Rutgers Wrestling Closes Regular Season Ranked No. 11 with Program-Best Big Ten Finish
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The 2025-26 regular season is officially in the books, and for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, it ends with history attached to it. As the postseason spotlight begins to brighten, Rutgers has locked in a No. 11 finish in the final NWCA Coaches Poll. That too, for the second straight year. It just reinforces their place among the nation’s elite.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights Era Continues to Raise the Bar
Even more impressive, the Scarlet Knights tied for third in the final Big Ten standings. That marks the highest regular-season conference finish in program history. With a 14-5 overall record and a 5-3 mark in the grind-it-out Big Ten, Rutgers heads into March riding momentum and confidence.
BOOM! We close the regular season No. 11 in the final @nwcawrestling Coaches Poll, with all 10 starters ranked by @InterMat ahead of the postseason!#RelentlessPursuit | #GoRU https://t.co/AxzY1m8BoG
— Rutgers Wrestling (@RUWrestling) February 25, 2026
Consistency is no accident in Piscataway. Under head coach Scott Goodale, Rutgers has built a standard that keeps climbing. This season marks the ninth time the program has recorded 14 or more dual wins during his tenure. Since taking over in 2007, Goodale has guided Rutgers to double-digit dual wins in 17 of 19 seasons.
That type of sustained excellence is rare, especially in the unforgiving landscape of the Big Ten.
Rutgers enters postseason competition on a six-match win streak. That's a stretch highlighted by a landmark victory over the No. 6 Minnesota Golden Gophers. It was the program’s first-ever win over Minnesota and a defining moment in a season filled with them.
The No. 11 ranking adds to a growing legacy. Rutgers has now finished ranked in the NWCA Coaches Poll 14 times since the 2009-10 season. The Scarlet Knights have posted five consecutive top-25 finishes dating back to 2021-22. And this marks the fifth time during Goodale’s tenure that the team has ended the regular season among the top 12 nationally.
Rutgers’ rise to No. 11 was not built on soft scheduling or lucky breaks. The Scarlet Knights earned their standing with high-quality victories across the board.
Beyond the historic win over Minnesota, Rutgers dominated in-state competition with decisive wins over the Rider Broncs by a 21-12 margin and the Princeton Tigers by a 28-9 score. In conference play, Rutgers added crucial victories over the Maryland Terrapins, Michigan State Spartans, Northwestern Wildcats, and Purdue Boilermakers.
The Signature Win that Defines the Best Big Ten Finish
Perhaps the most telling measure of the Scarlet Knights’ strength lies in their lineup depth. For the entire season, all 10 starters remained ranked by Intermat. Rutgers was one of just six programs nationwide to have all 10 starters ranked in Intermat’s latest top 33. They joined Penn State, the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Iowa State Cyclones, and the Virginia Tech Hokies.
At the front of the charge is Joseph Olivieri at 141 pounds. Olivieri carries a perfect 15-0 record into March and has climbed as high as No. 6 nationally in the Intermat, The Open Mat, and WIN Magazine rankings. He enters postseason competition as Rutgers’ highest-ranked individual and one of the hottest wrestlers in the conference.
According to Intermat, Rutgers features a deep core of top-20 talent. No. 6 Olivieri headlines the group, followed by No. 15 Remy Cotton at 197, No. 17 Andrew Barbosa at 165, No. 18 Shane Cartagena-Walsh at 184, No. 19 Hunter Catka at heavyweight, and No. 20 Lenny Pinto at 174. It is a lineup built not around one star. However, around sustained excellence from top to bottom.
Rutgers punctuated its regular season with a dominant 45-3 victory over the Hofstra Pride at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Center. The Scarlet Knights won nine of 10 matches, earning seven bonus-point victories that included three pins, three technical falls, and one injury default.
After Hofstra grabbed an early 3-0 lead, Rutgers responded decisively. Dylan Shawver tied the dual at 3-3 before Olivieri ignited a string of bonus-point wins with a second-period pin. Andrew Clark followed with an 18-0 technical fall, and Devon Magro added a 17-2 tech fall while wrestling up a weight class. Barbosa, Pinto, Jordan Chapman, PJ Casale, and Catka closed the night with wins that sealed the emphatic result.
Now, attention shifts to championship season. The 2026 Big Ten Championships will take place March 7-8 at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania. From there, the NCAA Wrestling Championships run March 19-21 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
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Shayni Maitra is a sports girl through and through writing about everything from locker room drama to game-day legends in the NFL and NBA. She’s covered the action for outlets like College Sports Network, Sportskeeda, EssentiallySports, NB Media, and PinkVilla, blending sharp takes with a deep love for storytelling. Whether it’s college football rivalries, Olympic gold-chasers, or the off-field chaos that keeps Twitter alive, Shayni brings the heat with heart—and just the right amount of humor.