We're changing things up for this episode and perhaps the next few. This time the guys talk about some of the top teams in the country and some of the questions or themes for those schools heading into the 2026-27 season.

The NWCA and FloWrestling announced the lineup for the 2026 NWCA/All-Star Match, which will take place on Tuesday, November 24th, from Rec Hall on the campus of Penn State University. As you might expect, with top-ranked Penn State hosting, there will be plenty of Nittany Lion wrestlers on the card. In addition, fourth-ranked Virginia Tech has bought into the event and sends their first five wrestlers in the lineup. 

There will also be a D2 vs. D3 matchup and a handful of women’s collegiate bouts. The women’s matchups will pit wrestlers from NCAA schools against NAIA teams. 

As of Tuesday morning, the card is as follows:

125 lbs - #6 Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) vs. #8 Ezekiel Witt (North Dakota State)

133 lbs - #3 Aaron Seidel (Virginia Tech) vs. #9 TK Davis (Gardner-Webb)

141 lbs - #1 Luke Stanich (Lehigh) vs. #5 Bo Bassett (Virginia Tech)

149 lbs - #1 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) vs. #4 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State)

157 lbs - #6 Ty Watters (West Virginia) vs. #8 Collin Gaj (Virginia Tech)

165 lbs - #7 Paddy Gallagher (Oklahoma) vs. #8 Cam Catrabone (Michigan)

174 lbs - #5 Danny Wask (Navy) vs. #8 Beau Mantanona (Michigan)

184 lbs - #2 Rocco Welsh (Penn State) vs. #5 Brock Mantanona (Michigan)

197 lbs - #1 Josh Barr (Penn State) vs. #3 Stephen Little (Little Rock)

285 lbs - TBD

DII vs. DIII

174 lbs - Otgonbayar Batsuuri (Nebraska-Kearney) vs. Tanner Gerber (Wisconsin-LaCrosse)

Women’s Matches

105 lbs: Val Solorio (Iowa) vs. Zoey Haney (Indiana Tech)

124 lbs: Riley Rayome (North Central) vs. Rose Kaplan (Indiana Tech)

132 lbs - Cassia Zammit (West Liberty) vs. Janida Garcia (Life)

160 lbs - Stella Steigler (King) vs. Vida Boskovic (Southern Oregon)

Updated preseason DI rankings have been posted! There haven't been massive changes to the rankings, but a few minor tweaks at selected weight classes, so there aren't too many changes overall. 

Because of the uncertainty surrounding the eligibility of Jesse Mendez and Levi Haines, we are holding them out until they actual compete or there is more official wording regarding their status. At this point, it looks like Mendez is more likely to be eligible compared to Haines, but these things have changed quickly. 

Perhaps the biggest change is that we've moved Cornell's Jaxon Joy from 149 lbs to 157. With the move, Benny Rogers goes from 157 to 149. Looking at the TrackWrestling data, it appears highly unlikely that Joy would be able to cut down to 149 lbs.  At 157 lbs, Joy slots in behind Collin Gaj; one of the wrestlers to defeat him at the NCAA Tournament. 

Lehigh's Matty Lopes has been moved from 133 to 125 lbs. We understand Lopes certified at 125. There is very limited data for Lopes, in general, but even more so at 125, so we were fairly conservative with him. 125 is also deeper than 133 after the initial tier of title contenders. 

Keyveon Roller has been removed from the 133 lb rankings as his availability is in question. 

Cody Chittum was mentioned as an "either" at 149 or 157 lbs. He competed in his wrestle-off at 149, so he has been moved down. 

At 165 lbs, Noah Nininger has been considered for rankings purposes for Virginia Tech rather than Mac Church. 

We flipped Danny Wask and Gabe Arnold at 174 lbs, giving Wask the advantage for his head-to-head win last season. 

Josiah Hill has been inserted for Little Rock rather than Massoma Endene, who was deemed to be out of eligibility after the initial preseason rankings were posted.

For the full rankings: Click Here

In this episode of Over-Reaction Time, the guys discuss the best ways to introduce wrestling to new kids and help them develop a love for the sport, along with teaching and developing technique as they get older.

We’ve almost made it through the long offseason. With the 2026-27 season less than a month away, it’s time for one last check on the coaching carousel. I’m sure we’ll get another couple of changes between now and November, as head coaches try to round out their staff before then; however, he’s a final(ish) look at the changes that took place over the offseason. 

Below are the new DI hires for the 2026-27 season:
 

New Hires

Air Force Head Coach: Joe Johnston (Air Force - Associate Head Coach)

Army West Point Associate Head Coach: Mike Macchiavello (Lehigh Valley WC Athlete)

Binghamton Assistant Coach: Luke Welch (The Citadel - Interim Head Coach)

Bloomsburg: Ricky Donald

Bloomsburg: Gable Strickland (Lock Haven - Athlete)

Cal Poly Assistant Coach: Nelson Brands (Iowa City Regina HS Head Coach)

Columbia Assistant Coach: Cesar Alvan (Columbia - Wrestler)

Cornell Associate Head Coach: Zach Tanelli (Virginia Tech - Assistant Coach)

Cornell Assistant Coach: Yianni Diakomihalis (USA Wrestling - Athlete)

CSU Bakersfield Graduate Assistant: Richard Castro-Sandoval (CSU Bakersfield - Athlete)

CSU Bakersfield Assistant Coach: Daniel Manibog

Davidson Assistant Coach: Avery Bassett (Lock Haven - Wrestler)

Davidson Assistant Coach: Sean Fausz

Drexel: Desmond Pleasant (Drexel - Wrestler)

Edinboro Assistant Coach: Boomer Fechko (John Carroll - Associate Head Coach)

Franklin & Marshall Assistant Coach: Anthony Noto

George Mason Assistant Coach: Logan Messer (George Mason - Athlete)

George Mason Assistant Coach: Gabe Willochell (Wyoming - Athlete)

Hofstra Assistant Coach: Josh Mason (Penn Video Coordinator)

Iowa Assistant Coach: Jacob Warner (Hawkeye Wrestling Club)

Iowa State Assistant Coach: Jaiver Maldonado (Little Rock - Assistant Coach)

Iowa State Head Coach: Brent Metcalf (Associate Head Coach)

Iowa State Assistant Coach: Drake Ayala (Iowa - Athlete)

Lehigh Head Coach: Brad Dillon (Lehigh - Associate Head Coach)

Lehigh Assistant Coach: Michael McGee (Senior Level - Athlete)

Little Rock Assistant Coach: Chris Chionuma (Cal Poly - Associate Head Coach)

Maryland Assistant Coach: Gavin Hoffman (Lock Haven - Assistant Coach)

Mercyhurst Assistant Coach: Qian’te Wagner (Rio Grande - Assistant Coach)

Michigan Assistant Coach: Kellen Russell (Cornell - Associate Head Coach)

Michigan State Assistant Coach: Ryan Vasbinder

Minnesota Assistant Coach: Leroy Vega (Purdue - Head Assistant Coach)

Morgan State Assistant Coach: Jordan Oliver (Senior Level - Athlete)

Navy Assistant Coach: Peyton Walsh (Navy Wrestling Club RTC Director)

NC State Assistant Coach: Hayden Hidlay (Stanford - Assistant Coach)

Nebraska Assistant Coach: Robert Kokesh

North Dakota State Assistant Coach: Nick Magee (Bison Wrestling Club - Director)

Ohio Assistant Coach: Dean Heil (George Mason Assistant Coach)

Ohio Assistant Coach: Eric Morrill (California Baptist Assistant Coach)

Oregon State Assistant Coach: Gary Traub

Penn Assistant Coach: Lucas Byrd (Illinois - Athlete)

Penn Assistant Coach: Jake McKiernan 

Pittsburgh Assistant Coach: Ethan Laird (Maryland - Assistant Coach)

Princeton Assistant Coach: Max Brignola (Lehigh - Athlete)

Purdue Assistant Coach: Brian Anderson (Purdue - Director of Player Personnel) 

Purdue Assistant Coach: Collin Purinton (North Dakota State - Assistant Coach)

Rider Interim Head Coach: Nic Bedelyon (Rider - Associate Head Coach)

Rider Assistant Coach: Tyler Klinsky (Rider - Athlete)

Rutgers Associate Head Coach: Anthony Ashnault (Princeton - Assistant Coach)

Sacred Heart: Michael Wilson

SIU Edwardsville Head Coach: Daryl Thomas (SIU Edwardsville - Associate Head Coach)

SIU Edwardsville Assistant Coach: Colton McKiernan (Fort Hays State - Assistant Coach)

Stanford Assistant Coach: Myles Amine

The Citadel Head Coach: Timmy McCall (Utah Valley - Assistant Coach)

The Citadel Assistant Coach: Kegan Calkins (Aurora - Assistant Coach)

Utah Valley: Jason Chamberlain

Virginia Tech Assistant Coach: James Green (Nebraska - Assistant Coach)

Virginia Tech Assistant Coach: Ty Walz (Brown - Assistant Coach)

West Virginia Assistant Coach: Peyton Hall (RTC Athlete)

Wisconsin: Joe Zargo (Wisconsin - Athlete)

RTC/Club

Husky Elite WC - Barry Davis (Navy - Assistant Coach)

Pennsylvania RTC Head Coach: Pat Santoro (Lehigh - Head Coach)

On Friday, we got the news that Western Pennsylvania's Robert Morris University will add a DI wrestling program for the 2027-28 school year. The guys talk about this new addition. Do we need to think about what defines "success" for a collegiate program? Why aren't power four conferences adding teams?

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (October 9, 2026) – Robert Morris University announced today that it will add NCAA Division I men's wrestling as its newest varsity athletics program, creating new opportunities for student-athletes throughout Western Pennsylvania and across the country, while building on the region's deep wrestling tradition.
 
The RMU Wrestling Team is expected to begin competition in the 2027-28 academic year, with additional details regarding the program's inaugural season, coaching staff, competition schedule, and home venue to be announced as plans are finalized.
 
"Western Pennsylvania's wrestling tradition has been built by generations of outstanding athletes, dedicated coaches, and passionate families," said Dr. Ron Moses, Vice President and Director of Athletics at RMU. "Adding men's wrestling at Robert Morris gives talented student-athletes another opportunity to compete at the Division I level close to home while earning an outstanding education. We want young wrestlers throughout this region, and beyond, to see a future for themselves at RMU, and we're excited to build a competitive program that our campus, alumni, and wrestling community can rally around." 
 
RMU's location places the new wrestling program within a region where youth clubs, high school teams, and collegiate programs have long contributed to the sport's success. The addition will strengthen the University's connections with local wrestling communities while attracting student-athletes from across the country.
 
Men's wrestling will become RMU's 20th sport, reflecting the University's continued investment in Division I athletics and opportunities for student-athletes. The program's conference affiliation will be announced once finalized.
 
Prospective student-athletes, coaches and supporters can follow RMUColonials.com for program updates, including coaching announcements and future recruiting information.
 
For more information on RMU Athletics, visit RMUColonials.com. To support your Colonials, click here.
 
About Robert Morris University

Founded in 1921, Robert Morris University is a private university located just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. RMU serves more than 3,700 undergraduate and graduate students across more than 60 academic programs. RMU combines a professionally focused education with practical experience and strong connections to Pittsburgh's business and community organizations. The RMU Colonials compete in 20 NCAA Division I sports, providing student-athletes opportunities to excel in competition, in the classroom and in their communities.

With it being right in the middle of NCAA schedule-release SZN, the guys get into all things scheduling. Open Tournaments - the pros and cons behind them. Individual Tournaments - are the as necessary as in the past. Inconsistent dual schedules. Penn State's scheduling strategy. Lots to unpack here!

Next in our season preview content is a look at the NCAA team standings. This angle focuses on notable teams that missed the top 20 last season (and perhaps others), but have a reasonable shot at making it back into that status this March in St. Louis.

Over the last 10 NCAA tournaments, teams have needed to average 25.1 team points to make the top 20 (or share a spot). Six of those teams only had one All-American, so it’s possible that one superstar drags a team into the top 20.

As we go through the following teams, we’ll mention a potential star (or stars) that give their team a shot at the top 20, plus others capable of stepping up and contributing.

#16 North Carolina

The Tar Heels are the highest-ranked team on this list that missed the top 20 in 2026. UNC definitely has the potential to score at the national level from a couple of different wrestlers. Obviously, All-American Bryce Hepner returns and holds the #4 ranking at 165 lbs. In some years, that’s enough for a spot in the top 20. Most other times you’ll need multiple AA’s. Rob Koll’s team definitely has options in that regard, as well.

North Carolina also featured Brendan McCrone (#9 at 125 lbs) and Luke Simcox (#12 at 141 lbs), both a win or two away from All-American status at their respective weights. Veteran Josh Ogunsanya (#13 at 174 lbs) is at a loaded weight, but is capable of breaking through in March. Christian Hansen (#12 at 184 lbs) was headed for his first postseason berth in 2026, before a season-ending injury at Cornell. In addition, Matt Botello (#14 at 133 lbs) was a highly regarded recruit and is only a redshirt freshman.

If anyone (or more) from that group joins Hepner on the podium, North Carolina should be comfortably in the top 20.

#19(T) Little Rock

Little Rock finished within the top 20 in 2024 and 2025, but missed out in 2026. They had multiple All-Americans in the previous season, but only one in 2026. The good news is that he’s returning - Stephen Little, the third-place finisher at 197 lbs. The three-time All-American will be a national title contender again in 2027 and is a safe bet for a high NCAA finisher.

Who joins Little? There isn’t anyone who totally stands out from the crowd like some of these other schools, but perhaps Brock Herman (#13 at 149 lbs). Herman didn’t lose a dual in the second half of the season and won a Pac-12 crown. Little Rock also has an NCAA qualifier at heavyweight in Josiah Hill. They have a couple of wild cards in NJCAA national champions Gavyn Whitehead (141), Melton Powe (165), and Jarrel Miller (184), so perhaps one of them establishes themselves at the DI level.

With Little being such a high All-American threat, you might not need a second All-American, but perhaps a team effort from four or five others chipping in with a win or two at nationals.

#19(T) Oklahoma

Surprisingly enough, Oklahoma hasn’t cracked the top 20 since 2016 when they took 13th place with 33.5 points on the strength of two All-Americans. If all goes right, this Sooner team has the potential to crack the top 20. They return an All-American at 165 lbs with transfer Paddy Gallagher (#7 at 165). A seventh or eighth place finish isn’t typically enough to carry a team to the top 20, so they’ll need either/or - more from Gallagher or additional AA’s.

Not counting Gallagher, the Sooners could field a lineup that includes seven wrestlers with NCAA experience. The highest potential finisher is 157-pounder Rafael Hipolito, who was #4 seed at the 2025 tournament at Virginia Tech. He was injured and lost for the year during his OU debut in 2025-26. Sometimes, with NCAA runs, you need a wrestler that can get red hot and rack up some bonus points. That sounds a lot like Brian Soldano, a 2026 NCAA bloodround finisher and one of the most dangerous wrestlers in the country. During his 2024-25 season, Soldano racked up 12 falls just in the first half of the season alone.

Oklahoma also has some young potential threats with Sebastian Degennaro at 125 lbs and Anthony Harris at 197 lbs. Both are redshirt freshman and could work their way into the lineup. Degennaro has a bit of a tougher path with #16 Conrad Hendriksen in his way; however, both were highly-touted recruits with high ceilings.

#21 Purdue

Purdue is similar to Little Rock with one big superstar in Joey Blaze. He’s a 2025 NCAA runner-up and a two-time All-American. In 2025, Blaze’s finals appearance helped the Boilermakers to a 13th-place showing in Philly. Blaze starts the year ranked third in the nation at 165 lbs and will be squarely in the title mix.

At this time, it’s difficult to project anyone from Purdue’s lineup as an immediate All-American threat and able to significantly chip in with Blaze for the team race. That doesn’t mean someone won’t emerge as that threat. For now, perhaps Brody Baumann (#22 at 174 lbs) could be that guy.

#23 West Virginia

WVU went two decades with back-to-back top-20 finishes, but accomplished the feat in 2024 and 2025. The Mountaineers will be led by two-time All-American Ty Watters, who is capable of a very high finish, but also competes in a very competitive 157 lb bracket, so nothing will be taken for granted.

West Virginia has a couple of wrestlers who look capable of stepping up and contending for All-American status this year. Perhaps overshadowed by some of the great freshmen at 133 lbs last year, Gunner Andrick had a very strong campaign and started the preseason ranked in the top 10. He’s also the second-highest ranked Big 12 wrestler at the weight. Up at 197 lbs, Rune Lawrence is currently ranked #15 and has shown flashes of All-American potential throughout his first year as a starter.

