Buckeyes Learn Seeds, Opponents for 2026 NCAA Tournament Openers
3/11/2026 8:42:00 PM | Wrestling
Ohio State one of six teams with 10 NCAA qualifiers
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State's 10 NCAA wrestling qualifiers learned their seeds and first-round opponents Wednesday in advance of the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships March 19-21 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Buckeyes qualified wrestlers in all 10 weight classes last weekend at the 2026 Big Ten Wrestling Championships at the Bryce Jordan Center on the Penn State University campus.
Ohio State took second at the 2026 Big Ten Championships with 148.5 points. Senior Jesse Mendez, the two-time defending NCAA champion at 141, won his second league title while redshirt freshman Ben Davino took the title at 133. Both Mendez and Davino are No. 1 seeds in the 2026 NCAA Championships.
Mendez was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Year while Davino was named the league's 2026 Freshman of the Year. Tom Ryan took home 2026 Coach of the Year honors.
The Buckeyes also boasted a second-place finisher at the most recent Big Ten championships (Ethan Stiles at 149) and four who earned third-place honors. Nic Bouzakis (125), Carson Kharchla (174), Luke Geog (197) and Nick Feldman (HWT) stood on the third step on the Big Ten Championships podium in their respective weight classes.
Ryan has sent nine or more wrestlers to the national tournament 10 times during his 20-year Ohio State career (2007-present). The Buckeyes are one of six teams nationally in 2026 to send 10 wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament. Ryan has sent a full complement of 10 wrestlers to the national tournament five times and in each of the last two campaigns.
Ohio State has had 167 NCAA Qualifiers under Ryan. The Buckeyes have earned 75 All-America honors and have finished in the Top 5 10 times. Sixteen teams have finished among the Top 10.
The 2015 team won the NCAA title and five teams have placed second.
Ohio State took fifth(t) in the 2025 NCAA Championships and were eighth in 2024.
Ohio State opened the 2025-26 dual season with 12 NCAA qualifiers and now has 13 on its roster. Brendan McCrone (29-seed/2024, 20/2025), Nic Bouzakis (16/2024, 7/2025, 2026), Jesse Mendez (14/2023, 1/2024, 2/2025, 2026), Ethan Stiles (12/2025 at Oregon State, 2026 at Ohio State), Brandon Cannon (5/2025, 2026), Paddy Gallagher (28/2023, 26/2025, 2026), Carson Kharchla (7/2022, 10/2023, 9/2025, 2026), Ryder Rogotzke (18/2024, 26/2025), Dylan Fishback (10/2024, 15/2025 at NC State, 2026 at Ohio State), Seth Shumate (23/2025), Luke Geog (23/2024, 2026) and Nick Feldman (9/2024, 12/2025, 2026). Redshirt freshman Ben Davino is making his first NCAA Tournament appearance.
In all, Ohio State's roster in 2026 has combined to qualify for the NCAA Tournament 32 times.
Mendez owns three Top 8 finishes at the NCAA Championship, good for as many All-America honors. He placed sixth in 2023 at 133 and won the 141 title in both 2024 and 2025. Kharchla earned All-America honors in 2022 with a seventh-place finish at 165. Feldman battled to a fifth-place finish for All-America recognition at HWT in 2024. Stiles was an All-American a year ago as a redshirt freshman at Oregon State.
