Injuries. Setbacks. Frustration. 

That sums up Missouri’s 2024-25 season. The Tigers finished 5-10, the first losing dual record since 2001. It was a marked change for a team that’s a perennial trophy contender. 

Rocky Elam and Noah Surtin were out for the season. Colton Hawks and Keegan O’Toole tore their ACLs. O’Toole, a two-time NCAA champion, reached the national finals but was a shell of himself. 

Head coach Brian Smith cobbled together line-ups, sometimes moving wrestlers up two weights to field a team. He’s excited about the prospect of a fresh start with a young squad. 

“With that frustration and the season, we still had a couple of All-Americans,” Smith said. “Cam (Steed) came through for us. Keegan lost in overtime (at nationals). When you sit down and reflect on what he did with a torn ACL, it was pretty impressive. 

“In the off-season, you reflect on what you can do better. I still felt like the team was looking for leadership since there were these problems with the upperclassmen. Leadership was lacking, so we spent a lot of time this spring and summer with the leaders of the team, and they pulled the team together and did stuff weekly. You could just see a change in the attitude of the team, the mindset of the team. It’s fun. That’s the fun part of coaching when you can get that to happen and a bunch of guys to buy into that.”

Steed is the only returning All-American on a team with potential. Smith secured former Northwestern stars Maxx Mayfield (165) and Evan Bates (197) from the transfer portal to fill two of his biggest holes. He also has high school stars Mack Mauger (125), Seth Mendoza (141), Aeodon Sinclair (184), and Sampson Stillwell (285) waiting in the wings. That’s on top of a handful of returners. 

“It’s going to be a younger team with a lot of new faces in the line-up, but we recruited these kids to be here,” Smith said.

Missouri will compete at the inaugural National Duals Invitational on November 15-16 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“I’m excited we get to do it now,” Smith said. “I didn’t know the type of team I was going to have, but we got into (the National Duals) on a ball pull. I’ve heard our fan base is going down in groups to watch the National Duals. 

“Hearing that, it means the early part of the season is attractive to fans. It’s something to do where they can watch all these talented teams. I hope it grows. I hope it gets good support and a good turnout. I hope there are some exciting duals and that people want to do this more, and it keeps going. We have to commit to it as coaches for three to five years to see if it grows.”

2025-26 Missouri Overview

Head coach: Brian Smith (28th season)

Assistants: Kendric Maple, Dom Bradley, Keegan O’Toole

2025 NCAA tournament finish: 14th

2025 NCAA tournament record: 10-11

2025 NCAA tournament points: 32

2025 Big 12 tournament finish: 8th

2025 dual record: 5-10 (4-4 conference)

Returning All-Americans: 1 (Cam Steed)

Returning national qualifiers: 6 (Kade Moore, Josh Edmond, Maxx Mayfield, Cam Steed, Evan Bates, Colton Hawks)

Key Off-Season Transfers: Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern), Evan Bates (Northwestern)

Last NCAA champion: Keegan O’Toole (2023)

Highest NCAA team finish: 3rd (2007)

Highest NCAA team finish under Smith: 3rd (2007)

Most national placers in a season under Smith: 5 (2009, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2023)

Prospective Line-up

125: Mack Mauger, FR
Mauger made steady gains after early true freshman growing pains. The Blackfoot, Idaho, native was 19-7, ending his season with a title at the Missouri Valley Open.  

Smith on 125: “Mack Mauger has been successful his whole life, and now he’s getting the opportunity. He had glimpses of good things. He won a couple of small tournaments and kept getting better as the season progressed. I kick myself because I never got him in a dual meet. He had a good spring and summer and did well at some of the freestyle events.”

133: Kade Moore, JR or Gage Walker, SO
Walker is moving up to 133 after filling in for Surtin at 125 last season, finishing 10-11. Moore, a two-time national qualifier, is the frontrunner after a 14-19 season. 

Smith on 133: "Gage has moved up and is a 133-pounder. That’s what we recruited him for. He made 125 for us. It’s whoever steps up. If we use Kade, we can redshirt Gage. Kade’s already been to nationals twice. They’re both pretty close, so we’re going to go with the best guy.”

141: Seth Mendoza, FR
Mendoza will likely start during his true freshman year. The Mokena, Illinois, native was a four-time Illinois state champion who was ranked No. 6 on FloWrestling’s Big Board. 

Smith on 141: “Seth has looked good this summer. He’s one of those kids who we think can do some great things. We’ll see early, but it’s the plan for us that Seth will go 141.”

