The brackets are set, the seeds are finalized and the stage is ready for the biggest three days of the college wrestling season: the 2026 NCAA DI men's wrestling championships, which are set for March 19-21 in Cleveland. Here’s what you need to know about the top athletes competing in each weight and their paths to the top of the podium.
125 pounds
Top title contenders: No. 1 Luke Lilledahl, No. 2 Eddie Ventresca, No. 5 Troy Spratley, No. 12 Vincent Robinson
First-time All-American dark horse(s): No. 17 Jett Strickenberger
This is Penn State’s Luke Lilledahl’s weight at the moment. The true sophomore comes in as the top seed with a perfect 20-0 record, but his path to his first national title won’t be easy. He could meet No. 17 and 2025 Big 12 champion Jett Strickenberger in the second round with a potential semifinal bout against No. 4 Sheldon Seymour of Lehigh, the same athlete who beat him in this tournament last year. Also on Lilledahl’s side are returning NCAA champion Vincent Robinson as the No. 12 seed and returning NCAA finalist Troy Spratley at the No. 5 seed. Robinson and Spratley are on a collision course to meet in the second round if both win their opening matches. The winner could have Seymour (if the bracket goes chalk), with the winner of that bout potentially meeting Lilledahl. Robinson is 3-0 against Spratley, but the fact that these two NCAA finalists could meet in the second round is indicative of the depth of the bracket.
On the bottom side of the bracket, ACC champion No. 2 Eddie Ventresca has a great path to the semifinals, with his toughest potential bouts being No. 7 Nico Provo of Stanford (whom he beat in the ACC finals in tie-breakers) and Big Ten finalist Jore Volk at the No. 6 seed. Ohio State’s Nic Bouzakis is also dangerous from the No. 3 seed.
133 pounds
Top title contenders: No. 1 Jax Forrest, No. 2 Ben Davino, No. 3 Marcus Blaze, No. 4 Aaron Seidel, No. 5 Drake Ayala, No. 6 Lucas Byrd
First-time All-American dark horse(s): No. 10 Maximilian Leete, No. 23 Braxton Brown
Welcome to Funkytown! Jax Forrest picked up the No. 1 seed by virtue of his undefeated record and conference title. He’s on the opposite side of Big Ten champion No. 2 Ben Davino of Ohio State AND the opposite side of No. 3 Marcus Blaze of Penn State, whose lone loss came against Davino in extra time at Big Tens. Forrest’s path isn’t easy, though. He could see All-American No. 16 Zan Fugitt in the second round and No. 4 Aaron Seidel in the semifinals if the bracket goes chalk. Seidel, a true freshman from Virginia Tech, gave Forrest his toughest match this year, taking down the Cowboy before dropping the match 10-9.
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2025 NCAA finalists No. 6 Drake Ayala and No. 7 Lucas Byrd (who won the weight last year) both have a tough path to the semifinals, with Ayala potentially having to go through Blaze, after Blaze beat him in sudden victory at Big Tens, and Byrd on track to see Davino in the quarters. Also in this bracket is All-American Jacob Van Dee at the No. 13 seed, Big 12 finalist Kyler Larkin at the No. 5 seed, All-American Dylan Shawver at the No. 26 seed and All-American Tyler Knox at the No. 15 seed.
141 pounds
Top title contenders: No. 1 Jesse Mendez, No. 2 Sergio Vega, No. 3 Brock Hardy
First-time All-American dark horse(s): No. 10 Jack Consiglio
It’s Jesse Mendez vs. the world. The Buckeye senior is having the best season of his career and comes into his final NCAA tournament as the top-ranked athlete at the weight, opposite true freshman sensation No. 2 Sergio Vega. Mendez won here before — twice in fact. He knows how to navigate this bracket. He has a stacked side of the weight, however, with a potential second round match against NC State All-American No. 16 Ryan Jack, a potential quarterfinal against All-American and 2025 Big Ten finalist No. 8 Vance Vombaur and a potential semifinal against All-American No. 4 Anthony Echemendia of Iowa State. Mendez has multiple wins against all three of those opponents, with bonus point wins over Vombaur and Jack, but again, their resumes highlight how talented this field is. Undefeated No. 5 Luke Stanich also looms on Mendez’s side as a potential threat to the possible Hodge finalist.
