National Wrestling Coaches Association

MANHEIM, Pa. - With no ranked teams falling to unranked opponents last week, there was minimal movement in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division I Men's Wrestling Coaches Poll presented by Theraworx, released on Tuesday. Nineteen of the 25 ranked teams held their spots, and Penn State remained No. 1 with 16 first-place votes.

The biggest mover was Rutgers, which climbed three spots into a tie with North Carolina at No. 16 after a pair of wins on Saturday. Then-No. 19 Rutgers shut out LIU 51-0 and beat Navy 24-12 to improve to 2-0. The Scarlet Knights moved past Oklahoma and Illinois, which each slid one spot despite winning last week.

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Near the top of the poll, second-ranked Oklahoma State opened with a 45-0 shutout of Drexel on Sunday. Third-ranked Nebraska (1-0) beat then-No. 20 Wyoming 28-9 on Sunday, while No. 5 Virginia Tech (1-0) handled then-No. 12 Lehigh 30-6 on Friday.

Iowa State improved to 2-0 with a 31-11 win over Utah Valley on Friday but slipped one spot to No. 10. Michigan moved up one spot to No. 12, trading places with Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks (1-1) bounced back from the loss to the Hokies with a 36-8 win over then-No. 25 Indiana on Saturday and land at No. 13 this week. Indiana (1-1) held at No. 25 after also beating Lock Haven 24-14 on Saturday.

In the lower half, Oklahoma beat Northern Colorado 41-4 on Sunday and sits at No. 18, while Illinois shut out Hofstra 45-0 and checks in at No. 19. Wyoming (1-1) stayed at No. 20 following the loss to Nebraska, and No. 23 West Virginia blanked Mercyhurst 52-0.

No teams entered or left the poll.

That stability is unlikely to last. There are 22 duals involving ranked teams this coming week, including five matchups between ranked opponents. Third-ranked Nebraska heads to Stillwater to face second-ranked Oklahoma State on Friday at Gallagher-Iba Arena. On Sunday, top-ranked Penn State travels to Norman to take on No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 13 Lehigh visits No. 16 Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey, and No. 20 Wyoming meets No. 7 Stanford at Stanford Softball Stadium.

The other ranked matchup comes Saturday at the Sunshine Wrestling Duals in Bradenton, Florida, where No. 10 Iowa State and No. 24 Penn meet. The Cyclones also face North Dakota State, while the Quakers take on Wisconsin. Both of those opponents are receiving votes in this week’s poll.

Penn State hosts Bloomsburg on Thursday before its trip to Oklahoma, and Stanford goes to CSU Bakersfield on Friday ahead of its home dual with Wyoming. No. 21 Pittsburgh has a busy weekend, hosting Buffalo on Saturday before traveling to Edinboro on Sunday.

No. 15 NC State hosts Navy, which is receiving votes, on Thursday, and fourth-ranked Iowa hosts Bellarmine on Friday. Columbia makes a Big Ten swing, visiting No. 12 Michigan on Friday and No. 6 Ohio State on Sunday. No. 14 Arizona State hosts Hope International, Arizona Christian and Embry-Riddle at the Sun Devil Invitational in Tempe on Saturday, while No. 19 Illinois travels to The Citadel. On Sunday, No. 23 West Virginia faces Brown and Hofstra in Providence, Rhode Island, and No. 25 Indiana goes to Central Michigan.

Methodology: The NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll presented by Theraworx is voted on by two coaches from each Division I wrestling conference. Each first-place vote is worth 25 points, 24 points for a second-place vote, 23 points for a third-place vote, and so on, through to one point for a 25th-place vote. The poll is based on dual meet results.

Others Receiving Votes: Army West Point 7, Oregon State 6, South Dakota State 6, Wisconsin 4, Little Rock 3, Navy 1, North Dakota State 1, Princeton 1, SIU Edwardsville 1.

Dropped Out: None.
 
2026-27 Division I Men's Wrestling Coaches Poll Release Dates
Nov. 17, Nov. 24
Dec. 1, Dec. 8, Dec. 15, Dec. 22
Jan. 5, Jan. 12, Jan. 19, Jan. 26
Feb. 2, Feb. 9, Feb. 16, Feb. 23
 
2026-27 Division I Mid-Major Men's Wrestling Coaches Poll Release Dates
Dec. 23
Jan. 6, Jan. 20
Feb. 10, Feb. 24