The 2026 U20 World Team Trials and U23 Nationals are set to go down in Geneva, Ohio, May 29-31. This will be an incredible tournament from start to finish and will feature many of the country’s best wrestlers. Check out the article below for a breakdown of some of the biggest storylines, along with my champion picks for both tournaments.

U20 57KG IS DEEP

Cornell’s Isaiah Cortez is sitting in the 57 kg U20 WTT finals after winning the US Open last month. In Vegas, Cortez defeated Grey Burnett in the finals (4-1) and also secured notable victories over Sammy Sanchez (10-5), Hayden Schwab (7-1), and Alex Rozas (10-0). Cortez has a huge advantage sitting in the finals because the 57 kg is absolutely LOADED with talent at the World Team Trials. 

Check out the wrestlers who will be in the field vying for the 57kg world team spot:

• Grey Burnett - Penn State Commit, ranked #1 at 126, 2nd at US Open
• Ariah Mills - Ranked #1 at 113, U17 world champ
• Antonio Mills - Ohio State Commit, ranked #2 at 126, 5th at US Open
• Dom Munaretto - Ohio State Commit, ranked #3 at 120, U17 World Champ
• Ezekiel Witt - Freshman at ND State, 2026 NCAA Qualifier
• Gauge Botero - Michigan freshman, 3rd at US Open
• Hayden Schwab - Northern Iowa Commit, ranked #5 at 126, 7th at US Open
• Henry Aslikyan - Michigan Commit, ranked #5 at 120, 4th at US Open
• Paul Kenny - Iowa Commit, ranked #6 at 132
• Rocklin Zinkin - OK State Commit, ranked #2 at 120
• Ronnie Ramirez - OK State freshman
• Rylan Seacrist - Arizona State Commit, ranked #17 at 120

This field is obviously incredible and will be a gauntlet for any wrestler to navigate and then defeat Cortez. Regardless of who comes out on top, this will be incredibly entertaining to watch and is likely the deepest bracket of the U20 Trials. 

The Aaron Seidel Show

Aaron Seidel is fresh off an impressive performance at the Senior World Team Trials, where he lost only to Jax Forrest (9-4) and defeated Austin DeSanto (15-4). To put Seidel’s win over DeSanto in perspective, the only wrestlers to defeat DeSanto in the past year are Jax Forrest, Ben Davino, Zavur Uguev (RUS), and Reza Momeni (IRI). The win over DeSanto propelled Seidel to #14 in the world at 61 kg. Isaiah Cortez sits in the best-of-three finals and will be a tough opponent for Seidel. The mini-bracket also has ranked high schoolers, Dean Anderson and Tommy Wurster. Despite the field, it’s clear Seidel is the man to beat at 61 kg in Geneva. 

Seidel's win over Austin DeSanto:

Who Will Challenge Bo Bassett?

Bo Bassett absolutely dominated at the US Open last month by winning both the U20 and Senior brackets. During his U20 run to the title, Bassett was EXTREMELY dominant, going 7-0 with 7 tech fall victories while outscoring his opponents 81-8. So is it likely that anyone will actually present a challenge to Bassett and keep him from making the U20 world team? No. However, there are a few wrestlers who are worth mentioning and could make things interesting in a best-of-three series.

The wrestlers that stand out in the U20 bracket are Kellen Wolbert, Tyler DeKraker, Sam Herring, and Arseni Kikiniou. Wolbert and DeKraker both showed signs of success in their losses to Bassett at the US Open, losing by identical scores of 14-4. Both were able to successfully secure a takedown and turn against Bassett before giving up big points and losing by tech. Now that they’ve felt the insane pace and pressure of Bassett, they might be able to narrow the gap.

Sam Herring is undoubtedly the most familiar Bassett of any wrestler in the field. A future Nittany Lion, Herring was Bassett's teammate since middle school and the two have spent countless hours training together. Obviously, Herring will have to navigate his way through a tough mini-bracket, but a Bassett vs Herring best-of-three could be a lot of fun.

