Penn State Wrestling's Shayne Van Ness defeats Chance Lamer 12-5 in Penn State's dual meet against Nebraska (1/30/2026). Credit - Lloyd McCully
Penn State Wrestling is less than 3 days out from the wrestling action in the 2026 NCAA Championships.
Now that the brackets have been out for several days and all of the talking heads on wrestling have broken them down, let’s take a look at each of the Nittany Lions and project their path to glory. Additionally, we’ll highlight any intriguing potential matchups as well as any possible roadblocks.
Credit – Lloyd McCully
For this first installment of “Projection the Path”, we’re going to look at the grapplers from 125 to 157 pounds and see what potentially lies ahead in the 2026 NCAA Championships.
And away we go!
125
Luke Lilledahl (20-0)
Credit – Lloyd McCully
Intermat Rank: 1
NCAA Seed: 1
1st Matchup: No. 32 Mack Mauger (MIZZ) or No. 33 Jace Schafer (BLOO)
Intriguing Matchup: No. 8 Dean Peterson (IOWA) – Quarterfinals
Lilledahl and Peterson have now met a total of three times on the mat the last two seasons. And while Peterson did get the better of Luke last year, it’s been all LL this season.
In their last two matches, both decision victories, Luke outscored Dean 19-8.
Now, I do fully believe Lilledahl has Peterson’s number at this point. However familiarity can sometimes lead to upsets.
Possible Roadblock: No. 4 Sheldon Seymour (LEH) – Semifinals
Coming off his first All-American finish (sixth place) a season ago, Sheldon Seymour has bulldozed his way to a perfect 19-0 record. And the last time these two squared off was in the 2025 NCAA Championships where LL narrowly got past Seymour 3-2 in TB.
The 125 bracket in the NCAA’s always seems to turn into one giant landmine. Moreover this year could be much of the same.
So whoever Lilledahl faces from the quarterfinals and on could be a really tough matchup.
133
Marcus Blaze (21-1)
Credit – Lloyd McCully
Intermat Rank: 2
NCAA Seed: 3
1st Matchup: No. 30 Gabe Whisenhunt (ORST)
Intriguing Matchup: No. 2 Ben Davino (OHST)
Possible Roadblock: No. 2 Ben Davino (OHST)
Yep, I’ve really gone out on a limb on this one, right?
I have to be the only person in the entire country who thinks Davino could be a possible roadblock for Blaze. Seeing as how he’s the only guy to beat Marcus this year, I’m definitely putting myself out there with that prediction.
But here’s why I also have this circled in pen as Marcus’ most intriguing matchup: Will Blaze be able to land a takedown on Davino? Or will it go to yet another TB?
When going back and rewatching both of their matches this year, from my untrained eye, it looked like Blaze was maybe holding back a bit. Bidding his time. Now of course the pace was high in both matches. But it just didn’t look like Marcus was trying to really get to his offense.
So if these two are matched up again in the semifinals, then I’m looking for either guy to try to win the match in regulation.
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141
Braeden Davis (12-5)
Credit – Lloyd McCully
Intermat Rank: 13
NCAA Seed: 14
1st Matchup: No. 19 Haiden Drury (UVU)
Intriguing Matchup: No. 3 Brock Hardy (NEB) – 2nd Round
Every Penn State Wrestling fan knows how this matchup turned out early in the year. And I for one am very intrigued to see how Davis handles this one.
Possible Roadblock: Himself
Now look, don’t get the wrong idea here.
I think the world of Braeden Davis and his abilities. He’s already won a B1G title and he’s an All-American. So he knows what it takes to win.
But the difference between Davis and his second straight All-American finish all comes down to his confidence. This season hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing. Regardless, Braeden has all of the tools in the world and he’s a super fierce competitor on the mat.
Can he put everything together this weekend in Cleveland and make a deep run?
Anything is possible.
149
Shayne Van Ness (21-0)
Credit – Lloyd McCully
Intermat Rank: 1
NCAA Seed: 1
1st Matchup: No. 32 Clayton Jones (MSU) or No. 33 Austin McBurney (BRWN)
Intriguing Matchup: No. 9 David Evans (UVU) – Quarterfinals
Evans has proved himself on the mat this year. He’s 20-5 and finished third in the 2026 Big 12 Championships. Furthermore, he and Van Ness know each other very well as David was a Nittany Lion for five seasons.
If these two do square of in the quarterfinals, then it could be a very interesting match. But it could also be a really fun match to watch as well.
Possible Roadblock: Undecided
With how Shayne has wrestled this year, I don’t think there’s a single buy in the 149 bracket who can really push him. However, and this is a big “however”, Van Ness has put himself in some tough spots on the mat.
Now, is he insanely talented and was able to cruise to a win in each of those matches? Yes, yes he did.
But the NCAA’s are a different beast. One slip up and your quest to reach the top of the mountain could be over.
157
PJ Duke (19-1)
Credit – Lloyd McCully
Intermat Rank: 1
NCAA Seed: 1
1st Matchup: No. 32 Jeb Prechtel (BELL) or No. 33 Yannis Charles (MORG)
Intriguing Matchup: No. 8 Brannon Cannon (OHST) – Quarterfinals
I know what you’re thinking, “Hey Chris, we already saw this match. Plus it was less than two weeks ago. How on earth is this intriguing?”.
Great question. I always appreciate the feedback.
But hear me out here. Cannon was coming off an injury and nowhere close to 100% in that match. Additionally he and Duke have never faced each other before.
Cannon will be a bit healthier and he now has experience against PJ. So I think if these two matchup again, I highly doubt the final score will be the 20-7 blowout everyone saw in the B1G’s.
Possible Roadblock: No. 3 Meyer Shapiro (COR) – Finals
Shapiro is a two-time All-American (third in 2024 and fifth in 2025) and he’s wrestled a host of difficult matches this year.
Now, did Meyer win the Ivy League Championships? Nope, he sure didn’t.
But I think that makes him just a bit more dangerous. So if Duke and Shapiro can both plow their way to the finals, then I believe it could be one heck of a match.
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Education: Penn State University
Location: State College, PA
Even though he had no prior journalism experience, Chris has now covered Penn State Wrestling and Penn State Football for the past three years, including as the Penn State Wrestling Beat Writer for VictoryBellRings.com, part of the FanSided network.
And it's clear he also likes constant torture as he's been a PSU Basketball fan for way too long.
Several years back, Chris made the seamless transition from PGA Professional to computer programmer and thoroughly enjoys following and writing about all things related to Penn State sports during his spare time.
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