Kristen Oakes joined Oklahoma Athletics in July 2022 and has served as an Athletic Trainer since July 2023. In this role, she provides and coordinates all medical care for OU Wrestling student-athletes.

From July 2022 to July 2023, she served as a Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer for the OU Wrestling program, before transitioning to the full-time position she currently holds.

Prior to her time at Oklahoma, Oakes served as a Term Professional Athletic Trainer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center from August 2021-May 2022. In that role, she worked primarily with the men’s and women’s cross-country programs and the women’s track and field program.

Before Vanderbilt, she served as an Intern Athletic Trainer at Appalachian State University from August 2020-May 2021. In that role, she worked primarily with the Field Hockey program.

Prior to her time at Appalachian State, she served as an undergraduate research assistant at the Matthew A. Gfeller Sports-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center at UNC-Chapel Hill from September 2017-May 2019.

Oakes earned her Bachelor of Arts in exercise and sports science, with an emphasis in athletic training, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2020.

She has held her Athletic Training Certification since 2020 and has been licensed in the state of Oklahoma since 2022. She is a member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and Oklahoma Athletic Trainers’ Association.