When Is The 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championship?

Oklahoma State will be the defending champion at the 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championship, which is set for March 6-7 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Jan 2, 2026 by Matt Cannizzaro

When Is The 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championship?

Though Oklahoma State is the most successful program in collegiate wrestling history, the Cowboys recently found themselves in a bit of a drought – until last season, when one of the sport’s biggest stars breathed life back into the team.

Two-time NCAA champion David Taylor took over as the head coach at Oklahoma State for the 2024-2025 season and found quick success, leading the squad to a 13-1 record, its first Big 12 title since 2021 and a third-place finish at the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championships.

Can Taylor and the Cowboys continue their rise back to prominence this year?

Well, the first big step will be putting their Big 12 title on the line at the 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championship, which will be held March 6-7 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The action will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

Also on the line, will be a coveted Big 12 title in each weight class and the opportunity to move on to the 2026 Division I Wrestling Championships.

Taylor, who starred at Penn State from 2010-2014 and later became a world and Olympic champion, took over for legendary Oklahoma State coach John Smith, the team’s leader from 1992 through 2024.

Smith led the Cowboys to 23 conference championships, five team national titles and 33 individual national titles, though the last few years were a little quieter.

The team’s most recent Big 12 championship – before 2025 – was in 2021 and the last of nine in a row. The last of OSU’s record 34 national titles came in 2006, completing a four-peat.

A few years later, Taylor and the Nittany Lions began their own reign of terror in collegiate wrestling. PSU now has won 12 of the last 14 team titles at the NCAA Championships.

More About The 2025 Big 12 Wrestling Championship

Last year’s Big 12 Wrestling Championship also was held at the BOK Center, a tradition that began in 2017, and a record number of fans turned out to see Oklahoma State hoist the championship trophy.

Total attendance for the 2025 Big 12 Championship was 21,309, surpassing the previous mark of 19,892, set in 2019.

The team title came down to the heavyweight finale, won by OSU’s Wyatt Hendrickson, to give the Cowboys the title for the 20th time in the 29 years the event has been held.

Northern Iowa finished second, fueled by individual titles in three weight classes.

Hendrickson carried that momentum into the 2025 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, where he took the heavyweight crown with one of the most shocking upsets in history. He became the first person in six years to hand Minnesota’s Gable Stevenson a loss in a collegiate match.

As a team, the Cowboys were not able to able to add to their legacy. They finished third, short of a record-extending 35th national championship, but it was their best finish since 2021. Penn State won the title for the fourth consecutive year, and Nebraska finished second.

The road back to the NCAA Championships began with the start of the 2025-2026 regular season in early December, and the slate will run through the last week of February. Then, the spotlight becomes brighter, as dynasties and legacies are built in the postseason.

The 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championship will be held over two days and four exciting sessions at the BOK Center.

The first-round, quarterfinal, semifinal and consolation quarterfinal matches all will take place during Session I and Session II. Consolation semifinals will happen during Session III. The event will conclude, and champions will be determined, during Session IV.

What Teams Compete In Big 12 Wrestling?

The Big 12 Wrestling landscape includes 14 teams:

2025-2026 FloWrestling Big 12 Conference Rankings

How To Watch The 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championships

The presence of Big 12 wrestling in the national spotlight continues to grow, and the Big 12 Wrestling Championship will return to ESPN+ in 2026. All of the action from the BOK Center in Tulsa will take place March 6-7.

It’ll be the conclusion of a record-breaking campaign that saw two regular-season Big 12 matchup broadcast by the ESPN family of networks, marking the first season the conference has had multiple matches on ESPN channels.

Iowa State vs. Iowa aired on ESPN on Nov. 30, while Oklahoma State vs. Iowa on Feb. 22 will be shown on ESPN2.

The Big 12’s first appearance on ESPN came when Iowa State and Oklahoma State battled during the 2023-2024 season.

Big 12 Wrestling Championship Schedule

ESPN+ will air all of the action from the 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championships on March 6-7.

All Times Central

*Subject to change

Friday, March 6

10 a.m. – Session 1 (Preliminary & Quarterfinal Matches)
5 p.m. – Session 2 (Semifinal & Consolation Quarterfinal Matches)

Saturday, March 7

Noon – Session 3 (Consolation Semifinals)
8 p.m. – Session 4 (Championship Finals)

What Team Won At The 2025 Big 12 Wrestling Championships?

Oklahoma State won the Big 12 team title for the 20th time in 29 opportunities, edging Northern Iowa 153.5-149.5.

The event was held at the BOK Center in Tulsa, as it has been since 2017.