149: Josh Edmond, SR, or Nate Pulliam, SR
Edmond, a three-time national qualifier, locked down the 141-pound spot for two seasons, reaching the Round of 12 in 2024. He has a career 63-35 college record. 

Smith on 149: “You’ll have Josh Edmond moving up to 149. Nate Pulliam will challenge for the spot.”

157: James Conway, JR
Conway started last season, compiling a 19-17 record and qualifying for the NCAA Championships. 

Smith on 157: “I look at where he is from last year. He won a match at nationals and had a couple of tight matches at nationals that he could have won. He beat (Cody) Chittum. He keeps making jumps every season. He just needed to evolve, and he has. He just puts the time in, and we’re expecting good things with him. He keeps making jumps. He’s beaten some of the elite kids before.”

165: Maxx Mayfield, SR
Mayfield transferred from Northwestern, where he was a three-time national qualifier with a 66-47 record. 

Smith on 165: “(Maxx has) been here a good portion of the summer. He and Evan Bates have blended in and are good friends, and are living with guys on the team. He’s part of the meetings we’re having and getting involved. He wants to learn and do individual drills — just putting in the time, and they seem to love it. It was a good fit for us. They love the way our guys love to learn. They’re enjoying it. That’s been a great fit.”

174: Cam Steed, JR
Steed is the lone returning All-American after O’Toole graduated. He went 5-2 at the NCAA Championships, finishing seventh with a 19-7 season record. 

Smith on 174: “Cam has taken on a leadership role, which is neat to see. I met with him every week. From where Cam was as a freshman until now, just as a personality, he’s growing into a man and living up to it. It’s just fun to see. We knew that would happen, but as a coach, you enjoy watching young guys grow into this leadership role. It doesn’t always happen, but Cam has taken it on, matured, and is ready to be the next guy. He has the talent, we know that. We want him to live the lifestyle, and he has.”

184: Aeodon Sinclair, FR
Sinclair was Flo’s top-ranked 190-pound recruit out of high school who redshirted last season. He went 2-3 in varsity duals at 184 and 197. He finished the season 8-4. 

Smith on 184: (Aeodon) lives in the wrestling room, and he’s a straight-A student. He could be there all day. We need to throw him out at times. He brings such joy to the practice room. He’s smiling. He’s asking questions. He arrives early. Playing kickball. Having a great time. He just loves wrestling. When you have a person on your team like that, it permeates everything. Everybody around him is smiling and happy. He’s just a joy to coach. He’s a connector of the program. He wants to lead the program. Even in his youth, he’s a leader of the program. He knows that and wants that. He’s the glue of the program because of his energy.”

197: Evan Bates, SR, or Colton Hawks, SR
Bates transferred from Northwestern after a 20-12 season and two national tournament appearances. He will battle Hawks, a three-time NCAA qualifier and 2024 Round of 12 finisher, for the starting spot. 

Smith on 197: “Colton is still recovering from a torn ACL. It will be a while before we get to see those two on the mat. Evan looks great. He looks huge, but he’ll make the weight. He’s been here all summer training. I haven’t hit the portal much, but with Elam leaving, I knew we needed to bring a 197-pounder now. We had to go get Evan.” 

285: Jarrett Stoner, SO or Jacobi Jackson, SR, or Sampson Stillwell, FR
Smith has three options, with Stoner as the favorite following a 20-7 season and a 4-4 dual record. Jackson competed three years in a row at Northern Illinois but didn’t wrestle for Missouri last season. Stillwell was a 2023 U17 World Teamer who trained with the Elite Accelerator Program for his senior high school season. 

Smith on 285: "It will probably be Stoner. He was ranked in the top 20 a lot last year when Seth Nitzell was out with an injury. It came down to the Big 12s when we made the decision. Jarrett has put more weight on; he’s 235 now. Jarrett was a 197-pounder and bulked up to heavyweight and took fifth at the U23 Nationals. He goes so hard and works so hard that it will be tough to keep him out of the line-up. 

"Jacobi is there, and another one who transferred in January. And then you have Sampson Stillwell coming in as a freshman and was on a World Team. He’s a talented kid who is 6’4” and 260 pounds. We’re waiting to see them battle it out in some matches and see how it goes. Jarrett seems to be the confident one. He’s in there all the time. I think he’s going to make a big statement this year and move up the rankings. 

"Jacobi has talent, but he has to be consistent. He’s all of 285 pounds. He is a big boy with a lot of talent. He didn’t get to wrestle last year, so we don’t know where he’s at in competition. I feel good about heavyweight. We have three good guys there. Somebody is going to jump out and do something. It’s going to be good.”