NCAA releases first coaches’ ranking for 2026 Division I Wrestling Championships
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by David Lentz, NCAA
Lucas Byrd of Illinois wins national title at 2025 NCAA National Championships
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has announced the first coaches’ ranking for the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
The coaches’ rankings are determined by a vote of three coaches in each weight class. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. Wrestlers must have eight Division I matches in the weight class to be considered with at least one within the last 30 days.
Of the 10 weight classes, nine are led by members of the Big Ten Conference with wrestlers from Penn State leading the way in five classes. The top spots in four classes are comprised of former national champions.
Lucas Byrd a national champion in 2025 who etched his name in Illinois history, being the first wrestler to become a national champion in the 133-pound weight class, is leading all 133-pounders. Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez leads the 141-pound weight class, looking to win his third consecutive national championship at that weight. Penn State national champions Levi Haines (2024) and Mitchell Mesenbrink (2025) lead their respective weight classes.
The other three Penn State wrestlers that lead their weight class include, Shayne Van Ness at 149 pounds, Rocco Welsh at 184 pounds and Josh Barr at 197 pounds. Nic Bouzakis at 125 pounds and Brandon Cannon at 157 pounds hold the top spot in their weight classes for Ohio State. Out front for the heavyweights is Iowa State’s Yonger Bastida.
The coaches’ ranking is one of several criteria that will be evaluated by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee during the at-large selection and seeding process along with head-to-head competition, quality wins, Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), conference tournament placement, results versus common opponents and win percentage.
A full description of the entire selection process for the 2026 Division I Wrestling Championships is available at ncaa.org.
The 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships takes place March 19-21 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, marking the third time the city will host.
| Rank | Wrestler Name | School Name | Conference |
| 1 | Nic Bouzakis | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| 2 | Luke Lilledahl | Penn State | Big Ten |
| 3 | Eddie Ventresca | Virginia Tech | ACC |
| 4 | Sheldon Seymour | Lehigh | EIWA |
| 5 | Dean Peterson | lowa | Big Ten |
| 6 | Vincent Robinson | NC State | ACC |
| 7 | Troy Spratley | Oklahoma State | Big 12 |
| 8 | Jett Strickenberger | West Virginia | Big 12 |
| 9 | Maximo Renteria | Oregon State | Pac-12 |
| 10 | Nico Provo | Stanford | ACC |
| 11 | Jore Volk | Minnesota | Big Ten |
