wrestling-men-d1 flag

Shannon Scovel | krikyasport.com | March 22, 2026

Meet the 2026 DI men's wrestling All-Americans

DI wrestling: 2026 selection show

CLEVELAND — Placing top eight at the NCAA wrestling tournament earns an athlete a trophy, a spot on the podium and the title of 'All-American,' an honor that lasts a lifetime. 

Each bracket of 33 athletes is set up so that four athletes at every weight in this tournament secure their All-American honor with a win in the quarterfinals on Friday morning. The other four placewinners battle out in the Round of 12, more famously known as the 'Blood Round,' on Friday night for the chance to take home NCAA hardware.

Here are the 80 athletes who navigated those paths this year and how they did it: 

125 POUNDS

Four athletes earned their second career All-American honor, led by NCAA champion No. 1 Luke Lilledahl of Penn State, who locked up in his podium finish with a quarterfinal win over No. 8 Dean Peterson of Iowa in a hard-nosed 2-1 tie-breaker. He then met and beat, now two-time All-American and 2025 NCAA finalist No. 5 Troy Spratley in the semifinals 8-3 after Spratley punched his ticket to the podium with a quarterfinal win over No. 4 Sheldon Seymour of Lehigh.

Following these bouts, Peterson and Seymour dropped to the Blood Round, where they would lose again to first-time All-Americans No. 11 Tyler Klinsky of Rider and No. 7 Nico Provo of Stanford by scores of 4-1 and 11-4, respectively.

Joining Klinsky and Provo with Blood Round wins to become All-Americans were No. 12 Vincent Robinson of NC State and No. 6 Jore Volk of Minnesota, both of whom earned Top 8 finishes for the second time in their careers. Robinson, who won this weight last year, picked up his Blood Round win against No. 2 Eddie Ventresca of Virginia Tech, a two-time All-American himself. 

Robinson was previously 0-4 against Ventresca, but reversed that trend on Friday night by a score of 4-1 in sudden victory. Volk, meanwhile, beat 2025 Big 12 champion No. 17 Jett Strickenberger in the Blood Round 7-2. Robinson would go on to finish fourth after beating Volk and Spratley, the latter of which was a rematch of the 2025 NCAA finals, before dropping to dropping to Provo in the consolation finals 10-2. Volk finished in seventh for the second time in his career after beating Klinky in the medal matches 14-4. 

The other two All-Americans at 125 pounds are national finalist sophomore No. 10 Marc-Anthony McGowan of Princeton and sixth-place finisher senior No. 14 Jacob Moran of Indiana, both of whom ended up on the podium for the first time in their careers. Moran, a senior, beat Volk 5-4 in the quarterfinals to become an All-American. McGowan locked up his podium finish for the Tigers when he beat Ventresca in the quarterfinals 2-2 in tie-breakers before beating Moran in the semifinals 4-1 and dropping his championship bout to Lilledahl 2-1. 

133 POUNDS

This was a weight dominated by freshmen, headlined by true freshman No. 1 Jax Forrest of Oklahoma State, who won his first national title and All-American honor with a 4-1 win over freshman No. 2 Ben Davino of Ohio State. Forrest's path to the finals included a first-round fall against No. 33 Carter Schmidt of Oklahoma, a second-round tech against No. 17 TK Davis of Gardner-Webb, a quarterfinal tech fall win over No. 8 Markel Baker of NIU that locked up his All-American honor and a 14-3 major decision semifinal win over No. 4 Aaron Seidel of Virginia Tech. 

Seidel, also a true freshman, finished third after beating Big 10 runner-up freshman No. 3 Marcus Blaze of Penn State in the consolation finals 5-0. Forrest, Davino, Blaze and Seidel all wrestled to seed through the quarterfinals. Davino's quarterfinal win came against No. 7 2025 NCAA champion senior No. 7 Lucas Byrd of Illinois, 14-5, who battled back in the Blood Round to beat No. 20 Julian Farber of Northern Iowa 5-4.

