Penn State wrestling’s Will Henckel and Cole Mirasola will not be on the 2026-27 roster after both decided to spend the year on a religious mission, head coach Cael Sanderson announced Tuesday.

“Both are just strong men of faith and felt like it’d be a good opportunity for them to go out there and share that with the world this year,” Sanderson said. “So they won’t be on our roster.”

Henckel, a redshirt freshman, wrestled 10 matches at open tournaments at 174 pounds in 2025-26. He went 9-1, with his lone loss coming to teammate Levi Haines at the Black Knight Invitational. He also took home the Southern Scuffle title.

Mirasola, the team’s starter at heavyweight last season, was due to compete with his twin brother, Connor, for the starting role this year before making the decision. He went 18-8 as a redshirt freshman last season, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament but falling short of All-America status.

The two’s decision to take a year off for a religious mission allows the program to use a loophole in the NCAA’s new five-year eligibility clock, as religious missions are one of three permitted exceptions to the iron-clad rules.

As such, Mirasola will still have three years of eligibility, and Henckel will still have four years of eligibility when the two take the mat again in 2027-28.

While this move helps in terms of long-term roster building, it also makes for a shallower roster in 2026-27.

At heavyweight, Connor Mirasola will be given the keys to start, but the team doesn’t have a clear backup for him. Redshirt sophomore Dawson Bundy and true freshman Elijah Brown will likely compete for that distinction.

At 174 pounds, where Mitchell Mesenbrink is expected to bump up after Haines’ graduation, Asher Cunningham and Sean Degl could be next up with Henckel inactive.

Penn State wrestling opens its 2026-27 season at Rec Hall at 7 p.m. on Thursday against Bloomsburg. Folks can watch the defending national champions on Big Ten Plus.

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