| 12 | Stevo Poulin | lowa State | Big 12 |
| 13 | Jacob Moran | Indiana | Big Ten |
| 14 | Marc-Anthony McGowan | Princeton | Ivy League |
| 15 | Tyler Klinsky | Rider | MAC |
| 16 | Nicolar Rivera | Wisconsin | Big Ten |
| 17 | Ezekiel Witt | North Dakota State | Big 12 |
| 18 | Spencer Moore | Illinois | Big Ten |
| 19 | Brady Roark | South Dakota State | Big 12 |
| 20 | Kysen Terukina | North Carolina | ACC |
| 21 | Koda Holeman | Cal Poly | Pac-12 |
| 22 | Mack Mauger | Missouri | Big 12 |
| 23 | Dedrick Navarro | Northwestern | Big Ten |
| 24 | Conrad Hendriksen | Oklahoma | Big 12 |
| 25 | Diego Sotelo | Michigan | Big Ten |
| 26 | Keyveon Roller | Virginia | ACC |
| 27 | Ayden Smith | Rutgers | Big Ten |
| 28 | Desmond Pleasant | Drexel | EIWA |
| 29 | Trever Anderson | Northern lowa | Big 12 |
| 30 | Blake West | Norther lIllinois | MAC |
| 31 | Davis Motyka | Penn | Ivy League |
| 32 | Cooper Flynn | Chattanooga | SoCon |
| 33 | Tyler Chappell | Pittsburgh | ACC |
| Rank | Wrestler Name | School Name | Conference |
| 1 | Lucas Byrd | Illinois | Big Ten |
| 2 | Ben Davino | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| 3 | Marcus Blaze | Penn State | Big Ten |
| 4 | Evan Frost | Iowa State | Big 12 |
| 5 | Kyler Larkin | Arizona State | Big 12 |
| 6 | Aaron Seidel | Virginia Tech | ACC |
| 7 | Drake Ayala | Iowa | Big Ten |
| 8 | Tyler Knox | Stanford | ACC |
| 9 | Jacob Van Dee | Nebraska | Big Ten |
| 10 | Zan Fugitt | Wisconsin | Big Ten |
| 11 | Dominick Serrano | Northern Colorado | Big 12 |
| 12 | Braxton Brown | Maryland | Big Ten |
| 13 | Evan Mougalian | Penn | Ivy League |
| 14 | Maximilian Leete | American | EIWA |
| 15 | Tyler Ferrara | Cornell | Ivy League |
| 16 | Matty Lopes | Lehigh | EIWA |
| 17 | Ethan Berginc | Army West Point | EIWA |
| 18 | T.K. Davis | Gardner-Webb | SoCon |
| 19 | Gunner Andrick | West Virginia | Big 12 |
| 20 | Marcel Lopez | SIU Edwardsville | MAC |
| 21 | Julian Farber | Northern Iowa | Big 12 |
| 22 | Ethan Oakley | North Carolina | ACC |
| 23 | Sean Spidle | Northwestern | Big Ten |
| 24 | Gage Walker | Missouri | Big 12 |
| 25 | Luke Willochell | Wyoming | Big 12 |
| 26 | Ronnie Ramirez | Oklahoma State | Big 12 |
| 27 | Dylan Shawver | Rutgers | Big Ten |
| 28 | Markel Baker | Northern Illinois | MAC |
| 29 | Zach Redding | NC State | ACC |
| 30 | Evan Tallmadge | Pittsburgh | ACC |
| 31 | Kyle Waterman | Drexel | EIWA |
| 32 | Caleb Weiand | Michigan State | Big Ten |
| 33 | Gable Strickland | Lock Haven | MAC |
| Rank | Wrestler Name | School Name | Conference |
| 1 | Jesse Mendez | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| 2 | Sergio Vega | Oklahoma State | Big 12 |
| 3 | Anthony Echemendia | Iowa State | Big 12 |
| 4 | Brock Hardy | Nebraska | Big Ten |
| 5 | Luke Stanich | Lehigh | EIWA |
| 6 | Vince Cornella | Cornell | Ivy League |
| 7 | CJ Composto | Penn | Ivy League |
| 8 | Joey Olivieri | Rutgers | Big Ten |