Arseni Kikiniou is the final wrestler in the 65 kg U20 bracket who is worth mentioning. Kikiniou, still U17 eligible, made both the Greco and Freestyle U17 world teams last month for the second straight year. In 2025, Kikiniou became the first American to medal in both styles at U17 worlds, winning a bronze in Greco and a silver in freestyle. Yes, he’s a young underdog, but Kikiniou has all the skills to pull off an upset or two in this bracket. 

Bassett's run through the 65 kg bracket at the US Open:

Landon Robideau vs Melvin Miller

We thought we were going to get the Miller vs Robideau matchup in Vegas, but Miller was upset in the round of 16 and defaulted out of the tournament. That was notably after Miller finished 4th in the senior division and wrestled 10 matches in two days. A fresh Melvin Miller in Geneva is the favorite to win the mini-bracket and challenge Robideau for the World Team spot. 

Meanwhile, Robideau has looked incredible at 70 kg, winning the U20 US Open and finishing in third at the senior World Team Trials. Beyond that, Robideau is 2-0 against Miller, winning 6-1 at WNO in 2024 and 3-2 at the U20 WTT last year. Despite the losses, Miller notably closed the gap and secured the only takedown of the match in their meeting last year. If these two meet in Ohio, I expect a highly competitive series and would not be surprised at all to see Miller pull off the upset. 

Robideau's win over Melvin Miller at the 2025 U20 WTT:

Dee Lockett vs Jayden James

This might be the matchup I’m looking forward to the most in Geneva! Jayden James, still only 17 years old and a U17 world champ, put the world on notice a few weeks ago at the Senior World Team Trials. There, he defeated Michael Caliendo (8-3), Quincy Monday (pin), and Joe Sealey (10-0), while only losing narrowly to David Carr (9-7). With that performance, James already made the U23 World Team and will bring with him incredible expectations to Penn State next year. Even with all of that, James might be the underdog against Dee Lockett.

Last year, Lockett made the U20 world team by defeating James in two straight matches - 6-1 and 15-2. As the scores suggest, Lockett was a level above James last year, but it certainly looks like James has closed that gap. Beyond that, Lockett is fresh off a disappointing end to his NCAA season, where he failed to place as the #5 seed. How will Lockett respond to that disappointment? Has James jumped a level beyond Lockett now? We’ll likely have the answers to those questions this weekend!

Lockett's wins over Jayden James from the 2025 U20 WTT:

Coby Merrill - The Final Boss

Similar to Jayden James and Landon Robideau, Coby Merrill has had incredible success at the senior level over the past month, making him a favorite to win the U20 Trials in Geneva. At the US Open, Merrill pulled off the upset of the tournament by defeating NCAA champ and Hodge Trophy winner Mason Parris (8-1). Though Merrill lost in the semis to Demetrius Thomas and forfeited to 6th place, he went on to win the U20 US Open by defeating Michael Mocco (8-5) and Dreshaun Ross (8-6). On top of all that, Merrill finished in third place at the Senior World Team Trials two weeks ago with wins over Taye Ghadiali (13-3 and 6-0), Hayden Zillmer (4-1), and Cole Mirasola (13-7), while only losing to Isaac Trumble (3-0). Merrill’s pressure, strength, and positioning overwhelm his opponents and make him a brutal matchup for anyone in the 125 kg bracket. 

Though Merrill has been incredibly impressive over the past month, he’s not a lock to make the world team. The field is DEEP, with #2 Dreshaun Ross, #3 Dean Bechtold, and #4 Michael Mocco all in the bracket as worthy contenders. Both Ross and Mocco had competitive matches against Merrill, and Bechtold beat Mocco in Vegas (7-3). Of these three contenders, Ross is the most likely to make it to Merrill and likely poses the biggest threat. Ross is 3-1 in his career against Merrill, with all of those victories occurring in a three-month span last season. Ross was also beginning to figure things out against Merrill, coming on late after going down 8-2 early. With that in mind, no one should be surprised if Ross takes out Merrill at the Trials.