Blaze's quarterfinal win came against two-time NCAA finalist senior No. 7  Drake Ayala of Iowa, 5-3. Ayala then beat American's No. 10 Max Leete in the Blood Round 8-3 before beating Byrd 10-4 in the wrestlebacks to finish fifth for his third All-American honor, while Byrd took eighth and finished on the podium for the fourth time in his career.

Seidel's quarterfinal win came against No. 5 Kyler Larkin of Arizona State, 16-1, who dropped his Blood Round match to No. 15 Tyler Knox of Stanford 5-4. Knox's win gave him the second All-American honor of his career and helped him become one of three Cardinal podium finishers. He would go on to finish sixth to Ayala in the medal rounds with a 16-5 loss to the Hawk.

Nebraska also put an athlete on the podium at this weight in now two-time All-American No. 13 Jacob Van Dee, who beat No. 8 Baker in the Blood Round 2-1. He would go on to finish seventh for the second time in his career with a 6-5 consolation win over Byrd. 

141 POUNDS

An Oklahoma State true freshman once again led this weight class with first-time All-American No. 2 Sergio Vega earning a national title for the Cowboys. He beat four-time All-American, two-time NCAA champion and three-time NCAA finalist No. 1 Jesse Mendez of Ohio State in the finals 4-1 off of a takedown in sudden victory. Vega is one of just three first-time All-Americans at the weight, joined by sophomore No. 18 Carter Nogle of Air Force, who took 5th and senior No. 13 Wyatt Henson of Lock Haven who took 8th. Nogle beat No. 6 Vince Cornella of Cornell in the Blood Round by fall to earn his podium finish, while Henson took down 2024 All-American Nasir Bailey of Iowa 6-4. Nogle then beat Henson 10-5 to earn a place in the fifth-place match while Henson finished in eighth. 

Earning All-American honors for the second time at this weight were No. 5 Luke Stanich of Lehigh and No. 4 Anthony Echemendia of Iowa State. Stanich secured his second podium finish with a 6-4 win over Echemendia in the quarters, but the senior Cyclone battled back in the Blood Round for a win over No. 15 Elijah Griffin of Rider by injury default. Echemendia then beat No. 11 CJ Composto — now a three-time All-American for Penn — in the consolation Round of 16 10-2 before medically forfeiting out for sixth to Nogle. Composto, meanwhile, won his last match in a Quaker singlet against Nogle by fall to earn seventh. His path to the podium required him to beat two former All-Americans in No. 14 Braeden Davis of Penn State and No. 8 Vance Vombaur on the backside, and he did it in tough fashion, topping Davis 5-2 and Vombaur 4-3. 

Rounding out the All-Americans and ending his career with a fourth-place finish was No. 3 Brock Hardy, who finished on the podium for the fourth and final time in his career. Hardy's path to the podium involved a second-round 9-4 win over Penn State's Davis and a 5-3 quarterfinal win over No. 6 Cornella of Cornell. While he would ultimately drop his consolation finals match to Stanich 7-2, the crowd honored Hardy for his career with the Huskers with a standing ovation.

149 POUNDS

 Redshirt freshman No. 10 Aden Valencia earned his first All-American honor in style, taking down now three-time All-American and then-undefeated No. 1 Shayne Van Ness of Penn State in the national finals 4-1 (SV) to earn his first NCAA title. Fellow freshman No. 4 Collin Gaj of Virginia Tech also earned his first All-American honor with a fifth-place finish. Gaj put himself on the podium with a gritty 7-2 Blood Round win over No. 2 Jaxon Joy of Cornell. He then beat first-time All-American sophomore No. 3 Cross Wasilewski of Penn in sudden victory 8-5 to earn his Top 6 finish. Wasilewski secured his podium finish with a similarly tough Blood Round win over 2025 All-American No. 16 Jacob Frost of Iowa State, 9-5. He then beat now two-time All-American No. 8 Casey Swiderski of Oklahoma State for seventh in a bloody, fiery match 5-2 that included a break for concussion protocol of Wasilewski. 

