Men's College Notebook: Five Teams Looking To Rise Up This Season

Not only are these teams looking to make a push into the top 10 this upcoming year, but they could also vie for a team trophy by placing in the top four.

Here are five programs that finished outside the top 10 at the 2025 NCAA Championships but will now look to leap in the team standings come March in Cleveland.

2025 NCAA finish: 27th place

Last top 10 NCAA finish: 2024 (4th place)

FloWrestling 2026 projected NCAA finish: 4th place

Two years ago, the Cyclones nabbed a team trophy by placing fourth at the 2024 NCAA Championships, but last year Iowa State suffered from lineup woes and underperformance at the NCAAs, dropping all the way down to 27th. If preseason indications hold, it will be a very different story in 2026.

At the lower weights all five of the projected starters in the first half of the lineup are all former All-Americans and start the season in the preseason top 10 in their respective weight classes: 2025 All-American, and a transfer from Northern Colorado, Stevo Poulin (#7 at 125 pounds), 2024 All-American Evan Frost (#9 at 133 pounds), 2024 All-American Anthony Echemendia (#7 at 141 pounds), 2025 All-American Jacob Frost (#6 at 149 pounds), and 2025 All-American, and another Northern Colorado transfer, Vinny Zerban (#6 at 157 pounds).

The upper weights will look very different this season and should be one of the best one-two-three punches in the nation. After being sidelined last year, Yonger Bastida returns at heavyweight and is an immediate national title contender. Four-time All-American Rocky Elam was brought in from Missouri to man 197 pounds, and 2025 MAC champion Isaac Dean comes from Rider and will go at 184 pounds. All three are in their final seasons.

2025 NCAA finish: 15th place

Last top 10 NCAA finish: 2012 (8th place)

FloWrestling 2026 projected NCAA finish: 7th place

Lehigh has finished 15^th in back-to-back trips to the NCAA Championships and has nine top 20 finishes overall dating back to 2014. This season, expectations are high for the Mountain Hawks, as their lineup features multiple national title contenders and four wrestlers who were not in the lineup last year, all ranked in the top 10 in the preseason rankings.

Lehigh will look to dominate duals with three ranked wrestlers who all start the season in the top 5 in the lower weights. As the eighth seed last year at NCAAs at 125 pounds, Sheldon Seymour knocked off top-seeded Luke Lilledahl of Penn State and advanced to the semifinals before placing sixth. Ryan Crookham returns from injury and will look to improve upon his third-place finish in 2024. Last year, he was undefeated and ranked #1 at 133 pounds before suffering a season-ending injury after the fall semester. Luke Stanich deferred eligibility last year to move up from 125 to 141 for this year. He placed fifth in 2024 in his first trip to NCAAs.

There are also a pair of top-10 wrestlers in the back half of the lineup. Max Brignola (#7 at 165 pounds) also deferred eligibility last year. He is a two-time NCAA qualifier and went 15-0 last year, winning six tournament titles. Nathan Taylor (#8 at heavyweight) also lost during the season due to an injury last year. Also a two-time NCAA Qualifier, he won the 2024 EIWA title at heavyweight before falling one win shy of All-American honors.

2025 NCAA finish: 38th place

Last top 10 NCAA finish: 2014 (10th place)

FloWrestling 2026 projected NCAA finish: 23rd place

Head coach Roger Kish enters his third season at the helm of the Sooners program with his most talented roster yet. Last year, Oklahoma posted its best Big 12 dual record since 2019.

DJ Parker had a breakout season, advancing to the Blood Round in 2025 at 184 pounds. This year, he is bumping up to 197 pounds.

The Sooners loaded up on talent in the transfer portal. A 2024 All-American at Ohio, Peyten Kellar will be bumping up to 165 pounds and starts ranked #8. 2025 ACC champion as a freshman at Virginia Tech, Rafael Hipolito will man the 157-pound spot. The Sooners also added two-time NCAA Qualifiers Tyler Wells (141 pounds) from Minnesota and Brian Soldano (184 pounds) from Rutgers, as well as 2025 qualifier Jack Gioffre (149 pounds) from Virginia.

2025 NCAA finish: 36th place

Last top 10 NCAA finish: 2019 (9th place)

FloWrestling 2026 projected NCAA finish: 17th place

No team had worse luck in the Blood Round last year than Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights had three wrestlers who all fell one win short of All-American honors last year, and none of their seven qualifiers earned All-America status. They would have improved dramatically in the team race if some of those results were reversed at the NCAAs, especially on Friday night.

Both Dylan Shaver (133) and Joey Olivieri (141) return and will be looking to get that one needed victory for All-American honors. They both start ranked in the top 15.

To regroup in the upper weights, Rutgers went into the transfer portal and brought in three wrestlers who have combined for seven previous trips to the NCAA Championships: Lenny Pinto from Nebraska at 174 pounds, Remy Cotton from Michigan State at 197 pounds, and Hunter Catka from Virginia Tech at heavyweight. Each start the season ranked in the top 20, including Pinto at #8.

2025 NCAA finish: 18th place

Last top 10 NCAA finish: None

FloWrestling 2026 projected NCAA finish: 11th place

The Cardinal got their feet wet last year in their first season in the ACC, and this year they get back a bevy of talented wrestlers who redshirted. They are not only in the hunt for a conference title, but also for their highest NCAA finish in school history.

The recent top-notch recruiting by coach Chris Ayres and staff looks like it will pay off this season, as the Cardinal now has four straight top 12 recruiting classes on campus (three in the top 10, two in the top 5).

Junior Daniel Cardenas is back in the lineup at 157 pounds after redshirting last year. As a sophomore back in 2024, he placed fourth at the NCAAs and is a title threat in that weight class this year. Nico Provo (125) also returns after being forced to miss last season. He won the Cliff Keen Invitational back in December of 2023 and was ranked #1 that season. Aden Valencia (141) and EJ Parco (149) both could be inserted into the lineup after redshirting as freshmen last year. Valencia defeated Parco at 149 pounds (10-4) in their intrasquad meet.