| 9 | Nasir Bailey | Iowa | Big Ten |
| 10 | Braeden Davis | Penn State | Big Ten |
| 11 | Julian Tagg | South Dakota State | Big 12 |
| 12 | Vance Vombaur | Minnesota | Big Ten |
| 13 | Luke Simcox | North Carolina | ACC |
| 14 | Ryan Jack | NC State | ACC |
| 15 | Haiden Drury | Utah Valley | Big 12 |
| 16 | Braden Basile | Army West Point | EIWA |
| 17 | Jack Consiglio | Stanford | ACC |
| 18 | Lorenzo Frezza | Columbia | Ivy League |
| 19 | Elijah Griffin | Rider | MAC |
| 20 | Wyatt Henson | Lock Haven | MAC |
| 21 | Tom Crook | Virginia Tech | ACC |
| 22 | Pierson Manville | Arizona State | Big 12 |
| 23 | Danny Pucino | Illinois | Big Ten |
| 24 | Henry Porter | Indiana | Big Ten |
| 25 | Caedyn Ricciardi | Navy | EIWA |
| 26 | Zeke Seltzer | Missouri | Big 12 |
| 27 | Tyler Wells | Oklahoma | Big 12 |
| 28 | Billy Dekraker | Northwestern | Big Ten |
| 29 | Nash Singleton | Oregon State | Pac-12 |
| 30 | Dylan Chappell | Bucknell | EIWA |
| 31 | Gable Porter | Virginia | ACC |
| 32 | Greyson Clark | Purdue | Big Ten |
| 33 | Jordan Soriano | Drexel | EIWA |
| Rank | Wrestler Name | School Name | Conference |
| 1 | Shayne Van Ness | Penn State | Big Ten |
| 2 | Jaxon Joy | Cornell | Ivy League |
| 3 | Caleb Tyus | SIU Edwardsville | MAC |
| 4 | Ethan Stiles | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| 5 | Koy Buesgens | NC State | ACC |
| 6 | Jacob Frost | Iowa State | Big 12 |
| 7 | Carter Young | Maryland | Big Ten |
| 8 | Cross Wasilewski | Penn | Ivy League |
| 9 | Aden Valencia | Stanford | ACC |
| 10 | Joseph Zargo | Wisconsin | Big Ten |
| 11 | Ryder Block | Iowa | Big Ten |
| 12 | Casey Swiderski | Oklahoma State | Big 12 |
| 13 | Chance Lamer | Nebraska | Big Ten |
| 14 | Collin Gaj | Virginia Tech | ACC |
| 15 | Eligh Rivera | Princeton | Ivy League |
| 16 | David Evans | Utah Valley | Big 12 |
| 17 | Lachlan McNeil | Michigan | Big Ten |
| 18 | Kaden Cassidy | George Mason | MAC |
| 19 | Josh Edmond | Missouri | Big 12 |
| 20 | Max Petersen | North Dakota State | Big 12 |
| 21 | Drew Roberts | Minnesota | Big Ten |
| 22 | Kade Brown | Pittsburgh | ACC |
| 23 | Lucas Kapusta | Lock Haven | MAC |
| 24 | Brock Herman | Little Rock | Pac-12 |
| 25 | Michael Gioffre | Illinois | Big Ten |
| 26 | Alek Martin | South Dakota State | Big 12 |
| 27 | Gabe Willochell | Wyoming | Big 12 |
| 28 | Andre Gonzales | Cal Poly | Pac-12 |
| 29 | Noah Tolentino | Oregon State | Pac-12 |
| 30 | Kaden Keiser | Appalachian State | SoCon |
| 31 | Andrew Clark | Rutgers | Big Ten |
| 32 | Gavin Brown | Purdue | Big Ten |
| 33 | Carson DesRosier | The Citadel | SoCon |
| Rank | Wrestlers Name | School Name | Conference |
| 1 | Brandon Cannon | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| 2 | PJ Duke | Penn State | Big Ten |
| 3 | Antrell Taylor | Nebraska | Big Ten |
| 4 | Ty Watters | West Virginia | Big 12 |
| 5 | Landon Robideau | Oklahoma State | Big 12 |
| 6 | Vinny Zerban | Iowa State | Big 12 |