2025 Big Ten champion and NCAA finalist Brock Hardy comes in at the No. 3 seed. He could see All-American No. 14 Braeden Davis in the second round. Iowa’s Nasir Bailey picked up a nice seed at No. 7, and he could meet Vega, an athlete he took to overtime, in the quarterfinals.
149 pounds
Top title contenders: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness, No. 2 Jaxon Joy
First-time All-American dark horse(s): No. 13 Joe Zargo
The 149-pound weight has been all Shayne Van Ness this year, and he’ll come into the tournament as the lone undefeated athlete in the bracket. But Van Ness has been taken down and tested by everyone from Michigan’s No. 11 All-American Lachlan McNeil to Maryland’s No. 12 Carter Young to Iowa’s No. 15 Ryder Block. His path to his first national title won’t be easy. Van Ness’ second round match could feature No. 16 All-American Jacob Frost with a potential quarterfinal against All-American No. 8 Casey Swiderski of Oklahoma State. Van Ness has never wrestled either of these two athletes in college, but Swiderski, in particular, is wild and comes into the tournament fresh off the momentum of winning a Big 12 title. Virginia Tech's ACC champion Collin Gaj picked up the No. 4 seed while Ohio State transfer All-American Ethan Stiles secured the No. 7 seed on the other side of the bracket.
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Opposing Van Ness on a quest to the finals is Cornell’s Jaxon Joy, who has two losses on the year, one official loss to NC State’s No. 5 Koy Buesgens and one unofficial loss to high school phenom Bo Bassett. Joy has had a stellar freshman season with his best wins coming against Gaj, Swiderski and Stiles. He could see a rematch with Stiles, whom he pinned at the Clarion Open, in the quarterfinals.
157 pounds
Top Title contenders: No. 1 PJ Duke, No. 2 Antrell Taylor
First-time All-American dark horse: No. 14 Ethen Miller, No. 15 Cameron Catrobone
PJ Duke is Penn State's third No. 1 seed in the lightest five weights, earning this distinction after topping 2025 NCAA champion and No. 2 seed Antrell Taylor of Nebraska in the Big Ten finals. Duke and Taylor split their matches this year, but Duke’s recent win and conference championship (as well as Most Outstanding Wrestler honor) helped him rise to the top of the bracket. The first All-American he could meet in his bracket is Stanford’s No. 9 Daniel Cardenas in the quarterfinals, if Cardenas wins his first matches and can get past Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon at the No. 8. All-American Vinny Zerban also looms down at the No. 12 seed, though Zerban’s health could be a concern after he had to forfeit out of the Big 12 tournament. Duke could also face a challenge from No. 5 Landon Robideau, an Oklahoma State freshman who has just two losses on the year to Big 12 champion No. 4 Kaleb Larkin of Arizona State and Taylor.
Taylor’s path back to the finals from the bottom side of the bracket could see him going through a wild and dangerous No. 15 Cameron Catrobone of Michigan who pushed Duke to a 12-10 decision, No. 7 2025 Big Ten finalist Kannon Webster of Illinois and potentially one of the following: two-time All-American No. 3 Meyer Shapiro, All-American No. 11 Ty Watters or No. 6 Ivy League champion Jude Swisher. Taylor has three losses on the year: one to Duke, one to Cannon and one to Logan Rozynski of Lehigh, who comes in at the No. 13 seed. But Taylor has proven that he’s a winner — look for him to be in championship form next weekend.
165 pounds
Top Title contenders: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, No. 2 Joey Blaze, No. 3 Mikey Caliendo, No. 4 Nicco Ruiz, No. 5 LaDarion Lockett
First-time All-American dark horse: No. 10 Will Denny, 15 Connor Euton
There are no sure things in college wrestling, but if there’s a weight where one athlete has the greatest degree of separation from his opponents, it’s Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink at 165 pounds. Undefeated with a 100% bonus rate, Mesenbrink stands alone amongst his peers. Listing only one person as a title contender is short-sighted because anything can happen, hence the inclusion of more names, but this weight has been all Mesenbrink, all year.
