The Big Ten Championships is the hardest convention title to win as of late, and in 2026 that’s no exception. The convention sports activities the top-ranked wrestler at 9 of the ten weights and is deep at each weight class.
Here’s how every of the ten weight courses stack up based mostly on the Big Ten’s issued pre-seeds.
125 kilos
Penn State’s Luke Lilledahl, ranked No. 1 within the nation, earned the No. 1 pre-seed after an 8-0 convention season that featured a fall and 4 tech fall wins. Illinois’ Spencer Moore is the convention’s No. 2 pre-seed with a 7-0 convention report, together with one forfeit. Nic Bouzakis is ranked second within the nation however is the No. 3 pre-seed within the convention. The pre-seeds can change forward of the bracket launch, and Bouzkais’ one loss to Lilledahl in comparison with Moore’s six loses offers him a case to leap a spot within the seeds and doubtlessly earn a first-round bye.
Lilledahl’s path to a second straight Big Ten championship might begin towards Iowa’s Dean Peterson, who’s ranked No. 7 nationally however is the No. 8 pre-seed. Lilledahl beat Peterson, 11-5, of their assembly earlier this yr, however the Hawkeye does have a 4-1 profession win over the Nittany Lion from the 2024-2025 season.
In the convention semifinals, Lilledahl will seemingly meet both No. 17-ranked Jacob Moran of Indiana or No. 13-ranked All-American Jore Volk towards Minnesota. The Nittany Lion has a comparatively simple path till a possible championship match towards Bouzakis, which might be a rematch of Lilledahl’s sudden-victory win within the common season.
133 kilos
Both Illinois’ Lucas Byrd and Penn State’s Marcus Blaze went undefeated through the common season, however it’s the Nittany Lion freshman who earned the Big Ten’s No. 1 pre-seed. Byrd finds himself second, and Ohio State’s Ben Davino is the No. 3 pre-seed.
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No. 9 Drake Ayala, who gave Iowa a runner-up end in each Big Tens and NCAAs final yr, is the No. 5 pre-seed on this yr’s Big Ten championships. But this season, the burden revolves across the top-three wrestlers as Byrd will face his hardest problem of the season within the Big Ten semifinals and championship match. Another identify to observe within the bracket is Wisconsin’s Zan Fugitt, a 2025 All-American who has a win over Ayala and boasts a 16-4 report coming into the postseason. He’s presently seeded on the No. 4 place, two spots forward of Nebraska All-American Jacob Van Dee.
141 kilos
Behind his No. 1 nationwide rating and undefeated report, Jesse Mendez represents Ohio State with the No. 1 pre-seed at Big Tens. Mendez’ largest problem comes from No. 2 pre-seed Brock Hardy of Nebraska, who’s 1-5 towards the Buckeye along with his lone win coming in final yr’s Big Ten match. Since then, Mendez has crushed Hardy 4-1 and 14-3.
Other notable wrestlers within the division embrace No. 3 pre-seed All-American Vance VomBaur of Minnesota and Iowa’s All-American Nasir Bailey, who is available in because the No. 4 pre-seed. All-Americans Dylan Ragusin of Michigan and Braeden Davis of Penn State are available at No. 5 and No. 7, respectively.
Despite the gifted subject, there may be little proof to recommend that Mendez will probably be troubled by his 141-pound rivals.
149 kilos
Shayne Van Ness has been the dominant wrestler at 149 kilos this season within the Big Ten, and he earned the No. 1 pre-seed for his efforts. The Nittany Lion will probably be opposed by No. 2 pre-seed All-American Ethan Stiles, who represents the Buckeyes within the class. Carter Young, who’s ranked No. 4 within the nation however missed time attributable to harm, is the No. 5 pre-seed, representing the Terps. Michigan All-American Lachlan McNeil is available in at No. 4.
Be there! #PSUwr | : https://t.co/GPLsU4eSc3 pic.twitter.com/gNoJv8OWGn
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 2, 2026
Van Ness has not confronted a significant problem en path to his 18-0 season report however didn’t wrestle Stiles through the common season. If it occurs within the championship match Sunday, it will likely be Van Ness’ largest problem of the season to this point. These two did meet final yr at NCAAs when Stiles wrestled for Oregon State, and Van Ness picked up the autumn. The Nittany Lion junior has continued to separate himself from the sector this yr with an 84.21% bonus charge, and he is the clear favourite not simply within the convention however within the nation to compete for the nationwide title at 149 kilos.
157 kilos
Defending nationwide champion Antrell Taylor is the No. 1 pre-seed at 157 kilos after his 20-2 report, and the Cornhusker has not misplaced because the National Duals in November. Despite having the No. 1 nationwide rating, Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon is the No. 7 pre-seed attributable to lacking a lot of the Big Ten season attributable to harm and will probably be matched up with No. 2 pre-seed PJ Duke, a freshman pinning machine, of Penn State within the second spherical.
If it occurs, the quarterfinal match between Cannon and Duke could possibly be the most effective match of the primary session. Based on pre-seeds, Taylor has a reasonably simple path to the championship match. His 2-1 tiebreaker win over Duke helped him earn that route.
