Greetings from Austin, where the temps have dipped into the frosty realm of 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Hopefully you're staying warm and enjoying the MLK Day weekend whever you are!

Week 11 Rankings | Week 12 Box Scores

Roundups: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11

And what better way to enjoy a federal holiday than by catching up on all the noteworthy happenings from the twelfth week of the 2025-26 NCAA D1 college wrestling season! 

The Dual of the Century of the Week

Panthers Manage Mountaineers in Backyard Brawl, 17-15

The West Virginia-Pittsburgh rivalry is alive and well in the wrestling world. This year's edition of the Backyard Brawl (the 68th dual between these two programs) lived up to the hype. West Virginia was up 9-0 after three bouts and 15-7 after seven. 

But Pitt would not be denied, as they won the final three bouts to complete the comeback and take the dual. Chase Kranitz, Mac Stout and Dayton Pitzer all came up clutch at 184, 197 and 285, respectively. #29 Kranitz in particular was the hero of the dual as he notched the only upset of the contest when he defeated #22 Ian Bush, 4-2. 

Chase gets the WIN over #19 Ian Bush 💪

WVU 15, Pitt 10 pic.twitter.com/um0VazjPyH

— Pitt Wrestling (@Pitt_WRES) January 17, 2026

A Friday night rivalry dual where the home team wins in dramatic fashion? Those are the hallmarks of a quality DotCotW. 

Pitt kept their momentum going on Sunday when they blanked ACC rival, Duke 40-0. 

West Virginia bounced back with a thrilling Big 12 battle against Oklahoma. Herorics were required from Rune Lawrence, who upset #11 DJ Parker to help clinch the dual for the Mountaineers, who won 19-17, in what was a contender for DotCotW. 

Absolute 𝙈𝘼𝘿𝙉𝙀𝙎𝙎!#HailWV pic.twitter.com/k4g4s0ivTk

— WVU Wrestling (@WVUWrestling) January 18, 2026

Another dual that was in the running for DotCotW was Wyoming's victory over Big 12 rival South Dakota State. That the Jackrabbits were also on the losing end of last week's DotCotW is a testament to how well the Jackrabbits have been wrestling, such that a win over this team warrants serious attention. 

Christian Carroll iced the dual for the Cowboys, who won 24-18 in Laramie. Wyoming was also able to defeat South Dakota State without the services of Joey Novak, arguably the best wrestler on the team. 

What a day it was in the UniWyo

A TRUE home-mat advantage

Thank you 🤠 nation pic.twitter.com/kWxOIgaIZb

— Wyoming Cowboy Wrestling (@WyoWrestle) January 19, 2026

Elsewhere in Dual Meets

Penn State Pulverizes Iowa 32-3. 

The most anticipated dual of the week was PSU vs Iowa, two of the most storied teams in the sport and the two most recent NCAA championship programs. 

Unfortunately for the Hawkeye faithful, outside of a mild upset by Nasir Bailey over Braeden Davis at 141, the dual in Iowa City went all Penn State's way. Additionally, Iowa was without the services of Massoma Endene, whose time as a Hawkeye came to an abrupt halt earlier in the week. 

Rocco Welsh handed Angelo Ferrari his first varsity loss in tiebreakers (Angelo's only previous loss while redshirting last season was to Carter Starocci), and Cole Mirasola had his best win of his college career when he defeated Ben Kueter 4-3. 

With Welsh's win and with Vincent Robinson losing to Nico Provo, Penn State could conceivably have six number one ranked wrestlers in their starting lineup. With just two seniors in the starting ten, there are no signs of this dynasty ending anytime soon.

It's Tourney Time

Ohio State had the week off, which left Iowa State and Oklahoma State as the other top five teams we've yet to comment on, and as it turns out, both blueblood programs were in Ames to wrestle in the Cyclone Open. Half the competitors in the finals were either Cyclones or Cowboys, with Oklahoma State winning four titles and the hometown team winning just one 

Connor Euton defended his starting gig at 165 by defeating his teammate, Aiden Riggins, 8-1. Another 'Clone, Manny Rojas, took third. 

But the headliner of the tournament was the recently enrolled Jax Forrest, who made his Cowboy debut last week. Forrest wrestled attached, and can wrestle in three more 'dates' and still be eligible to redshirt. That may not be necessary, as Forrest teched two opponents and pinned a third before beating 27-year-old Reineri Andreu of Cuba in the finals, 4-0. Andreu, a 2017 & 2019 U23 World champ at 57kg, is trying to gain NCAA eligibility and trains in Ames with the Cyclone RTC. 

Another RTC athlete in the mix in Ames was Tonny Cassioppi. The three-time All-American and two-time U23 world medalist won the heavyweight division. He also coaches at Wisconsin in his spare time. 

Jax is also a U23 world medalist, by the way, winning 61kg gold last October. 

Yet Even More Duals

This week, Coach Ayres unfortunately broke the news that Hunter Garvin and Lorenzo Norman had to end their seasons due to injuries, though both are expected to be back next year and to get medical redshirts. That bad news was compounded by a determined NC State squad, which beat Stanford 21 to 20.

