Big Ten Wrestling Championships 2026: Pre-seeds for all 10 weight classes announced

The 2026 Big Ten Wrestling Championships are almost here! On Monday, the conference announced all of the pre-seeds for the tournament on Saturday and Sunday.

This year’s tournament will be hosted by Penn State in State College. The Bryce Jordan Center is one of the premier environments for college wrestling.

Below are the pre-seeds for the Big Ten tournament this weekend. These are not finalized until sometime Friday when the coaches deliberate over final meetings, challenges and discussion.

125 lbs.

1. Luke Lilledahl (PSU)
2. Spencer Moore (ILL)
3. Nic Bouzakis (OSU)
4. Jacob Moran (IND)
5. Jore Volk (MINN)
6. Ayden Smith (RU)
7. Nicolar Rivera (WIS)
8. Dean Peterson (IOWA)
9. Diego Sotelo (MICH)
10. Dedrick Navarro (NU)
11. Kael Lauridsen (NEB)
12. Nick Corday (MSU)
13. Ashton Jackson (PUR)
14. Abram Cline (MD)

Auto bids: 9

Lilledahl is one of the national title favorites at this wild weight. Despite a head-to-head loss, Volk is one spot ahead of Smith. Peterson, despite being ranked top 10, will have some work to do. Sotelo just made the cut line and is projected to get back to NCAAs after qualifying for Harvard last year.

133 lbs.

1. Marcus Blaze (PSU)
2. Lucas Byrd (ILL)
3. Ben Davino (OSU)
4. Zan Fugitt (WIS)
5. Drake Ayala (IOWA)
6. Jacob Van Dee (NEB)
7. Sean Spidle (NU)
8. Braxton Brown (MD)
9. Dylan Shawver (RU)
10. Blake Boarman (PUR)
11. Caleb Weiand (MSU)
12. Blaine Frazier (IND)
13. Gauge Botero (MICH)
14. Jager Eisch (MINN)

Auto bids: 8

Blaze gets the top seed in the Big Ten at 133 as a freshman. Reigning national champion Lucas Byrd did not wrestle Blaze this year, but that could be a Big Ten and/or NCAA final! Shawver, a 2024 Big Ten champion, needs to move up in order to snag an auto bid this year.

141 lbs.

1. Jesse Mendez (OSU)
2. Brock Hardy (NEB)
3. Vance VomBaur (MINN)
4. Nasir Bailey (IOWA)
5. Dylan Ragusin (MICH)
6. Greyson Clark (PUR)
7. Braeden Davis (PSU)
8. Billy Dekraker (NU)
9. Henry Porter (IND)
10. Joseph Olivieri (RU)
11. Dario Lemus (MD)
12. Danny Pucino (ILL)
13. Carson Exferd (WIS)
14. Jaden Crumpler (MSU)

Auto bids: 7

This one is going to be tough for the Big Ten since this weight is loaded. Olivieri is undefeated this year, but due to sitting out amid a “team rules violation,” he did not get any Big Ten matches in. That sets up a potential first round matchup with Davis, a Big Ten champion in the past. All roads go through Mendez at the top.

149 lbs.

1. Shayne Van Ness (PSU)
2. Ethan Stiles (OSU)
3. Joseph Zargo (WIS)
4. Lachlan McNeil (MICH)
5. Carter Young (MD)
6. Chance Lamer (NEB)
7. Andrew Clark (RU)
8. Ryder Block (IOWA)
9. Michael Gioffre (ILL)
10. Drew Roberts (MINN)
11. Joey Buttler (IND)
12. Gavin Brown (PUR)
13. Clayton Jones (MSU)
14. August Hibler (NU)

Auto bids: 9

Van Ness runs this weight nationwide, but it’ll be an interesting Big Ten bracket at the tpo. Stiles, Zargo, McNeil and Young are all capable of maing quite the run. It’ll be tough for McNeil and Young though, since they are currently on the same side of the bracket as Van Ness.

157 lbs.

1. Antrell Taylor (NEB)
2. PJ Duke (PSU)
3. Kannon Webster (ILL)
4. Anthony White (RU)
5. Cameron Cartabone (MICH)
6. Charlie Millard (MINN)
7. Brandon Cannon (OSU)
8. Luke Mechler (WIS)
9. Stoney Buell (PUR)
10. Victor Voinovich III (IOWA)
11. Bryce Lowery (IND)
12. Darius Marines (MSU)
13. Mekhi Neal (MD)
14. Ty Wilson (NU)

Auto bids: 8

Taylor won the NCAA title last season and ends up as the No. 1 seed here. He beat the freshman phenom Duke head to head 2-1 in TB earlier this year. Cannon, the No. 1 ranked man at the weight in the country, has been out with injury and gets the initial No. 7 seed this weekend.

