How to Watch Nebraska Wrestling at the NCAA Championships: Preview, Breakdown, TV Channel

The Nebraska wrestling team rolls into nationals coming off an impressive performance at the Big Ten championships.

Competing in what is known as the best wrestling conference in the country, the Huskers claimed runners-up honors for the second time as part of the conference and the first time since doing so in 2020. It was the most points scored in the conference tourney in program history, and that effort was led by Brock Hardy (141) and Ridge Lovett (149) who each became Big Ten champions. The two wrestlers became the first duo two in conference crowns at their weight class while Lovett’s back-to-back title is a first since Robert Kokesh won consecutive championships in 2014-2015.

With nine out of 10 wrestlers headed to the NCAA Championships this weekend, NU has a pretty good chance to improve from its 9th-place finish from last season and break into the top five for the second time in three seasons.

Here’s all you need to know as Nebraska heads off to Philadelphia for nationals.

How to Follow Along

Thursday, March 20

Where: Wells Fargo Center
Time: Session I - First Round, 11 a.m. CDT | Session II - Second Round, 6 p.m. CDT
Watch: ESPNU (First Round) | ESPN (Second Round)

Friday, March 21

Where: Wells Fargo Center
Time: Session III - Quarterfinals, 11 a.m. CDT | Session IV - Semifinals, 7 p.m. CDT
Watch: ESPNU (Quarterfinals) | ESPN2 (Semifinals)

Saturday, March 22

Where: Wells Fargo Center
Time: Session V - Medal Rounds, 10 a.m. CDT | Session VI - Championships, 6 p.m. CDT
Watch: ESPNU (Medal Rounds) | ESPN (Championships)

Weight Class Breakdown

125: No. 9 Caleb Smith (Nebraska, 19-5) vs. No. 24 Nick Babin (PITT, 13-9)

Outlook: Coming off a runner-up finish in the conference tournament, Smith will be leaned upon to be a big point scorer for the Huskers in Philly. Looking for back-to-back All-American honors, Smith will have a tough second round matchup with Lehigh’s Sheldon Symour who’s right with NU’s graduate student in the rankings. A win there likely pits Smith against No. 1 overall seed Luke Lilledahl from Penn State – who beat Smith 4-3 in the 125 Big Ten championships. It’s a tough side of the bracket to be on as the No. 9 seed, but Smith should be able to score points and secure his second All-American accolade. With his positioning, Smith will be one of those wrestlers that decides whether Nebraska finishes inside the top five or slip back to the back half of the top ten in the team standings.

133: No. 17 Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska, 14-9) vs. No. 16 Ryan Miller (PENN, 22-6)

Outlook: Van Dee qualified for the NCAAs for the first time as a redshirt sophomore, but he had to medically forfeit his last two matches in the Big Ten tournament in Evanston. Locked in as the No. 17 seed, he’ll wrestle off against the winner of No. 33 Nolan Wertanen and No. 32 Hunter Leake. If Van Dee can get past one of them, No. 1 overall seed Lucas Byrd from Illinois will likely await him in the second round on Thursday night. The Pennsylvania native isn't expected to score big points for NU, but grabbing a couple of victories is a reasonable expectation for Van Dee.

Nebraska's Brock Hardy and Iowa's Real Woods compete in the Big Ten Championships earlier this month. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

141: No. 1 Brock Hardy (Nebraska, 23-3) vs. No. 32 Nash Singleton (ORST)/No. 33 Lorenzo Frezza (COL)

Outlook: One of the two Big Ten champions for Nebraska, Hardy enters Thursday as the No. 1 overall seed and will look for his third-consecutive All-American award after finishing in sixth and third in back-to-back seasons. Hardy’s path to the semifinals look pretty clear, but Andrew Alirez from Northern Colorado could pose a problem in the quarters. If Hardy ends up in the semis he will likely face one of No. 4 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) or No. 5 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa), who he lost to 7-5 in early January in Nebraska’s dual against UNI. Assuming that the higher seeds advance to the final – which isn’t a given – Hardy could face one of No. 3 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) or No. 2 Beau Bartlett (Penn State). He took down Mendez 9-8 in the B1G semifinals last week, but dropped a 8-7 decision to Bartlett in NU’s dual against Penn State on Jan. 17.

