Which Penn State wrestling non-conference matches are we most excited for? Ranking them 6-1

The 2025-2026 Penn State wrestling schedule is out. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s team will look to win another NCAA title this winter while crowning as many national champions as possible. The Lions can also secure the nation’s longest dual meet winning streak before 2025 turns to 2026. They will wrestle a total of seven non-conference dates. One is the Army Black Knight Invitational, an individual tournament, and the other is the Collegiate Wrestling Duals, which will feature two matches in one day. There also multiple Big Ten dates, of course. You can see the full slate of matches here.

We’re now roughly 40 days from the season opener. That gives us plenty of time to dive into the conference portion of the schedule. Today, we’re ranking the non-conference matchups we are most excited to see, from six to one.

6. Princeton at Penn State on Feb. 20

Head coach Cael Sanderson has long had his team finish the regular season with a non-conference match. This year is no different. The Lions will welcome Princeton to Rec Hall for Senior Day. The Tigers will bring four wrestlers in the rankings to town. Per InterMat, sophomore Marc-Anthony McGowan is No. 17 at 125 pounds. Junior Eligh Rivera is No. 17 at 141 pounds. Junior Ty Whalen is No. 16 at 157 pounds. And junior Kole Mulhauser is No. 17 at 184 pounds. On paper, the Lions should have no problem rolling to a win here. And, it could very well be a shutout.

5. PSU at Drexel on Dec. 5

This is an interesting matchup mainly because of where it is. The Lions will travel to Philadelphia to wrestle at the Dragons’ basketball stadium on campus. It is the team’s second dual of the year, so we should see some lineup questions answered in this one, following the Black Knight Invite. Drexel’s ranked wrestlers in InterMat’s preseason rundown include senior Kyle Waterman, who is No. 22 at 133 pounds, Luke Nichter, a senior who is No. 30 at 157 pounds, and sophomore Jasiah Queen, who is No. 26 at 174 pounds.

4. Penn State at Wyoming on Dec. 13

This one was supposed to be a good one last year. But, the Cowboys came to State College a bit banged up. And, that led an already stronger Penn State squad to roll over its Big 12 foe by a final score of 54-0. All 10 triumphs came with bonus points attached.

The headline bout of this year’s dual figures is easy to pick, at least. At 197 pounds, InterMat’s top-ranked preseason wrestler in the weight class, Nittany Lion sophomore Josh Barr, will battle No. 3 Joey Novak, a junior. Other ranked Cowboys include Gabe Willochell, a senior who is No. 26 at 149 pounds, senior Jared Hill, who is No. 19 at 157, and the co-main event figures to come at 184 pounds, where No. 2 Rocco Welsh of Penn State is likely to face Wyoming sophomore Eddie Neitenbach, who is No. 11. Senior heavyweight Christian Carroll is ranked, as well, checking in at No. 27.

3. Oklahoma at PSU on Nov. 14

There may be some disagreement with how we order the next three, and that’s OK. At least hear us out before sharing your thoughts and personal rankings over on The Wrestling Room forum. The Sooners are No. 16 in InterMat’s preseason dual meet rankings. Besides that, the opener will give us a chance to see some new Penn State wrestlers in action. We know one of them is the aforementioned Welsh, who transferred in this offseason. But, fans are also eager to eventually learn whether he’ll be joined in making his debut by any of the likes of PJ Duke, Marcus Blaze, or Masanosuke Ono.

Potential ranked matchups include No. 24 Beric Jordan, a freshman, against Penn State No. 3 sophomore Like Lilledahl at 125 pounds; No. 21 Sooners sophomore Cael Hughes against Lions No. 9 junior Braeden Davis at 141 pounds; No. 11 junior Jack Gioffre vs. No. 2 PSU junior Shayne Van Ness at 149 pounds; No. 11 sophomore Rafael Hipolito vs. No. 2 junior Tyler Kasak of Penn State at 157, No. 8 senior Peyten Kellar against reigning NCAA champ and No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink at 165; No. 14 senior Brian Soldano vs. No. 2 Rocco Welsh at 184; No. 8 senior DJ Parker vs. No. 1 Josh Barr at 17; and No. 24 senior Juan Mora vs. No. 12 Cole Mirasola at heavyweight.

2. Penn State vs. Stanford and North Dakota State at the College Wrestling Duals on Dec. 20

This is always a fun event. Penn State will return to Nashville for yet another pair of non-conference tests before the holidays. If the Lions win their first five matches of the year, they could win their 77th in a row in the first matchup here and set the new consecutive dual meet winning streak record. That’s obviously one reason this one shows up at No. 2. But, the No. 1 Lions will also be facing two ranked opponents in one day. Stanford is No. 12 in InterMat’s dual meet rankings. NDSU is No. 30 in the outlet’s tournament rankings.

We have plenty of time to review all the top possible matchups. But, a couple that immediately jump off the page if they were to happen include a top 12 matchup between Luke Lilledahl and Stanford junior Nico Provo at 125 pounds, No. 8 Tyler Knox of Stanford vs. Marcus Blaze at 133, a top 10 match-up between Gavin Drexler of NDSU and Daniel Cardenas of Stanford vs. Tyler Kasak at 157, a top six showdown between Hunter Garvin of Stanford and Mitchell Mesenbrink at 165, and No. 8 Aidan Brenot of North Dakota State vs. Rocco Welsh at 184, among others.

1. Lehigh at Penn State on Dec. 7

The Mountain Hawks and Nittany Lions will meet for yet another season. Penn State will be a favorite to win. But, Lehigh will bring plenty of ranked wrestlers to Rec Hall. The list of possible matchups as of this moment includes:

125 pounds: No. 3 Luke Lilledahl, PSU vs. No. 5 Sheldon Seymour, Lehigh

133 pounds: TBD (likely Marcus Blaze, Penn State) vs. No. 3 Ryan Crookham, Lehigh

141 pounds: No. 9 Braeden Davis, PSU vs. No. 3 Luke Stanich, Lehigh

149 pounds: No. 2 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State vs. TBD

157 pounds: No. 2 Tyler Kasak, PSU vs. No. 23 Logan Rozynski, Lehigh

165 pounds: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State vs. No. 12 Max Brignola, Lehigh

174 pounds: No. 1 Levi Haines, PSU vs. TBD

184 pounds: No. 2 Rocco Welsh, PSU vs. TBD

197 pounds: No. 1 Josh Barr, PSU vs. JT Davis, Lehigh

285 pounds: No. 12 Connor Mirasola, PSU vs. Nathan Taylor, Lehigh