Going down a tier, WVU also has Ian Bush (#24 at 184) and Max Vanadia (#23 at 285 lbs), who could step up in weights that aren’t overly deep this year.

#25 Rutgers

Rutgers does not have a returning All-American in their lineup, but they do have a couple of wrestlers who have competed in the NCAA bloodround and are capable of getting over the hump. Brett Ungar (#19 at 133 lbs) and Remy Cotton (#13 at 197) both have been a match away from solidifying NCAA All-American status at one point in their respective careers. Shane Cartagena-Walsh (#8 at 184 lbs) has gone 2-2 at the last two national tournaments and starts the year in that All-American range.

The X-factor here is freshman Anthony Knox at 125 lbs. Knox was one of the highest-ranked wrestlers at his weight and in his class for his entire high school career. Most expect him to jump in and be a high NCAA finisher in year one. If that’s the case, you probably need only one of those veterans mentioned above to step up and make the podium.

Rutgers also has young talent in Tahir Parkins (141 lbs), Conner and Brent Harer (157 lbs), along with redshirt sophomores Andrew Barbosa (165 lbs) and Ryan Ford (174 lbs) in the stable. Iowa State transfer Daniel Herrera rounds out the lineup at heavyweight and could rise quickly in a weight class hit hard by graduation.

If the stars align, this could be a huge season for Rutgers. If not, they could have a bunch of guys that win matches in St. Louis, but ultimately miss the podium.

#28(T) Northern Iowa

UNI had five consecutive seasons in the top 20 (2021-25), a streak that was snapped in 2026. That run was, in large part, due to the success of Parker Keckeisen, who was the only All-American in four of those years. Once again, Northern Iowa looks to be very dangerous in a dual format, but we’ll have to see how they develop in tournaments. A lot of that rests on the health of their stars. Cory Land (#11 at 141) and Wyatt Voelker (#9 at 285 lbs), both looked poised to seriously threaten for a spot on the podium last season; however, both were lost for the year due to injuries.

Voelker is a past bloodround finisher. The same goes for 165 lber Ryder Downey (x2) and 174 lber Jared Simma. Provided everyone stays healthy, it’s not a stretch to think that a handful of these Panthers end up on the podium in March, pulling the team back into the top 20.

#28(T) Maryland

In 2025, a NCAA sixth-place finish from Jaxon Smith nearly powered Maryland into the top 20 for the first time under head coach Alex Clemsen. They ended up settling in a three-way tie for 24th place.

This year’s Maryland team looks to be strong from a tournament standpoint with a returning All-American at 197 lbs in #7 Branson John. At the top of their lineup, the Terps will feature Wisconsin transfer, Nicolar Rivera. Rivera was fourth in the Big Ten and an NCAA bloodround finisher in 2025. He starts the preseason ranked #11 at 125 lbs.

A potential darkhorse for Maryland would be Dario Lemus (#24 at 141 lbs). Lemus is currently away from immediate All-American consideration; however, 141 lbs appears to be wide open and he could move up quickly with success early in the regular season or a timely upset or two in the postseason.

Maryland also has a handful of transfers that had excellent pre-collegiate pedigrees: Latrell Schafer (157 lbs), Carson Thomas (174 lbs), and Chase Horne (285 lbs). At this point, it’s hard to project if they have NCAA scoring potential, but if even one does, then the Terps could be on more solid footing team-wise.

Yesterday, we discussed a long list of wrestlers expected to return to the college wrestling mats after missing part (or all) of the 2025-26 campaign due to injury. Now, we’re going to look at a different group of wrestlers returning for the 2026-27 season. These wrestlers were established veterans who sat out last season taking a redshirt (or grayshirt).

Here’s a little bit more information about four of the notable wrestlers who fit into this category:

Max Gallagher (Penn)

Obviously, this isn’t a typical “redshirt” redshirt that we’ve been accustomed to since the Ivy League doesn’t technically do them. Max Gallagher sat out the 2025-26 season taking a grayshirt. In his first two years at Penn, Gallagher qualified twice for the NCAA Tournament. As a sophomore, he finished as the Ivy League runner-up at 125 lbs. Last season, 125 lbs seemed like it might be out of the equation as Gallagher spent the entire year competing above that weight class - first at 133 lbs and even as high as 141 lbs. Now, Gallagher returns to 125.

The last time Gallagher was in the lineup for a full season, he amassed a 25-10 record and posted wins over Dean Peterson (Rutgers) and Diego Sotelo (Harvard). With some turnover at the weight, Gallagher jumps in at #10 in the preseason rankings.

Provided the weight isn’t an issue, Gallagher could make a push for the podium and be a spark on a sneaky-good Penn team.

Matty Lopes (Lehigh)

So this will finally be the year where we see Matty Lopes as “the guy” for Lehigh, right? As a true freshman, Lopes was in and out of the lineup and assumed to be taking a redshirt until Ryan Crookham was lost for the year at 133 lbs, due to injury. During that regular season, Lopes pocketed wins over the eventual EIWA (Kurt Phipps/Bucknell) and Ivy League (Ryan Miller/Penn) champions, but wasn’t able to qualify for nationals due to a limited resume.

Last year, the Lehigh staff was able to keep Lopes in his redshirt and he grabbed two tournament titles (the Princeton Open and the Journeyman Classic). At the Princeton Open, Lopes downed two national qualifiers. He added a win over another at the Journeymen.

A wrinkle here is that we understand there’s a chance that Lopes might drop to 125 lbs for this season. However, things shake out in Bethlehem, Lopes should see a lot of mat time, either at 125 or 133.

Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech)

2024 NCAA champion Caleb Henson returns to Virginia Tech and attempts to put the finishing touches on one of the best careers in Hokie history. Henson was only the second wrestler from Virginia Tech to capture his national title and became the second to make multiple finals appearances, a year later. Henson’s presence in the Hokie lineup should push them into NCAA team trophy contention. Aside from Henson, the Hokies return three past All-American and feature 2026 Senior World Team member Bo Bassett.

During his redshirt season, Henson focused primarily on freestyle and made the finals of both the US Open and the World Team Trials. He was stopped in the Open by former collegiate rival, Ridge Lovett. At the Trials, he fell to former world champion Zain Retherford.

Henson will return to a 149 lb weight class that is loaded. Two additional NCAA champions will be at the weight, along with a national runner-up and five other past All-Americans.

Sergio Lemley (Michigan)

As a true freshman, Sergio Lemley burst onto the scene and made the nation take notice with his dual win over NCAA runner-up Real Woods (Iowa). He would later finish fourth in the Big Ten and went 1-2 at nationals. As a sophomore, Lemley took fifth in the conference and advanced to the bloodround at the NCAA Championships. Last season, Lemley took a redshirt in preparation for a move up to 149 lbs. He was excellent with wins in 22 of 23 matches; his only loss came to Virginia Tech All-American Collin Gaj. All in all, Lemley won four open tournaments and was third at the Midlands.

Lemley starts the year ranked #11 at a loaded 149 lb weight class. As mentioned above, there are three returning national champions at the weight and eight wrestlers with All-American honors by their name. That being said, Lemley has the talent to establish himself as a title contender among this group.

As we ramp up for the NCAA wrestling season, one thing we must do is reacquaint ourselves with some faces that we haven’t seen for awhile. In another article we’ll discuss wrestlers coming off of redshirt seasons. In this one, we’ll address some key stars who were unable to finish (or even start) their 2025-26 campaign because of an injury. Or injuries. 

This is not a new phenomenon, but it seems to be more common in recent years. Probably due to a combination of factors - the mileage put on wrestler’s bodies during youth/high school competition, along with the ease at which NCAA granted injury waivers. With the new “5 for 5” eligibility ruling, maybe this will subside slightly. 

However, it happened, these are some wrestlers that didn’t factor into the postseason or NCAA Tournament in 2026, but you need to consider during the upcoming season. 

Ryan Crookham (Iowa)

Perhaps the biggest name on this list and the one with the most potential for a national title is Ryan Crookham. During the 2023-24 season, Crookham burst onto the scene and announced himself with a win over returning NCAA (and world) champion Vito Arujau. He got a second win over the Cornell superstar at the EIWA Championships. Crookham would go on to finish third at the NCAA Championships. Since then, he has had back-to-back seasons interrupted by injuries. While he might have the highest potential, we’re also not sure exactly what to expect from him at Iowa. 
 

Evan Frost (Iowa State)

Evan Frost competed for the bulk of the 2025-26 season but was held out of the Big 12 Championships. A combination of an illness and an injury combined forces to help bring his weight up and made it difficult to make 133 lbs. He’ll be in action this year up at 141 lbs. In 2025-26, Frost won 12 of 13 matches and defeated five eventual NCAA qualifiers. 

Cory Land (Northern Iowa)

The first three years at UNI were rather injury-filled for Cory Land, but 2025-26 was looking like a breakout season. Land put together a 12-3 record during the first two months of the season and was ranked in the top 12 nationally. In his first competition of the year, Land lost a one-point match to All-American Ryan Jack (NC State) and downed two-time AA Vance Vombaur (Minnesota). A couple of weeks later, he won SIUE’s Cougar Clash and then majored UNC freshman Luke Simcox. Unfortunately, Land was lost for the season at the NWCA National Duals in early January. 
 

Zeth Romney (Cal Poly)

During the 2024-25 season, Zeth Romney broke out in a big way with a Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational title and a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Last year, Romney moved up to 141 lbs and suffered a loss in Vegas and then medically forfeited out of the tournament. Later that month, Romney went 1-1 at the Midlands before forfeiting out and never returning. With plenty of time to recover, and to grow into the 141 lb weight class, Romney could be a bit of a darkhorse threat to finish high in a bracket that could be considered pretty wide open. 
 

Jackson Arrington (NC State)

During his first two years at NC State, Jackson Arrington advanced to the NCAA bloodround and even picked up a win over NCAA champion Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) in the ACC finals. Last season, Arrington looked poised to make it over the hump and AA for the first time. Unfortunately, Arrington looked banged up early on and was lost for the year in December. Arrington also redshirted in 2024-25, so this should be his first full season back in the Wolfpack lineup since 2023-24. 
 

Daniel Zepeda (Michigan)

When Jackson Arrington was lost for the year, NC State had the option of pulling Daniel Zepeda out of redshirt. He certainly showed promise with a title at the Reno Tournament of Champions and finals appearance at the Southern Scuffle. As luck would have it, Zepeda was injured at the Scuffle and lost for the year, himself. In the offseason, Zepeda was one of the most sought-after wrestlers in the portal before transferring to Michigan. Expect him to show Wolverine fans why he was one of the top-ranked recruits in the high school Class of 2025. 
 

Paniro Johnson (Iowa State)

Paniro Johnson’s career at Iowa State has featured some great moments, but also significant time off the mat rehabbing injuries. Johnson is a two-time Big 12 champion and has earned top-five seeds at the NCAA Championships on two occasions. Despite this, Johnson is still seeking to earn his first All-American honor. Last season, Johnson began the year as the Cyclones starter and suffered a loss in tiebreakers to eventual AA Ryder Block (Iowa) before being lost for the year. 
 

Rafael Hipolito (Oklahoma)

As a redshirt freshman, Rafael Hipolito captured an ACC title and earned the #4 seed at nationals. Hipolito ended up going 1-2 in Philly and ended up in the transfer portal, shortly thereafter. Hipolito ended up at Oklahoma; however, his career as a Sooner didn’t take off as planned. In his Oklahoma debut, Hipolito earned a win at the TigerStyle Invitational, but forfeited out of the event and was sidelined for the remainder of the season. During his redshirt freshman season, Hipolito ended up with three wins over eventual All-Americans, which is a reminder of his talent. 

Jaxon Smith (Ohio State)

During the 2025 NCAA Championships, Jaxon Smith got on the NCAA podium to become the first All-American of the Alex Clemsen era at Maryland. Last season, Smith was chosen to participate in the NWCA All-Star Classic, which he did; however, two weeks later, Smith was lost for the year. Since then, he has transferred to Ohio State. In recovering from his injury, Smith reportedly lost a lot of weight and is now aiming to go 174 lbs. He’ll join and absolutely loaded group of 174 lbers nationwide. 

Hunter Garvin (Stanford)

Like Jaxon Smith, Hunter Garvin participated in the 2025 NWCA All-Star Match and was injured and lost for the year before the end of November. Garvin is a two-time NCAA sixth-place finisher for Stanford. Like a few of his Stanford teammates, Garvin entered the transfer portal, but ultimately chose to return to Palo Alto. He’s moving up from 165 lbs to that stacked 174 lb bracket. 

Josh Ogunsanya (North Carolina)

Competing against Garvin in the ACC at 174 lbs is Josh Ogunsanya. Ogunsanya qualified for the NCAA Championships on two occasions at Columbia and once for UNC. In each of his three NCAA appearances, Ogunsanya finished 1-2. Even so, Ogunsanya recorded regular-season wins over a pair of All-Americans during his last full year in the North Carolina lineup. Last year, Ogunsanya only suited up in one November dual meet for the Tar Heels before a season-ending injury. 

Drake Rhodes (South Dakota State)

With Drake Rhodes, we’ve got someone who was injured and didn’t even compete at all during the 2025-26 campaign. Rhodes was in the midst of a breakout year in 2024-25 as a finished fifth at the CKLV and won 9 of 10 duals. In his first match at the 2025 Big 12 Championships, Rhodes was injured which led to back-to-back injury defaults and an 0-2 showing at nationals. He’s also capable of making noise in a crowded 174 lb bracket. 

Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa)

Wyatt Voelker made the NCAA tournament during his first two years competing for Northern Iowa and advanced to the bloodround as a sophomore. Last year, he moved up to 285 lbs and appeared well on his way to another excellent season. During the first month and a half of the 2025-26 season, he notched four wins over eventual qualifiers in only eight contests. With heavyweight clearing out moreso than most other weights, Voelker could threaten for a high NCAA finish, if healthy.

We’re less than a month away from the start of the collegiate season. This year is shaping up to be one of the most interesting in quite some time. Penn State looms large over everyone, though Oklahoma State appears to be ready to close the gap. Nebraska has settled into a perennial trophy contender status. There’s a lot of young talent at Virginia Tech and Stanford. And don’t forget about Iowa and Ohio State. 

With freshmen being able to hit the ground running and win immediately in this era, it makes for some loaded individual brackets as the All-American medal stands are not largely dominated by seniors, as in past eras. In fact, this season only one weight class features fewer than six returning All-Americans (285 lbs - four). Maybe this changes a bit with a couple of weight changes that aren’t sorted out quite yet, but the point remains. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s a weight class with three returning national champions and another with 11 past All-Americans!

Speaking of All-Americans, here are wrestlers who have earned All-American honors, at one time or another, in their careers and will be expected to compete in 2026-27. 
 