Iowa, notable, subbed out Little Rock switch Jordan Williams for senior Victor Voinovich III and can now attempt to qualify the burden out of the No. 10 seed. The Big Ten will take eight athletes at 157 kilos.
165 kilos
Before No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink goes for a second straight nationwide championship, the Penn State wrestler appears for a 3rd straight Big Ten crown because the No. 1 pre-seed. He will face challenges from Iowa’s Michael Caliendo and Purdue’s Joey Blaze, who’re the convention’s respective No. 2 and No. 3 pre-seeds, however Mesenbrink appears to be a tier above them each.
Free as a fowl
Joey Blaze posts the 4th undefeated common season by a Boilermaker since 1975!
Not glad but… pic.twitter.com/wTk15wHjtN
— Purdue Wrestling (@PurdueWrestling) February 21, 2026
He majored Caliendo 11-2 of their final assembly, and whereas the Hawkeye had beforehand been narrowing the hole, this most up-to-date efficiency confirmed why Mesenbrink will seemingly be a contender for the Hodge Trophy. The Nittany Lion has not had the prospect to wrestle Blaze, a 2025 NCAA finalist at 157 kilos who beat Caliendo up at 165 kilos this yr, however his tempo and aggression are a problem for anybody.
174 kilos
The 174-pound pre-seeds drew ire from Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson after undefeated Levi Haines was positioned behind Nebraska’s Christopher Minto regardless of Haines having a head-to-head win. This yr’s seeds have been developed utilizing a formulation, with 174 kilos creating probably the most questions after the discharge of the seeds. Minto, an All-American final season, has had a formidable yr with wins over All-American Carson Kharchla and Danny Wask, however his losses to Haines, Alex Facundo, Patrick Kennedy and Kharchla (who he break up matches with) do stand in distinction to Haines’ good resume.
KENNEDY VS. FACUNDO: Here’s how the dual between the Hawkeyes and the Cowboys went last month
Other contenders on the weight embrace No. 3 pre-seed Kennedy from Iowa who completed fourth final yr and Ohio State’s Kharchla, who enters because the No. 5 pre-seed.
With 4 good wrestlers on the weight, the semifinal spherical at 174 kilos will probably be one with loads of motion. These 4 wrestlers will seemingly meet once more within the late rounds of the NCAA Championships after doing battle in State College.
Lenny Pinto of Rutgers down on the No. 11 is a possible bracket buster to observe, as he completed within the Round of 12 the final two seasons however now is available in with a 10-7 report.
184 kilos
Sanderson had no downside with Rocco Welsh representing Penn State because the No. 1 pre-seed at 184 kilos after his 17-0 marketing campaign. His first match could possibly be towards No. 8 pre-seed Angelo Ferrari, who missed important time attributable to harm. Welsh beat Ferrari in tie-breakers of their final assembly, delivering the Hawk his lone loss of the yr. Other 184-pound contenders embrace Minnesota’s No. 2 pre-seed All-American and U20 World champion Max McEnelly and No. 3 All-American pre-seed Silas Allred, who represents Nebraska.
Back on the B1G stage pic.twitter.com/6l8YXfQfdR
— Minnesota Wrestling (@GopherWrestling) March 4, 2026
These three spherical out the All-Americans within the subject, although Ohio State’s Dylan Fishback is harmful down on the No. 6, as he had Welsh on the ropes of their twin with lower than a minute remaining within the third interval.
197 kilos
Josh Barr’s undefeated season led him to the No. 1 pre-seed at this yr’s Big Tens for Penn State, together with a significant determination win over No. 2 pre-seed Camden McDanel of Nebraska. Rutgers sophomore Remy Cotton is the league’s No. 3 pre-seed, whereas Maryland’s Branson John is available in at No. 4, the best seed for the Terps throughout all ten weights.
The 197-pound weight is probably the most shallow within the convention, leaving little to recommend Barr won’t win the convention title. The massive story to observe although is Iowa’s Gabe Arnold down on the No. 13 seed.
𝟭𝟵𝟳 | #𝟭𝟯 𝗚𝗮𝗯𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗱 pic.twitter.com/0F6LZBdjDD
— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) March 2, 2026
Arnold wrestled most of the season at 184 kilos, incomes a win over All-American Silas Allred. In his two matches at 197 kilos, Arnold collected two wins, although his Big Ten match path on the weight could possibly be a problem, given his low seed and dimension drawback.
285 kilos
After going 8-0 within the Big Ten common season, Michigan’s Taye Ghadiali is the No. 1 pre-seed within the Big Ten. The switch All-American from Campbell didn’t meet No. 2 pre-seed AJ Ferrari through the common season, who went 7-1 towards a a lot more durable slate of opponents along with his lone loss coming towards No. 3 pre-seed Nick Feldman. Feldman and No. 4 pre-seed Cole Mirasola is also within the combine as title contenders, on condition that Feldman beat Ferrari and Mirasola beat Feldman. The high males on the weight will definitely be battle-tested as they head to NCAAs following the occasion.
