahoma State has the best resources for me to do it.”

The 6-foot-4 Ross, a two-time defending Iowa prep state gold medalist, recently returned to action after shoulder surgery had sidelined him for over five months. The 215-pounder is ranked No. 1 again this season for Fort Dodge.

On the recruiting front, Ross is the third-rated overall prospect in the Class of 2026, according to Flowrestling.

College football had also been a potential avenue for Ross, who was a first team all-stater on the gridiron as a sophomore before the injury sidelined him for the fall of 2024. Ross had offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, Kansas, Kansas State, Purdue and Minnesota, who projected him to either be a linebacker or defensive end at the next level.

Some schools and coaches had even pitched the idea of being involved with both sports as a part of their packages.

“I still definitely love football and will miss it when I’m wrestling, but in the end, it came down to (the idea of) being classified as good in both sports. Instead of that, I’d rather be great at one, and I want that to be wrestling,” Ross said.

Ross’s accomplishments have him not only in rare, but unprecedented air as he hits the home stretch of his junior wrestling campaign for FDSH. He earned Dan Gable Mr. Wrestler of the Year honors in Iowa after a 47-0 sophomore campaign, and last April, had secured a World Team spot with a 17U Freestyle crown in the 92 kg bracket of the United States Open. He was named the meet’s most outstanding wrestler.

In July, Ross was the top seed and a defending champ in the men’s freestyle bracket at the U.S. Marine Corps national wrestling tournament in Fargo, N.D. when he suffered a dislocated shoulder.

Ross is just the fifth athlete in Dodger history to be named a first team all-state football player while also securing a state wrestling title in the same calendar year, and he did so as an underclassman.

The commitment to Oklahoma State was obviously influenced by the presence of its first-year head coach, David Taylor. The two-time Penn State national title holder is one of the most accomplished wrestlers in American history; Taylor was an Olympic gold medalist, a three-time winner at the World Championships, a four-time NCAA finalist with the Nittany Lions, and a two-time Hodge Trophy winner.

Taylor competed at Penn State from 2010-14. He was the 165-pound gold medalist in 2012, and again in 2014.

Taylor won four Big Ten titles an accumulated a collegiate record of 134-3 at PSU. After leaving school as an All-American on both the athletic and academic front, Taylor dominated on the senior freestyle circuit, where he won 161 matches and became what many considered the top pound-for-pound wrestler in the world. His Olympic title came in the 2020 Tokyo Games.

The Nittany Lions were national champs in all four of Taylor’s seasons in Happy Valley.