125 lbs

Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) - 2026/1st, 2025/3rd

Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) - 2026/2nd

Nico Provo (Stanford) - 2026/3rd

Vince Robinson (Nebraska) - 2026/4th, 2025/1st

Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) - 2026/5th, 2025/2nd

Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) - 2025/5th, 2023/7th

Jore Volk (Minnesota) - 2026/7th, 2024/7th
 

133 lbs

Marcus Blaze (Penn State) - 2026/4th

Ryan Crookham (Iowa) - 2024/3rd

Ben Davino (Ohio State) - 2026/2nd

Jax Forrest (Oklahoma State) - 2026/1st

Tyler Knox (Stanford) - 2026/6th, 2025/8th

Aaron Seidel (Virginia Tech) - 2026/3rd

Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) - 2026/7th, 2025/7th
 

141 lbs

Nasir Bailey (Iowa) - 2024/4th

Braeden Davis (Penn State) - 2025/5th

Evan Frost (Iowa State) - 2024/6th

Zan Fugitt (Missouri) - 2025/4th

Carter Nogle (Air Force) - 2026/5th

Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) - 2025/3rd

Luke Stanich (Lehigh) - 2026/3rd, 2024/5th

Vance Vombaur (Minnesota) - 2025/8th, 2024/8th
 

149 lbs

Ryder Block (Iowa) - 2026/6th

Gavin Drexler (North Dakota State) - 2025/8th

Anthony Echemendia (Nebraska) - 2026/6th, 2024/5th

Jacob Frost (Iowa State) - 2025/7th

Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) - 2025/2nd, 2024/1st, 2023/5th

Aden Valencia (Stanford) - 2026/1st

Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) - 2026/2nd, 2025/3rd, 2023/3rd

Sergio Vega (Oklahoma State) - 2026/1st

Cross Wasilewski (Penn) - 2026/7th
 

157 lbs

Brandon Cannon (Ohio State) - 2026/4th

Daniel Cardenas (Stanford) - 2025/4th

Collin Gaj (Virginia Tech) - 2026/5th

Tyler Kasak (Penn State) - 2025/3rd, 2024/3rd

Landon Robideau (Oklahoma State) - 2026/1st

Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) - 2026/2nd, 2025/1st, 2024/8th

Ty Watters (West Virginia) - 2026/6th, 2024/4th

Kannon Webster (Illinois) - 2026/5th

165 lbs

Joey Blaze (Purdue) - 2026/6th, 2025/2nd

Cam Catrabone (Michigan) - 2026/7th

PJ Duke (Penn State) - 2026/2nd

Paddy Gallagher (Oklahoma) - 2026/8th

Bryce Hepner (North Carolina) - 2026/7th

Nicco Ruiz (Arizona State) - 2026/4th
 

174 lbs

Gabe Arnold (Iowa) - 2026/7th

MJ Gaitan (Iowa State) - 2026/8th

Hunter Garvin (Stanford) - 2025/6th, 2024/6th

Beau Mantanona (Michigan) - 2026/7th

Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) - 2026/1st, 2025/1st, 2024/2nd

Christopher Minto (Nebraska) - 2026/2nd, 2025/4th

Simon Ruiz (Cornell) - 2025/5th

Matty Singleton (NC State) - 2025/7th

Jaxon Smith (Ohio State) - 2025/6th

Cam Steed (Missouri) - 2026/5th, 2025/7th

Danny Wask (Navy) - 2026/6th, 2025/8th
 

184 lbs

Bennett Berge (Oklahoma State) - 2024/4th

Caleb Campos (American) - 2026/4th

Angelo Ferrari (Iowa) - 2026/6th

Brock Mantanona (Michigan) - 2026/5th

Max McEnelly (Minnesota) - 2026/1st, 2025/3rd

Eddie Neitenbach (Wyoming) - 2026/7th

Zack Ryder (Oklahoma State) - 2026/8th

Aeoden Sinclair (Missouri) - 2026/3rd

Rocco Welsh (Penn State) - 2026/2nd, 2025/2nd
 

197 lbs

Josh Barr (Penn State) - 2026/1st, 2025/2nd

Branson John (Maryland) - 2026/8th

Stephen Little (Little Rock) - 2026/3rd, 2025/6th, 2024/7th

Camden McDanel (Nebraska) - 2026/5th, 2025/8th

Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State) - 2026/2nd

Joey Novak (Wyoming) - 2026/4th, 2025/5th

Angelo Posada (Stanford) - 2026/6th

Mac Stout (Pittsburgh) - 2025/7th

285 lbs

Christian Carroll (Wyoming) - 2026/8th

Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State) - 2026/4th

Nick Feldman (Ohio State) - 2024/5th

Ben Kueter (Iowa) - 2026/5th, 2025/8th

Our preseason national rankings have been released! These are still a bit rough, as most schools are still trying to sort out their lineups. This year they have an added wrinkle - no redshirts! That means that lineups might be more in flux during the preseason and throughout a portion of the regular season.

With that being said, we plan on at least one revision of the preseason rankings before action gets underway in November.

Rankings can be found here

Here is a bit about each weight class: 

125

Strong weight class with the top five placewinners returning and six of eight All-Americans. After the tier of All-Americans, there are a lot of unknowns, but also a lot of potential. Cortez, Castillo, DeLuca, and Knox are all highly-credentialed freshmen who could move up quickly.

133

The legendary freshman Class of 2026 is back with all four big names slated to return to 133 lbs. Once again, it should be a fun weight class and could end in a totally different way than it finished in March. One name to add to the mix is Ryan Crookham, who moved to Iowa. I tend to think there will be a lot of shuffling and movement in the second half of these rankings, as there are plenty of wrestlers in that area that haven’t qualified for nationals yet.

There’s still some uncertainty about where Masonosuke Ono and Marcus Blaze will go, so perhaps Blaze could move up and Ono handles 133 lbs for the Nittany Lions.

141

You’ll notice we did add freshman Bo Bassett at this weight. Typically, we haven’t ranked true freshmen before. One difference is the amount of collegiate action Bassett has seen over the past two years (18-0 with wins over two top-six seeds at 149 lbs at the 2026 NCAA Tournament). Plus, without the option of a redshirt, we know these freshmen are more likely to compete in year one. Bassett starts behind the top tier of returning AA’s. That might be a bit conservative, but that’s ok for now.

149

Yikes! The top three are all NCAA champions and the fourth is a runner-up. This top 10 or 12 is pretty nasty! Henson’s title, followed by an undefeated run up until the 2025 national finals, gave him the nod over Vega coming up a weight. Valencia lost seven times last year, but did get the national title win, so he slots in at #3.

157

This is where you’ll notice some changes for Penn State at the next few weights. We’re going with Tyler Kasak at #2. He is 2-0 against Antrell Taylor and 1-0 against Brandon Cannon and his only loss at 157 lbs came to Joey Blaze. This weight was one of my favorites to follow last season and is shaping up to be fun once again. The top eight have all earned AA honors at least once in their careers and the next tier is very close behind them.

165

Typically, our instinct is to defer to wrestlers at a particular weight when judging them against someone moving up in weight, as you have the third-place finisher from 157 lbs (PJ Duke) moving here and is compared to the fourth-place finisher at 165 lbs (Nicco Ruiz). In this instance, Duke had two losses - both in tiebreakers to national champions (one slightly controversial), while Ruiz had seven losses; three of which came to non-AA’s.

Remember, Bryce Hepner will be out for the first semester, so we’ll remove him once action gets underway.

I’ll be watching EJ Parco, who had NCAA wins over the two wrestlers directly behind him, but didn’t necessarily have the same consistent season as both of them. He’ll also be in a fight with Gregor Cholakyan for Stanford’s starting role.

174

Ok, so the elephant in the room! We’re going with Mitchell Mesenbrink at 174 lbs. In years past, we’ve used these rankings to break news regarding weight changes. That isn’t what this is. It’s more of reading the tea leaves. Penn State is typically tight-lipped about lineup decisions and this is no different. Kasak/Duke/Mesenbrink going 157-174 would maximize their talent, so it makes sense. There are also some legitimate rumblings that this is what we’ll see from Penn State. But it could change by our next update.

Mesenbrink or not, this is a deep weight class! With him, you have the top 11 wrestlers at this weight who have all AA’ed at least once in their careers. Hunter Garvin moves up from 165, while Jaxon Smith and Gabe Arnold move down from 184 and 197, respectively. Even past the top 11, you have plenty of other wrestlers in the top 20 who have beaten AA’s or been close to earning that status themselves.

184

Just another solid weight class here. The Big Ten is represented with four of the top five wrestlers and all eight of the All-Americans from 2026 return. From #12 and beyond, there are a lot of names that might not necessarily be familiar and might not immediately come to mind as All-American threats, but a few should take a step forward and elevate themselves into that category.

197

This is another upperweight that was dominated by underclassmen in 2026, so each of the All-Americans return - excluding Gabe Arnold, who moved down to 174.

285

This weight really cleared out with Doucet, Kueter, and Carroll as the only returners from the 2026 podium. Of course, previous AA Nick Feldman is there too.

An interesting lineup battle to monitor is with Oklahoma State, who has #1 Doucet and blue-chip recruit Dreshaun Ross, who is capable of winning the spot in year one.

Team Dual

Here are some teams I think could move up relatively quickly:

Arizona State: They have the Larkin brothers both moving up multiple weights. Both head into stacked weight classes, but are extremely talented. They both could outwrestle their initial ranking and help their team move up.

Michigan: The Wolverines might end up with true freshmen starting at each of the first three weights. Each was ranked highly coming out of high school, so if they wrestle up to their billing, Michigan will be much better than their dual ranking indicates. The same goes for heavyweight Nick Sahakian.

One team I’m monitoring based on a high ranking is Oklahoma.

They have a handful of highly ranked wrestlers coming off serious injuries or with injury histories. If everyone is healthy, then they could be very tough, but that can be a big “if” with a veteran team.

We’ve made it through the Labor Day holiday weekend, and plenty of coaching changes are still happening as head coaches try to round out their staff for the 2026-27 season.

Perhaps the most notable recent hiring came by Little Rock, who added Chris Chionuma to its coaching staff. Chionuma has been a stalwart on the Cal Poly coaching staff for the previous eight years. During that time, the Mustangs finished in the top 25 at the NCAA Championships on two occasions (2021-22). Their wrestlers also combined to win eight Pac-12 championships and earned All-American honors five times.

Little Rock had a vacancy on its staff after Javy Maldonado left for a position on Brent Metcalf’s Iowa State staff. Earlier this offseason, Cal Poly added Nelson Brands to its staff, so they’ll be on the search for another assistant coach.

We’ve added a couple of other assistants to our list that were not necessarily “secrets” but were not mentioned publicly by their respective schools until now.

George Mason has hired alum Logan Messer and Wyoming grad Gabe Willochell to complete Frank Beasley’s staff. Messer was a 2026 MAC champion at 174 lbs, while Willochell was a four-time national qualifier who finished his career in the 2026 NCAA bloodround for the Cowboys.

Wisconsin has added alum Joe Zargo to their website as an assistant coach. Zargo was a four-time national qualifier for the Badgers. When longtime assistant Jon Reader stepped away from the coaching world, Tony Cassioppi was elevated to the program’s associate head coaching position and Zargo was brought onto staff. This is a move that was “out there” for awhile, but not officially confirmed by the school until recently.

Below are the new DI hires for the 2026-27 season, along with vacant positions.

New Hires

Air Force Head Coach: Joe Johnston (Air Force - Associate Head Coach)

Army West Point Associate Head Coach: Mike Macchiavello (Lehigh Valley WC Athlete)

Binghamton Assistant Coach: Luke Welch (The Citadel - Interim Head Coach)

Bloomsburg: Gable Strickland (Lock Haven - Athlete)

Cal Poly Assistant Coach: Nelson Brands (Iowa City Regina HS Head Coach)

Columbia Assistant Coach: Cesar Alvan (Columbia - Wrestler)

Cornell Associate Head Coach: Zach Tanelli (Virginia Tech - Assistant Coach)

Cornell Assistant Coach: Yianni Diakomihalis (USA Wrestling - Athlete)

Davidson Assistant Coach: Avery Bassett (Lock Haven - Wrestler)

Davidson Assistant Coach: Sean Fausz

Edinboro Assistant Coach: Boomer Fechko (John Carroll - Associate Head Coach)

Franklin & Marshall Assistant Coach: Anthony Noto

George Mason Assistant Coach: Logan Messer (George Mason - Athlete)

George Mason Assistant Coach: Gabe Willochell (Wyoming - Athlete)

Iowa Assistant Coach: Jacob Warner (Hawkeye Wrestling Club)

Iowa State Assistant Coach: Jaiver Maldonado (Little Rock - Assistant Coach)

Iowa State Head Coach: Brent Metcalf (Associate Head Coach)

Iowa State Assistant Coach: Drake Ayala (Iowa - Athlete)

Lehigh Head Coach: Brad Dillon (Lehigh - Associate Head Coach)

Lehigh Assistant Coach: Michael McGee (Senior Level - Athlete)

Little Rock Assistant Coach: Chris Chionuma (Cal Poly - Associate Head Coach)

Maryland Assistant Coach: Gavin Hoffman (Lock Haven - Assistant Coach)

Mercyhurst Assistant Coach: Qian’te Wagner (Rio Grande - Assistant Coach)

Michigan Assistant Coach: Kellen Russell (Cornell - Associate Head Coach)

Minnesota Assistant Coach: Leroy Vega (Purdue - Head Assistant Coach)

Navy Assistant Coach: Peyton Walsh (Navy Wrestling Club RTC Director)

NC State Assistant Coach: Hayden Hidlay (Stanford - Assistant Coach)

Nebraska Assistant Coach: Robert Kokesh

Ohio Assistant Coach: Dean Heil (George Mason Assistant Coach)

Ohio Assistant Coach: Eric Morrill (California Baptist Assistant Coach)

Oregon State Assistant Coach: Gary Traub

Penn Assistant Coach: Lucas Byrd (Illinois - Athlete)

Pittsburgh Assistant Coach: Ethan Laird (Maryland - Assistant Coach)

Princeton Assistant Coach: Max Brignola (Lehigh - Athlete)

Rider Head Coach: Nic Bedelyon (Rider - Associate Head Coach)

Rider Assistant Coach: Tyler Klinsky (Rider - Athlete)

Rutgers Associate Head Coach: Anthony Ashnault (Princeton - Assistant Coach)

SIU Edwardsville Head Coach: Daryl Thomas (SIU Edwardsville - Associate Head Coach)

SIU Edwardsville Assistant Coach: Colton McKiernan (Fort Hays State - Assistant Coach)

Stanford Assistant Coach: Myles Amine

The Citadel Head Coach: Timmy McCall (Utah Valley - Assistant Coach)

The Citadel Assistant Coach: Kegan Calkins (Aurora - Assistant Coach)

Utah Valley: Jason Chamberlain (???????)

Virginia Tech Assistant Coach: James Green (Nebraska - Assistant Coach)

Virginia Tech Assistant Coach: Ty Walz (Brown - Assistant Coach)

West Virginia Assistant Coach: Peyton Hall (RTC Athlete)

Wisconsin: Joe Zargo (Wisconsin - Athlete)

RTC/Club

Husky Elite WC - Barry Davis (Navy - Assistant Coach)

Pennsylvania RTC Head Coach: Pat Santoro (Lehigh - Head Coach)

Openings

Air Force: Assistant Coach

Brown: Assistant Coach

Cal Poly: Assistant Coach

Gardner-Webb: Graduate Assistant

Hofstra: Assistant Coach

Illinois: Assistant Coach

Lock Haven: Assistant Coach

Merchyhurst: Volunteer Assistant

Purdue: Assistant Coach

With the Super 32 looming and qualifying tournaments taking place this weekend, the guys discuss the emergence of year-round wrestling. Yes, this isn't necessarily a new phenomenon, but when did it start and is it really necessary?

No questions this week.........

Did we really exhaust all conversation?  

Anyway, here is something I wrote a few years back just in case you thought you were getting away with not reading something from me for your Friday  Enjoy it and enjoy the long weekend!

https://www.rokfin.com/article/7237/Three-Things-Coaches-Do-That-Destroy-Trust

I once observe an adult address a group of teenage boys who they suspected of committing a minor offense. The response was one of the worst I have ever seen. It included a thorough tongue lashing, in front of the boys peers. The adult's own children were present as well. Some of the highlights of the loud, public berating were " you guys are low character" and "I hope my kids don't grow up to be like you guys."

I include this story because it pretty much violates all the rules. I'd love to tell you it is an extreme example, but I think we've all seen coaches and other "grownups" engage in similar behaviors.  

I can't think of an in-service training or coach's clinic that didn't sing the praises of trust and relationship building. Do you know why? Because it is important.

Here are three roadblocks to getting where you want to be in those areas

1- Creating power struggles. You have to give a kid an out. A pathway to save face and still feel valued, despite their transgression. A way back. The adult in the above scenario didn't do that. They made it about who was in charge and who had the authority. That MIGHT get you compliance. But it won't get you trust.

2- It's not about you. Again- major mistake by the adult above. It became about them. Their kids. Their emotions. Another buzz word floating around is "kid centric". It is about them. If your team is functioning well, you shouldn't have to point out what kid centric things you are doing, because it should be the default. One of my coworkers this fall said it best to our team. "We are busy, but our day stops if you need us."  

3- You buy into kids before kids will buy into you. You gotta meet them where they are and bring them to where you want them to be. It's the only way to earn genuine trust. Again, compliance is NOT trust.

One easy test I always mention comes from the movie "Dead Poets Society". It's pretty simple. Everyone who watches it roots for the Robin Williams character. But think of the last 5 decisions you have made regarding kids' lives. Do they line up with John Keatings character? Or the school? You'll have your answer.  

I'll quit working with kids when I find myself rooting for the administration while watching that flick.

Looking ahead to the upcoming collegiate season, it is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated in recent memory. One of the reasons for this excitement is a great class of talented freshmen who have recently hit college campuses (or, in one case, did so in January).

With the NCAA’s five-for-five ruling, there will be no redshirting, so it adds an extra element to the lineup, recruiting, and coaching strategy. In years past, a top team could stash a recruit for a year if they had a high-performing veteran in his spot and kick the can down the road for a season. Now, that isn’t the case. We might end up seeing freshmen unseat returners more so than ever in this new system.

Keeping all of that in mind, we’re going to look at the top 15 recruits from MatScouts Class of 2026 Big Board and their prospects for starting and maintaining their position for the 2026-27 campaign. There are plenty of different scenarios that these freshmen walk into, so in many cases, it isn’t a simple yes or no question.

1. Jax Forrest (Oklahoma State) - This is a weird situation that we’ve never dealt with before in wrestling. Forrest was in the Class of 2026 and graduated early to compete at the collegiate level in 2026. Suffice to say, he’ll be in Oklahoma State’s plans for 2026-27.