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Returning NCAA finalist Joey Blaze comes in at the No. 2 spot after finishing third in the Big Ten tournament, with Big Ten finalist and 2025 NCAA finalist Mikey Caliendo getting the No. 3 seed. Blaze and Caliendo have the benefit of being on the opposite side of the bracket from Mesenbrink, but only one of them can advance out of the semifinals. Blaze is 22-1 on the year with a win over Caliendo and his lone loss coming against No. 14 Andrew Barbosa of Rutgers, who will have to get through Caliendo before he gets another shot at Blaze. Neither Blaze nor Caliendo will see any All-Americans on their path to the semis if the bracket goes chalk, but NC State’s No. 10 Will Denny or Iowa State’s No. 15 Connor Euton could be tough outs.
Mesenbrink has just one All-American on his side of the bracket in No. 8 Matty Bianchi, the Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year, who needed a wild card to earn his bid. The other threats on the top half of the bracket are No. 5 LaDarion Lockett, who beat Caliendo earlier this year and No. 4 Nicco Ruiz of Arizona State who beat Lockett for the Big 12 title. Mesenbrink has not wrestled Lockett in his career, but Ruiz did hold the Nittany Lion champ to a decision back in 2023.
174 pounds
Title contenders: No. 1 Levi Haines, No. 2 Simon Ruiz, No. 3 Chris Minto
First-time All-American dark horse: No. 21 Lenny Pinto, No. 23 Luca Augustine
From 157-197 pounds, the Nittany Lions roll out their lineup of top-ranked killers, with Levi Haines being a key part of this quintet. The 2024 NCAA champ is primed to repeat his title, but he’s not as much of a "next topic" pick as his teammate Mesenbrink. Haines hasn’t lost this year, but he’s been pushed twice by No. 3 Chris Minto of Nebraska, who has quietly put together a solid 20-5 record and established himself as a title contender. If Minot can wrestle with that kind of poise through the semifinals and upset undefeated No. 2 Simon Ruiz out of Cornell, he could earn another shot against the champ.
HIS FINAL MATCH IN THE BRYCE JORDAN CENTER, LEVI HAINES LEAVES A 4 TIME B1G CHAMP!! 💪🤯
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST)
Ruiz is an interesting factor down at the bottom of the bracket. With a 16-0 record, he looks solid and steady, but he hasn’t faced the rigorous schedule Minto and Haines have had. His best win came against All-American No. 6 Matty Singleton of NC State, 8-6, and while he’s found a way to win the close matches, Minto could be a challenge if both athletes win their first three matches. Potential bracket busters on Ruiz’s side include All-Americans No. 7 Cam Steed of Missouri and No. 15 Danny Wask of Navy, while Haines will have to contend with a combination of All-Americans, including No. 4 Carson Kharchla of Ohio State and No. 5 Patrick Kennedy of Iowa. Haines likely wouldn’t reach an All-American until the semifinals, though, as his first matches — if everything goes chalk — would be No. 32 Luke Condon, No. 16 Nick Fine and No. 8 Alex Facundo.
184 pounds
Title contenders: No. 1 Rocco Welsh, No. 2 Aeoden Sinclair, No. 3 Max McEnelly
First-time All-American dark horse: No. 12 Dylan Fishback
Another undefeated Penn State Nittany Lion leads the way as sophomore Rocco Welsh secured the No. 1 seed after his Big Ten finals win over No. 3 Max McEnelly. Welsh has impressive wins on his resume, including No. 5 Brock Mantanona, No. 7 Angelo Ferrari, No. 8 All-American Silas Allred, No. 11 Shane Cartagena-Walsh and No. 12 Dylan Fishback, but he’s also been in some battles, needing overtime to beat McEnelly, Mantanona and Ferrari. Fishback also had the lead over Welsh until late in the third when Welsh found another gear to avoid the upset. To advance to the second NCAA finals of his career, Welsh will need to get past the winner of No. 32 Caleb Uhlenhopp and No. 33 Sam Goin, the latter of whom put up nine points against him, and then No. 16 Rylan Rogers, No. 8 Allred and No. 4 James Conway of Franklin & Marshall, if the bracket goes chalk.