Next man up for Stanford at 165 and 174 was EJ Parco and Collin Guffey, who wrestled #12 Will Denny and #5 Matty Singleton to decisions. Stanford also picked up a big win at 125, when the aforementioned Nico Provo defeated the returning NCAA champ, Vincent Robinson. 

NC State carried the day, however, thanks to a major decision by #7 Koy Buesgens over #5 Aden Valencia at 141. 

Elsewhere, Lock Haven was the unofficial team champs at the Davidson Duals, as they went undefeated in three contests, including a win over North Dakota State. 

Missouri recorded two impressive wins on a western swing that saw them beat Arizona State in Tempe on Thursday and Utah Valley in Orem on Saturday. Freshman redshirt Seth Mendoza also won the Cyclone Open at 149. 

Arizona State was able to bounce back with a win over Northern Colorado on Sunday. They also had a Cyclone Open champ in Cael Valencia at 174.

Lehigh bested two eastern rivals this weekend. Long-time EIWA foe Navy put forth a valiant effort but #7 Nathan Taylor was able to beat #13 Spencer Lanosga at heavyweight to clinch things for the Mountain Hawks on Friday. Then on Sunday it was a more comfortable 30-9 victory over Ivy League opponent Princeton. Ryan Crookham and Luke Stanich both went 2-0 as they continue their comeback seasons. 

Virginia Tech shut out App State 39-0 in a dual held in their performing arts center. Always enjoy seeing college wrestling in non-traditional venues. 

This location... are you KIDDING?! 😮‍💨#NCAAWrestling x 📸 @HokiesWrestling pic.twitter.com/fcMmPpFjMG

— NCAA Men's Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) January 17, 2026

Nebraska beat Minnesota in one of the more high profile duals of the weekend. That included a win by #4 AJ Ferrari over #9 Koy Hopke at heavyweight. AJ had been in the news again for legal issues but it appears everything has been cleared up and AJ is not expected to miss any additional competitions.

Michigan handled two in-conference duals, as they dispatched Rutgers 21-12 and battled Illinois to a 18-14 win. Ayden Smith got an upset win at 125 over Diego Sotelo for Rutgers, while Chris Moore beat #8 Brock Mantanona in a highlight for the Illini. Dy; an Ragusiin, Lachlan McNeil, Cam Catrabone, Beau Mantanona, and Taye Ghadiali all won two bouts this weekend for the Wolverines. 

Finally, shout out to Bellarmine, who six years ago was still a Division II team. The Knights picked up two wins by large margins, beating Presbyterian 50-3 and Sacred Heart 40-3. 

But What Else?

I thought it was noteworthy that wrestling finally got new dates when the transfer portal would be open. Previously, the portal would be open while the NCAA Championships were taking place, which was very foolish. 

Now, the transfer portal will be open on April 1 and will last for 30 days, which makes much more sense. Good job, rule makers!

Here's a Cool Video

In honor of Steve Mocco wrestling at RAF 05, watch the documentary Flo did on the bombastic heavyweight from a few years ago. 

Why Try? Ask AI

The Cyclone Open was hardly a preview of the Big 12 Championship, however, with Iowa State and Oklahoma State both there, it did make me curious about who would win Big 12s this year. 

So I asked ChatGPT: "Who will win the 2026 Big 12 wrestling team championship?"

And here's what the computer said in response. 

It’s too early to say with certainty who will win the 2026 Big 12 wrestling team championship, since the tournament itself hasn’t happened yet — it’s scheduled for March 6–7, 2026 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

However, we can make an informed projection based on recent performance and trends:

🥇 Likely Favorites

Oklahoma State Cowboys

• 2025 Big 12 champions — OSU narrowly beat Northern Iowa 153.5–149.5 to win the title in 2025, earning the conference crown in a dramatic final match.
• Historically the powerhouse of Big 12 wrestling with the most conference titles.
• They return into 2026 with strong momentum and experience under coach David Taylor, who has led the program to success in recent seasons.

Northern Iowa Panthers

• Runner-up in 2025, and were competitive throughout the season.
• Usually a top contender in the Big 12, especially when they have multiple individual stars.

🏆 Dark Horse Contenders

South Dakota State & Iowa State

• Finished 3rd and 4th in 2025 and could challenge if they improve in key weight classes.

West Virginia & Other Teams

• Have talented individuals (e.g., West Virginia champions in 2025), and a good tournament showing could lift them into contention.

📊 Projection Summary

• Most likely champion: Oklahoma State — based on recent performance, roster strength, and historical dominance.
• Next strongest challengers: Northern Iowa, followed by South Dakota State and Iowa State.
• Risk factors: Wrestling tournaments can swing on individual matches — outstanding performances or upsets in certain weight classes can shift team scores.

Pretty disrespectful to Iowa State in my opinion. It appears that ChatGPT just looked at last year's tournament and said that's what you can expect in 2026. Not very good analysis. Didn't even look at the current team tournament projected scores. If it did, it would see that Iowa State is probably the favorite to win Big 12s, though Jax in the lineup for the Cowboys could potentially change that calculus substantially. 

That's all for week 12. I hope everyone has a relaxing MLK Day, see you in a week!