2. Bo Bassett (Virginia Tech) - There doesn’t seem to be any doubt about Bassett’s status for 2026-27. He’s penciled in as the starter for the Hokies at 141 lbs and will have sky-high expectations during year one in Blacksburg.

3. Jayden James (Penn State) - This was always going to be one of the more interesting situations. Penn State has an embarrassment of riches in the middle of its lineup. As of now, there is some thought to the idea that Mitchell Mesenbrink might move up to 174 lbs, allowing PJ Duke to go 165. It also appears as if Jayden James might take a gap year. If that comes to fruition, it would allow the Nittany Lions to get five years of competition out of both Duke and James. As of now, James is not on Penn State’s TrackWrestling roster, but other freshmen are included. Because of his age under the new eligibility ruling, James would be able to greyshirt. Many aren’t able to do this, but James can.

4. Dreshaun Ross (Oklahoma State) - All offseason, we had Dreshaun Ross penciled into the Oklahoma State lineup at heavyweight. Recently, we learned that Konner Doucet intends to return for his final year of eligibility. Doucet is the highest-returning NCAA placewinner from the 2026 tournament (4th). We’ll have to see how this shakes out. Obviously, if Ross defeats Doucet, that is a great signal for things to come.

5 and 6. Jordyn Raney/Jayden Raney (Oklahoma State) - One of the twins will probably have to sit for the bulk of the 2026-27 season. With NCAA champion Sergio Vega slated to move up to 149 lbs, it leaves an opening at 141. That opening will probably be filled by Jordyn Raney. Forrest’s presence at 133 likely blocks Jayden in year one. There are some rumors that perhaps Forrest moves up to 141, which would block Jordyn and open things up for Jayden.

7. Coby Merrill (Iowa State) - Coby Merrill looks like “the guy” in year one for Iowa State. NCAA runner-up Yonger Bastida is out of eligibility and there isn’t a veteran who appears to be ready to step in at the caliber of Merrill. With Merrill’s talent and the weight clearing out significantly, Merrill could be in for a big first season.

8. Rocklin Zinkin (Oklahoma State) - 125 lbs looks pretty safe for 2026-27 at Oklahoma State with two-time All-American Troy Spratley back for his final year of eligibility. Like heavyweight, Oklahoma State will win in either scenario. We know Spratley is an NCAA title contender. If Rocklin Zinkin unseats him, he should be in the mix as well.

9. Michael White (Oklahoma State) - It’s a similar refrain from a couple of the other weights with Oklahoma State. The Cowboy staff brought in Bennett Berge, an All-American from South Dakota State, to handle duties at 184 lbs. Berge has the experience and resume, but White has a lot of upside, so perhaps he wins the spot and the Cowboys are still in a good position.

10. Moses Mendoza (Michigan) - Michigan has a returning starter on the roster at 133 lbs with Gauge Botero; however, Botero went 5-18 during his first year in Ann Arbor. That means that his spot is not quite secure and leaves the door open for Moses Mendoza to come in immediately and establish himself as the starter. We just saw Mendoza in action at the U20 World Championships, where he took fifth place wrestling for Mexico.

11. Antonio Mills (Ohio State) - This is one that I find difficult to make a case for a clear path to a starting spot. Antonio Mills is ideally a 133 lber at this point in time. The Buckeyes have NCAA runner-up Ben Davino returning at this weight and he doesn’t appear ready to move up any time soon. Perhaps Mills moves up to 141 and fills that spot - one without an obvious starter.

12. Adam Waters (Ohio State) - Once again, Ohio State has a prominent veteran at this freshman’s projected weight (184 lbs). And that returner is Dylan Fishback. Fishback has been very solid throughout his career at NC State and Ohio State, but he still hasn’t been able to get on the NCAA podium. There’s certainly a chance that Waters comes in and becomes the starter.

13. Kellen Wolbert (Michigan) - With Sergio Lemley set to move up to 149 lbs for Michigan, it leaves an opening at 141 lbs. The presumptive favorite among the returners at the weight would be Eren Sement, who went 6-7 as a true freshman. Like Mendoza, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the first-year wrestler, Kellen Wolbert, come in and lock down the starting position at 141.

14. Brandt Harer (Rutgers) - Look for Brandt Harer to be the guy at 149 lbs for Rutgers. Perhaps, going back-to-back with his older brother, Conner, at 157 lbs. It looks as if Alex Nini would be the younger Harer’s primary competition at 149 lbs. Nini was 10-7 as a true freshman and did not compete in 2025-26.

15. Tyler Dekraker (Minnesota) - Somehow, someway, it looks like Tyler Dekraker will find his way into the Minnesota lineup. As of now, we understand that the 141/149 slots have not been sorted out. Two-time All-American Vance Vombaur is the returning starter at 141. There’s a chance that Vombaur moves up to 149 lbs. If so, Dekraker would slot in nicely at 141. Should Vombaur remain at 141 lbs, Dekraker might be the guy at 149 lbs, also.

We’re more than halfway through August and many schools have already started their fall semesters. Even so, the coaching carousel continues to turn. Last week, we noted that Air Force promoted Joe Johnston to their head coaching position and Leroy Vega left Purdue for his alma mater, Minnesota. 

This week got started with Princeton announcing that they’ve hired Max Brignola as an assistant coach. Brignola wrapped up his collegiate career in 2026 after competing at his third NCAA tournament for Lehigh. Brignola captured an EIWA title at 165 lbs and earned the #7 seed at nationals. In Cleveland, Brignola advanced to the bloodround before falling to Arizona State’s Nicco Ruiz. 

During the regular season, Brignola split matches with Ruiz - defeating him in sudden victory at the National Duals Invitational and losing in the season finale in tiebreakers. He finished his senior campaign with a 20-6 record. 

Brignola started his senior campaign with an appearance at the NWCA/All Star Classic, where he fell 4-1 to Stanford All-American Hunter Garvin. 

Previously, Brignola had qualified for the NCAA Tournament on the strength of second and third place finishes at the EIWA Championships. 

Joe Dubuque’s Princeton team will go into the 2026-27 season with a staff that includes Brignola, Cody Brewer, and Ryan Wolfe. 
 

New Hires

Air Force Head Coach: Joe Johnston (Air Force - Associate Head Coach)

Army West Point Associate Head Coach: Mike Macchiavello (Lehigh Valley WC Athlete)

Binghamton Assistant Coach: Luke Welch (The Citadel - Interim Head Coach)

Bloomsburg: Gable Strickland (Lock Haven - Athlete)

Cal Poly Assistant Coach: Nelson Brands (Iowa City Regina HS Head Coach)

Columbia Assistant Coach: Cesar Alvan (Columbia - Wrestler)

Cornell Associate Head Coach: Zach Tanelli (Virginia Tech - Assistant Coach)

Cornell Assistant Coach: Yianni Diakomihalis (USA Wrestling - Athlete)

Davidson Assistant Coach: Avery Bassett (Lock Haven - Wrestler)

Edinboro Assistant Coach: Boomer Fechko (John Carroll - Associate Head Coach)

Franklin & Marshall Assistant Coach: Anthony Noto

George Mason Assistant Coach: Logan Messer (George Mason - Athlete)

George Mason Assistant Coach: Gabe Willochell (Wyoming - Athlete)

Iowa Assistant Coach: Jacob Warner (Hawkeye Wrestling Club)

Iowa State Assistant Coach: Jaiver Maldonado (Little Rock - Assistant Coach)

Iowa State Head Coach: Brent Metcalf (Associate Head Coach)

Iowa State Assistant Coach: Drake Ayala (Iowa - Athlete)

Lehigh Head Coach: Brad Dillon (Lehigh - Associate Head Coach)

Lehigh Assistant Coach: Michael McGee (Senior Level - Athlete)

Lock Haven Assistant Coach: Lenny Pinto (Rutgers - Athlete)

Maryland Assistant Coach: Gavin Hoffman (Lock Haven - Assistant Coach)

Mercyhurst Assistant Coach: Qian’te Wagner (Rio Grande - Assistant Coach)

Michigan Assistant Coach: Kellen Russell (Cornell - Associate Head Coach)

Minnesota Assistant Coach: Leroy Vega (Purdue - Head Assistant Coach)

Navy Assistant Coach: Peyton Walsh (Navy Wrestling Club RTC Director)

NC State Assistant Coach: Hayden Hidlay (Stanford - Assistant Coach)

Nebraska Assistant Coach: Robert Kokesh

Ohio Assistant Coach: Dean Heil (George Mason Assistant Coach)

Ohio Assistant Coach: Eric Morrill (California Baptist Assistant Coach)

Oregon State Assistant Coach: Gary Traub

Penn Assistant Coach: Lucas Byrd (Illinois - Athlete)

Pittsburgh Assistant Coach: Ethan Laird (Maryland - Assistant Coach)

Princeton Assistant Coach: Max Brignola (Lehigh - Athlete)

Rider Assistant Coach: Tyler Klinsky (Rider - Athlete)

Rutgers Associate Head Coach: Anthony Ashnault (Princeton - Assistant Coach)

SIU Edwardsville Head Coach: Daryl Thomas (SIU Edwardsville - Associate Head Coach)

SIU Edwardsville Assistant Coach: Colton McKiernan (Fort Hays State - Assistant Coach)

Stanford Assistant Coach: Myles Amine

The Citadel Head Coach: Timmy McCall (Utah Valley - Assistant Coach)

The Citadel Assistant Coach: Kegan Calkins (Aurora - Assistant Coach)

Virginia Tech Assistant Coach: James Green (Nebraska - Assistant Coach)

Virginia Tech Assistant Coach: Ty Walz (Brown - Assistant Coach)

West Virginia Assistant Coach: Peyton Hall (RTC Athlete)

RTC/Club

Husky Elite WC - Barry Davis (Navy - Assistant Coach)

Pennsylvania RTC Head Coach: Pat Santoro (Lehigh - Head Coach)

Openings

Brown: Assistant Coach

Gardner-Webb: Graduate Assistant

Hofstra: Assistant Coach

Illinois: Assistant Coach

Little Rock: Assistant Coach

Merchyhurst: Volunteer Assistant

Purdue: Assistant Coach

Utah Valley: Assistant Coach

Wisconsin: Assistant Coach

Much was made last week of comments by Oklahoma State head coach David Taylor at a preseason press conference about the potential for a dual with five-time defending national champions Penn State. Taylor claimed he has left an open date on the Cowboys 2026-27 schedule and will continue to do so until a dual with his former team is agreed upon.

This is a dual that most college wrestling fans clamor for as the two teams finished one-two at the NCAA Championships earlier this year, in only Taylor’s second year at the helm in Stillwater. With a returning nucleus that includes three NCAA champions (as true freshmen) and the #1 overall recruiting class in 2026, Oklahoma State could eventually be the team that unseats Penn State as college wrestling’s current dynasty.

I wouldn’t expect Taylor's public proclamation to sway PSU head coach Cael Sanderson’s decision making process in reference to this season’s schedule or even down the road. Sanderson has proven he can prepare his teams like no one else in the business and won’t be goaded into a dual - even by his former prized pupil, Taylor.

As the wrestling world wants to break down a hypothetical Oklahoma State/Penn State match on Twitter (X) and message boards, I wanted to go back and look at the last time these two teams squared off in dual competition.

It was February 19th, 2017, the last weekend of the regular season.

This dual is probably best remembered for the one in which Nick Suriano was injured, which subsequently set events in motion that led to him leaving the program.

That meeting was also notable because it was the finals of the NWCA/National Duals. This iteration of the duals basically pitted the Big Ten against teams from outside of the conference. The top-ranked team from outside the conference, #1 Oklahoma State, hosted #2 Penn State in the marquee dual of the series.

14,059 fans packed into Gallagher-Iba Arena, which not only set an attendance record for wrestling, but for all sports inside the arena. Previously, 14,044 watched a basketball game against Missouri in 2007.

The dual itself started with Suriano having to injury default to Nick Piccininni. If there was a path to victory for the Cowboys, it featured a Piccininni win. No one could have forecasted six points for the Cowboys, so they had early momentum.

That continued with wins at 133 and 141 lbs for John Smith’s Cowboys. Kaid Brock majored George Carpenter at 133 lbs, followed by top-ranked Dean Heil edging Jimmy Guilbon, 3-2. Just like that, a 13-0 advantage for the home team.

The tide turned as Zain Retherford got his hand raised in a #1 vs #2 clash against Anthony Collica, 2-1. That result represented only the second regular decision of the year for Retherford.

Jason Nolf and Vincenzo Joseph followed with bonus-point wins over Joseph Smith and Chandler Rogers, respectively. True freshman Mark Hall got by returning All-American Kyle Crutchmer by a point.

Any hopes for a Cowboy win were dashed at 184 lbs as Bo Nickal pinned Nolan Boyd in only :38 seconds. The Nittany Lions clinched the dual at 197 lbs as Matt McCutcheon pulled a slight upset (#9 over #8) at the expense of Preston Weigel. Nick Nevills finished things off with a 10-5 win over Derek White at heavyweight.

That Penn State team went on to win the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season and saw five of its wrestlers claim national titles for the first time in program history. Oklahoma State finished in third place, 43.5 points behind the Nittany Lions and also behind Ohio State. The Cowboys did end up putting more wrestlers on the 2017 NCAA podium (8) than anyone, including Penn State. They lacked the championship firepower that PSU possessed, as only Heil made the finals (and won).

Retherford ended up as the Dan Hodge Trophy recipient with a 28-0 campaign that featured bonus points in almost 93% of his matches.

The 2026 national tournament marked the first time since 2017 that Oklahoma State had been able to surpass their 2017 NCAA point total (103).

Suriano only took the mat at the Big Ten Championships to injury default and never wrestled another match in a Penn State singlet. He would go on to capture two national titles - one for Rutgers and one for Michigan.

After Suriano’s departure, it started a mini-drought for Penn State without an All-American at 125 lbs from 2017-2024. I suppose that counts as a drought by Penn State’s lofty standards.

Hopefully, we’ll get to see these programs clash at some point in the near future. On the bright side, I do enjoy going into the NCAA Tournament with new matchups and some questions about how a potential Ono/Raney or Vega/Van Ness bouts (for instance) might play out.

This week the guys hit on everything in the recruiting process - communication, visits, commitments, flips, and the future and any changes that might arise from new rules.

In this episode we're talking all things Greco! We go through some of the hurdles that prevent Greco from growing in the country and, more importantly, how it could get more popular and better results internationally.

On Friday afternoon, we got the long awaited transfer announcement from three-time All-American Meyer Shapiro. As expected, Shapiro will join Nebraska - a different version of the Big Red, as he started his collegiate career at another school with the same nickname, Cornell. 

With Shapiro’s announcement, we now have seven past All-Americans who have transferred during the 2026 offseason. In this new landscape of collegiate athletics, this seems like a normal figure and one that we’ll continue to see in the coming years. 

Below, we’ve listed those seven All-Americans who will join new programs this fall. 

Looking at the list of transfers, one thing that stands out is Nebraska. Not only did the Cornhuskers bring in Shapiro, but they also added a national champion (Vince Robinson) and a two-time All-American (Anthony Echemendia). 

There could be additional transfers who make an impact that haven’t AA’ed yet across the country, so these are just the most obvious moves. 

Each wrestler has been listed at their 2026 weight. A couple are expected to change weights in 2026-27. 
 

125 lbs

Vince Robinson (Nebraska/NC State) - 4th/2026, 1st/2025
 

133 lbs

Ryan Crookham (Iowa/Lehigh) - 3rd/2024

Zan Fugitt (Missouri/Wisconsin) - 4th/2025
 

141 lbs

Anthony Echemendia (Nebraska/Iowa State) - 6th/2026, 5th/2024
 

157 lbs

Meyer Shapiro (Nebraska/Cornell), 8th/2026, 5th/2025, 3rd/2024
 

184 lbs

Bennett Berge (Oklahoma State/South Dakota State) - 4th/2024

Jaxon Smith (Ohio State/Maryland) - 6th/2025

The guys are back to talk about all things Fargo! Now the results from the FargoDome, but everything associated with the 16U and Junior National Championships. Seeding and bracketing complaints, recruiting, locations, is it "down" and much more.

The movement continues on the coaching front as a pair of vacancies were filled on Monday and InterMat learned of a third that has been announced.

The bulk of the attention during Monday’s announcements centered around Stanford’s hiring of Myles Amine - and rightfully so. Amine was a five-time All-American for the University of Michigan between 2017 and 2022. In each of his last two years in Ann Arbor, Amine captured Big Ten titles and earned the #1 seed at the NCAA Championships. Amine’s high-water mark was a runner-up finish in 2022 and he never finished lower than fourth at nationals, despite moving between three weight classes.