2026 Ohio State NCAA Qualifiers
Wt | InterMat Rk./2026 NCAA seed/Name (Yr.)/2025-26 Record/At NCAA Championships
125 | No. 5/3-seed - Nic Bouzakis (R-Jr.)/16-3/3rd Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 4-4): 2024 (16-seed/2-2), 2025 (7-seed/2-2)
vs. 30-seed Sulayman Bah (Columbia/23-12)
133 | No. 1/2-seed - Ben Davino (R-Fr.)/27-1/1st Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 0-0):
vs. 31-seed Gable Strickland (Lock Haven/26-9)
141 | No. 1/1-seed - Jesse Mendez (Sr.)/22-0/4th Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 15-3): 2023 (14-seed/5-3/6th), 2024 (1-seed/5-0/1st),
2025/3-seed/5-0/1st)
vs. 33-seed Aldo Hernandez (APP. ST./18-14) or No. 32 Matthew Martino (Princeton/15-15)
149 | No. 3/7-seed - Ethan Stiles (R-So.)/15-5/2nd Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 10-9): 2025 (12-seed/4-2)
vs. 26-seed Anderson Heap (Davidson/20-9)
157 | No. 7/8-seed - Brandon Cannon (R-So.)/18-3/2nd Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 3-2 ) 2025 (5-seed/3-2)
vs. 25-seed Mason Shrader (Central Michigan/24-10)
165 | No. 14/16-seed - Paddy Gallagher (R-Sr.)/17-7/3rd Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 2-4); 2023 (28-seed/2-2), 2025 (26-seed/0-2)
vs. 17-seed Braeden Scoles (Illinois/16-9)
174 | No. 4/4-seed - Carson Kharchla (Gr.)/18-4/4th Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 6-7): 2022 (7-seed/4-3/7th), 2023 (10-seed/2-2),
2025 (9-seed/0-2)
vs. 29-seed Avery Bassett (Lock Haven/22-7)
184 | No. 7/12-seed - Dylan Fishback (R-Jr.)/10-9/2nd Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 6-4): 2024 (10-seed/3-2), 2025 (15-seed/3-2)
vs. 21-seed Tomas Brooker (APP. ST./26-8)
197 | No. 13/12-seed - Luke Geog (R-So.)/17-7/2nd Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 0-2): 2024 (23-seed/0-3)
vs. 21-seed Rune Lawrence (West Virginia/17-11)
HWT | No. 5/5-seed - Nick Feldman (R-Jr.)/23-5/3rd Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 8-4): 2024 (5-2/9-seed/5th), 2025 (12-seed/3-2)
vs. 28-seed Jarrett Stoner (Missouri/23-14)
The Buckeyes qualified wrestlers in all 10 weight classes last weekend at the 2026 Big Ten Wrestling Championships at the Bryce Jordan Center on the Penn State University campus.
Ohio State took second at the 2026 Big Ten Championships with 148.5 points. Senior Jesse Mendez, the two-time defending NCAA champion at 141, won his second league title while redshirt freshman Ben Davino took the title at 133. Both Mendez and Davino are No. 1 seeds in the 2026 NCAA Championships.
Mendez was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Year while Davino was named the league's 2026 Freshman of the Year. Tom Ryan took home 2026 Coach of the Year honors.
The Buckeyes also boasted a second-place finisher at the most recent Big Ten championships (Ethan Stiles at 149) and four who earned third-place honors. Nic Bouzakis (125), Carson Kharchla (174), Luke Geog (197) and Nick Feldman (HWT) stood on the third step on the Big Ten Championships podium in their respective weight classes.
Ryan has sent nine or more wrestlers to the national tournament 10 times during his 20-year Ohio State career (2007-present). The Buckeyes are one of six teams nationally in 2026 to send 10 wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament. Ryan has sent a full complement of 10 wrestlers to the national tournament five times and in each of the last two campaigns.
Ohio State has had 167 NCAA Qualifiers under Ryan. The Buckeyes have earned 75 All-America honors and have finished in the Top 5 10 times. Sixteen teams have finished among the Top 10.
The 2015 team won the NCAA title and five teams have placed second.
Ohio State took fifth(t) in the 2025 NCAA Championships and were eighth in 2024.
