Shane Roller to Receive 2025 Gallagher Award
STILLWATER – Former Oklahoma State wrestler and longtime supporter of the sport Shane Roller will receive the 2025 Gallagher Award, the program announced Friday.
The award, given annually to an OSU alumnus who has exemplified the spirit and leadership eminent in the tradition of champions, will be presented to Roller before the Cowboys’ final home dual of the season against Missouri on Sunday, February 2.
“I was looking at the award winners of the past and there’s been a lot of people that I’ve looked up to on that list,” Roller said. “Four of them have coached me throughout my career. There are a lot of hours that they put into me to make me the wrestler that I became. I looked up to them and they were great role models for me, as well as a lot of other people on that list.”
A native of Bixby, Oklahoma, Roller has been involved with the sport of wrestling since he was just four years old. With three athletic brothers and a pair of all-state basketball players as parents, it didn’t take long for Roller to find success whether it was on a mat, court or field. He went on to be a star athlete at Bixby High School in baseball, football and wrestling, the latter being his best. Four years later, Roller had compiled a 141-3 record, became the first Spartan to ever win four state championships and racked up a laundry list of accolades, including the inaugural Junior Dan Hodge Trophy in 1998.
“My dad fell in love with wrestling and got us all into it. He never coached, just always supported us and took us where we needed to go to get competition. The mindset of how I approached wrestling was really good, and I owe that to a lot of coaches, but mainly my dad. He was a great motivator.”
Despite the fact his older brother, Michael, wrestled for Oklahoma, Roller decided to make Stillwater his home in college. That decision was the first step in Roller’s journey to eventually becoming a coach and lifelong proponent of the sport.
“I spent probably six months figuring out what I wanted to do. Then one day, I just woke up and was like, ‘Why am I even questioning this?’ This is the best program, the best coaches and the best fit for me. I never looked back as soon as I committed to Oklahoma State.”
The success Roller saw on the youth level continued at Oklahoma State as a three-time All-American and member of the program’s 100-win club. As a senior, Roller finally broke through and won an individual Big 12 title at 157 pounds, but it was what the team accomplished just weeks later that truly stands out to him.
“Some of my individual goals at Oklahoma State weren’t accomplished, but when I look back, I have no regrets because I worked real hard in the room. One of the things I’m most proud of is being a co-captain my senior year of that national championship team in 2003.”
Following his graduation, Roller stayed on staff at Oklahoma State for three years as a graduate assistant, helping coach the team to three more national titles and one of the most dominant runs in college wrestling history. He then decided to transition into MMA from 2007-12 alongside fellow Cowboys Johny Hendricks and brothers Jake and Jared Rosholt.
“I figured out that I wasn’t done competing. I wanted to compete at something and I’m really glad I did it. Probably the best thing about it was just learning something new.”
All of those experiences led Roller back to his hometown of Bixby, where he’s since become a pillar in both the local and national wrestling communities. First and foremost, he joined his dad, Jack, at World of Wrestling, an organization dedicated to the promotion of America’s youth and the sport overall. Operating for nearly 50 years, World of Wrestling is a mainstay in the youth wrestling scene while producing several of the largest and most prestigious kids’ tournaments in the country. Jack became the organization’s owner in 1996, a legacy that Shane now carries on himself as the current owner.
“He just had a vision that was well before its time. He wanted to promote the youth. He did a great job at getting young kids in magazines and out there before anybody else did. He saw there was a need to recognize some of these kids for their hard work and he was a leader in that movement. Still to this day, that’s what we try to do at World of Wrestling.”
World of Wrestling’s events provide opportunities for kids from all over the country to compete with the best and showcase their talents in front of a wider audience. Despite the long and, at times, strenuous hours, Roller knows potentially influencing just one young wrestler’s life makes all the work worth it.
“Just put smiles on kids’ faces, hope they have a great experience and have the toughest tournaments in the world.”
Roller has also made an impact on his hometown, having served on the Bixby High School coaching staff since 2012 and founding the Roller Academy of Wrestling, a local youth club designed to teach and grow the sport among all ages and levels of experience. Additionally, he played a hand in starting Bixby’s high school girls’ program, which has skyrocketed up to a top-two national ranking in less than three years of existence.
“I enjoy it all. Sometimes it’s more rewarding to help out with the little four-year-olds. Sometimes it’s when these high school kids are signing to compete in college and just seeing their faces when they know all their hard work paid off. There are pieces of everything that I’m really grateful for.”
As a coach, Roller hopes to instill many of the lessons he learned through the sport into his own wrestlers. Dedication, discipline and a can-do attitude are just a few of the characteristics that Roller learned through wrestling that he now tries to spread onto his athletes, setting them up for success in every walk of life.
“That’s what I try to teach a lot of these kids. It starts with your mindset, what you want to do, how hard you want to work. That’s what is great about the sport of wrestling. It rewards the ones that want to work really hard. That’s something I took a lot of pride in.”
Through it all, Roller looks back at his time in Stillwater as what set the foundation for a career that’s largely been spent serving others and giving back to the sport.
“A big part is how much Oklahoma State meant to me and developed me. I had some great coaches, some great teams and some great teammates. It was a great experience, and I loved every minute of it. I’m glad to be a Cowboy and I always will be.”
Gallagher Award Recipients
1986 – Rex Peery
1987 – Frank Lewis
1988 – Myron Roderick
1989 – Tommy Chesbro
1990 – Joe McDaniel
1991 – John W. Divine
1996 – Ray Murphy
1997 – John Smith
1998 – Grady Peninger
1999 – Kenny Monday
2000 – Pat Smith
2001 – Kendall Cross
2002 – Mike Sheets
2003 – Doug Blubaugh
2004 – Grover Rains
2005 – Bobby Douglas
2006 – Charles Hetrick
2007 – Fred Davis
2008 – Lee Roy Smith
2009 – Bobby Stites
2010 – Bill Harlow
2011 – Eddie Griffin
2013 – Jim Shields
2014 – Mike Jones
2015 – Jay Arneson
2016 – Hardell Moore
2017 – Stanley Henson
2018 – Nick Williams
2019 – Tadaaki Hatta
2020 – Jim Rogers
2021 – Ned Blass
2022 – J Robinson
2023 – Ricky Stewart
2024 – Ray Stapp
2025 – Shane Roller