Final Team Standings

1. Oklahoma State 153.5
2. Northern Iowa 149.5
3. South Dakota State 110
4. Iowa State 107.5
5. Northern Colorado 79.5
6. West Virginia 77.5
7. Oklahoma 72.5
8. Missouri 65.5
9. North Dakota State 58.5
10. Wyoming 58
11. Arizona State 43
12. Utah Valley 21.5
13. California Baptist 15
14. Air Force 11.5

Championship Finals

125 – Jett Strickenberger (West Virginia) dec. Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) SV-1 5-2
133 – Dominic Serrano (Northern Colorado) dec. Kyle Burwick (North Dakota State) 11-4
141 – Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) dec. Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State) TB-1 2-2
149 – Paniro Johnson (Iowa State) dec. Colin Realbuto (Northern Iowa) 5-4
157 – Vinny Zerban (Northern Colorado) dec. Cobe Siebrecht (South Dakota State) 7-4
165 – Peyton Hall (West Virginia) dec. Cam Steed (Missouri) 2-0
174 – Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) dec. Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State) SV-1 7-4
184 – Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) dec. Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) 8-1
197 – Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa) dec. Luke Surber (Oklahoma State) 4-1
285 – Wyatt Hendrickson (Oklahoma State) dec. Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)

2025 Big 12 wrestling brackets are available on Trackwrestling.

Revisit all of the FloWrestling coverage from the 2025 Big 12 Wrestling Championship.

2025-2026 FloWrestling NCAA DI Wrestling Rankings

Top 25 as of Dec. 22, 2025

1. Penn State – 134.5 points (Previous: 3)
2. Ohio State – 114.5 points (Previous: 1)
3. Iowa – 99 points (Previous: 2)
4. Iowa State – 88 points (Previous: 4)
T5. NC State – 65.5 points (Previous: 6)
T5. OK State – 65.5 points (Previous: 5)
7. Nebraska – 64.5 points (Previous: 7)
8. Cornell – 44.5 points (Previous: 9)
9. Illinois – 31.5 points (Previous: 10)
10. Minnesota – 29.5 points (Previous: 11)
11. Stanford – 27 points (Previous: 8)
12. Arizona State – 26 points (Previous: 13)
13. Lehigh – 24 points (Previous: 12)
14. Missouri – 23.5 points (Previous: 15)
15. Little Rock – 23 points (Previous: 14)
16. Virginia Tech – 22 points (Previous: 17)
17. Michigan – 20 points (Previous: 18)
18. West Virginia – 19 points (Previous: 15)
19. Penn – 16 points (Previous: 29)
T20. Purdue – 14.5 points (Previous: 23
T20. Wyoming – 14.5 points (Previous: 23)
22. SD State – 14 points (Previous: 22)
T23. Oregon State – 13 points (Previous: 20)
T23. Rutgers – 13 points (Previous: 21)
25. Maryland – 12.5 points (Previous: 25)

See the complete FloWrestling rankings here.

When Is The 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships?

The 2026 collegiate wrestling season will come to a close with the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, set for March 19-21.

The event will take place at the Rocket Arena in Cleveland.

Penn State is the four-time defending national team champion in Division I wrestling and has won the title 12 of the 14 times the competition has been held since 2011. The Nittany Lions have won in four consecutive years three times during the streak.

A team from the Big Ten has won the team title 18 consecutive times. The last non-Big Ten team to win was Oklahoma State, which won four straight championships from 2003-2006.

Results From The 2025 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships

Here’s the top 10 in the team standings at the 2025 NCAA Championships:

1. Penn State, 177
2. Nebraska, 117
3. Oklahoma State, 102.5
4. Iowa, 81
5. Minnesota, 51.5
(tie) Ohio State, 51.5
7. Cornell, 50
8. North Carolina State, 46.5
9. Northern Iowa, 45.5
10. Illinois, 44.5

Here are the results of the individual final matches at the 2025 NCAA Championships:

125: No. 4 Vincent Robinson, North Carolina State, dec. No. 7 Troy Spratley, Oklahoma State, 2-1, TB-1
133: No. 1 Lucas Byrd, Illinois, dec. No. 2 Drake Ayala, Iowa, 3-2, TB-2
141: No. 3 Jesse Mendez, Ohio State, dec. No. 1 Brock Hardy, Nebraska, 12-9
149: No. 2 Ridge Lovett, Nebraska, dec. No. 1 Caleb Henson, Virginia Tech, 1-0
157: No. 3 Antrell Taylor, Nebraska, dec. No. 8 Joey Blaze, Purdue, 4-2
165: No. 1 Mitchell Messenbrink, Penn State, dec. No. 3 Mikey Caliendo, Iowa, 8-2
174: No. 3 Dean Hamiti, Oklahoma State, dec. No. 1 Keegan O’Toole, Missouri, 4-1, SV
184: No. 1 Carter Starocci, Penn State, dec No. 2 Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa, 4-3
197: No. 2 Stephen Buchanan, Iowa, dec. No. 4 Josh Barr, Penn State, 5-2
285: No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson, Oklahoma State, dec. No. 1 Gable Steveson, Minnesota, 5-4

THE GREATEST UPSET IN NCAA HISTORY | Wyatt Hendrickson Defeats Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson

Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Hendrickson shocked the world when he upset Minnesota’s Olympic champions Gable Steveson.

Trackwrestling Has Joined The New FloWrestling

Trackwrestling officially has merged with FloWrestling, bringing its powerful tournament tracking tools and live data into a modern, all-in-one platform.

Fans can follow every bout with pro-grade brackets, mat schedules, team rosters and detailed wrestler profiles—all seamlessly integrated within FloWrestling.

This move delivers a faster, smarter and more connected experience for the wrestling community. Through the updated FloSports app, users can track live results, explore brackets and even sign up for free alerts so they never miss a match.

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