149: No. 2 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska, 20-2) vs. No. 31 Sam Cartella (NW, 16-10)

Outlook: The No. 2 national seed, Lovett will need to win some matches by bonus points for Nebraska to reach its postseason aspirations. A back-to-back Big Ten champion, not getting to the national championship match would count as a disappointment for Lovett who’s dropped only two matches this season. The Idaho native didn’t lose to anyone on his side of the bracket during the regular season, which includes a 10-2 major decision over No. 3 seed Shayne Van Ness from Penn State back in mid January. Coming off last season where he finished sixth as the No. 1 seed, Lovett will be hungry to get back to the national title match like he did two seasons ago. He would likely end up facing Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson, who he lost to 6-3 in SV-1 in the finals of the Cliff Keen Invite back in December.

157: No. 3 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska, 22-4) vs. No. 30 James Conway (MIZZ, 17-15)

Outlook: The Millard, Nebraska native enters his second NCAA Championships looking to become a two-time All-American after finishing eighth at 165 pounds last season. He moved down to 157 for 2024-2025 and the result was a 22-4 record and the No. 3 overall seed in Philly. Avoiding No. 1 seed Tyler Kasak from Penn State (who’s 2-0 against Taylor this season) was a great draw for Taylor, who has a clearer path to the national title match. Taylor won’t meet an opponent he’s faced during the regular season until the quarterfinals where he has a chance to meet Northern Iowa’s Ryder Downey who’s the No. 5 seed. That would be the season’s rubber match as the two grapplers split the regular season series with a 4-3 decision for Taylor at Cliff Keen before a 5-2 SV-1 win for Downey in the two team’s dual. No. 2 seed Meyer Shapiro is a legitimate contender for the national title as the No. 2 seed, but he’s been banged up and could affect his performance. Big expectations are on the shoulders of the sophomore, but that isn’t new for Taylor.

165: No. 12 Christopher Minto (Nebraska, 19-5) vs. No. 21 Joseph Bianchi (UALR, 13-5)

Outlook: Minto sneaked into the field as an automatic qualifier by finishing eighth at Big Tens, but he grabbed the No. 12 overall seed. A matchup against Little Rock’s Joseph Bianchi isn’t an easy first round bout for Minto, who would likely face No. 5 seed Julian Ramirez from Cornell in the second round. I see the redshirt freshman as a wildcard for the Huskers. He overtook NCAA qualifier Bubba Wilson at 165 and pulled off some upsets during the regular season including No. 9 Andrew Sparks of Minnesota and No. 10 Beau Mantanona from Michigan while also pushing Iowa’s Michael Caliendo in a 5-1 loss. I could see Minto making a run in the consolation bracket, but his draw is tough.

Nebraska wrestler Lenny Pinto — Nebraska's Lenny Pinto, right, takes on Iowa's Abe Assad during a match in January 2023. | Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

174: No. 8 Lenny Pinto (Nebraska, 22-5) vs. No. 25 Dalton Narkins (ARMY, 19-9)

Outlook: Despite finishing third and fifth in the Big Ten championships in the past two seasons, Pinto has yet to place at the NCAA Championships in his two trips. He continued his stellar performance at Big Tens with a runner-up finish last week, but a path to his first All-American honor won’t be easy as the No. 8 seed. No. 1 overall seed and two-time national champion Keegan O’Toole likely awaits if Pinto reaches the quarterfinals. As he’s shown in the past, the talent is there for Pinto to finish top eight, but his path there is likely through the consolation bracket where he’ll have to win some pressure-packed matches.

184: No. 12 Silas Allred (Nebraska, 19-6) vs. No. 21 Malachi DuVall (GMU, 19-5)

Outlook: The junior qualified for his third-straight NCAA championship after a sixth place finish, which is far behind from his 197 pound conference championship in 2023 as a redshirt freshman. Similar to Pinto, he’s failed to place at the NCAAs despite the success at the conference tournament level. Being the No. 12 seed doesn’t help his chances as a showdown with No. 5 seed Bennett Berge of South Dakota State is likely in the second round. Allred went 1-3 against top-five opponents during the regular season with the lone win being a 4-1 SV-1 victory against Gabe Arnold of Iowa, so the upside is there. Similar to Pinto, a run through the consolations looks like the path to All-American, but don’t be shocked if Allred makes a run to the quarterfinals.

197: No. 20 Camden McDanel (Nebraska, 20-11) vs. No. 13 Trey Munoz (ORST, 9-3)

Outlook: The true freshman did as well as anyone could ask for pulling off four ranked wins during the season while placing fifth at the Big Ten championships to lock up the No. 20 seed in the NCAAs. McDanel’s first-round opponent (Trey Munoz) earned an 11-1 major decision back at the Navy Classic in November. An upset win would likely pit McDanel against No. 4 seed Josh Parr who earned a technical fall in mid-January despite having a medical forfeit against McDanel at Big Tens. Placing shouldn’t be the expectation for McDanel, but a win a or two in the consolation bracket is possible.

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