| 7 | Kannon Webster | Illinois | Big Ten |
| 8 | Daniel Cardenas | Stanford | ACC |
| 9 | Jude Swisher | Penn | Ivy League |
| 10 | Logan Rozynski | Lehigh | EIWA |
| 11 | Cameron Catrabone | Michgian | Big Ten |
| 12 | Jordan Williams | Iowa | Big Ten |
| 13 | Kai Owen | Columbia | Ivy League |
| 14 | Stoney Buell | Purdue | Big Ten |
| 15 | Cael Swensen | South Dakota State | Big 12 |
| 16 | Charlie Millard | Minnesota | Big Ten |
| 17 | DJ McGee | George Mason | MAC |
| 18 | Jaivon Jones | Little Rock | Pac-12 |
| 19 | Derek Raike | Ohio | MAC |
| 20 | Colton Washleski | Virginia | ACC |
| 21 | Mason Shrader | Central Michigan | MAC |
| 22 | Jonathan Ley | Navy | EIWA |
| 23 | Jimmy Harrington | Harvard | Ivy League |
| 24 | Luke Nichter | Drexel | EIWA |
| 25 | Kyrel Leavell | The Citadel | SoCon |
| 26 | Tony White | Rutgers | Big Ten |
| 27 | Luke Mechler | Wisconsin | Big Ten |
| 28 | Teague Travis | Missouri | Big 12 |
| 29 | Laird Root | North Carolina | ACC |
| 30 | Jared Hill | Wyoming | Big 12 |
| 31 | Drayden Morton | California Baptist | Big 12 |
| 32 | Mark Takara | Utah Valley | Big 12 |
| 33 | Darius Marines | Michigan State | Big Ten |
| Rank | Wrestler Name | School Name | Conference |
| 1 | Mitchell Mesenbrink | Penn State | Big Ten |
| 2 | LaDarion Lockett | Oklahoma State | Big 12 |
| 3 | Mikey Caliendo | Iowa | Big Ten |
| 4 | Joey Blaze | Purdue | Big Ten |
| 5 | Matty Bianchi | Little Rock | Pac-12 |
| 6 | Ryder Downey | Northern Iowa | Big 12 |
| 7 | LJ Araujo | Nebraska | Big Ten |
| 8 | Braeden Scoles | Illinois | Big Ten |
| 9 | Max Brignola | Lehigh | EIWA |
| 10 | Will Denny | NC State | ACC |
| 11 | Bryce Hepner | North Carolina | ACC |
| 12 | Andrew Sparks | Minnesota | Big Ten |
| 13 | Nicco Ruiz | Arizona State | Big 12 |
| 14 | Connor Euton | Iowa State | Big 12 |
| 15 | Gunner Filipowicz | Army West Point | EIWA |
| 16 | Paddy Gallagher | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| 17 | Tyler Lillard | Indiana | Big Ten |
| 18 | Sean Seefeldt | Penn | Ivy League |
| 19 | Thomas Snipes | The Citadel | SoCon |
| 20 | Cesar Alvan | Columbia | Ivy League |
| 21 | Ty Whalen | Princeton | Ivy League |
| 22 | Andrew Barbosa | Rutgers | Big Ten |
| 23 | Noah Mulvaney | Bucknell | EIWA |
| 24 | Cody Goebel | Wisconsin | Big Ten |
| 25 | Brock Woodcock | SIU Edwardsville | MAC |
| 26 | Dylan Elmore | Navy | EIWA |
| 27 | Maxx Mayfield | Missouri | Big 12 |
| 28 | Marcus Espinoza-Owens | South Dakota State | Big 12 |
| 29 | Ryan Burgos | Edinboro | MAC |
| 30 | Jared Keslar | Pittsburgh | ACC |
| 31 | Anthony Ferrari | Campbell | SoCon |
| 32 | Jake Slotnick | Hofstra | EIWA |
| 33 | Logan Fowler | Air Force | Big 12 |
| Rank | Wrestler Name | School Name | Conference |
| 1 | Levi Haines | Penn State | Big Ten |
| 2 | Patrick Kennedy | Iowa | Big Ten |
| 3 | Christopher Minto | Nebraska | Big Ten |