In the midst of his collegiate career, Amine also found success on the international stage, earning a bronze medal for San Marino at the 2020 Olympic Games. Amine was San Marino’s first-ever Olympian and first medalist. He also competed at the 2024 Olympic Games and was San Marino’s flag-bearer at the closing ceremony.

In addition to his Olympic success, Amine was also a 2023 World bronze medalist, a European champion, and a three-time European silver medalist.

This will be Amine’s first collegiate coaching position. The Cardinal had a vacancy after Hayden Hidlay left the staff for his alma mater, NC State.

Another announcement from Monday featured Gary Traub returning to Oregon State as an assistant coach. Traub was a two-time national qualifier at Ohio State and Oregon State. He became a fan favorite at Ohio State after entering the lineup as a little-known backup heavyweight and working his way up to a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships in 2020. Two years later, wrestling at Oregon State, Traub finished as a runner-up at the Pac-12 Championships and advanced to the NCAA bloodround.

The Naval Academy also rounded out its coaching staff for 2026-27 with the hiring of Peyton Walsh. Walsh is no stranger to Annapolis, as he was a three-time national qualifier for the Midshipmen between 2013-15. As a senior, Walsh won the EIWA Championships and earned the #8 seed at the NCAA Tournament.

Walsh is probably more known for his work on the Senior level in Greco-Roman with the All-Marine Team. He was a 2020 Olympic Trials runner-up at 77 kg and a 2018 US Open runner-up. Walsh also won a Pan-American title in 2021.

Before his hire, Walsh served as the RTC director for the Navy Wrestling Club. He’ll take over a spot on the Midshipmen coaching staff after Barry Davis’ retirement.
 

New Hires

Army West Point Associate Head Coach: Mike Macchiavello (Lehigh Valley WC Athlete)

Binghamton Assistant Coach: Luke Welch (The Citadel - Interim Head Coach)

Cal Poly Assistant Coach: Nelson Brands (Iowa City Regina HS Head Coach)

Cornell Assistant Coach: Yianni Diakomihalis (USA Wrestling - Athlete)

Davidson Assistant Coach: Avery Bassett (Lock Haven - Wrestler)

Edinboro Assistant Coach: Boomer Fechko (John Carroll - Associate Head Coach)

Franklin & Marshall Assistant Coach: Anthony Noto

George Mason Assistant Coach: Logan Messer (George Mason - Athlete)

George Mason Assistant Coach: Gabe Willochell (Wyoming - Athlete)

Iowa Assistant Coach: Jacob Warner (Hawkeye Wrestling Club)

Iowa State Assistant Coach: Jaiver Maldonado (Little Rock - Assistant Coach)

Iowa State Head Coach: Brent Metcalf (Associate Head Coach)

Iowa State Assistant Coach: Drake Ayala (Iowa - Athlete)

Lehigh Head Coach: Brad Dillon (Lehigh - Associate Head Coach)

Maryland Assistant Coach: Gavin Hoffman (Lock Haven - Assistant Coach)

Mercyhurst Assistant Coach: Qian’te Wagner (Rio Grande - Assistant Coach)

Michigan Assistant Coach: Kellen Russell (Cornell - Associate Head Coach)

Navy Assistant Coach: Peyton Walsh (Navy Wrestling Club RTC Director)

NC State Assistant Coach: Hayden Hidlay (Stanford - Assistant Coach)

Nebraska Assistant Coach: Robert Kokesh

Ohio Assistant Coach: Dean Heil (George Mason Assistant Coach)

Ohio Assistant Coach: Eric Morrill (California Baptist Assistant Coach)

Oregon State Assistant Coach: Gary Traub

Penn Assistant Coach: Lucas Byrd (Illinois - Athlete)

Pittsburgh Assistant Coach: Ethan Laird (Maryland - Assistant Coach)

Rider Assistant Coach: Tyler Klinsky (Rider - Athlete)

Rutgers Associate Head Coach: Anthony Ashnault (Princeton - Assistant Coach)

SIU Edwardsville Head Coach: Daryl Thomas (SIU Edwardsville - Associate Head Coach)

SIU Edwardsville Assistant Coach: Colton McKiernan (Fort Hays State - Assistant Coach)

Stanford Assistant Coach: Myles Amine

The Citadel Head Coach: Timmy McCall (Utah Valley - Assistant Coach)

The Citadel Assistant Coach: Kegan Calkins (Aurora - Assistant Coach)

Virginia Tech Assistant Coach: James Green (Nebraska - Assistant Coach)

Virginia Tech Assistant Coach: Ty Walz (Brown - Assistant Coach)

West Virginia Assistant Coach: Peyton Hall (RTC Athlete)

RTC/Club

Pennsylvania RTC Head Coach: Pat Santoro (Lehigh - Head Coach)

Openings

Air Force: Head Coach

Bloomsburg: Volunteer Assistant

Brown: Assistant Coach

Cornell: Assistant Coach

Gardner-Webb: Graduate Assistant

Hofstra: Assistant Coach

Illinois: Assistant Coach

Lehigh: Assistant Coach

Little Rock: Assistant Coach

Lock Haven: Assistant Coach

Merchyhurst: Volunteer Assistant

Princeton: Assistant Coach

Utah Valley: Assistant Coach

Wisconsin: Assistant Coach

We’ve already discussed a couple of coaching changes this week, but the new announcements keep popping up, so it seemed appropriate to have another “carousel” article.

Thursday afternoon, the University of Pennsylvania announced that they’ve hired Lucas Byrd as an assistant. There were some clues about this one, as the broadcast team at RAF 08 mentioned that Byrd was moving to Philadelphia during his bout with Darian Cruz. Cruz has stepped away from collegiate coaching to focus on his freestyle career.

Byrd was a four-time All-American and 2025 NCAA champion at 133 lbs for the University of Illinois. He was also a Big Ten champion that year. Byrd wrapped up his college career earlier this year, when he took eighth in the freshman-laden 133 lb weight class.

Earlier this week, we wrote about Eric Morrill coming back to Ohio. Morrill isn’t the only new addition to the Bobcat coaching staff. Two-time NCAA champion Dean Heil is also headed to Athens. Heil is an Ohio native who spent the last two seasons on staff at George Mason. Before Mason, Heil was a Director of Operations and assistant coach at Campbell.

Speaking of George Mason, the Patriots have two new faces on their coaching staff. Logan Messer and Gabe Willochell have both joined the GMU program, or in Messer’s case, continued in a different role. Messer was a 2026 MAC champion at 174 lbs for George Mason and went 1-2 in Cleveland. Willochell was a four-time national qualifier at Wyoming and Edinboro and advanced to the NCAA bloodround in 2026, as a senior.

First-year head coach Timmy McCall announced his first hire at The Citadel, as Kegan Calkins will come aboard as an assistant coach. Calkins wrestled at Oregon State and SIU Edwardsville and most recently assisted at Aurora University.

The other hire we mentioned this week was Kellen Russell, who returns to the Michigan staff.

As you can see from the openings below, there are additional high-profile jobs available, which might create more opportunities in the near future.

We’ll update this feature regularly throughout the summer (and potentially fall) as more positions are filled and others come open.
 

New Hires

Army West Point Associate Head Coach: Mike Macchiavello (Lehigh Valley WC Athlete)

Binghamton Assistant Coach: Luke Welch (The Citadel - Interim Head Coach)

Cal Poly Assistant Coach: Nelson Brands (Iowa City Regina HS Head Coach)

Cornell Assistant Coach: Yianni Diakomihalis (USA Wrestling - Athlete)

Davidson Assistant Coach: Avery Bassett (Lock Haven - Wrestler)

Edinboro Assistant Coach: Boomer Fechko (John Carroll - Associate Head Coach)

George Mason Assistant Coach: Logan Messer (George Mason - Athlete)

George Mason Assistant Coach: Gabe Willochell (Wyoming - Athlete)

Iowa Assistant Coach: Jacob Warner (Hawkeye Wrestling Club)

Iowa State Assistant Coach: Jaiver Maldonado (Little Rock - Assistant Coach)

Iowa State Head Coach: Brent Metcalf (Associate Head Coach)

Iowa State Assistant Coach: Drake Ayala (Iowa - Athlete)

Lehigh Head Coach: Brad Dillon (Lehigh - Associate Head Coach)

Maryland Assistant Coach: Gavin Hoffman (Lock Haven - Assistant Coach)

Mercyhurst Assistant Coach: Qian’te Wagner (Rio Grande - Assistant Coach)

Michigan Assistant Coach: Kellen Russell (Cornell - Associate Head Coach)

NC State Assistant Coach: Hayden Hidlay (Stanford - Assistant Coach)

Nebraska Assistant Coach: Robert Kokesh

Ohio Assistant Coach: Dean Heil (George Mason Assistant Coach)

Ohio Assistant Coach: Eric Morrill (California Baptist Assistant Coach)

Penn Assistant Coach: Lucas Byrd (Illinois - Athlete)

Pittsburgh Assistant Coach: Ethan Laird (Maryland - Assistant Coach)

Rider Assistant Coach: Tyler Klinsky (Rider - Athlete)

Rutgers Associate Head Coach: Anthony Ashnault (Princeton - Assistant Coach)

SIU Edwardsville Head Coach: Daryl Thomas (SIU Edwardsville - Associate Head Coach)

SIU Edwardsville Assistant Coach: Colton McKiernan (Fort Hays State - Assistant Coach)

The Citadel Head Coach: Timmy McCall (Utah Valley - Assistant Coach)

The Citadel Assistant Coach: Kegan Calkins (Aurora - Assistant Coach)

Virginia Tech Assistant Coach: James Green (Nebraska - Assistant Coach)

Virginia Tech Assistant Coach: Ty Walz (Brown - Assistant Coach)

West Virginia Assistant Coach: Peyton Hall (RTC Athlete)
 

RTC/Club

Pennsylvania RTC Head Coach: Pat Santoro (Lehigh - Head Coach)
 

Openings

Bloomsburg: Volunteer Assistant

Brown: Assistant Coach

Cornell: Assistant Coach

Gardner-Webb: Graduate Assistant

Hofstra: Assistant Coach

Illinois: Assistant Coach

Lehigh: Assistant Coach

Little Rock: Assistant Coach

Lock Haven: Assistant Coach

Merchyhurst: Volunteer Assistant

Navy: Assistant Coach

Oregon State: Assistant Coach

Princeton: Assistant Coach

Stanford: Assistant Coach

Utah Valley: Assistant Coach

Wisconsin: Assistant Coach

We’ve talked a lot about the new NCAA five-for-five plan recently - actually, earlier today on the Over-Reaction pod, it was fully dedicated to the topic. For those not familiar with it, one big portion of it includes the removal of redshirts/grayshirts/injury waivers/Olympic redshirt, while the student athletes get to use five years of eligibility.

One of the items that most people point to as being the most interesting is the lineup/positional battles that might come along with no redshirts. In years past, coaches could avoid some of these with a properly timed redshirt. Now, that option is off the table. With the younger generation being more ready to compete at the DI level than ever, it probably means the veterans will get pushed like never before.

We, and many others, have already discussed some of the battles that will occur with superpowers like Penn State and Oklahoma State. But what about everyone else (and them too)?

Below we’ve gone weight-by-weight and included some of the notable positional battles that we expect to see in the 2026-27 season. Since we’re still five months out from the first days of competition and many freshmen have yet to hit campus officially, there’s a lot to sort out. That being said, here are some of the most interesting ones to follow for the next few months and, likely, into the collegiate season.

125 lbs

Arizona State: Christian Castillo/Rylan Seacrist 

North Carolina: Brendan McCrone/Dunia Sibomana/Cam Stinson

Oklahoma: Conrad Hendriksen/Sebastian Degennaro

Oklahoma State: Troy Spratley/Rocklin Zinkin

Stanford: Nico Provo/Edwin Sierra

West Virginia: Louie Gill/Mason Jakob

133 lbs

Indiana: Blaize Frazier/Jackson Blum

Lehigh: Matty Lopes/Keanu Dillard

Missouri: Gage Walker/Kade Moore

Northwestern: Massey Odiotti/Will Detar

Ohio State: Ben Davino/Antonio Mills

Oklahoma State: Jax Forrest/Jayden Raney

Penn State: Marcus Blaze/Masanosuke Ono/Nathan Desmond

Virginia Tech: Aaron Seidel/Dillon Campbell
 

141 lbs

Arizona State: Pierson Manville/Emilio Ysaguirre

Indiana: Tom Crook/Henry Porter

Michigan: Eren Sement/Kellen Wolbert

North Carolina: Luke Simcox/Nick O’Neill

Ohio State: Nic Bouzakis/Karson Brown

Oklahoma: Tyler Wells/Isaiah Powe/Alex Braun

Oklahoma State: Tagen Jamison/Jordyn Raney

Penn State: Braeden Davis/Marcus Blaze/Masanosuke Ono/Nathan Desmond

Rutgers: Tahir Parkins/Kelly Dunnigan/CJ Huerta
 

149 lbs

Iowa State: Jacob Frost/Paniro Johnson

Lehigh: Jayden Scott/Kelvin Griffin

Rutgers: Devon Magro/Brandt Harer

Virginia: Wynton Denkins/Jayce Paridon
 

157 lbs

Indiana: Kai Owen/Bryce Lowery

Michigan: Daniel Zepeda/Haakon Peterson

Ohio State: Brandon Cannon/Ethan Stiles

Oklahoma: Rafael Hipolito/Dallas Russell

Penn State: Tyler Kasak/Joe Sealey

Pittsburgh: Dylan Evans/Kal Miller/Vince Bouzakis/Finn Solomon
 

165 lbs

George Mason: Evan Maag/Kross Cassidy

Missouri: J Conway/Dom Bambinelli

Oklahoma State: Casey Swiderski/Ladarion Lockett/Kody Routledge

Penn State: Mitchell Mesenbrink/PJ Duke/Jayden James

Stanford: Hunter Garvin/EJ Parco/Grigor Cholakyan

Virginia Tech: Noah Nininger/Mac Church/Ben Weader
 

174 lbs

North Carolina: Josh Ogunsanya/Collin Carrigan

Oklahoma State: Lorenzo Norman/Alex Facundo

Oregon State: Daschle Lamer/Christopher Creason

Penn State: Will Henckel/Jayden James/Asher Cunningham

Virginia: Nick Hamilton/Emmitt Sherlock
 

184 lbs

Illinois: Chris Moore/Aaron Stewart

Northern Iowa: Nick Fox/Waylon Cressell

Ohio State: Dylan Fishback/Adam Waters

Oklahoma: Brian Soldano/Jersey Robb/Mason Ontiveros

West Virginia: Ian Bush/Gage Wentzel
 

197 lbs

Missouri: Luke Geog/Cash Cooley

North Carolina: Robert Platt/Mikey Calcagno

Virginia Tech: Sonny Sasso/Jonathan Rocha
 

285 lbs

Arizona State: Ben Szuba/Kal-el Fluckiger

Iowa: Ben Kueter/Michael Mocco

Lehigh: Nathan Taylor/Dean Bechtold

North Carolina: Jacob Levy/Nolan Neves

Oklahoma: Bradley Hill/Alex Taylor

Last week, the NCAA announced that it will adopt a "five for five" eligibility structure - one that gives student-athletes five years of eligibility, but no redshirts/grayshirts/medical years/Olympic years. The guys talk about this positives and negatives of this new system and how it will impact wrestling. In addition, they try to think of any unintended consequences or loopholes in the system.

Last week, the NCAA announced that they will push forward with the five-for-five eligibility system that gives student athletes five years of eligibility with generally no ability to stop the clock with redshirts, injury waivers, greyshirts. There will be plenty of talk about this in the coming weeks and months, as it will drastically change what we’ve come to know about collegiate athletics, specifically wrestling. In fact, we’ll discuss this topic at length on tomorrow’s “Over-Reaction Time” show. 

With the combination of this ruling, and the fact that wrestlers come into college more prepared than ever, I would expect to see the number of true freshmen (or now first-year’s or just freshmen) wrestlers on the podium increase. Without the ability to redshirt, if they are the best option, they’ll probably get the call in the postseason. 

Should those true freshmen make the NCAA podium, they would join a list that includes the wrestlers below - true freshmen All-Americans from the last 10 NCAA Tournaments. These are only the wrestlers that earned All-American honors one year removed from high school - no redshirts/grayshirts/gap years. 

