First Look at Penn State Wrestling's 2026-27 Schedule

The Big Ten provided the first taste of Penn State's 2026-27 schedule, releasing each team's conference opponents for the upcoming season. The conference released the opponents lists for the Big Ten wrestling season, with each team learning their eight-team conference schedule.

Penn State will host Iowa, Maryland, Michigan and Wisconsin during the 2026-27 season. It will make road trips to Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Rutgers.

Say 👋👋 to our 2027 Big Ten opponents!!#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/6mB4O01EpJ
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) June 18, 2026

Penn State, the five-time defending NCAA wrestling champion, will face five teams that finished in the top 25 at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships. That includes Ohio State, which placed third, and Iowa, which tied for sixth.

The Nittany Lions almost certainly will host Iowa at the Bryce Jordan Center and also could hold at least one more match there. Head coach Cael Sanderson likes to wrestle two matches during at least one weekend road trip, so it's likely that Penn State will visit Ohio State and Michigan on the same tour.

Penn State has won an NCAA-record 86 consecutive dual matches dating to the 2019-2020 season. That includes a 50-match win streak in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions have gone undefeated for six straight seasons, including a 15-0 record in 2025-26 that might have been their most dominant season under Sanderson.

Penn State outscored its dual-match opponents by an average of 39.4 points and recorded eight shutouts during the regular season. The roster compiled a winning percentage of 92.7 percent in duals and went 74-6 in eight Big Ten victories.

Seven Nittany Lions finished the regular season undefeated, and four of them went on to win NCAA individual titles. Penn State dominated the NCAA and Big Ten postseason tournaments, setting program scoring records at both.

Penn State hosted the Big Ten Championships at the Bryce Jordan Center, where it won the program's fourth straight tournament title, claimed seven individual titles and broke its own school scoring record (184 points).

"We have a special thing going here," Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said during the regular season.

Penn State could be even better in Sanderson's 18th year as head coach. The Nittany Lions lose just one starter, two-time NCAA champion Levi Haines, from their title roster. They also return three undefeated NCAA champions in Luke Lilledahl, Mitchell Mesenbrink and Josh Barr; two NCAA runners-up in Rocco Welsh and Josh Barr; and a total of eight werestlers who have been All-Americans in the Penn State lineup.

The Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling team poses with the team trophy at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships. | Mark Wogenrich | Penn State on SI

Penn State's full schedule will be announced later this year. Sanderson and the Nittany Lions once again will skip the National Duals Invitational, a $1.2 million event that will be held in December in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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