The National Wrestling Hall of Fame has announced their 2026 Hall of Fame Class and Oklahoman Lee Roy Smith is set to receive the honor this coming June.
From the Hall of Fame
Lee Roy Smith began wrestling in the fourth grade, beginning what would grow into a family sports dynasty in the state of Oklahoma and across the globe. He was the first two-time Oklahoma state champion from Del City High School, compiling an overall record of 71-3 and being named Outstanding Wrestler at the state tournament as a senior. The first Oklahoma wrestler to win two National Junior Freestyle Championships, Smith was an NCAA champion, three-time All-American and four-time Big Eight Conference champion for Oklahoma State University. He was the first wrestler in OSU’s storied history to reach 100 wins and was named OSU Athletics Athlete of the Year in 1980. Smith won three National Open Freestyle Championships, twice being named Outstanding Wrestler, and won the 1984 Olympic Trials. After being unable to compete at the 1982 World Championships due to injury, he was a silver medalist at the 1983 World Championships and the 1983 and 1984 World Cup. An assistant coach at OSU from 1984-1987, Smith helped recruit his younger brother John and coached him to two All-America finishes and his first NCAA title in 1987. He was a member of the Swiss Wrestling Federation national coaching staff and head coach of the Martigny Wrestling Club from 1987 to 1989. Smith played an instrumental role in the Swiss National Team having its best finish ever at the Freestyle World Championships in 1989, and he led Martigny to a runner-up national finish in 1988, its first top-three finish in over 10 years. Smith returned to America to become USA Wrestling’s National Freestyle Coach, a position he held from 1989 to 1992. He coached six World champions, three Olympic gold medalists, 10 World silver medalists, two Olympic silver medalists, a World bronze medalist and an Olympic bronze medalist. In 1992, with younger brother John and fellow Oklahomans and fellow Distinguished Members Kendall Cross and Kenny Monday on the team, Smith led the United States to its best Olympic finish with three gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze medal while all 10 wrestlers finished in the top seven. He coached the U.S. to its first dual meet victory on Soviet soil in Mogilev, Belarus on January 20, 1990, and led American teams to two championships and a runner-up finish at the World Cup. Smith became the head wrestling coach at Arizona State University in 1992, a position he held until 2001. He had a career record of 91-58-1 with three NCAA champions, 28 All-Americans and 27 Pac-10 Conference champions. Smith led ASU to five Top 10 finishes at the NCAA Division I Championships and five Pac-10 Conference team titles. He was named National Rookie Coach of the Year in 1993 and Pac-10 Conference Coach of the Year four times. During his tenure, the wrestling team achieved the highest graduation rate of any sport at ASU. A member of the broadcast team for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 2000 Sydney Olympics, Smith also served as a color commentator for Big 12 Conference Championships and Oklahoma State broadcasts. The executive director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame since 2004, Smith has steered the organization from the brink of bankruptcy to financial solvency, including the acquisition of the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. In the last decade, he has spearheaded capital campaigns for state-of-the-art renovations for the museums, $3.8 million in Stillwater and $1.5 million in Waterloo. Smith helped create the Hall of Fame’s Endowment Fund in 2007 and oversaw its growth to $1 Million. He was instrumental in creating the current Power Beyond campaign for the endowment fund, which has received commitments for $4.4 million of its $5 million goal by end of 2026. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2022 and received the Gallagher Award from Oklahoma State wrestling in 2007.
The Hall of Fame’s Board of Governors approved the selections at their annual fall meeting on October 28. Smith was selected by the Veterans Committee.
The Class of 2026 will be honored and officially inducted during the 49th Honors Weekend on June 5 and 6, 2026 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. For more information on Honors Weekend, please telephone (405) 377-5243.
