Why Penn State Wrestling Should Be Even Better in 2027

Cael Sanderson's roster will be loaded again as the Nittany Lions pursue their sixth straight NCAA title.

Penn State Nittany Lions Mitchell Mesenbrink enters during introductions before his match against Iowa Hawkeyes Mikey Caliendo during the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena. | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

CLEVELAND | Penn State's Masanosuke Ono lifted the NCAA wrestling championship trophy above his head Saturday night at Rocket Arena, a moment of foreshadowing amid another celebration. Ono, a Japanese world champion who didn't wrestle for Penn State this season, awaits his place in a Nittany Lions lineup that should be even better in 2027.

How is that possible? Penn State won four individual titles at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships, broke its own scoring record for the second straight year and tied an NCAA record with six finalists. The Nittany Lions won a fifth straight NCAA team title after producing one of their most dominant regular seasons for head coach Cael Sanderson. And they lose just one starter from the 2025-26 lineup.

Three national champions went undefeated. Two NCAA runners-up finished the season with one loss. Two true freshmen were All-Americans. Four of the seven finalists for the Hodge Trophy, college wrestling's Heisman, are Nittany Lions. And eight All-Americans (including one who redshirted) are expected back for Sanderson's 18th season at Penn State, which might be his best yet — yet again.

College wrestling is pushing hard for Oklahoma State, under former Penn State wrestler David Taylor, to derail the Penn State freight train. The Cowboys had a superb tournament in Taylor's second season, winning four titles (all by first-year starters) to place second to Penn State. However, here's how Penn State should maintain its grip on the sport next season.

Penn State's returning champions

Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler Mitchell Mesenbrink enters Rocket Arena for his title match at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Mitchell Mesenbrink is putting together one of Penn State's all-time great careers and still has one more year of eligibility. The two-time NCAA champ at 165 pounds completed his second consecutive undefeated season and is 82-1 at Penn State, where he leads the program in career winning percentage.

Mesenbrink will choose his weight class for his final season. He could stay at 165 (most likely) or move to 174 and replace Levi Haines, a two-time NCAA champ and the lineup's only senior. Mesenbrink also should return with the Hodge Trophy as the nation's top wrestler. He has a strong argument for being the face of college wrestling today.

Luke Lilledahl (125 pounds) and Josh Barr (197) have two seasons remaining after becoming undefeated first-time champions. Lilledahl said Saturday night at Rocket Arena that he wants to own the weight class for two more years. And Barr is entrenched as the best 197-pounder in America. Barr (24-0) scored bonus points against every wrestler he faced but Oklahoma State's Cody Merrill, who he beat 6-3 in the final.

Penn State's returning NCAA runners-up

Oklahoma State’s Landon Robideau, right, wrestles Penn State’s PJ Duke during their 157-pound semifinal at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena. | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Penn State's eight All-Americans all finished in the top four at their respective weight classes in Cleveland. That includes runners-up Shayne Van Ness (149) and Rocco Welsh (184), who fell short of unbeaten seasons with championship losses.

Van Ness, a three-time All-American, is on the verge of his breakthrough title and has one more season to achieve it. He's solid at 149, where Stanford's Aden Valencia, who beat Van Ness 8-5 in the final, is a redshirt freshman.

Likewise, Welsh could taste an undefeated season until facing Minnesota's Max McEnelly in their NCAA final rematch. Welsh beat him for the Big Ten title, while McEnelly scored a first-period takedown for a 4-3 win at nationals. Both are redshirt sophomores with two seasons to continue their rivalry. Welsh is now a two-time NCAA runnerup, having lost to Penn State's Carter Starocci in 2024 while wrestling for Ohio State.

Penn State's freshmen All-Americans

Penn State Nittany Lions wrestler PJ Duke competes against Ohio State Buckeyes Brandon Cannon during the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena. | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Marcus Blaze (133) and PJ Duke (157) finished exceptional first seasons at Penn State as All-Americans, yet still fell below their expectations. Blaze (25-3) placed fourth after grueling losses to Ohio State's Ben Davino (in a tiebreaker) and Virginia Tech's Aaron Seidel (5-0 for third). Duke (26-2) rallied from a controversial semifinal loss to Oklahoma State's Landon Robideau to place third.