Swiderski beat No. 21 Gabe Willochell of Wyoming 4-1 in his Blood Round match to become an All-American again, his first time as a Cowboy after previously placing seventh in 2024 for Iowa State. No. 20 Chance Lamer of Nebraska and No. 15 Ryder Block of Iowa became first-time All-Americans, with the former securing his podium finish with a win over No. 12 Carter Young of Maryland in the quarterfinals 12-0 and the latter earning a gutsy win over Young himself in the Blood Round 4-1 in sudden victory.

No. 11 Lachlan McNeil rounds out this group of All-Americans with his third-place finish over Lamer. He's now a four-time All-American, three times as a Tar Heel and now as a Michigan Wolverine. He earned his podium spot with a quarterfinal win over Wasilewski by fall and then beat Block 6-3 and Lamer 10-5 to finish his career with a win. 

157 POUNDS 

Oklahoma State became the first team in college wrestling history to put three freshmen on top of the podium in No. 1 Jax Forrest at 133 pounds, No. 2 Sergio Vega at 141 pounds and No. 5 Landon Robideau at 157 pounds. Robideau stopped No. 2 Antrell Taylor of Nebraska, the reigning champion at the weight and now a two-time All-American, 4-2 in the finals to claim his first title and first All-American honor in the process. Robideau's path to the podium in this deep weight class was far from easy, as he had 2025 All-American No. 28 Gavin Drexler of North Dakota State in the first round, whom he beat 5-1. He then topped No. 21 Charlie Millard of Minnesota 7-3 before beating No. 4 Kaleb Larkin 9-6 in sudden victory in the quarterfinals to earn his spot on the podium. This win set up a battle with then-undefeated fellow freshman No. 1 PJ Duke of Penn State, who beat No. 8 Brandon Cannon of Ohio State 21-5 in the quarterfinals to become an All-American for the first time in his career. Robideau shocked Rocket Arena when he beat Duke 3-1 in tie-breakers in the semifinals, but Duke battled back for third, beating All-Americans No. 7 Kannon Webster of Illinois, 7-3, and Cannon, again, 20-4 in the consolations. 

Webster and Cannon both had to earn their podium spots in the Blood Round after dropping to Duke and Taylor in the quarterfinals. Webster beat No. 19 Kai Owen of Columbia 8-0 to earn his first All-American honor while Cannon topped No. 6 Ivy League champion Jude Swisher 17-3. Both are first-time All-Americans as sophomores. 

Cannon would ultimately finish fourth to Duke while Webster took home seventh over No. 11 Ty Watters of West Virginia by medical forfeit. 

Watters' podium finish is his second as a Mountaineer after finishing fourth in 2024. He beat now three-time All-American No. 3 Meyer Shapiro in the quarterfinals to lock up his podium spot. Shapiro battled back through the Blood Round, though with a 4-1 win over 2024 All-American Daniel Cardenas of Stanford to finish eighth. He medically forfeited his last match of the tournament to No. 15 Cameron Catrabone of Michigan, a first-time All-American freshman who beat No. 4 Larkin in the Blood Round 7-3 and finished seventh. 

165 POUNDS

This weight belonged to the veterans. Junior No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink of Penn State earned his third All-American honor and second national title when he beat now four-time All-American and two-time finalist No. 3 Mikey Caliendo of Iowa 20-4 in the national finals. Mesenbrink bonused every single one of his opponents this year, with the exception of now All-American No. 9 Bryce Hepner of North Carolina, 6-0. The win over Hepner did secure Mesenbrink's podium finish, though, while Caliendo secured his spot in the Top 8 with a quarterfinal win over No. 27 EJ Parco of Stanford, 14-3. Parco would ultimately drop to senior and first-time All-American senior No. 16 Paddy Gallagher of Ohio State 5-2 in sudden victory in the Blood Round. 

Gallagher, meanwhile, would finish eighth after dropping his final match to high school and former college teammate Hepner, 9-1. Hepner, a grad student for the Tar Heels, spent his undergraduate career at Ohio State before transferring to North Carolina. This was his first and only appearance at the national tournament in his career, and he made the most of it, beating No. 11 Ryder Downey in the Blood Round 1-0 before topping Gallagher in that seventh-place match. 

