College wrestling is set to begin November 1. The 2026-2026 season will be like the last few seasons. Penn State is likely to win the National Championship. They will be followed by a bunch of good teams that have a few National Championship caliber wrestlers, but do not compare to the Nittany Lions.
The Nittany Lions are led by head coach Carl Sanderson. He was a four-time National Champion in his own right at Iowa State. He has led Penn State to 5 consecutive National Championships. The Nittany Lions have won thirteen of the last fifteen championships in college wrestling. Do you think anyone has a chance to knock them off?
College Wrestling 2026-7 Season Preview, by Weight Class
It is quite likely Penn State will win the national championship in wrestling this season, like the past five. This will become evident as we go through the weight classes, which are dominated by them. Indeed, they have one of the top two wreslers at nearly every weight class in college wrestling.
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Luke Linnedahl of Penn State is the strongest wrestler in this weight class. Eddie Ventresca from Virginia Tech is likely to come in second place.
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Jace Forrest of Oklahoma State is the best wrestler in this weight class. However, Marcus Blaze of Penn State is likely to challenge him.
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Jesse Mendez of Ohio State is the likely National Champion at this weight class. He will be pushed by Oklahoma State’s Sergio Vega.
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At 149, Shayne Van Ness of Penn State is forecast to win. Lachlan McNeil of Michigan (internal link) will be second.
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Penn State is likely to win this weight class as well. At 157, P. J. Duke is likely to win and Meyer Shapiro should come in second.
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Mitchell Mesenbrink of Penn State should win this weight class. He will be pushed by Joey Blaze from Purdue.
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This is one weight class were Penn State is not likely to win. Aeoden Sinclair of Missouri will be pushed by a Nittany Lion named Rocco Welsh.
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Josh Barr of Penn State should win this weight class. Rickey Elam of Iowa State should come in second. Bsrr dominates this weight class, so there should nit be that much to this one.
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In the heavyweight class Iowa State will again have the strongest wrestler in Yonger Bautista. He will be pushed by big boy Isaac Trimble of North Carolina State. Watch out for Ohio Buckeye Noah Feldman in this weight calss, which is fun to watch, as these big men do battle.
Conclusion: Penn State’s Unprecedented Dominance Likely to Continue
Penn State is clearly dominant. As they have a favorite to win a National Championship at every weight class, they will win the team title. The more interesting battle will be for second place. Oklahoma State is probably the favorite, but Iowa State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Stanford, and Iowa will be right there.
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