125 lbs

1st: Spencer Lee (Iowa) - 2018

3rd: Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) - 2025

5th: Luke Stanich (Lehigh) - 2024

6th: Patrick Glory (Princeton) - 2019

6th: Jack Mueller (Virginia) - 2017
 

133 lbs

1st: Jax Forrest (Oklahoma State) - 2026

3rd: Aaron Seidel (Virginia Tech) - 2026

4th: Marcus Blaze (Penn State) - 2026

4th: Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) - 2024

6th: Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) - 2023

8th: Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) - 2019

141 lbs

1st: Sergio Vega (Oklahoma State) - 2026

1st: Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) - 2018

5th: Nick Lee (Penn State) - 2018
 

149 lbs

3rd: Tyler Kasak (Penn State) - 2024

4th: Ty Watters (West Virginia) - 2024

5th: Collin Gaj (Virginia Tech) - 2026

6th: Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) - 2023

6th: Brock Mauller (Missouri) - 2019
 

157 lbs

1st: Landon Robideau (Oklahoma State) - 2026

2nd: Levi Haines (Penn State) - 2023

3rd: PJ Duke (Penn State) - 2026

3rd: Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) - 2024

7th: Joseph Smith (Oklahoma State) - 2016
 

165 lbs

6th: Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) - 2022

6th: Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) - 2021

6th: David McFadden (Virginia Tech) - 2016
 

174 lbs

1st: Mark Hall (Penn State) - 2017

1st: Myles Martin (Ohio State) - 2016

2nd: Rocco Welsh (Ohio State) - 2024
 

184 lbs

4th: John Poznanski (Rutgers) - 2021
 

197 lbs

1st: AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma State) - 2021

5th: Rocky Elam (Missouri) - 2021

6th: Angelo Posada (Stanford) - 2026

285 lbs

3rd: Gable Steveson (Minnesota) - 2019

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI wrestling team on Tuesday announced that it has agreed to a two-year, home-and-home dual series with in-state rival Iowa set to begin with the 2026-27 season.

Northern Iowa will welcome the Hawkeyes to Cedar Falls for the Dual In The Dome, presented by Journeymen Wrestling on Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. CT inside the UNI-Dome for the first home matchup against Iowa since 2010. The Panthers meanwhile will visit Iowa City and Carver-Hawkeye Arena during the 2027-28 season on a date to be determined.

This is an exciting day for the UNI and Iowa wrestling programs with the announcement of this home-and-home series, said UNI Director of Athletics Dr. Megan Franklin. This matchup gives us the opportunity to celebrate the sport of wrestling, honor the generations of student-athletes and coaches who built these proud programs, and begin anew. It is a reminder that our greatest successes often come through the friendships, partnerships, and shared vision that exist beyond the mat. When those entities come together with the common goal of growing the sport, we get to put together an exciting announcement like this today. 

Live coverage of this December's Dual In The Dome, presented by Journeymen Wrestling will be exclusively broadcasted on FloWrestling.

I couldn't be more excited for my team, our program, our fans, the state of Iowa and the wrestling community as a whole, said UNI head wrestling coach Doug Schwab. In-state rivalries are like no other and I am grateful for the opportunity to renew this one with the Hawkeyes. I can't wait to have Tom, his staff, team, program and fans to a sold out UNI-Dome. Thank you Frank Popolizio as we aren't here without you. See you in December!

The Panthers finished this past season with an 11-8 dual record and a 4-4 mark against Big 12 teams, while sending five athletes to the NCAA Championships. Iowa meanwhile, a perennial wrestling power, posted a 12-6 dual record with a 5-3 mark in Big Ten duals, qualifying ten athletes for the national championships with seven All-Americans.

Some rivalries never die—they simply wait for the next chapter, said Frank Popolizio, club director and founder of Journeymen Wrestling. After fourteen years, Iowa and UNI return to the mat, renewing a tradition that belongs among college wrestling's most storied duals, alongside Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma, Iowa vs. Iowa State and Army vs. Navy. Journeymen Wrestling is honored to help bring this historic rivalry back to life and be part of its next chapter.

2026-27 season ticket holders who have already renewed, as well as those currently holding new season ticket deposits, will receive special presale access and a 20% discount to purchase tickets beginning on Wednesday, July 22 as a capacity crowd is anticipated for the event. Admission to this dual is not included in UNI wrestling season ticket packages (or as part of TC's Kids Club/Young Alumni Tickets) and will be treated as a featured standalone event in the UNI-Dome. Eligible full-time, fee paying UNI students will be able to attend the event for free.

Tickets to the general public will go on sale on Wednesday, August 5. Full seating options and pricing for the Dual In The Dome will be announced at a later date.

Last week, we learned that Pat Santoro had stepped down at Lehigh and his longtime associate head coach Brad Dillon was taking over the Mountain Hawks head coaching position. Yesterday, the Pennsylvania RTC announced that they’ve hired Santoro as their next head coach. Those changes restarted the coaching carousel. 

Another announcement from Monday was that Edinboro has hired Boomer Fechko as an assistant coach. Fechko comes to Edinboro after spending the last year as an associate head coach at John Carroll. Fechko has plenty of DI experience, having stints on staff at Cleveland State, Buffalo, and Bloomsburg.

This is why we call it the coaching carousel. It’s a game of musical chairs that generally goes on for the entire offseason. One opening generally creates another as the first one gets filled. We thought with Timmy McCall’s hiring by The Citadel, that we had our final head coaching change, but Lehigh provided another move. This creates an opening on the Lehigh staff that should be attractive to many potential candidates. 

As you can see from some of the openings below, there are some additional high-profile jobs available, so those might create some more opportunities in the near future.

We’ll update this feature regularly throughout the summer (and potentially fall) as more positions are filling and others come open.

New Hires

Army West Point Associate Head Coach: Mike Macchiavello (Lehigh Valley WC Athlete)

Binghamton Assistant Coach: Luke Welch (The Citadel - Interim Head Coach)

Cal Poly Assistant Coach: Nelson Brands (Iowa City Regina HS Head Coach)

Cornell Assistant Coach: Yianni Diakomihalis (USA Wrestling - Athlete)

Davidson Assistant Coach: Avery Bassett (Lock Haven - Wrestler)

Edinboro Assistant Coach: Boomer Fechko (John Carroll - Associate Head Coach)

Iowa Assistant Coach: Jacob Warner (Hawkeye Wrestling Club)

Iowa State Assistant Coach: Jaiver Maldonado (Little Rock - Assistant Coach)

Iowa State Head Coach: Brent Metcalf (Associate Head Coach)

Iowa State Assistant Coach: Drake Ayala (Iowa - Athlete)

Lehigh Head Coach: Brad Dillon (Lehigh - Associate Head Coach)

Maryland Assistant Coach: Gavin Hoffman (Lock Haven - Assistant Coach)

Mercyhurst Assistant Coach: Qian’te Wagner (Rio Grande - Assistant Coach)

NC State Assistant Coach: Hayden Hidlay (Stanford - Assistant Coach)

Nebraska Assistant Coach: Robert Kokesh

Pittsburgh Assistant Coach: Ethan Laird (Maryland - Assistant Coach)

Rider Assistant Coach: Tyler Klinsky (Rider - Wrestler)

Rutgers Associate Head Coach: Anthony Ashnault (Princeton - Assistant Coach)

SIU Edwardsville Head Coach: Daryl Thomas (SIU Edwardsville - Associate Head Coach)

SIU Edwardsville Assistant Coach: Colton McKiernan (Fort Hays State - Assistant Coach)

The Citadel Head Coach: Timmy McCall (Utah Valley - Assistant Coach)

Virginia Tech Assistant Coach: James Green (Nebraska - Assistant Coach)

Virginia Tech Assistant Coach: Ty Walz (Brown - Assistant Coach)

RTC/Club

Pennsylvania RTC Head Coach: Pat Santoro (Lehigh - Head Coach)
 

Openings

Bloomsburg: Volunteer Assistant

Brown: Assistant Coach

Gardner-Webb: Graduate Assistant

Illinois: Assistant Coach

Lehigh: Assistant Coach

Little Rock: Assistant Coach

Lock Haven: Assistant Coach

Mercyhurst: Volunteer Assistant

Michigan: Assistant Coach

Navy: Assistant Coach

Oregon State: Assistant Coach

Princeton: Assistant Coach

Stanford: Assistant Coach

Utah Valley: Assistant Coach

The Citadel: Assistant Coach

Wisconsin: Assistant Coach

With yesterday’s hiring of Timmy McCall by The Citadel all of the DI head coaching positions have been filled. So, unless something drastic happens, we’ll have four new full-time head coaches for the 2026-27 campaign. In addition to highlighting the big four, we’ve also included years of hire for each of the other current DI head coaches. 

****This has been updated after Pat Santoro stepped down at Lehigh and Brad Dillon was elevated to head coach****
 

2026

Illinois - Jeremy Hunter

Iowa State: Brent Metcalf

Lehigh - Brad Dillon

SIU Edwardsville - Daryl Thomas

The Citadel - Timmy McCall
 

2025 

Army West Point - Troy Nickerson

Binghamton - Ryan LeBlanc

Campbell - TJ Dudley

Kent State - Josh Moore

Mercyhurst - Jimmy Overhiser

Penn - Matt Valenti

Northern Colorado - Teyon Ware
 

2024

Bloomsburg - John Stutzman

Buffalo - Donnie Vinson

Central Michigan - Ben Bennett

Columbia - Donny Pritzlaff

Hofstra - Jamie Franco

Long Island - John Arceri

Oklahoma State - David Taylor

Utah Valley - Adam Hall
 

2023

North Carolina - Rob Koll

North Dakota State - Obe Blanc

Oklahoma - Roger Kish 

Princeton - Joe Dubuque

Stanford - Chris Ayres
 

2022

Brown - Jordan Leen 

Davidson - Nate Carr Jr. 

Morgan State - Kenny Monday
 

2021

American - Jason Borrelli

Bellarmine - Ned Shuck

Cornell - Mike Grey 

CSU Bakersfield - Luke Smith
 

2020

Navy - Cary Kolat 

Oregon State - Chris Pendleton
 

2019

Maryland - Alex Clemsen
 

2018

Chattanooga - Kyle Ruschell 

Edinboro - Matt Hill

Indiana - Angel Escobedo

Little Rock - Neil Erisman

Michigan - Sean Bormet 

Presbyterian - Mark Cody

South Dakota State - Damion Hahn 

VMI - Jim Gibson

West Virginia - Tim Flynn 

Wisconsin - Chris Bono
 

2017

George Mason - Frank Beasley

Pittsburgh - Keith Gavin

Rider - John Hangey 

Sacred Heart - John Clark

Virginia Tech - Tony Robie
 

2016

Cal Poly - Jon Sioredas

Minnesota - Brandon Eggum

Northwestern - Matt Storniolo
 

2015

Michigan State - Roger Chandler
 

2014

Air Force - Sam Barber

Arizona State - Zeke Jones 

Clarion - Keith Ferraro

Purdue - Tony Ersland
 

2013

Lock Haven - Scott Moore
 

2012

Duke - Glen Lanham

NC State - Pat Popolizio
 

2011

Drexel - Matt Azevedo 

Northern Illinois - Ryan Ludwig
 

2010

Franklin & Marshall - Mike Rogers

Gardner-Webb - Daniel Elliott

Northern Iowa - Doug Schwab
 

2009

Appalachian State - JohnMark Bentley

Penn State - Cael Sanderson
 

2008

Wyoming - Mark Branch

2007

Rutgers - Scott Goodale

2006

Iowa - Tom Brands 

Ohio State - Tom Ryan

Virginia - Steve Garland
 

2005

Bucknell - Dan Wirnsberger
 

2000

Nebraska - Mark Manning
 

1998

Missouri - Brian Smith 

Ohio - Joel Greenlee

1995

Harvard - Jay Weiss

On this week's show, we switch it up and talk results, as we do a recap of Final X. The guys go weight-by-weight and discuss the results and some prospects for the winners at the world championships and beyond. They also go through the process of Final X and if there are better ways to determine a world team.

Yesterday, the NCAA’s Division I cabinet approved a system that will change the landscape of college athletics. They will move forward with the “Five for Five” proposal regarding student-athletes ' eligibility. Basically, student-athletes will have five years of eligibility, but the clock starts at high school graduation or the school year after their 19th birthday, and there are only a handful of ways to stop that clock (religious missions, maternity, military service).

This is one we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out in practice, as there will be unintended consequences. Even so, there are plenty of questions or situations that we can discuss now, as there are a lot of ways in which this will impact collegiate sports, particularly wrestling.

Here are some of our initial thoughts and questions.

1. How does this impact the top-tier, title-contending teams?

It will be fascinating to watch how this ruling impacts the lineups at programs like Penn State and Oklahoma State in 2026-27 and beyond. Perhaps recruiting, as well. Under the rules we’ve come to live with, these programs have been deftly using redshirts and grayshirts to maximize the eligibility window for some of their starts and maximize the talent in their lineups.

In the old system, Penn State could unveil a lineup that looks like this from 157 to 174 lbs.

157 - Tyler Kasak, 165 - Mitchell Mesenbrink,  and 174 - Will Henckel.

That would allow 2026 All-American PJ Duke and top prospect Jayden James to redshirt.

Now, Penn State could have a logjam that looks like this

157 - Kasak, Joe Sealey

165 - Mitchell Mesenbrink, Duke

174 - Henckel, James, Asher Cunningham

However it shakes out, that’s a lot of talent on the bench for the postseason.

With the old mindset, Duke and James don’t have an issue taking a redshirt because they can wait for Mesenbrink to use his final year, and there would be fewer issues in 2027-28. Now, you’re missing out on one of five years to win an NCAA title.

Oklahoma State could have similar issues. They have a loaded group of incoming freshmen headed to Stillwater. As of now, top prospects Rocklin Zinkin and Jayden Raney could be blocked by Troy Spratley and Jax Forrest, respectively. With Forrest not taking a redshirt, you could have traded redshirts with him and Raney until someone is ready to move up in weight. 141/149 could involve some form of Jordyn Raney, Tagen Jamison, and NCAA champion Sergio Vega. At 165 lbs, Ladarion Lockett is the returning starter. He could’ve redshirted and been replaced by Casey Swiderski - moving up from 149 lbs, but that’s not possible now. You also have to consider Kody Routledge in the mix at 165 lbs. He redshirted in 2025-26.

This new eligibility will test the way some of these programs have been doing business. Top recruits flock to State College because of Penn State’s track record for winning team titles, producing national champions, and the success of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. Every year, new incoming freshmen look at the big picture and their potential for reaching these career-defining goals, despite the competition for starting spots in the lineup. With less flexibility using redshirts and greyshirts, do recruits think twice about heading to programs with a crowded group of studs near or in their weight class?

I’m sure there will be some athletes who are ok with missing a potential postseason run, and there will be others who are not on board with that sort of sacrifice.

Ultimately, I don’t think this is a leveling of the playing field for Penn State and everyone else, but I do think there will be either more attrition than normal through the transfer portal or in the recruiting process.

It should be noted that Penn State, Oklahoma State, and Iowa account for some of the biggest piggy banks in the sport. I’ve heard of team members from each of these three programs that are happy receiving good NIL money/revenue sharing and aren’t as worried as one might think about competing for a starting spot. They are content with good money, on top of a scholarship, and great coaching/practice partners, and perhaps transfer during that final season for one NCAA run.

2. Will it impact high school holdbacks or “redshirts?”

Perhaps slightly. From what I can interpret from the new rules, it applies to the beginning of your academic year, following your 19th birthday. So if you were to turn 19th in the middle of December, it would take effect during the next year. I assume that most, if not all, state athletic associations do not allow a student athlete to compete if they turned 19 before the beginning of the school year. If that’s the case and you’re eligible to wrestle in high school as a 19-year-old, it shouldn’t be a problem. The issue might arise if you’re doing a postgrad year or a gap year once you’ve turned  19.

3. How does it impact everyone else?

Sure, we’ve focused on Penn State, Oklahoma State, and Iowa. What about the bulk of the DI wrestling schools?

I don’t expect anyone to compete in the Ivy League or service academies for five years. The Ivy League can still stand pat with their four years of eligibility; we just might see more graduate transfers out of the conference. Those have been more frequent in the past five years, anyway. What it could impact is the “Ivy shirts” in the middle of a career or perhaps a grayshirt before their collegiate career begins.

Should another Wyatt Hendrickson caliber wrestler emerge from a service academy, I suppose maybe he could get a similar waiver to transfer and use his final year of eligibility elsewhere. Until I see differently, I think this is probably an isolated incident and the outlier, rather than the rule.

One of the positives from a wrestling standpoint is that you don’t have to choose between a redshirt and a forfeit. That decision was made easier a couple of years ago when freshmen got the five free dates. Now, a coach can fully utilize their lineup, as they see fit. Hopefully, that leads to fewer forfeits.