Senior No. 12 Cesar Alvan of Columbia and senior No. 13 Andrew Sparks also finished their careers on the podium for the first time. Alvan took third after locking up All-American honors with a win over No. 4 Nicco Ruiz in the quarterfinals, 4-2, and then running through the backside with wins over Sparks, 5-2, and Ruiz 2-1 after dropping to Mesenbrink in the semifinals, 15-0.

Ruiz finished in fourth for his first podium finish after beating No. 7 Max Brignola of Lehigh 8-2. 

Sparks, meanwhile, finished fifth after beating No. 10 Will Denny of NC State 8-7 in the Blood Round and then topping Gallagher in the consolation quarterfinals. His last match came by medical forfeit against junior No. 2 Joey Blaze of Purdue, who became an All-American for the second time in his career with a quarterfinal win over Denny. Blaze was a national finalist at 157 pounds last season. 

174 POUNDS 

Six of the eight All-Americans at 174 pounds have been on the podium before, led by now four-time All-American, two-time champion and three-time NCAA finalist No. 1 Levi Haines of Penn State who beat now two-time All-American No. 3 Chris Minto of Nebraska 2-1 in the national finals. Haines' quarterfinals, semifinals and finals all came against Big Ten opponents, with the Nittany Lions locking up All-American honors with his 7-3 quarters win over sophomore No. 9 Beau Mantanona 18-3 and then booking his third trip to the finals with an 18-3 win over now two-time All-American No. 5 Patrick Kennedy of Iowa in the semis. 

Mantanona came back for seventh after beating 2025 All-American No. 6 Matty Singleton of NC State in the Blood Round 11-6. Kennedy, meanwhile, earned All-American honors with his quarterfinal win over senior No. 4 Carson Kharchla of Ohio State 2-1 in tie-breakers before beating now two-time All-American No. 15 Danny Wask on the backside 11-1 and then topping Kharchla 9-6 again in the consolation finals for third. Kharchla and Wask earned Blood Round victories over No. 2 Simon Ruiz of Cornell, 5-3 and No. 12 Carter Schubert of Oklahoma, 2-1 in tie-breakers, respectively. Kharchla ended his career in fourth while Wask took sixth to now two-time All-American No. 7 Cam Steed of Missouri, 5-3, who also beat the Midshipmen in the quarterfinals 9-2 in sudden victory to lock up All-American honors.  

Iowa State first-time All-American No. 11 MJ Gaitan completed the podium with an eighth-place finish. He beat No. 18 Colin Kelly of Illinois 20-9 in the Blood Round to earn this honor. 

184 POUNDS 

NCAA champion No. 3 Max McEnelly of Minnesota and No. 2 Rocco Welsh of Penn State are the only two All-Americans in this bracket who had been on the podium before, with McEnelly finishing third last year and Welsh taking second back in 2024. McEnelly secured the second Top 8 finish of his career with a quarterfinal win over No. 6 Eddie Neitenbach of Wyoming, who would go on to finish seventh after a Blood Round victory over No. 16 Rylan Rogers of Lehigh 4-2. McEnelly then beat All-American freshman No. 7 Angelo Ferrari of Iowa 8-6 in the semifinals to advance to the finals for the first time. Ferrari beat No. 2 Aeoden Sinclair of Missouri to earn his All-American honor in the quarterfinals and put himself in that match with McEnelly, but he medically forfeited down to sixth after losing to the Gopher.

Sinclair, meanwhile, battled back for third after beating No. 4 James Conway of Franklin & Marshall 5-2 in the Blood Round and then topping freshman No. 5 Brock Mantanona of Michigan 11-3 in the consolation semifinals and junior No. 10 Caleb Campos of American 17-4 in the bronze medal match. Mantanona and Campos became All-Americans for the first time in their careers after wins over No. 21 Brian Soldano of Oklahoma. Mantanona topped the veteran Sooner by fall in the quarters, while Campos took him down 9-6 in sudden victory in the Blood Round. Campos finished fourth while Mantanona took fifth.

