First Penn State Wrestler Enters the 2026 NCAA Transfer Portal

The Nittany Lions have retained largely their entire roster after winning the NCAA title.

Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling coach Cael Sanderson watches his team wrestle the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

Penn State wrestling went more than three weeks without a team member entering the NCAA Transfer Portal, a streak that seemed unlikely to last. At least one Nittany Lion will enter the portal, with heavyweight Lucas Cochran becoming the first.

According to FloWrestling, the fifth-year senior from Utah entered his name into the portal April 23. Until that, Penn State was having a quiet offseason after winning its fifth straight team title at the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

Penn State was the only team among the top 15 without a wrestler in the portal. Which was unique, considering that the Nittany Lions were expected to return nine starters from their championship team. That includes redshirt freshman heavyweight Cole Mirasola, who qualified for the NCAA championships. The 30-day transfer portal for wrestling closes April 30.

Cochran spent five years at Penn State beginning with the 2021-22 season, for which athletes were granted an extra season of eligibility. He went 8-1 for the Nittany Lions during the 2025-26 season but did not compete at any duals. It's unclear whether Cochran is eligible for sixth season for medical reasons.

Cochran compiled a career record of 30-5 for the Nittany Lions, going 3-1 in dual matches. In 2024, Cochran wrestled up from 197 pounds to heavyweight to compete in place of Greg Kerkvliet in a dual against Rutgers.

Cochran defeated then eighth-ranked Yaraslau Slavikouski 8-3 during his most productive season, as he went 11-2 overall and 9-1 in open tournaments. Cochran

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 coach Cael Sanderson has framed the program's ability to retain wrestlers as central to its success. In March, the Nittany Lions won their 13th NCAA title in 17 years under Sanderson, breaking their own tournament scoring record for the second straight year.

Four Nittany Lions finished as unbeaten national champions, Mitchell Mesenbrink won the Hodge Trophy as the nation's top wrestler and eight wrestlers were All-Americans.

"We're a blessed program. We follow the rules," Sanderson said in Cleveland. "There's not a lot of that going on right now. And that's one of the reasons we can sleep when the wind blows. We train hard and do the right things to the best of our ability and things will work out."

Penn State also is off to a strong start in the freestyle season, as Luke Lilledahl and Marcus Blaze recently won titles at the U.S. Open. Lilledahl, the 125-pound NCAA champ, won his second straight title at the U.S. Open to return to Final X.

Blaze, a freshman who placed fourth at NCAAs, won his first U.S. Open Senior title to reach Final X.

Penn State gets its group shot together with the team trophy at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. pic.twitter.com/3u160ugxai

— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) March 22, 2026

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