2026 Preseason: A Look at Michigan

With just over a month until the college regular season starts, we’ll shift most of our focus to the collegiate wrestling world. We'll share plenty of previews and content to get fans ready for the upcoming 2026-27 season.

Today, we’ll focus on a Michigan team that starts the preseason ranked 14th in the nation from a team tournament standpoint and 18th in duals. That’s a bit lower than most are accustomed to seeing from Michigan, but I wouldn’t expect those rankings to last long. It looks like Michigan could field first-year freshmen as starters at the first three weights. None are currently ranked; however, each was a very highly-ranked recruit. In addition, their projected starter at heavyweight has a great pedigree, as well.

Should the freshmen hit the ground running, it’s not hard to imagine this Michigan team pushing for a spot in the top ten, sooner rather than later. With the way their schedule is structured for the 2026-27 season, the group should be able to get some confidence before the challenging conference season.

Looking past the freshmen, Michigan returns four wrestlers with NCAA experience; however, three are All-Americans.

Michigan is led by alum Sean Bormet, who is starting his tenth season leading the Wolverines. Under his leadership, Michigan has finished in the top-five at the NCAA Championships on four occasions and claimed two NCAA team trophies. In conference action, the 2022 team won the program’s first Big Ten championship since 1973.

Here’s a look at a projected lineup for Michigan along with additional information needed for the 2026-27 season.

125 lbs - Henry Aslikyan

It looks like Michigan might start the lineup with three consecutive true freshmen and the first is Henry Aslikyan.

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