Mantanona's only losses in the tournament came in the championship semifinals to No. 1 Rocco Welsh, in the semifinals 4-3, and then in that consolation semifinal with No. 2 Sinclair. Prior to topping Mantanona, Welsh beat No. 8 2025 All-American Silas Allred of Nebraska in the quarterfinals to lock up his All-American honor. 

Oklahoma State's No. 22 Zack Ryder completed the podium with a Blood Round win over No. 8 Allred by medical forfeit before forfeiting out to eighth with an injured shoulder. 

197 POUNDS

After finishing second as a freshman at 197 pounds last year, Penn State's No. 1 Josh Barr picked up his first NCAA title with a 6-3 finals victory over first-time All-American freshman No. 7 Cody Merrill of Oklahoma State. Barr beat Stanford's No. 9 Angelo Posada 19-3 in the quarterfinals to secure his podium finish and then topped now two-time All-American No. 5 Joey Novak of Wyoming in the semifinals 14-3.

Posada bounced back in the Blood Round with a win over No. 12 Luke Geog of Ohio State, 9-0, to become an All-American, while Novak secured his place on the podium with a 17-5 quarterfinals win over No. 27 Colton Hawks of Arizona State. 

Merrill's run to the finals, meanwhile, included a quarterfinal win over No. 15 Remy Cotton of Rutgers 8-3 and a win over now three-time All-American No. 3 Stephen Little of Little Rock 2-2 in tie-breakers in the semifinals. Little ultimately came back for third, beating Novak 7-4 in the consolation finals. He's the first three-time All-American for the Trojans in program history and the only athlete thus far from his school to advance to the semifinals. He beat No. 11 Camden McDanel of Nebraska in the quarterfinals to lock up that honor. McDanel came back for fifth with a Blood Round win over No. 18 Andrew Reall of Brown 4-2, and then a consolation medal match win over Posada 13-6. 

Perhaps the biggest story out of 197 pounds in this tournament was No. 27 Gabe Arnold of Iowa, who started the season down at 174 pounds, stepped in for the Hawks at 184 pounds and then took over the 197-pound spot for the postseason. Arnold lost in the opening round to No. 6 Justin Rademacher of Oregon State, 3-2, and then rallied all the way back to beat Cotton 4-3 in the Blood Round for his first All-American honor. He ultimately finished seventh with a win over Maryland's No. 16 Branson John in the medal rounds 6-2. John earned the first All-American honor of his career with a Blood Round win over No. 29 Hawks 5-1 in the tie-breakers. 

285 POUNDS

In a battle of sixth-year seniors and now two-time All-Americans, No. 2 Isaac Trumble of NC State topped No. 1 Yonger Bastida of Iowa State 5-0 in the heavyweight finals to claim his first national title. The Wolfpack veteran improved upon his fourth-place finish from a year ago with statement wins over No. 7 Konner Doucet of Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals, 4-0, and Big Ten champion No. 3 Taye Ghadiali of Michigan in the semifinals, 4-1, before his finale with Bastida. Both Doucet and Ghadiali also finished on the podium in fourth and third, with Doucet earning a Blood Round win over No. 20 Dayton Pitzer of Pitt by fall for his first podium finish and Ghadiali beating No. 27 Hunter Catka of Rutgers 8-0 in the quarterfinals for his second Top-8 finish. 

On Bastida's side of the bracket, the Cyclone had to advance through No. 8 Ben Kueter of Iowa in the quarterfinals 4-2 and 2021 NCAA champion and now three-time All-American No. 4 AJ Ferrari of Nebraska 15-7 in the semifinals. Kueter bounced back for fifth with a Blood Round win over No. 12 Braxton Amos of Wisconsin 5-2, while Ferrari — who became an All-American with a quarterfinal win over No. 21 Juan Moran of Oklahoma — forfeited out for sixth. 

First-time All-Americans graduate student No. 10 David Szuba of Arizona State and sophomore No. 18 Christian Carroll of Wyoming took seventh and eighth after Blood Round wins against Mora 4-2 and Catka 8-5 in sudden victory, respectively. 

Division I
Wrestling Championships
March 19-21, 2026
Rocket Arena | Cleveland, OH