CAREER
Athletic: All-American (3rd – 2026)… Gorriaran Award (2026)… Big Ten Champion (2026)… First Team All-Big Ten (2026)… Big Ten Championship Outstanding Wrestler (2026)… Big Ten Freshman of the Week (12/18/25)
2026-27 • FRESHMAN SEASON
Season: Burst onto the scene in the 2026-27 season by becoming a true freshman All-American and 157 pounds, placing third at the NCAA Championships… Picked up the Gorriaran Award for the most pins in the NCAA Tournament in the least amount of elapsed time… Won a Big Ten Championship as a true freshman at 157… Published a 24-2 overall record with a 13-1 mark in dual meet competition and 7-1 ledger against Big Ten foes… Forced 64 dual points against just three allowed… Recorded 18 wins in bonus-point fashion, including 10 wins by fall, five technical falls and three major decisions, amounting to a 69.2 percent bonus rate.
Black Knight Invite (11/23): Went 3-0 with three falls in collegiate debut to claim the Black Knight Invite crown. Drexel (12/5): Made his Penn State dual meet debut by pinning Luke Nichter in the first period (1:15). Lehigh (12/7): Posted an injury default win over No. 10 Logan Rozynski, leading 14-3 at the time of injury. Wyoming (12/13): Pinned No. 23 Jared Hill in dual meet in Laramie. Collegiate Wrestling Duals (12/20): Picked up two wins in Nashville, including a 16-5 major over No. 21 Gavin Drexler of North Dakota State and a 5-2 win over No. 5 Daniel Cardenas of Stanford. Rutgers (1/10): Rolled to a 19-4 tech fall (3:18) over Easton Doster. Iowa (1/16): Notched a 4-2 win over No. 12 Jordan Williams at Iowa. Northwestern (1/18): Mustered a first period pin of Gunnar Myers (2:42). Indiana (1/23): Had a quick 21-5 second-period tech fall (3:16) over Bryce Lowery. Maryland (1/24): Pinned Mekhi Neal in the first period (1:54). Nebraska (1/30): Lost a hard fought 2-1 (TB) bout to No. 5 Antrell Taylor in a match featuring only escapes. Michigan (2/6): Published a thrilling 12-10 win over No. 13 Cameron Catrabone in Penn State’s 38-3 road win at Michigan. Ohio State (2/13): Pinned Buckeye Daxton Chase at 3:28 in a sold out BJC Dual. Princeton (2/20): Logged a dominant 24-8 tech fall (6:07) over Gavin Hawk. Big Ten Championships (3/7-8): Rolled through the field to win the B1G title as a true freshman at 157… Majored No. 7 Brandon Cannon of Ohio State, 20-7, in the quarters and downed No. 9 Kannon Webster of Illinois to advance to the finals… Dominated the defending NCAA Champ, No. 3 Antrell Taylor, in a 12-4 major decision to claim the title… Named the 2026 Big Ten Championship Outstanding Wrestler. NCAA Championships (3/19-21): Went 5-1 at his first NCAA tournament, placing third to become an All-American as a freshman… Had two pins in his first two bouts, winning the 2026 NCAA Championship Gorriaran Award in the process... Teched No. 8 Brandon Cannon of Ohio State twice... Only loss was a controversial 3-1 (tb) decision in the semifinals to eventual National Champion No. 5 Landon Robideau of Oklahoma State.
HIGH SCHOOL
Duke came to Penn State from Minisink Valley High School... Was a six-time varsity letterman and a four-time team captain... Led his team to multiple New York State Championships... Posted a 173-1 overall record in his years at Minisink Valley... Was a U20 World Champion in 2025... Picked up bronze medals at the U20 and U23 levels in 2024 and 2025, respectively… Was a 2024 U20 Pan American Champion following a strong showing in Lima, Peru… Won the 2025 Final X to earn a spot on the US Senior National Team at just 18 years of age.
PERSONAL
Born in the summer of 2006, PJ Duke is the son of Andrea and Peter Duke... He has one sister, Abby, and a brother named Timmy… Duke plans to study business at the prestigious Penn State Smeal College of Business.
CAREER STATISTICS
|
Year |
Overall |
Duals (B1G) |
TRN (B1G/NCAA) |
F |
TF |
M |
PTS |
|
2025-26 |
24-2 |
13-1 (7-1) |
11-1 (3-0/5-1) |
10-0 |
5-0 |
3-0 |
64 |
|
Career |
24-2 |
13-1 (7-1) |
11-1 (3-0/5-1) |
10-0 |
5-0 |
3-0 |
64 |