For a smaller program, in the current state of collegiate athletes,  this is probably one more year where you’ll have to fend off the transfer portal vultures. A program like Appalachian State has a reputation for developing under-the-radar wrestlers into high-quality DI wrestlers - see Caleb Smith, Jon Jon Millner, Tommy Askey, of late. Does Coach JohnMark Bentley have an extra year of trying to keep his guys in Boone? It might be the same situation, as they needed a redshirt year to get DI ready. In the new system, maybe they compete sparingly as a freshman and come out of their shell in year two and it’s similar to their redshirt freshman year?

Basically, I think it will be difficult on the smaller schools.

Some positives for them could be a trickle-down effect. Perhaps three or four kids that would have gone to Penn State/Oklahoma State/Iowa/Ohio State end up at Minnesota or Missouri or Rutgers. Because of roster limits or recruiting decisions, there are wrestlers that end up at one of those schools. And so on down the line and some recruits that may not have initially considered App State or Wyoming sign with them. This probably isn’t a year-one phenomenon, it would emerge over time.

With the new changes and roster caps, I think we might see even more churn in the transfer portal from good recruits. Under the old system, there are some times where a wrestler in the Big Ten bites the bullet and competes as a true freshman and struggles. Occasionally, that wrestler redshirts in year two and works out whatever his issues were. Now, without the ability to redshirt, will Big Ten coaches be more willing to let those guys learn on the fly or are they portal-bound? If so, maybe smaller programs reap the benefits.

That’s it for now. As we learn more about this system and see it in action, I’m sure more questions will arise and some of these points that “we think” will happen might need a revision.

This week, the guys discuss NCAA host sites from the past two decades - what was good, what wasn't, where we should go again. Also, they look forward to Minneapolis and some ideal host cities.

On this episode of Over-Reaction Time, Coach Green recounts some of the best HS wrestlers that he's worked with during his decades and decades and decades of coaching. He's put together a top ten for us, but also mentions some other special wrestlers that deserve mention for various reasons. Largely, it's a who's who of New York wrestling and Wyoming Seminary wrestling.

We recently learned that Timmy McCall was named head coach at The Citadel. In response to this new, Coach Green and Earl discuss one of McCall's mentors, Pat Popolizio. Coach Green previously worked under Popolizio at Binghamton and recounts some stories from those days and the pair discuss what makes Pat Pop special and his growing coaching tree.

Last week, we learned that the final DI head-coaching vacancy of this offseason would be filled by Timmy McCall. McCall will lead The Citadel in 2026-27 and beyond. As he moved to Charleston, a vacancy opened on the Utah Valley staff - an up-and-coming program.

Yesterday, there was also more information on the assistant coaching front. Brown University announced that Ty Walz has left its coaching staff, opening up another position.

This is why we call it the coaching carousel. It’s a game of musical chairs that generally goes on for the entire offseason. One opening generally creates another as the first one gets filled.

As you can see from some of the openings below, there are some high-profile jobs available, so those might create some more opportunities in the near future.

We’ll update this feature regularly throughout the spring and summer (and potentially fall) as more positions are filling and others come open.

New Hires

Army West Point Associate Head Coach: Mike Macchiavello (Lehigh Valley WC Athlete)

Binghamton Assistant Coach: Luke Welch (The Citadel - Interim Head Coach)

Cornell Assistant Coach: Yianni Diakomihalis (USA Wrestling - Athlete)

Davidson Assistant Coach: Avery Bassett (Lock Haven - Wrestler)

Iowa Assistant Coach: Jacob Warner (Hawkeye Wrestling Club)

Iowa State Assistant Coach: Jaiver Maldonado (Little Rock - Assistant Coach)

Iowa State Head Coach: Brent Metcalf (Associate Head Coach)

Iowa State Assistant Coach: Drake Ayala (Iowa - Athlete)

Maryland Assistant Coach: Gavin Hoffman (Lock Haven - Assistant Coach)

NC State Assistant Coach: Hayden Hidlay (Stanford - Assistant Coach)

Nebraska Assistant Coach: Robert Kokesh

Pittsburgh Assistant Coach: Ethan Laird (Maryland - Assistant Coach)

Rider Assistant Coach: Tyler Klinsky (Rider - Wrestler)

Rutgers Associate Head Coach: Anthony Ashnault (Princeton - Assistant Coach)

SIU Edwardsville Head Coach: Daryl Thomas (SIU Edwardsville - Associate Head Coach)

The Citadel Head Coach: Timmy McCall (Utah Valley - Assistant Coach)

Virginia Tech Assistant Coach: James Green (Nebraska - Assistant Coach)
 

Openings

Brown: Assistant Coach

George Mason: Assistant Coach

Illinois: Assistant Coach

Little Rock: Assistant Coach

Lock Haven: Assistant Coach

Michigan: Assistant Coach

Navy: Assistant Coach

Oregon State: Assistant Coach

Princeton: Assistant Coach

Stanford: Assistant Coach

Utah Valley: Assistant Coach

Virginia Tech: Assistant Coach

Wisconsin: Assistant Coach

With yesterday’s hiring of Timmy McCall by The Citadel all of the DI head coaching positions have been filled. So, unless something drastic happens, we’ll have four new full-time head coaches for the 2026-27 campaign. In addition to highlighting the big four, we’ve also included years of hire for each of the other current DI head coaches. 

2026

Illinois - Jeremy Hunter

Iowa State: Brent Metcalf

SIU Edwardsville - Daryl Thomas

The Citadel - Timmy McCall
 

2025 

Army West Point - Troy Nickerson

Binghamton - Ryan LeBlanc

Campbell - TJ Dudley

Kent State - Josh Moore

Mercyhurst - Jimmy Overhiser

Penn - Matt Valenti

Northern Colorado - Teyon Ware

2024

Bloomsburg - John Stutzman

Buffalo - Donnie Vinson

Central Michigan - Ben Bennett

Columbia - Donny Pritzlaff

Hofstra - Jamie Franco

Long Island - John Arceri

Oklahoma State - David Taylor

Utah Valley - Adam Hall
 

2023

North Carolina - Rob Koll

North Dakota State - Obe Blanc

Oklahoma - Roger Kish 

Princeton - Joe Dubuque

Stanford - Chris Ayres
 

2022

Brown - Jordan Leen 

Davidson - Nate Carr Jr. 

Morgan State - Kenny Monday
 

2021

American - Jason Borrelli

Bellarmine - Ned Shuck

Cornell - Mike Grey 

CSU Bakersfield - Luke Smith
 

2020

Navy - Cary Kolat 

Oregon State - Chris Pendleton
 

2019

Maryland - Alex Clemsen

2018

Chattanooga - Kyle Ruschell 

Edinboro - Matt Hill

Indiana - Angel Escobedo

Little Rock - Neil Erisman

Michigan - Sean Bormet 

Presbyterian - Mark Cody

South Dakota State - Damion Hahn 

VMI - Jim Gibson

West Virginia - Tim Flynn 

Wisconsin - Chris Bono

2017

George Mason - Frank Beasley

Pittsburgh - Keith Gavin

Rider - John Hangey 

Sacred Heart - John Clark

Virginia Tech - Tony Robie
 

2016

Cal Poly - Jon Sioredas

Minnesota - Brandon Eggum

Northwestern - Matt Storniolo
 

2015

Michigan State - Roger Chandler
 

2014

Air Force - Sam Barber

Arizona State - Zeke Jones 

Clarion - Keith Ferraro

Purdue - Tony Ersland
 

2013

Lock Haven - Scott Moore
 

2012

Duke - Glen Lanham

NC State - Pat Popolizio
 

2011

Drexel - Matt Azevedo 

Northern Illinois - Ryan Ludwig
 

2010

Franklin & Marshall - Mike Rogers

Gardner-Webb - Daniel Elliott

Northern Iowa - Doug Schwab
 

2009

Appalachian State - JohnMark Bentley

Penn State - Cael Sanderson
 

2008

Lehigh - Pat Santoro 

Wyoming - Mark Branch

2007

Rutgers - Scott Goodale

2006

Iowa - Tom Brands 

Ohio State - Tom Ryan

Virginia - Steve Garland

2005

Bucknell - Dan Wirnsberger

2000

Nebraska - Mark Manning

1998

Missouri - Brian Smith 

Ohio - Joel Greenlee

1995

Harvard - Jay Weiss

In episode #6 Earl and Coach Green talk about coaching in HS versus coaching in college. How are the two similar? How are they different? Why don't more coaches jump from HS to college coaching? How much on-mat coaching is really needed these days?

Earlier today, we gave an updated state of play on the transfer portal. There has been plenty of movement since the college season ended and even after the portal shut down on May 1st (If you’re already in the portal on May 1st, then you can take your time announcing a transfer spot). The only wrestlers that enter the portal from now on out are graduate students and if there’s a head coaching change.

After surveying the wrestlers currently in the portal, we came up with a top six of wrestlers still in the portal. Along with each wrestler is their situation and potential suitors.

Meyer Shapiro (Cornell)

This is a unique situation, at least for the wrestlers in this article. Meyer Shapiro enrolled at Cornell right out of high school and has competed in three NCAA Tournaments. Initially, after he entered the portal, there was some talk that he’d go to Nebraska and redshirt while 2025 NCAA champion Antrell Taylor finishes up. With the 5 for 5 eligibility proposal potentially looming, redshirts would be eliminated. Would that decision lead him to sour on Nebraska? Another school that has been mentioned is North Carolina and perhaps getting together with former Cornell head coach Rob Koll. The Tar Heels don’t have a pressing need at 157 lbs, but adding a three-time All-American is something that appeals to most programs.

AJ Ferrari (Nebraska)

The mercurial AJ Ferrari. Where does he end up and at which weight? Ferrari won a national title in 2021 at 197 lbs, as a true freshman and finished third in 2025 at that same weight. In 2026, he moved up to heavyweight and finished sixth. There have been rumors that Ferrari could move back to 197. Where he’ll do it is a different story. Ferrari has earned All-American honors for three different programs and also spent time training with Iowa’s Hawkeye Wrestling Club and committed to North Carolina. Plenty of baggage has accumulated at those stops. With that in mind, and likely some NIL demands, there may not be that many potential suitors for Ferrari. As always, I’m not sure where Ferrari lands, but it’ll be an interesting ride.

Jaxon Smith (Maryland)

This seemed like an unexpected entrant in the portal. Jaxon Smith earned All-American honors for Maryland in 2025 and got injured early in the 2025-26 season and will get an additional year of eligibility. Another unexpected twist is that Smith apparently lost a bunch of weight post-surgery and intends to wrestle at 174 lbs. There are a trio of potential NCAA trophy contenders that are looking for a 174 lber (provided Smith can go that weight). Perhaps Ohio State, Minnesota, or Virginia Tech? There are plenty of other programs that would be interested in a wrestler of Smith’s caliber, so he should be able to field some quality offers from a handful of suitors.

Jordan Williams (Iowa)

After a great showing at the US Open and more from the World Team Trials, Jordan Williams’ stock seems to be rising again. Williams’ consolation run to third at the Open includes wins over Jonathan Millner, Jaxon Joy, Jaivon Jones, and Melvin Miller. At the WTT’s, he beat Ed Scott. After the Open, Williams confirmed that he is looking for a new home and intends to leave Iowa. When Williams entered the portal, there were some concerns related to eligibility issues. We’ll see if those remain. From his Open results and the 2025 season, where he made the bloodround for Little Rock, Williams has shown he’s capable of great results. But like Ferrari, Williams could be headed for his fourth different school, so that may cause some to hesitate even with the talent.

Nick Fine (Columbia)

Earlier, we mentioned that there are some top-ten programs in search of a 174 lber. Only one will be able to nab Jaxon Smith (or perhaps someone outside of that trio). What it means is those teams need backup options. A good one to have is two-time national qualifier Nick Fine. Fine was a national qualifier in 2025 at 184 lbs, but dropped to 174 for the 2025-26. In both of his NCAA qualification seasons, Fine was seeded in the top 20 at the NCAA Tournament. Looking beyond the big three in search of a 174 lber, Fine’s Columbia teammate, Kai Owen, transferred to Indiana in the offseason. The Hoosiers appear to be unsettled at 174 lbs, so perhaps that a landing spot for him, too.  

Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State)

Status unclear. He’s in the transfer portal, but it doesn’t appear like he’d get a medical year. That being said, I’ve thought the same about other wrestlers who’ve been granted additional years.

Even though news on the portal front has died down a bit since it closed on May 1st, there is still plenty of transfer movement. Plenty of teams are getting better and wrestlers might be reinvigorated with new homes. As of Monday morning, this is where we stand with transfers. 