Down at the bottom of the bracket is perhaps the favorite at the weight in No. 2 Aoeden Sinclair, whose lone loss came against Ferrari in tie-breakers back in November. Since then, Sinclair has beaten Mantanona by tech fall, McEnlley 6-3, Allred 5-1, No. 9 Chris Moore twice and No. 22 Zack Ryder 4-1. He’s as tough as they come and looking to be Missouri’s first national champion since Keegan O’Toole in 2023, though his quarterfinal with Ferrari could be an issue if Ferrari is healthy.
197 pounds
Title contenders: No. 1 Josh Barr, No. 2 Rocky Elam
First-time All-American dark horse: No. 27 Gabe Arnold
This is once again a weight dominated by Penn State as No. 1 Josh Barr comes in as the clear favorite and has separated himself after finishing second to Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan last year. Barr has bonused every single one of his opponents, including All-American No. 11 Camden McDanel, whom he teched in the Big Ten finals.
Barr could meet Maryland’s Branson John in the second round, whom he has teched and pinned already this year. All-Americans No. 5 Joey Novak and No. 13 Bennett Berge are also on Barr’s side, along with ACC champion No. 4 Sonny Sasso, none of whom Barr has competed against in college.
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The biggest challenger to Barr will be four-time All-American Rocky Elam of the No. 2 seed, who is also undefeated and looking to capture a title in his final season as a Cyclone. To advance to the finals, Elam will have to survive a bracket side that includes All-Americans No. 10 Mac Stout of Pitt, McDanel and No. 3 Stephen Little of Little Rock. The only one of those three athletes that Elam has wrestled before is Stout, whom he beat 6-2 in 2024.
The other notable names on that side of the bracket include No. 7 Cody Merrill, who has been a force for the Cowboys at 197 pounds this year and No. 27 Gabe Arnold of Iowa, who wrestled most of the year at 184 pounds but slotted in for DIII champion Mo Endene at 197 pounds for the postseason to fill a hole for the Hawkeyes. Arnold will have U20 World Champion No. 6 Justin Rademacher in his first round match, with the winner getting McDanel if the Husker wins his first bout.
285 pounds
Title contenders: No. 1 Yonger Bastida, No. 2 Isaac Trumble, No. 3 Taye Ghadiali
First-time All-American dark horse: No. 18 Christian Carroll
A first-time champ will be crowned this year at 285 pounds, and Iowa State’s No. 1 Yonger Bastida, NC State’s No. 2 Isaac Trumble and Michigan’s No. 3 Taye Ghadiali are the leading candidates to take home that honor. Bastida leads the way after winning the Big 12 tournament and accumulating a 25-0 record, and while he has All-Americans No. 5 Nick Feldman and No. 8 Ben Kueter on his side of the bracket, he’s beaten them both twice. His bigger challenge will be No. 4 AJ Ferrari, who beat Bastida back in 2021 down at 197 pounds. This is a different Bastida, though. The Cyclone is here to win. While Bastida looks too strong to be topped by the Husker, Ferrari has won this tournament before and can’t be dismissed.
Career win 💯 came with 🥇 is the 40th Cyclone in program history to win 100 matches.
— Iowa State Wrestling (@CycloneWR)
🌪️🚨🌪️
Trumble and Ghadiali are the lone returning All-Americans on the bottom half of the bracket, and, if results go chalk, they’ll meet in the semifinals. These two have wrestled just once in their college careers, with Trumble taking the 2-1 win back in 2024. Neither athlete has advanced to an NCAA finals before, so there’s history on the line for the Wolfpack and the Wolverines. Bracket landmines to watch for these two include Big 12 runner-up No. 7 Konner Doucet of Oklahoma State and No. 18 Christian Carroll of Wyoming, who majored Ghadiali earlier this year.
