Editor's note: This article was updated on March 25 at 10:40 a.m. to reflect the proper spelling of Lou Rosselli's name.
For Stephen Buchanan, wrestling is what is familiar, even when everything around it is changing.
Born in Owen, Wisconsin, he attended Loyal High School. There, he would post a 184-16 record, was named all-conference all four years of high school and won the state title two times.
Buchanan then committed to the University of Wyoming. However, after three seasons and a lingering feeling of finality, Buchanan decided to transfer to the University of Oklahoma — almost 1,000 miles from his home in Owen.
Despite the distance, his family and the lessons he learned from his father followed.
“(My father is) just a great guy,” Buchanan said. “Great standup guy, has morals, is a godly man and just taught me how to be a good man both on and off the mat.”
But the standard his father set was not the only thing Buchanan took with him when he left.
It was at Wyoming where he would first meet Teyon Ware, who was a two-time national champion at Oklahoma in 2003 and 2005 and is currently an assistant coach for the Sooners. Ware is also a witness to how far Buchanan has come during his collegiate wrestling career.
“He was athletic, but he was just raw,” Ware said when reflecting about Buchanan’s first season. “He was competing with top guys but he was losing close ones because he didn’t have experience.”
Five years and over 100 opponents later, both Ware and Wyoming served as the building block that has allowed Buchanan to compete for national titles and lead collegiate programs. And although change has accompanied the wrestler during every step of his journey from Owen to Oklahoma, one thing about Buchanan has stayed the same.
“I saw him at practice as a true freshman,” Ware said. “I was like man this kid can scrap.
‘Hey, I’m getting on that podium’
As Buchanan’s teammates left for the summer, the freshman looked at his 19-13 record and seventh place finish at the Big 12 Championships, and knew what he had to do.
June, July and August represented a break from the sport for most of the team, but for Buchanan, it was an opportunity to stay and learn from Ware.
“He didn’t like the way he felt so he stayed,” Ware said. “He stayed back and worked on his weaknesses and strengthened himself up. He said, ‘Hey, I’m getting on that podium next season.’”
And the summer spent on the mat translated.
After spending extra time training, Buchanan’s dream of placing in tournaments would come to fruition.
During his sophomore season, he would grab a second place finish at the Big 12 Championships and eventually win the Big 12 title his junior year.
Those two seasons with the Cowboys would serve as a reminder of growth, and Buchanan would eventually post a 39-9 record, qualify for back-to-back NCAA tournaments and cement himself as a legend at Wyoming.
He became just the fourth, two-time All American in program history and the fourth Cowboy to win a Big 12 title, while also earning Second Team Academic All Big 12 Honors.
But as Ware left to go coach at his alma mater, Buchanan also decided it was time to move on from the place and the program he had grown accustomed to.
“After he left Wyoming, it just didn’t feel like the same place,” Buchanan said. “Once he left, I just felt like wrestling wasn’t the same. I wasn’t going to be able to ask the same questions. The coaches there were still great but ultimately that was one of the biggest decisions that led me to Oklahoma.”
When he arrived in Norman he decided to take a redshirt year, and as previous OU head coach Lou Rosselli resigned in April 2023, the Sooners and Buchanan were both looking at the start of the 2023-24 season as a fresh start.
Roger Kish, who led North Dakota State to a 108-70 record over 12 seasons and sent 21 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, took the Oklahoma job in May.
And for Kish, Norman was new, but Buchanan was not.
“I’ve always been a fan of his wrestling,” Kish said. “An extremely athletic kid who has a great knowledge for the sport. When you compare his athletic gifts to somebody who has a good IQ and understanding of positions in our sport, it really makes for a high-level, successful guy.”
Buchanan knew the basics — something he learned from Ware at Wyoming — but for Kish, getting to know the redshirt junior went well beyond the mat.
“I think our conversations early on were very little about wrestling and more about aspirations and goals,” Kish said. “Early on it was really just a let’s just get to know each other. Let’s find a common ground and get on the same page with who we are as people.”
‘You can’t design them better than Stephen’
Stephen Buchanan, according to his teammates and coaches, is the embodiment of OU wrestling.
“He is really a staple in the program,” Kish said. “He’s a leader. He’s one of those young men who certainly leads by example in how he carries himself, how he trains, how he interacts with people and you can’t design them better than Stephen.”
Although Buchanan did not compete competitively last season, he has continually shown everyone he hasn’t lost a step after being out for a year.
After getting off to a perfect start this season, he had built a 21-0 dual record before falling to South Dakota State’s Tanner Sloan on Feb. 10.
However, he got back on track, because that is what Buchanan does best.
Just as he did the summer after his freshman year at Wyoming or after redshirting and then experiencing a coaching change, Buchanan capitalized on an opportunity to respond, and at the Big 12 Championships, he would capture his third podium finish, placing third.
His success in the regular season would qualify him for his fourth NCAA Tournament, where he was named the No. 8 seed in the 197 pound weight class.
“His goals are to win an NCAA title,” Kish said. “He wants to be a national champion and he wants to do it this year, and he has the drive and work ethic to do it.
"When practice ends and the final whistle blows, Stephen doesn’t leave the room. He’s the guy that sticks around and asks for more. The other guys see him do the extra stuff, and they find this comparison of doing extra in success and competition and it really attracts guys to doing it.”
Buchanan’s approach to life and wrestling created instant credibility with his teammates in Norman, and on Thursday, Buchanan will compete with Jace Koelzer, Willie McDougald, Jared Hill and Josh Heindselman in the NCAA Tournament at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
“I’m trying to win a national title,” Buchanan said. “I want multiple guys to be on the podium with me so we can have multiple all-americans. It’s high expectations, but Oklahoma has high expectations.
"These guys have the potential and they’re good enough. They just need the confidence and right now is the best time to go show that to the world.”
As he finishes his season and has already left his mark on OU wrestling, Kish’s goal is to build his program around guys like Buchanan.
“He is going to be the guy that brought Oklahoma back to the top,” Kish said. “He’s that guy.”
This story was edited by Gracie Rawlings.
