Penn State Wrestling Ranked No. 1 In Preseason NWCA Rankings
Penn State wrestling has been ranked No. 1 in the preseason National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) poll, the association announced Wednesday.
The ranking keeps the Nittany Lions in the No. 1 spot from last season.
Penn State has dominated college wrestling over the last decade and has won the last five national championships. The Nittany Lions also have a record-breaking 86-game dual-meet win streak.
The Nittany Lions are not on track to slow down anytime soon, either. After an uber-successful 2025-26 season, Penn State returns three reigning national champions and plenty of other top finishers.
The roster will be bolstered only by the potential return of star Levi Haines, who is currently fighting for a fifth year of eligibility.
The two-time national champion has been attending classes in Happy Valley and “preparing just in case he gets that opportunity.”
“Levi’s been preparing for the World Championships in freestyle. If he gets called back to folkstyle, he’s been wrestling folkstyle his whole life; he’ll be good to go,” Sanderson said during media day. “He wishes he was out hunting, but it’s not like we’re calling him back out of the woods. He’s preparing, he’s training, and he’s ready to compete.”
Regardless of whether Haines can compete this season or not, Penn State is once again one of the most talented and deepest rosters in the sport.
Plenty of competition will take place at various weights before the starting roster is set in stone.
Four Nittany Lions will compete in the annual NWCA All-Star Classic. An event that brings 20 of the country’s best wrestlers to one venue for an early-season exhibition.
“You don’t go to Penn State if you’re looking for a guaranteed starting spot,” Sanderson said. “The whole landscape’s changed; you adapt, you just keep hustling, you land like a cat.”
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