An Offseason Look at Penn State Wrestling's Top Roster Battles

Cael Sanderson will enter his 18th season as Penn State's wrestling coach with everyone asking the same question: How can he top last season? The Nittany Lions won their fifth straight NCAA title, set another scoring record and left Cleveland atop college wrestling's hierarchy once again. Sanderson even delivered a bit of a mic drop.

"We follow the rules," he said at his post-tournament press conference, to no one in particular.

But college wrestling is cheering hard for a Penn State-Oklahoma State rivalry to materialize, ideally at the 2027 NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis. Meanwhile, Sanderson continues to oversee the nation's best wrestling roster, one whose top questions other programs merely can envy.

As the freestyle season continues (another strong spot for Penn State), it's a good time to peek ahead at the 2027 season and how Penn State's roster might look. In a word: stacked.

Penn State returns the most talent in America

Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler Mitchell Mesenbrink enters the arena for the 165-pound final at the NCAA Championships. — Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler Mitchell Mesenbrink enters the arena for the 165-pound final at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's remarkable that Penn State lost just one senior, two-time NCAA champ Levi Haines, to graduation and none of its other top wrestlers to the transfer portal. As a result, Penn State will return three NCAA champs, two runners-up and six total wrestlers who went undefeated during the regular season.

Mitchell Mesenbrink, the undefeated two-time champ at 165 pounds, and Luke Lilledahl, who blitzed the field at 125, are two of the nation's best pound-for-pound wrestlers. Josh Barr, undefeated at 197, isn't far behind.

Shayne Van Ness and Rocco Welsh went unbeaten until their NCAA finals and return as national-championship challengers. As do freshmen Marcus Blaze and PJ Duke, who medaled in their first seasons in the lineup.

And that merely considers who returns from Penn State's starting lineup. The Nittany Lions bring back a depth chart of talented wrestlers, including two-time All-American Tyler Kasak, Japanese world champion Masanosuke Ono and freshman standout Nate Desmond. Then there's incoming freshman Jayden James, an age-group freestyle world champion who is having a terrific season.

What are Penn State's most competitive lineup spots?

Penn State Nttany Lions wrestler Marcus Blaze celebrates after beating Ohio State's Ben Davino. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

As Penn State begins pursuing its sixth straight NCAA title, several lineup spots look solid. Lilledahl is the best 125-pound wrestler in the nation, and Mesenbrink is a two-time champ at 165. Lilledahl isn't moving, and Mesenbrink only would go to 174, if he wants.

Meanwhile, Van Ness (149), Welsh (184) and Barr (197) are rock solid. Elsewhere, Penn State could have competition, starting with 133. That's where Blaze, who placed fourth at NCAAs, will compete with Ono, who redshirted for the Nittany Lions last year and recently returned to freestyle wrestling.

Blaze and Ono are two of the world's top 61 kg freestyle wrestlers, but Blaze might hold the folkstyle edge, simple by having more experience. Ono has said he loves folkstyle but still is learning the discipline.

Sanderson could try to wrestle both in the same lineup by having one move up to 141 pounds and compete with Braeden Davis, an NCAA All-American who made nationals at the weight class last year. Desmond, who went 7-0 during his redshirt season with four duals wins at 141, will contend at that class as well.

Similarly, Penn State has choices to make in the weight classes that sandwich 165. Duke, who placed third at nationals at 157, would seem a natural to remain at the weight class. However, he labored to cut weight last season and might benefit from a move up, even if that means redshirting. Duke is not wrestling this freestyle season

That 174-pound weight class is one with options after Haines' departure. Duke could move up as could Kasak, who redshirted last year but was hurt at the 2026 U.S. Open and did not complete the tournament.

Returning Nittany Lion William Henckel (9-0 as a freshman) will figure into the competition, as will James, who went on a superb run at the U.S. Senior World Trials. James is the wrestler to watch here, as Sanderson and his staff have proven their skill in turning true freshmen into All-Americans.

The other notable weight class is 285, where brothers Cole and Connor Mirasola likely will compete. Cole won the starting job last season, qualifying for NCAAs, while Connor wrestled at 197. But Connor moved up to heavyweight this freestyle season and won the U23 national title. Could make for a fascinating wrestleoff.

Can Penn State match its 2025 freestyle success?

Marcus Blaze takes in his round three win #USAWrestling #FinalX2026 | Presented by @KerberosCM pic.twitter.com/oplHuusdZV
— USA Wrestling (@USAWrestling) June 20, 2026

Blaze is Penn State's freestyle star this offseason, defeating NCAA champion Jax Forrest of Oklahoma State at Final X to earn his first trip to the World Wrestling Championships. Blaze brings a superb age-group resume to Senior Worlds, having won two titles in the U17 and U20 classifications. Watch for him in October in Kazakhstan.

But Blaze is the only current Penn State wrestler on the Team USA roster for Senior Worlds, as Mesenbrink and Duke are out, Haines graduated and Lilledahl fell to Spencer Lee. However, Penn State wrestling and the NLWC still will have half the U.S. spots on the men's freestyle roster.

Haines, the defending world runnerup at 79 kg, looks committed to to a world title. Zain Retherford returned major competition for the first time since the 2024 Olympics to win the spot at 70 kg. And Nittany Lion Wrestling Club athletes Kyle Snyder and Kyle Dake are annual title contenders.

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