| 4 | Carson Kharchla | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| 5 | Matty Singleton | NC State | ACC |
| 6 | Alex Facundo | Oklahoma State | Big 12 |
| 7 | Danny Wask | Navy | EIWA |
| 8 | Carter Schubert | Oklahoma | Big 12 |
| 9 | Cam Steed | Missouri | Big 12 |
| 10 | MJ Gaitan | Iowa State | Big 12 |
| 11 | Beau Mantanona | Michigan | Big Ten |
| 12 | Jared Simma | Northern Iowa | Big 12 |
| 13 | Brody Conley | West Virginia | Big 12 |
| 14 | Moses Espinoza-Owens | South Dakota State | Big 12 |
| 15 | Brody Baumann | Purdue | Big Ten |
| 16 | Myles Takats | Bucknell | EIWA |
| 17 | Lenny Pinto | Rutgers | Big Ten |
| 18 | Garrett Thompason | Ohio | MAC |
| 19 | Carter Baer | Binghamton | EIWA |
| 20 | Luca Augustine | Pittsburgh | ACC |
| 21 | Jasiah Queen | Drexel | EIWA |
| 22 | Daschle Lamer | Oregon State | Pac-12 |
| 23 | Colin Kelly | Illinois | Big Ten |
| 24 | Aidan Wallace | Duke | ACC |
| 25 | Sergio Desiante | Virginia Tech | ACC |
| 26 | Ethan Riddle | Minnesota | Big Ten |
| 27 | Nick Fine | Columbia | Ivy League |
| 28 | Logan Messer | George Mason | MAC |
| 29 | Eddie Enright | Northwestern | Big Ten |
| 30 | Nick Hamilton | Virginia | ACC |
| 31 | Riley Davis | Wyoming | Big 12 |
| 32 | Derek Gilcher | Indiana | Big Ten |
| 33 | Enrique Munguia | Rider | MAC |
| Rank | Wrestler Name | School Name | Conference |
| 1 | Rocco Welsh | Penn State | Big Ten |
| 2 | Angelo Ferrari | Iowa | Big Ten |
| 3 | Aeoden Sinclair | Missouri | Big 12 |
| 4 | Max McEnelly | Minnesota | Big Ten |
| 5 | James Conway | Franklin & Marshall | EIWA |
| 6 | Silas Allred | Nebraska | Big Ten |
| 7 | Dylan Fishback | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| 8 | Zack Ryder | Oklahoma State | Big 12 |
| 9 | Eddie Neithenbach | Wyoming | Big 12 |
| 10 | Brock Mantanona | Michigan | Big Ten |
| 11 | Isaac Dean | Iowa State | Big 12 |
| 12 | Sam Goin | Indiana | Big Ten |
| 13 | Brian Soldano | Oklahoma | Big 12 |
| 14 | Chris Moore | Illinois | Big Ten |
| 15 | Shane Cartagena-Walsh | Rutgers | Big Ten |
| 16 | Christian Hansen | Cornell | Ivy League |
| 17 | Rylan Rogers | Lehigh | EIWA |
| 18 | Jake Dailey | North Carolina | ACC |
| 19 | Jared McGill | Edinboro | MAC |
| 20 | Ian Bush | West Virginia | Big 12 |
| 21 | Sal Perrine | Ohio | MAC |
| 22 | Chase Kranitz | Pittsburgh | ACC |
| 23 | Tomas Brooker | Appalachian State | SoCon |
| 24 | Cesar Garza | Cal Poly | Pac-12 |
| 25 | Malachi DuVall | George Mason | MAC |
| 26 | James Rowley | Purdue | Big Ten |
| 27 | Caleb Campos | American | EIWA |
| 28 | Jaden Bullock | Virginia Tech | ACC |
| 29 | Aidan Brenot | North Dakota State | Big 12 |
| 30 | TJ McDonnell | Oregon State | Pac-12 |
| 31 | Caleb Uhlenhopp | Utah Valley | Big 12 |
| 32 | Landon Jones | Chattanooga | SoCon |
| 33 | Abraham Wojickiewicz | Stanford | ACC |
| Rank | Wrestler Name | School Name | Conference |
| 1 | Josh Barr | Penn State | Big Ten |
| 2 | Rocky Elam | Iowa State | Big 12 |
