What the Preseason NCAA Wrestling Rankings Say About Penn State

There's likely no program in college sports that will enter the 2026 season as a bigger favorite than the Penn State wrestling team. The Nittany Lions return three NCAA champions (and potentially a fourth?), two silver medalists and nine total wrestlers who have been All-Americans. Penn State could set the team scoring record at the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive year.

FloWrestling's first set of preseason NCAA wrestling rankings reflect that. Nittany Lions are ranked in all 10 weight classes, with nine in the top five and four at No. 1. The rankings also establish some intriguing expectations about the lineup Cael Sanderson will unveil in November.

A huge advantage across the 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

The most striking conclusion from Flo's rankings is just how dominant Penn State wrestling is. Eight Nittany Lions are ranked among the top 20 pound-for-pound wrestlers in the country. Mitchell Mesenbrink, the defending Hodge Trophy winner and two-time NCAA champ at 165 pounds, tops the list.

Where Flo ranks Mesenbrink is aa substantial story that we'll get to next. But that roster is loaded. Half of the pound-for-pound top 10 consists of Penn State wrestlers: Mesenbrink, Josh Barr at No. 3, Luke Lilledahl at No. 6, Shayne Van Ness at No. 8 and Rocco Welsh at No. 10.

Add PJ Duke at No. 11, Tyler Kasak at No. 12 and Marcus Blaze at No. 19, and Penn State has more wrestlers in this top 20 than Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Iowa and Nebraska. Oklahoma State is second with three, and Virginia Tech has two.

Where will Mitchell Mesenbrink wrestle?

Penn State Nittany Lions wrestlers Mitchell Mesenbrink enters the arena during the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Side-eyes emoji to FloWrestling for listing Mesenbrink atop the 174-pound weight class, which would be a major change. Mesenbrink is a three-time NCAA finalist at 165 pounds whose only loss in college was to David Carr in the 2024 final.

Mesenbrink's move to 174 is possible. He took the freestyle season off and could come back feeling stronger at that weight class. The move also is contingent on whether two-time NCAA champ Levi Haines, who won at 174, pursues a legal challenge to the NCAA's recent injunction win regarding the "five-for-five" eligiblity change.

Further, if Mesenbrink moves, that opens more natural weight classes for two wrestlers who make a splash in the preseason rankings.

Welcome back, Tyler Kasak

Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler Tyler Kasak prepares for his 149-pound bout against Ohio State in a 2024 dual match. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Kasak, a two-time NCAA bronze medalist, did not wrestle last season and has worked through several injuries in his career. In his place, PJ Duke finished fourth at the NCAA Championships at 157 pounds last season.

But FloWrestling projects Kasak returning at 157, where it ranks him second to defending champ Landon Robideu of Oklahoma State. A healthy Kasak at this weight class sets up Penn State for another Murderer's Row finish.

At the NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Duke discussed the challenges he faced in making weight at 157. But he also might not be ready to make the leap to 174, either. And FloWrestling really likes Duke at 165, where he's ranked No. 1.

A succession of Kasak-Duke-Mesenbrink from 157-174 looks like a natural lineup fit, particularly if Haines doesn't return.

Breaking down the rest of the rankings

Penn State Nittany Lions Luke Lilledahl reacts to winning the 125-pound title at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships. — Penn State Nittany Lions Luke Lilledahl reacts to winning the 125-pound title at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Duke gets a surprising No. 1 nod at 165, though that might be because Mesenbrink dominated the weight for two seasons. The other two top-ranked wrestlers are no surprises at all.

Luke Lilledahl (125) and Josh Barr (197) went undefeated en route to their first NCAA titles last season and are significant favorites to repeat. Barr might even challenge Mesenbrink for the Hodge Trophy.

Elsewhere, Rocco Welsh (184) is No. 2 to Max McEnelly, the Minnesota wrestler who defeated him 4-3 in the NCAA final. McEnelly also recently beat Bo Nickal at the Real American Freestyle event in Cleveland.

NCAA runner-up Shayne Van Ness checks in at No. 3 at 149, where he lost to Stanford's Aden Valencia in the final. And both are looking up at Oklahoma State's Sergio Vega, who won the 141-pound title.

Marcus Blaze, who will represent the U.S. at the upcoming Senior World Championships, is fourth at a loaded 133 pounds. And he might not even wrestle there, if Masanosuke Ono is ready to make the Penn State lineup.

Braeden Davis is 12th at 141, a weight class he'll have to work to maintain, and there's an interesting development at heavyweight. Flo ranks NCAA qualifier Cole Mirasola fifth at 285, but he might get a challenge from twin brother Connor, whose major freestyle win this season could alter the Penn State lineup.

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