Ohio State opened the 2025-26 dual season with 12 NCAA qualifiers and now has 13 on its roster. Brendan McCrone (29-seed/2024, 20/2025), Nic Bouzakis (16/2024, 7/2025, 2026), Jesse Mendez (14/2023, 1/2024, 2/2025, 2026), Ethan Stiles (12/2025 at Oregon State, 2026 at Ohio State), Brandon Cannon (5/2025, 2026), Paddy Gallagher (28/2023, 26/2025, 2026), Carson Kharchla (7/2022, 10/2023, 9/2025, 2026), Ryder Rogotzke (18/2024, 26/2025), Dylan Fishback (10/2024, 15/2025 at NC State, 2026 at Ohio State), Seth Shumate (23/2025), Luke Geog (23/2024, 2026) and Nick Feldman (9/2024, 12/2025, 2026). Redshirt freshman Ben Davino is making his first NCAA Tournament appearance.
In all, Ohio State's roster in 2026 has combined to qualify for the NCAA Tournament 32 times.
Mendez owns three Top 8 finishes at the NCAA Championship, good for as many All-America honors. He placed sixth in 2023 at 133 and won the 141 title in both 2024 and 2025. Kharchla earned All-America honors in 2022 with a seventh-place finish at 165. Feldman battled to a fifth-place finish for All-America recognition at HWT in 2024. Stiles was an All-American a year ago as a redshirt freshman at Oregon State.
2026 Ohio State NCAA Qualifiers
Wt | InterMat Rk./2026 NCAA seed/Name (Yr.)/2025-26 Record/At NCAA Championships
125 | No. 5/3-seed - Nic Bouzakis (R-Jr.)/16-3/3rd Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 4-4): 2024 (16-seed/2-2), 2025 (7-seed/2-2)
vs. 30-seed Sulayman Bah (Columbia/23-12)
133 | No. 1/2-seed - Ben Davino (R-Fr.)/27-1/1st Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 0-0):
vs. 31-seed Gable Strickland (Lock Haven/26-9)
141 | No. 1/1-seed - Jesse Mendez (Sr.)/22-0/4th Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 15-3): 2023 (14-seed/5-3/6th), 2024 (1-seed/5-0/1st),
2025/3-seed/5-0/1st)
vs. 33-seed Aldo Hernandez (APP. ST./18-14) or No. 32 Matthew Martino (Princeton/15-15)
149 | No. 3/7-seed - Ethan Stiles (R-So.)/15-5/2nd Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 10-9): 2025 (12-seed/4-2)
vs. 26-seed Anderson Heap (Davidson/20-9)
157 | No. 7/8-seed - Brandon Cannon (R-So.)/18-3/2nd Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 3-2 ) 2025 (5-seed/3-2)
vs. 25-seed Mason Shrader (Central Michigan/24-10)
165 | No. 14/16-seed - Paddy Gallagher (R-Sr.)/17-7/3rd Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 2-4); 2023 (28-seed/2-2), 2025 (26-seed/0-2)
vs. 17-seed Braeden Scoles (Illinois/16-9)
174 | No. 4/4-seed - Carson Kharchla (Gr.)/18-4/4th Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 6-7): 2022 (7-seed/4-3/7th), 2023 (10-seed/2-2),
2025 (9-seed/0-2)
vs. 29-seed Avery Bassett (Lock Haven/22-7)
184 | No. 7/12-seed - Dylan Fishback (R-Jr.)/10-9/2nd Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 6-4): 2024 (10-seed/3-2), 2025 (15-seed/3-2)
vs. 21-seed Tomas Brooker (APP. ST./26-8)
197 | No. 13/12-seed - Luke Geog (R-So.)/17-7/2nd Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 0-2): 2024 (23-seed/0-3)
vs. 21-seed Rune Lawrence (West Virginia/17-11)
HWT | No. 5/5-seed - Nick Feldman (R-Jr.)/23-5/3rd Appearance
NCAA History (Rcd.: 8-4): 2024 (5-2/9-seed/5th), 2025 (12-seed/3-2)
vs. 28-seed Jarrett Stoner (Missouri/23-14)
#GoBucks
Players Mentioned
133 lbs.
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157
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133
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HWT
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184
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157 lbs
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184 lbs.
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165 lbs
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125 lbs.
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133/141 lbs.
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197
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184/197 lbs.
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149
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