| 3 | Stephen Little | Little Rock | Pac-12 |
| 4 | Justin Rademacher | Oregon State | Pac-12 |
| 5 | Bennett Berge | South Dakota State | Big 12 |
| 6 | Joey Novak | Wyoming | Big 12 |
| 7 | Cody Merrill | Oklahoma State | Big 12 |
| 8 | Mac Stout | Pittsburgh | ACC |
| 9 | Evan Bates | Missouri | Big 12 |
| 10 | Camden McDanel | Nebraska | Big Ten |
| 11 | DJ Parker | Oklahoma | Big 12 |
| 12 | Angelo Posada | Stanford | ACC |
| 13 | Luke Geog | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| 14 | Rune Lawrence | West Virginia | Big 12 |
| 15 | Sonny Sasso | Virginia Tech | ACC |
| 16 | Branson John | Maryland | Big Ten |
| 17 | Remy Cotton | Rutgers | Big Ten |
| 18 | Ben Vanadia | Purdue | Big Ten |
| 19 | Andrew Reall | Brown | Ivy League |
| 20 | Brock Zurawski | Rider | MAC |
| 21 | Gabe Sollars | Indiana | Big Ten |
| 22 | Hayden Walters | Michigan | Big Ten |
| 23 | Kael Wisler | Michigan State | Big Ten |
| 24 | Zayne Lehman | Ohio | MAC |
| 25 | Dillon Bechtold | Bucknell | EIWA |
| 26 | Gavin Nelson | Minnesota | Big Ten |
| 27 | Wyatt Ingham | Wisconsin | Big Ten |
| 28 | Kael Bennie | Utah Valley | Big 12 |
| 29 | Devin Wasley | North Dakota State | Big 12 |
| 30 | Wolfgang Frable | Army West Point | EIWA |
| 31 | Dylan Connell | Illinois | Big Ten |
| 32 | Karson Tompkins | Air Force | Big 12 |
| 33 | Zyan Hall | Navy | EIWA |
| Rank | Wrestler Name | School Name | Conference |
| 1 | Yonger Bastida | Iowa State | Big 12 |
| 2 | Isaac Trumble | NC State | ACC |
| 3 | Nick Feldman | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| 4 | AJ Ferrari | Nebraska | Big Ten |
| 5 | Nathan Taylor | Lehigh | EIWA |
| 6 | Konner Doucet | Oklahoma State | Big 12 |
| 7 | Taye Ghadiali | Michigan | Big Ten |
| 8 | Christian Carroll | Wyoming | Big 12 |
| 9 | Cole Mirasola | Penn State | Big Ten |
| 10 | Braxton Amos | Wisconsin | Big Ten |
| 11 | Koy Hopke | Minnesota | Big Ten |
| 12 | Spencer Lanosga | Navy | EIWA |
| 13 | Dayton Pitzer | Pittsburgh | ACC |
| 14 | Jimmy Mullen | Virginia Tech | ACC |
| 15 | David Szuba | Arizona State | Big 12 |
| 16 | Brady Colbert | Army West Point | EIWA |
| 17 | Juan Mora | Oklahoma | Big 12 |
| 18 | Hunter Catka | Rutgers | Big Ten |
| 19 | Devon Dawson | Northern Illinois | MAC |
| 20 | Trevor Tinker | Cal Poly | Pac-12 |
| 21 | Nate Schon | Drexel | EIWA |
| 22 | Lucas Lawler | Bucknell | EIWA |
| 23 | Connor Barket | Duke | ACC |
| 24 | Luke Rasmussen | South Dakota State | Big 12 |
| 25 | Alex Semenenko | Brown | Ivy League |
| 26 | Nolan Neves | North Carolina | ACC |
| 27 | Jack Forbes | Utah Valley | Big 12 |
| 28 | Bryan Caves | Central Michigan | MAC |
| 29 | Jarrett Stoner | Missouri | Big 12 |
| 30 | Josh Terrill | Michigan State | Big Ten |
| 31 | Bryson Buhk | SIU Edwardsville | MAC |
| 32 | Ashton Davis | Cornell | Ivy League |
| 33 | Michael Gasper | Little Rock | Pac-12 |
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