Both have been competing non-stop since last summer. Duke in particular is coming off a stretch in which he wrestled at three world championships, winning gold at the U20 event (as did Blaze).

Blaze said at NCAAs that he expects to begin training soon for another freestyle season. He also was non-committal about remaining at 157 pounds. Blaze said that cutting weight was difficult, particularly after the NCAA semifinals. Depending on where Mesenbrink wrestles, Duke could move up in Penn State's lineup.

Penn State’s PJ Duke on his loss Friday at the NCAA Wrestling Championships and what pushed him to place third Saturday. pic.twitter.com/L7cAqMKmY4

— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) March 21, 2026

It's also possible that Sanderson explores redshirting one or both of the talented freshmen, since the roster has depth at their weight ranges. Blaze and Duke might benefit from a year of training after a relentless competitive schedule.

Penn State's returning NCAA qualifiers

Penn State’s Cole Mirasola has his arm raised after defeating Northwestern’s Gabe Christenson in a 285-pound bout during the first round of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Bryce Jordan Center. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Cole Mirasola wrestled a solid first season at heavyweight in Penn State's lineup, going 25-10 and qualifying for NCAAs as a redshirt freshman. He'll need to gain mass and strength after weighing in at 226 for most of the season.

It's something Mirasola acknowledged even before the year began. In fact, Connor Mirasola said that his twin brother occasionally got sick from his calorie intake.

"Putting on weight is a lot harder than people think," Cole Mirasola said.

At 141, Braeden Davis also was light for his weight class, having wrestled at 125 as a freshman and 133 as a sophomore. He planned to redshirt this season but took over the weight in January following Aaron Nagao's career-ending injury. Davis wrestled some strong bouts but couldn't engage with the weight class' top talent.

Davis finshed 14-7, did not place at nationals and now faces an uncertain future. Penn State is loaded in the surrounding weight classes, so Davis could choose to redshirt again next season or potentially look elsewhere to finish his career.

Penn State's newcomers to watch

Penn State wrestler Masanosuke Ono lifts the championship trophy at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena. | Mark Wogenrich | Penn State on SI

Will Penn State introduce Ono, one of the most promising wrestlers on its roster, in 2026? Ono won the 2024 Senior World title at 64 kg (134 pounds), and teammates say he is among the best technical wrestlers on the roster.

Ono spent the past season redshirting and learning the nuances of folkstyle wrestling as compared to freestyle. Sanderson offered a positive update about Ono earlier this season. He would move perfectly into the 133-pound role if Blaze bumps up or redshirts.

Penn State is loaded in this weight range, though, which includes Nate Desmond. The freshman went 7-0 during his redshirt season and beat Lilledahl at 125 at a tournament, a result that didn't officially count. He also went 4-0 in duals at 141 pounds. Sanderson has said that he and Desmond have a decision to make regarding his weight-class future. But Desmond is ready to wrestle now.

Tyler Kasak also returns, though he's certainly no newcomer. Kasak is a two-time NCAA All-American at 157, having placed third there the past two years. He did not compete while redshirting this season and could wrestle anywhere from 157-174, depending on the roster decisions Penn State makes.

William Henckel, who redshirted as a freshman, will be a contender to replace Haines at 174. Henckel went 9-0 with three technical falls in tournament competition and gave Haines a headache at the Black Knight Invitational, falling only 4-0. Henckel was a two-time national prep champion at Blair Academy and won silver at the 2025 U20 worlds.

Then there's incoming freshman Jayden James, who could make the lineup right away. James, the No. 2 overall wrestler in FloWrestling's 2026 rankings, flipped to Penn State from Virginia Tech last season.

James just won his second New Jersey state title at 165 pounds, making him a contender to compete where Mesenbrink doesn't. Penn State will have choices at these three weight classes.

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