165 lbs.

1. Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU)
2. Michael Caliendo (IOWA)
3. Joey Blaze (PUR)
4. Andrew Sparks (MINN)
5. LJ Araujo (NEB)
6. Braeden Scoles (ILL)
7. Andrew Barbosa (RU)
8. Paddy Gallagher (OSU)
9. Tyler Lillard (IND)
10. Cody Goebel (WIS)
11. Jacob Bostelman (NU)
12. Justin Gates (MICH)
13. AJ Rodrigues (MD)
14. Jack Conley (MSU)

Auto bids: 9

Mesenbrink and Caliendo might be on another collision course in the Big Ten and NCAA finals this year. But Blaze might have something to say after making the 157 NCAA finals last year and beating Caliendo head to head this year. That is quite the three-headed monster this weekend!

174 lbs.

1. Christopher Minto (NEB)
2. Levi Haines (PSU)
3. Patrick Kennedy (IOWA)
4. Beau Mantanona (MICH)
5. Carson Kharchla (OSU)
6. Derek Gilcher (IND)
7. Ethan Riddle (MINN)
8. Brody Baumann (PUR)
9. Colin Kelly (ILL)
10. Lenny Pinto (RU)
11. Eddie Enright (NU)
12. Luke Condon (WIS)
13. Connor O’Neil (MSU)
14. Seth Digby (MD)

Auto bids: 10

Minto has the No. 1 seed despite losing head to head to Haines, a 2024 NCAA champion at 157. Haines took third in the country last year when he moved up to 174 and is the favorite to win in 2026. He’ll have to meet Minto, most likely, to win another Big Ten crown. Kennedy has been really close to knocking off the best of the best at this weight and that semifinal with the Nittany Lion could be special.

184 lbs.

1. Rocco Welsh (PSU)
2. Max McEnelly (MINN)
3. Silas Allred (NEB)
4. Brock Mantanona (MICH)
5. Chris Moore (ILL)
6. Dylan Fishback (OSU)
7. Shane Cartagena-Walsh (RU)
8. Angelo Ferrari (IOWA)
9. Sam Goin (IND)
10. James Rowley (PUR)
11. J.D. Perez (NU)
12. Sepanta Ahanj-Elias (MD)
13. Ryan Boucher (MSU)
14. Cale Anderson (WIS)

Auto bids: 8

Welsh gets the top seed as he is undefeated in the Big Ten and in general. McEnelly has quietly put together a really good redshirt sophomore campaign after taking third in the country last year. This weight is deep all the way down to No. 8 with Ferrari. The Hawkeye will return after injury but is low after missing a lot of time during conference duals.

197 lbs.

1. Josh Barr (PSU)
2. Camden McDanel (NEB)
3. Remy Cotton (RU)
4. Branson John (MD)
5. Luke Geog (OSU)
6. Wyatt Ingham (WIS)
7. Kael Wisler (MSU)
8. Gabe Sollars (IND)
9. Ben Vanadia (PUR)
10. Hayden Walters (MICH)
11. Gavin Nelson (MINN)
12. Dylan Connell (ILL)
13. Gabe Arnold (IOWA)
14. Alex Smith (NU)

Auto bids: 10

Barr looks like a man possessed and could roll to a Big Ten title. At 16-0 this year, Barr has a 100% bonus rate. Insane! Cotton’s impressive Big Ten schedule and improvements with Rutgers this year gave him the No. 3 seed, but this weight belongs to the Nittany Lion.

285 lbs.

1. Taye Ghadiali (MICH)
2. AJ Ferrari (NEB)
3. Nick Feldman (OSU)
4. Cole Mirasola (PSU)
5. Braxton Amos (WIS)
6. Luke Luffman (ILL)
7. Koy Hopke (MINN)
8. Hunter Catka (RU)
9. Josh Terrill (MSU)
10. Ben Kueter (IOWA)
11. Hayden Filipovich (PUR)
12. Joey Schneck (MD)
13. Gabe Christenson (NU)
14. Caleb Marzolino (IND)

Auto bids: 9

Ghadiali ends up with the most impressive Big Ten resume based on the seeds. Ferrari gets the No. 2 seed despite losing to Feldman twice this year. Mirasola and Amos are dangerous foes on Ghadiali’s side of the bracket too.