UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (15-0, 8-0 B1G) will have seven top seeds at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 19-21 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Nittany Lions, under the direction of head coach Cael Sanderson, have qualified all ten wrestlers for the three-day event.
Penn State has already claimed the 2026 Big Ten Championship and 2026 Big Ten Regular Season title. This is also the 13th-time in Sanderson’s tenure that Penn State has qualified nine or more competitors for the national tournament
Sophomore Luke Lilledahl is the No. 1 seed at 125 and will take on the winner of the No. 32 vs. No. 33 bout between Jace Schafer of Bloomsburg and Mack Mauger of Missouri. Lilledahl won his second Big Ten title in the Jordan Center with a 3-0 run through the field. He is 17-0 overall and his making his second trip to the NCAA tournament after earning All-America laurels last year with a third place finish. Lilledahl is 14-0 vs. the field this year and 6-1 all-time at NCAAs.
True freshman Marcus Blaze is the No. 3 seed at 133 and will battle No. 30 Gabe Whisenhunt of Oregon State in the first round. Blaze was the 2026 Big Ten runner-up at his first Big Ten tourney. He is 21-1 overall and is making his first trip to the NCAA tournament. Blaze is 11-1 vs. the field this season.
Junior Braeden Davis is the No. 14 seed at 141 and will meet No. 19 Haiden Drury of Utah Valley in the first round. Davis placed seventh at the Big Ten tournament this past weekend, wrestling at 141 (his third weight in as many seasons). He is a returning All-American having placed fifth at 133 last season and is making his third trip to nationals. Davis is 5-5 vs. the field and 7-4 all-time at NCAAs.
Junior Shayne Van Ness is the No. 1 seed at 149 and will battle the winner of the No. 32 vs. No. 33 bout between Austin McBurney of Brown and Clayton Jones of Michigan State. Van Ness won his first Big Ten title at Big Tens in the Jordan Center, going 3-0 including a pin in the finals. He is 21-0 overall this year and is already a two-time All-American, having placed third in 2023 and 2025. Van Ness is 10-0 vs. the field and 10-2 all-time at nationals.
True freshman PJ Duke is the No. 1 seed at 157 and will take on the winner of the No. 32 vs. No. 33 bout between Yannis Charles of Morgan State and Jeb Pretchtel of Bellarmine. Duke just won the 2026 Big Ten title at 157 and was named the Championship Outstanding Wrestler. He is making his first trip to nationals. Duke is 9-1 vs. the field this season.
Junior Mitchell Mesenbrink is the No. 1 seed at 165 and will battle the winner of the No. 32 vs. No. 33 bout between Ryan Vigil of VMI and Cody Walsh of Drexel. Mesenbrink just won his third Big Ten Championship in the Jordan Center by going 3-0 with two majors and a tech fall. Mesenbrink is a two-time All-American and national finalist and won the NCAA title last season. Making his third trip to NCAAs, Mesenbrink is 12-0 vs. the field and 9-1 all-time at nationals.
Senior Levi Haines is the No. 1 seed at 174 and will take on the winner of the No. 32 vs. No. 33 match between Grant O’Dell of Bellarmine and Luke Condon of Wisconsin. Haines claimed his fourth Big Ten title in the Jordan Center at the conference tournament with a 3-0 run. He is a three-time All-American, two-time NCAA finalist and own the NCAA title in 2024. Haines, making his fourth trip to NCAAs, is 7-0 vs. the field and 14-2 all-time at nationals.
Sophomore Rocco Welsh is the No. 1 seed at 184 and will wrestle the winner of the No. 32 vs. No. 33 match between Sam Goin of Indiana and Caleb Uhlenhopp of Utah Valley. Welsh won his first conference title at the Big Ten tournament with a 3-0 performance in the Jordan Center. He is a one-time All-American, having been a national finalist at 174 in 2024. Welsh is making his second trip to NCAAs. He is 13-0 vs. the field and 4-1 all-time at nationals.
Sophomore Josh Barr is No. 1 seed at 197 and will face the winner of the No. 32 vs. No. 33 match-up between Karson Thompkins of Air Force and Blake Schaffer of Kent State. Barr claimed his first Big Ten title with a 3-0 run in the Jordan Center, all by technical fall. Barr is a returning All-American as the national runner-up at 197 last season. He is making his second trip to NCAAs. Barr is 12-0 vs. the field and 4-1 all-time at nationals.
Redshirt freshman Cole Mirasola is the No. 9 seed at 285 and will take on Connor Barket of Duke in the first round. Mirasola placed fifth at his first Big Ten tournament in the Jordan Center and will be making his first trip to the national championships. Mirasola is 8-6 vs. the field this season.
Penn State heads to Cleveland looking to win the school’s 13th NCAA Championship under Sanderson and 14th overall. Penn State has won the last four NCAA team titles.
The 2026 NCAA Championships will take place in Cleveland’s Rocket Arena on Thursday through Saturday, March 19-21. The three-day event begins on Thursday with sessions at 12 and 7 p.m. Friday’s sessions are set for 12 and 8 p.m.. Saturday’s sessions will begin at 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via X/twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. The Family Clothesline is the presenting sponsor for the 2025-26 Nittany Lion wrestling season. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.