Merrill's win over Ross from the 2026 US Open Finals:

Troy Spratley Back In Freestyle

With all of Spratley’s success in college, people might forget how good his freestyle game is. Sprately won the U20 US Open in 2022 and finished second at the U20 WTT in both 2022 and 2023. Who were the wrestlers he lost to in those years? Jore Volk (2022) and Luke Lilledahl (2023). Lilledahl would go on to win U20 world silver in 2023, and Volk won a U20 world title in 2022. In fact, Spratley defeated Volk in one match of their 3 match series. On top of that, Spratley also defeated both Bo Bassett and Jax Forrest at the 2023 U20 WTT. All of that to say, Spratley’s is a world-class freestyler, and it will be great to see him back after a 3-year layoff.

Spratley's win over Jax Forrest from the 2023 U20 WTT:

Bouzakis Bombs Incoming

Nic Bouzakis will be back in action for the first time since his disappointing end to the 2026 season. Since then, Bouzakis has been vocal about the challenging cut to 125 pounds and is now registered at 61 kg for U23 Nationals. Bouzakis is always incredibly entertaining and is especially fun to watch in freestyle. Back at full-feed, we should expect some big highlights from Bouzakis in Geneva.

Casey Swiderski and Ethan Stiles at 74 kg?!

Are Swiderski and Stiles planning on wrestling 165 pounds next year? Or is this just them wrestling fat and happy in the off-season? We’ll find out in Ohio, but it might make sense both for OK State and Ohio State’s lineup next year to have Swiderski and Stiles up at 165. All signs point to Sergio Vega moving up to 149, and Robideau has locked down 157 for the Cowboys. That leaves 165 as the only option for Swiderski. Stiles started his career at 157 before cutting down to 149 pounds. If he’s grown out of 149, 165 is likely the only option for Stiles with teammate Brandon Cannon at 157 pounds. 

U23 Nationals will be a great litmus test for both Swiderski and Stiles. With about 150 wrestlers in the bracket, they’ll wrestle a minimum of 7 matches in a two-day span. Beyond that, the field is loaded with All-Americans Cross Wasilewski and Nicco Ruiz, along with NCAA qualifiers Bryce Lowery, Dylan Evans, Jared Keslar, Jonathan Ley, Logan Messer, and Tyler Lillard. We’ll know whether or not Swiderski and Stiles will be as effective up in weight. 

Connor Mirasola’s Heavyweight Debut

Keeping with the theme of weight changes, Connor Mirasola at 125 kgs was perhaps the most surprising entry of the tournament. Mirasola has been wrestling 197 pounds and even had success at 86 kg two years ago. However, with Josh Barr at 197 and having likely outgrown 184, the best option for Mirasola to start is at heavyweight. The “problem” here - Connor’s twin brother Cole, is also at heavyweight and has been building up to the weight for at least two years. With Koy Hopke, Juan Mora, Aden Attao, and others in the field, we’ll quickly find out whether or not Connor Mirasola is ready for heavyweight. 

Mirasola's win in the bronze medal match at the 2025 U20 World Championships:

CHAMPION PICKS

U20s

57 kg - Isaiah Cortez

61 kg - Aaron Seidel

65 kg - Bo Bassett

70 kg - Landon Robideau

74 kg - Jayden James

79 kg - Ryan Burton

86 kg - Aeoden Sinclair

92 kg - Ladd Holman

97 kg - Michael Boyle

125 kg - Dreshaun Ross

U23s

57 kg - Troy Spratley

61 kg - Nic Bouzakis

65 kg - Pierson Manville

70 kg - Jordan Williams

74 kg - Nicco Ruiz

79 kg - Hunter Garvin

86 kg - Bennett Berge

92 kg - Mac Stout

97 kg - Cam McDanel

125 kg - Koy Hopke