Transfers

Brayden Adams (Mercyhurst) - 125lbs: From Presbyterian

Dru Ayala (Iowa State) - 125 lbs: From Iowa

Christian Castillo (Arizona State) - 125 lbs: From Iowa State

Travis Clawson (Chattanooga) - 125 lbs: From Clarion

Daniel Guanajuato (Northern Colorado) - 125 lbs: From South Dakota State

Alan Koehler (Wisconsin) - 125 lbs: From Nebraska

Brendan McCrone (North Carolina) - 125 lbs: From Ohio State

Nicolar Rivera (Maryland) - 125 lbs: From Wisconsin

Vince Robinson (Nebraska) - 125 lbs: From NC State

Santi Rodriguez (Duke) - 125 lbs: Lander

Wyatt Skebba (Wisconsin-Parkside) - 125 lbs: From Wisconsin

Ayden Smith (Iowa State) - 125 lbs: From Rutgers

Austin Zimmerman (Sacred Heart) - 125 lbs: From Edinboro

Damian Alvarez (CSU Bakersfield) - 133 lbs: From California Baptist

Ryan Crookham (Iowa) - 133 lbs: From Lehigh

Christian Fretwell (Rider) - 133 lbs: From Northern Colorado

Liam Hickey (NC State) - 133 lbs: From North Carolina

Mason Kernan (Pittsburgh) - 133 lbs: From West Virginia

Adrian Meza (Arizona State) - 133 lbs: From Iowa State

Carter Schmidt (Northern Colorado) - 133 lbs: From Oklahoma

Troy Hohman (Illinois) - 133 lbs: From NC State

Rin Sakamoto (Iowa State) - 133 lbs: From Oklahoma State

Brett Ungar (Rutgers) - 133 lbs: From Cornell

Greyson Clark (Illinois) - 141 lbs: From Purdue

Jayden Colon (Northern Illinois) - 141 lbs: From Illinois

Zan Fugitt (Missouri) - 141 lbs: From Wisconsin

Jace Roller (Wyoming) - 141 lbs: From Missouri

Zeke Seltzer (Central Michigan) - 141 lbs: From Missouri
 

Brandon Bauer (CSU Bakersfield) - 149 lbs: From Campbell

Kade Brown (Ohio State) - 149 lbs: From Pittsburgh

Carson DesRosier (Binghamton) - 149 lbs: From The Citadel

Anthony Echemendia (Nebraska) - 149 lbs: From Iowa State

Billy Greenwood (Northern Colorado) - 149 lbs: From Little Rock

Eugene Harney (Pittsburgh) - 149 lbs: Morgan State

Kal Miller (Pittsburgh) - 149 lbs: Maryland

Jayden Scott (Lehigh) - 149 lbs: From North Carolina

Daniel Zepeda (Michigan) - 149 lbs: From NC State

Luca Felix (West Virginia) - 157 lbs: From NC State

Josh Fish (Utah Valley) - 157 lbs: From Northern Colorado

Max Hermes (Ohio) - 157 lbs: From Rutgers

Michael Kilic (Chattanooga) - 157 lbs: From Arizona State

Kai Owen (Indiana) - 157 lbs: From Columbia

Kyrell Leavell (Little Rock) - 157 lbs: From The Citadel

Latrell Schafer (Maryland - 157 lbs: From NC State

RJ Weston (Life) - 157 lbs: From Northern Iowa

Leo Contino (Central Michigan) - 165 lbs: From West Virginia

Julian George (Maryland) - 165 lbs: From Wisconsin

Matthew Malinowski (Hofstra) - 165 lbs: From Rider

Carter Schubert (Iowa) - 165 lbs: From Oklahoma

Luke Sipes (West Virginia) - 165 lbs: From North Carolina

Thomas Snipes (Binghamton) - 165 lbs: From The Citadel

Tyler Eise (Oklahoma) - 174 lbs: From Nebraska

Lorenzo Norman (Oklahoma State) - 174 lbs: From Stanford

Melton Powe (Little Rock) - 174 lbs: From Iowa State

Manny Rojas (Wyoming) - 174 lbs: From Iowa State

Christopher Sanchez (Bloomsburg) - 174 lbs: From Kent State

Jake Stacey (West Virginia) - 174 lbs: From Little Rock

Cory Thomas (Oregon State) - 174 lbs: From Michigan State

Clayton Whiting (Wisconsin) - 174 lbs: From Minnesota

David Alonso (North Dakota State) - 184 lbs: From California Baptist

Easton Belfiore (Clarion) - 184 lbs: From Edinboro

Adonis Bonar (Buffalo) - 184 lbs: From California Baptist

Aidan Brenot (Arizona State) - 184 lbs: From North Dakota State

Bennett Berge (Oklahoma State) - 184/197 lbs: From South Dakota State

Lucas Cochran (Nebraska) - 184/197 lbs: From Penn State

Gavin Craner (Michigan State) - 184 lbs: From Central Michigan

Jake Dailey (NC State) - 184 lbs: From North Carolina

Christian Hansen (North Carolina) -  184 lbs: From Cornell

AJ Heeg (Rider) - 184 lbs: Northern Colorado

Jersey Robb (Oklahoma) - 184 lbs: From Oklahoma State

Dylan Russo (Kent State) - 184 lbs: From Wisconsin

Jake Stacey (West Virginia) - 184 lbs: From Little Rock

Carson Thomas (Maryland) - 184 lbs: From Indiana

Braydon Thompson (Iowa State) - 184 lbs: From Oklahoma State

Liam Daniels (Oklahoma) - 197 lbs: From Little Rock

Luke Geog (Missouri) - 197 lbs: From Ohio State

Connor Barket (Indiana) - 285 lbs: From Duke

Alex Berisha (Wyoming) - 285 lbs: From West Virginia

Andrew Blackburn-Forst (Clarion) - 285 lbs: From North Dakota State

Massoma Endene (Little Rock) - 197 lbs: From Iowa

Daniel Herrera (Rutgers) - 285 lbs: From Iowa State

Bennett Tabor (NC State) - 285 lbs: From Minnesota

Max Vanadia (West Virginia) - 285 lbs: From Michigan State

Hunter Vander Heiden (Wisconsin) - 285 lbs: From California Baptist

Melvin Whitehead (Long Island) - 285 lbs: From Arizona State

Still in the Portal

Will Betancourt (Rider) - 133 lbs

Musa Tamaradze (Appalachian State) - 133 lbs

Tom Crook (Virginia Tech) - 141 lbs

Jaydon Robinson (NC State) - 141 lbs

Anthony Santaniello (Oklahoma) - 141 lbs

Kelly Dunnigan (Penn) - 149 lbs

Richard Fedalen (Columbia) - 149 lbs

Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) - 149 lbs

Jacob Mann (Princeton) - 149 lbs

Alek Martin (South Dakota State) - 149 lbs

Alex Turley (Hofstra) - 149 lbs

Jimmy Harrington (Harvard) - 157 lbs

Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) - 157 lbs

Jordan Williams (Iowa) - 157 lbs

Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State) - 165 lbs

Kendrick Hodge (Campbell) - 165 lbs

Benjamin Rogers (Cornell) - 165 lbs

Shawn Taylor (West Virginia) - 165 lbs

Nick Fine (Columbia) - 174 lbs

Jaxon Smith (Maryland) - 174 lbs

Gage Wright (Virginia Tech) - 174 lbs

Edmond Ruth (Illinois) - 184 lbs

Anders Thompson (Oklahoma) - 184 lbs

De'Alcapon Veazy (Michigan) - 184 lbs

Carson Babcock (Northern Iowa) - 197 lbs

AJ Ferrari (Nebraska) - 197/285 lbs

Adam Ortega (The Citadel) - 197 lbs

Payton Thomas (Navy) - 197 lbs

Carter Neves (Chattanooga) - 285 lbs

In this episode, Earl and Coach Green discuss how different it can be recruiting at a military institute. Coach Green's experience at Army West Point is invaluable in this area. We discuss the different requirements for a service academy opposed to a civilian school. How do coaches develop a recruiting list while coaching at a service academy? Answers to those questions and many more:

Today, the National Duals Invitational announced that the field has been set for their 2026 tournament. Half the field had been public prior to the day’s announcement.

Arizona State, Little Rock, Maryland, NC State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, and Rutgers round out the field of 16.

Iowa State, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Virginia Tech, and Wyoming had already declared their intentions to compete in the event.

The 2026 field features six of the top ten teams from the 2026 NCAA Championships (#2 Oklahoma State, #5 Ohio State, #6 Stanford, #8 Iowa State, #9 Minnesota, and #10 NC State).

Virginia Tech (#11), Wyoming (#12), Arizona State (#13), and Missouri (#14) are other teams that finished in the top 15.

This will be the second straight year that the National Duals Invitational takes place. Ohio State defeated Iowa to win the inaugural title - along with a $200k prize. 1.2 million dollars will be awarded to teams in 2026.

The event is a 16-team dual tournament with wrestle-backs that determines placement down to eighth place.

This year, the tournament has been moved to December 12th-13th; however, the location stays the same - Tulsa, Oklahoma’s BOK Center.

We’ll have more information on particular matchups once the bracket has been constructed.

Tuesday morning saw a pair of notable coaching announcements. Binghamton announced that Luke Welch would be reunited with Ryan LeBlanc as the program’s associate head coach. A few hours later, Iowa State announced that Javier Maldonado would join their coaching staff.

Binghamton brings in Welch, who spent the 2025-26 season as the interim head coach at The Citadel. Welch assumed that role after LeBlanc left to take the head coaching position at Binghamton. He served as an assistant coach for five seasons under LeBlanc at The Citadel. During Welch and LeBlanc’s final season together (2024-25), the Bulldogs produced three SoCon champions and finished second in the conference.

Welch’s collegiate coaching career got started at the University of Mount Olive in 2019-20.

As a competitor, Welch was a national qualifier for Purdue as a senior. He finished fourth in the Big Ten at 125 lbs and advanced to the NCAA Round of 12.

Maldonado comes to Ames after spending the last seven seasons helping Neil Erisman build the Little Rock program from scratch. During his time in Little Rock, the Trojans sent 15 wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament and five earned All-American honors. Maldonado assisted on a pair of Little Rock teams that finished in the top 20 at the NCAA Championships in 2024 and 2025. He was also a key contributor to recruiting efforts that netted a top-20 recruiting class in 2022 and two honorable mentions over the last five years.

Maldonado got his collegiate coaching career started at his alma mater, Chattanooga. Before coming to Little Rock, he spent four years as a head coach at Southeastern University, where he produced six NAIA All-Americans.

In Friday's mailbag, Coach Green received a question about potentially expanding the NCAA Tournament - as other sports have done with their playoffs. Coach Green gave the opposite answer, reducing the tournament to 24. In this episode we talk about both scenarios and other issues related to NCAA qualification numbers.

Submit your questions for Coach Green's Friday Mailbag and perhaps we'll go in depth on your topic in a future show. 

The coaching carousel heated up late this week as a trio of moves was made public over Thursday and Friday. One of the worst-kept secrets, as far as coaching news goes, was Drake Ayala joining the Iowa State staff.

Earlier this year, Ayala just finished his career at the University of Iowa. While in Iowa City, Ayala earned All-American honors on three occasions. He made the NCAA finals in 2024 and 2025, before taking fifth at 133 lbs in Cleveland.

Hiring Ayala marks the first staffing change for the Cyclones under the leadership of Brent Metcalf. In mid-April, Metcalf was elevated to Iowa State’s head coaching post after Kevin Dresser stepped down to become the Director of Wrestling Operations.

Ayala is an Iowa native who was deemed the #4 overall recruit after a career at Fort Dodge High School. His addition should only make the Iowa/Iowa State rivalry more fun going forward.

Sticking with the Big Ten, Maryland announced their latest hire this afternoon, Gavin Hoffman. Hoffman was a 2021 NCAA All-American for Ohio State and qualified for nationals on three occasions for the Buckeyes and Lock Haven. Hoffman was actually on staff for Lock Haven during the 2024-25 campaign and returned to the mat for the second semester.

Hoffman competed collegiately at 197/285 lbs and will work closely with Maryland’s upperweights. The Terps feature a returning All-American in Branson John at 197 lbs.

Army West Point also notified the wrestling world that they’ve hired Michael Macchiavello as their Associate Head Coach. Just about a week ago, Macchiavello won the 92 kg weight class at the US Open. He’ll head to Final X in June to face fellow NC State alum, Trent Hidlay, for a spot on the 2026 Senior World Team.

Macchiavello was a 2018 NCAA Champion at 197 lbs for NC State. He has been a fixture on the domestic freestyle scene since his graduation, but is looking to make his first world team. Earlier this year, Macchiavello was fourth at the Henri DeGlane and fifth at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event.

New Hires

Army West Point Associate Head Coach: Michael Macchiavello (Lehigh Valley WC)

Cornell Assistant Coach: Yianni Diakomihalis (Spartan Combat RTC Athlete)

Iowa State Assistant Coach Drake Ayala (Iowa Athlete)

Iowa State Head Coach: Brent Metcalf: (Iowa State Associate Head Coach)

Maryland Assistant Coach: Gavin Hoffman (Lock Haven - Assistant Coach)

NC State Assistant Coach: Hayden Hidlay (Stanford - Assistant Coach)

Nebraska Assistant Coach: Robert Kokesh

Pittsburgh Assistant Coach: Ethan Laird (Maryland - Assistant Coach)

Rider Assistant Coach: Tyler Klinsky (Rider Athlete)

Rutgers Assistant Coach: Anthony Ashnault (Princeton - Assistant Coach)

SIU Edwardsville Head Coach: Daryl Thomas (SIU Edwardsville - Associate Head Coach)

Openings

Binghamton: Assistant Coach (x2)

George Mason: Assistant Coach

Illinois: Assistant Coach

Lock Haven: Assistant Coach

Navy: Assistant Coach

Oregon State: Assistant Coach

Princeton: Assistant Coach

Stanford: Assistant Coach

The Citadel: Head Coach

Virginia Tech: Assistant Coach (x2)

Wisconsin: Assistant Coach

For most of the last week, our attention was focused on the US Open and all of the action in freestyle in Greco-Roman. With that tournament in the review mirror, we can turn our attention back to one of the underlying topics of the entire offseason, the transfer portal. 

The portal is only open for the month of April (barring a coaching change), so we might get a late run on wrestlers entering within the next few days. There’s rumors of a couple notable wrestlers who intend on entering the portal, but we’ll wait until they’re actually in there. 

While we were occupied with the Open, there were plenty of announcements - none of the Ryan Crookham/Meyer Shapiro level, but ones that will be useful to their new teams. 

Maryland was a team that benefited significantly during the recent commitments. They’ve picked up definite starters in Nicolar Rivera (125) and Carson Thomas (184), along with potential starters in Latrell Schaefer (157) and Julian George (165). 

There’s been a lot of movement amongst 184 lbers. Perhaps the most out of any weight. Perhaps the most notable recent commitment was from Brayden Thompson, who moved from Oklahoma State to Big 12 rival Iowa State. 

Transfers

Christian Castillo (Arizona State) - 125 lbs: From Iowa State

Travis Clawson (Chattanooga) - 125 lbs: From Clarion

Alan Koehler (Wisconsin) - 125 lbs: From Nebraska

Brendan McCrone (North Carolina) - 125 lbs: From Ohio State

Nicolar Rivera (Maryland) - 125 lbs: From Wisconsin

Vince Robinson (Nebraska) - 125 lbs: From NC State

Wyatt Skebba (Wisconsin-Parkside) - 125 lbs: From Wisconsin

Ayden Smith (Iowa State) - 125 lbs: From Rutgers

Ryan Crookham (Iowa) - 133 lbs: From Lehigh

Carter Schmidt (Northern Colorado) - 133 lbs: From Oklahoma

Troy Hohman (Illinois) - 133 lbs: From NC State

Rin Sakamoto (Iowa State) - 133 lbs: From Oklahoma State

Brett Ungar (Rutgers) - 133 lbs: From Cornell

Greyson Clark (Illinois) - 141 lbs: From Purdue

Zan Fugitt (Missouri) - 141 lbs: From Wisconsin

Zeke Seltzer (Central Michigan) - 141 lbs: From Missouri

Kade Brown (Ohio State) - 149 lbs: From Pittsburgh

Carson DesRosier (Binghamton) - 149 lbs: From The Citadel

Jayden Scott (Lehigh) - 149 lbs: From North Carolina

Luca Felix (West Virginia) - 157 lbs - From NC State

Max Hermes (Ohio) - 157 lbs: From Rutgers

Kai Owen (Indiana) - 157 lbs: From Columbia

Kyrell Leavell (Little Rock) - 157 lbs: From The Citadel

Latrell Schafer (Maryland - 157 lbs: From NC State

RJ Weston (Life) - 157 lbs: From Northern Iowa

Julian George (Maryland) - 165 lbs: From Wisconsin

Chris Sanchez (Bloomsburg) - 165/174 lbs

Carter Schubert (Iowa) - 165 lbs: From Oklahoma

Thomas Snipes (Binghamton) - 165 lbs: From The Citadel

Tyler Eise (Oklahoma) - 174 lbs: From Nebraska

Manny Rojas (Wyoming) - 174 lbs: From Iowa State

Clayton Whiting (Wisconsin) - 174 lbs: From Minnesota

David Alonso (North Dakota State) - 184 lbs: From California Baptist

Adonis Bonar (Buffalo) - 184 lbs: From California Baptist

Gavin Craner (Michigan State) - 184 lbs: From Central Michigan

Jake Dailey (NC State) - 184 lbs: From North Carolina

Bennett Berge (Oklahoma State) - 184/197 lbs: From South Dakota State

Christian Hansen (North Carolina) -  184 lbs: From Cornell

Jersey Robb (Oklahoma) - 184 lbs: From Oklahoma State

Jake Stacey (West Virginia) - 184 lbs: From Little Rock

Carson Thomas (Maryland) - 184 lbs: From Indiana

Braydon Thompson (Iowa State) - 184 lbs: Oklahoma State

Connor Barket (Indiana) - 285 lbs: From Duke

Andrew Blackburn-Forst (Clarion) - 285 lbs: From North Dakota State

Massoma Endene (Little Rock) - 197 lbs: From Iowa

Daniel Herrera (Rutgers) - 285 lbs: From Iowa State

Bennett Tabor (NC State) - 285 lbs: From Minnesota

Max Vanadia (West Virginia) - 285 lbs: From Michigan State

Hunter Vander Heiden (Wisconsin) - 285 lbs: From California Baptist



Currently in the Transfer Portal

Nico Provo (Stanford) - 125 lbs

Will Betancourt (Rider) - 133 lbs

Mason Kernan (West Virginia) - 133 lbs

Musa Tamaradze (Appalachian State) - 133 lbs
 

Tom Crook (Virginia Tech) - 141 lbs

Jaydon Robinson (NC State) - 141 lbs

Jace Roller (Missouri) - 141 lbs

Anthony Santaniello (Oklahoma) - 141 lbs

Kelly Dunnigan (Penn) - 149 lbs

Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) - 149 lbs

Richard Fedalen (Columbia) - 149 lbs

Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) - 149 lbs

Eugene Harney (Morgan State) - 149 lbs

Jacob Mann (Princeton) - 149 lbs

Alek Martin (South Dakota State) - 149 lbs

Kal Miller (Maryland) - 149 lbs

Alex Turley (Hofstra) - 149 lbs

Jimmy Harrington (Harvard) - 157 lbs

Michael Kilic (Arizona State) - 157 lbs

Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) - 157 lbs

Landyn Sommer (Oklahoma) - 157 lbs

Jordan Williams (Iowa) - 157 lbs

Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State) - 165 lbs

Kendrick Hodge (Campbell) - 165 lbs

Benjamin Rogers (Cornell) - 165 lbs

Shawn Taylor (West Virginia) - 165 lbs

Cory Thomas (Michigan State) - 165 lbs
 

Nick Fine (Columbia) - 174 lbs

Lorenzo Norman (Stanford) - 174 lbs

Jaxon Smith (Maryland) - 174 lbs

Gage Wright (Virginia Tech) - 174 lbs

 

AJ Heeg (Northern Colorado) - 184 lbs

Edmond Ruth (Illinois) - 184 lbs

Anders Thompson (Oklahoma) - 184 lbs

De'Alcapon Veazy (Michigan) - 184 lbs

Carson Babcock (Northern Iowa) - 197 lbs

Lucas Cochran (Penn State) - 197/285 lbs

AJ Ferrari (Nebraska) - 197/285 lbs

Adam Ortega (The Citadel) - 197 lbs

Payton Thomas (Navy) - 197 lbs

Carter Neves (Chattanooga) - 285 lbs

Melvin Whitehead (Arizona State) - 285 lbs

This week we're back with some of the highlights from the US Open before getting into the meat of the show - Coaching and Fundraising Burnout.

Some of the topics addressed are: The necessity of a "CEO Coach," Stanford HS Chris Ayres' post and the portal, how much time is devoted to fundraising, tension with schools fundraising efforts and more: