2025-26 Preseason Pac-12 Conference Preview

Our preseason conference previews begin out west as we examine the Pac-12 conference. Despite having only four teams, the league was responsible for five All-Americans in 2025, and all four teams were represented on the NCAA podium. 19 wrestlers from the Pac-12 competed at nationals in Philadelphia. With three of those All-Americans returning and other additions, there’s plenty of reason for optimism in the conference. Oregon State is a well-rounded team, Little Rock continues to grow, Cal Poly produces title contenders, and CSU Bakersfield looks to build off the momentum of its first AA in over a decade. Here’s our look at the Pac-12 Conference for 2025-26 InterMat’s Preseason First-Team All-Pac-12 Conference 125 lbs: #18 Maximo Renteria (Oregon State) 133 lbs: #33 Gabe Whisenhunt (Oregon State) 141 lbs: #4 Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) 149 lbs: #17 Brock Herman (Little Rock) 157 lbs: #24 CJ Hamblin (Oregon State) 165 lbs: #6 Matt Bianchi (Little Rock) 174 lbs: #20 Matthew Olguin (Oregon State) 184 lbs: #26 TJ McDonnell (Oregon State) 197 lbs: #4 Stephen Little (Little Rock) 285 lbs: #16 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) Stars in Motion The Pac-12 has a pair of returning All-Americans who will be competing at new weights in 2025-26. Zeth Romney moves up from 133 to 141 lbs and Matt Bianchi goes from 157 to 165. Weight Class to Watch All eyes should be on the 197 lb weight class in dual meet competition and at the Pac-12 Championships. Little Rock’s two-time All-American, Stephen Little, is a 2024 conference champion and the leader at this weight in the preseason. He’ll get a stiff challenge from Oregon State’s Justin Rademacher, who is coming off a redshirt season. Rademacher represented the USA and claimed gold medals at the Senior Pan-American Championships and the U20 World Championships. As a true freshman, in 2023-24, Rademacher fell to Little by seven points in their dual and via major decision at the conference meet. You would think that he’s been able to close the gap since then, but by how much is the question? Freshman Phenoms The Pac-12 is actually pretty upperclass-heavy for the 2025-26 season. At least in the “best case scenario” for the four teams. Perhaps an injury will force more freshmen into duty this season. For now, it looks like Little Rock’s tandem of Dillon Cooper (133) and Gunner Holland (174) are the freshmen to watch. Each redshirted in 2024-25 and is expected to compete for a starting role this year. Cooper did not hit the mat at all last season, while Holland went 14-6 across four tournaments. Mark it On the Calendar Here are some of the important dates for the 2025-26 season from a Pac-12 perspective. November 1st: All-Star Classic @ Rutgers - 197 lbs Stephen Little vs. Joey Novak (Wyoming) November 1st: Purdue @ Cal Poly November 2nd: Purdue @ CSU Bakersfield November 9th: TigerStyle Invite @ Missouri (Little Rock) November 15/16th: National Duals Invitational - Little Rock vs. Illinois and (?) December 4th: Little Rock @ Minnesota December 5/6th: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Cal Poly, CSU Bakersfield) December 21st: Collegiate Duals - Little Rock vs. Ohio State and Cornell December 29/30th: Midlands Championships (Cal Poly) January 3/4th: Southern Scuffle (Little Rock) January 4th: Ohio State @ Oregon State January 9th: NWCA National Duals (CSU Bakersfield) January 18th: NC State @ CSU Bakersfield January 23rd: Little Rock @ Oregon State January 30th: Cal Poly @ Stanford January 31st: Missouri @ Little Rock February 6th: Little Rock @ Oklahoma State February 6th: Oregon State @ Arizona State Cal Poly Head Coach: Jon Sioredas 2024-25 Record: 5-9 Preseason Ranked Wrestlers: (4) 125 lbs: #27 Koda Holeman, 141 lbs: #4 Zeth Romney, 184: #29 Ceasar Garza, 285: #16 Trevor Tinker Portal Pickups: 149 lbs Andre Gonzales, 165 lbs Luke Gayer, 184 lbs Garza The early portion of the 2024-25 season saw Zeth Romney make a surprising title run at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and he never looked back. Romney advanced all the way to the NCAA semifinals before losing to the eventual champion, Lucas Byrd of Illinois. He ended up finishing third. Romney will move up to 141 lbs in 2025-26, but is expected to be in the title hunt at the new weight. Because of Romney’s point potential, the Mustangs will have a higher ceiling than most of the conference-mates in a large tournament format. We’ll see how they develop in a dual meet format. Their other NCAA qualifiers, Holeman and Tinker, along with the portal additions, could fill some potential holes. Their three notable portal pickups all come from Big Ten programs and could thrive in a different setting. With the heavyweight bracket clearing out a bit, don’t be surprised if Tinker moves into the All-American discussion. Cal Poly keeps chugging along under coach Jon Sioredas. They have produced an All-American in four of the last five years (all in the top four). Sioredas and his staff have found their comfort zone in signing and developing California kids who may have gotten slightly overlooked. In addition to the wrestlers we’ve mentioned, it wouldn’t be too surprising if they had another wrestler or two who emerged as a threat to qualify for nationals in 2026. CSU Bakersfield Head Coach: Luke Smith 2024-25 Record: 5-14 Preseason Ranked Wrestlers: (0) Portal Pickups: 157 lbs Jeremy Manibog, 285 lbs Mason Cover CSU Bakersfield got a lot of attention nationally in 2024-25 as AJ Ferrari made his return to collegiate wrestling with the Roadrunners. The result was an individual Pac-12 crown and a third-place finish at NCAA’s. That placement was the best by a CSUB wrestler since 1999 and he was the first Roadrunner on the podium in over a decade. Ferrari has now moved on, but hopefully Luke Smith and his team can build off the momentum created last season. Despite not having anyone in the preseason rankings, CSUB does have one returning NCAA qualifier - 125 lber Richard Castro-Sandoval. Castro-Sandoval wrestled his way into the tournament by pinning Cal Poly’s Koda Holeman in a true second-place match at the Pac-12 Championships. With the experience of a national tournament under his belt, Castro-Sandoval could be in for a big year in 2025-26. Another returner to watch for the Roadrunners is Guillermo Escobedo at 165 lbs. Escobedo went 17-10 and finished third in the Pac-12 last season. Last year, he earned wins over one eventual national qualifier and two opponents with prior NCAA experience. The transfers, Manibog and Cover, combined with natural improvement from the returners, should make CSU Bakersfield a much tougher out this year in a dual meet format. Little Rock Head Coach: Neil Erisman 2024-25 Record: 17-3 Preseason Ranked Wrestlers: (5) 149 lbs: #17 Brock Herman, 165 lbs: #6 Matt Bianchi, 184 lbs: #27 Brock DelSignore, 197 lbs: #4 Stephen Little, 285 lbs: #20 Josiah Hill Portal Pickups: 133 lbs Draegen Orine, 149 lbs Herman, 149 lbs Carter McCallister Little Rock keeps chugging along and making improvements. 2024 saw the Trojans put their first wrestlers on the NCAA podium. Last year, they had two wrestlers finish in the top-eight again. Both of 2025’s All-Americans will return and are the nucleus for a very strong squad. The Trojans start the year with half of their potential starting lineup ranked. That doesn’t include Jaivon Jones at 157 lbs. Jones transferred from Northern Illinois prior to last season and redshirted. Jones was on the cusp of NCAA qualifying status before the move and could get there at Little Rock. The Trojans also got a boost with the return of heavyweight Josiah Hill, who qualified for nationals in 2024 and redshirted last year. Little Rock will be as battle-tested as any school in the Pac-12 this year with its meatgrinder of a schedule. It includes the National Duals Invitational, the Collegiate Duals, the Southern Scuffle, and the TigerStyle Invite. In addition, they have out-of-conference duals with Minnesota, Missouri, and Oklahoma State. With that kind of schedule, some of the Trojan wrestlers might have a couple more losses than you’d like, but might be ready to thrive in the postseason. Little Rock also signed a Class of 2025 that was deemed an honorable mention by InterMat. As of now, it looks like they will have the opportunity to redshirt in 2025-26, but should an untimely injury occur or there’s a spot in the lineup in need of an upgrade, they’ll have options. Oregon State Head Coach: Chris Pendleton 2024-25 Record: 4-7 Preseason Ranked Wrestlers: (7) 125 lbs: #18 Maximo Renteria, 133 lbs: #33 Gabe Whisenhunt, 141 lbs: #26 Nash Singleton, 157 lbs: #24 CJ Hamblin, 174 lbs: #20 Matthew Olguin, 184 lbs: #26 TJ McDonnell, 197 lbs: #9 Justin Rademacher Portal Pickups: 157 lbs Joel Adams, 184 lbs Daschle Lamer At this point, the most complete dual team in the league is Oregon State. They can unveil a lineup that features seven ranked wrestlers - six of whom have prior NCAA experience. The 2024-25 Beavers featured two All-Americans, but neither return. One was lost to graduation (and added to the coaching staff) and another to the portal. The wrestler most likely to step up and consistently compete at an All-American level is U20 world champion Justin Rademacher. He performed well and qualified at a tough weight as a true freshman. Now, with some seasoning, he should be ready to take the next step. Veterans like Maximo Renteria and Matthew Olguin have also shown that they can beat some of the best in the nation. Renteria will need to do that on a consistent basis, Olguin will need to stay healthy and try to regain the form that saw him win a conference title and earn the eighth seed at the 2023 NCAA Tournament. One of the more interesting weights for Oregon State in 2025-26 could be 184 lbs. TJ McDonnell shocked the conference with two upset wins to claim a Pac-12 title last season. One of those opponents was Daschle Lamer, now his teammate. Lamer beat him in the regular season, 9-4. With the balanced lineup they boast, plus potential for growth, Oregon State has to be the preseason favorite in conference duals and in the Pac-12 Championships. The Beavers will be in the driver's seat for the third Pac-12 title of the Chris Pendleton-era in Corvallis.

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