Penn State Wrestling 2025 Season Preview: Can the Dynasty Deliver a Fifth Straight National Championship?
Penn State Wrestling kicks off their 2025-2026 season in just 26 short days, and here at NittanyCentral we present everything you need to know heading into the year.
As the title states, one of the larger questions is whether or not the Nittany Lions can be the first program in 20+ years to win a fifth straight national title.
However, I’m going to save this for the very end of the article.
Because, look, there’s a ton of time between now and March. And a lot can happen in the next five months.
So instead we’ll take a look at the schedule and then turn it over to the roster and a rough-draft of the potential starting lineup.
Credit: Lloyd McCully
Then we’ll get to the real meat and potatoes of this preview.
Penn State Wrestling 2025-2026 Schedule
Credit – Lloyd McCully
Friday, November 14, 2025 – No. 16 Oklahoma vs No. 1 Penn State – 7:00pm EST (Bryce Jordan Center)
Sunday, November 23, 2025 – 2025 Black Knight Invitational – 9:00am EST (West Point, NY)
Friday, December 5, 2025 – No. 1 Penn State at Drexel – 7:30pm EST (Philadelphia, PA)
Sunday, December 7, 2025 – No. 7 Lehigh vs No. 1 Penn State – 1:00pm EST (Rec Hall)
Saturday, December 13, 2025 – No. 1 Penn State at No. 29 Wyoming – TBA (Laramie, Wyo)
Saturday, December 20, 2025 – 2025 Collegiate Wrestling Duals – TBA (Nashville, Tenn)
North Dakota State vs No. 1 Penn State
No. 12 Stanford vs No. 1 Penn State
Credit: Lloyd McCully
Saturday, January 10, 2026 – No. 15 Rutgers vs No. 1 Penn State – TBA (Rec Hall)
Friday, January 16, 2026 – No. 1 Penn State at No. 4 Iowa – TBA (Iowa City, Iowa)
Sunday, January 18, 2026 – No. 1 Penn State at Northwestern – TBA (Evanston, Ill)
Friday, January 23, 2026 – No. 26 Indiana vs No. 1 Penn State – TBA (Rec Hall)
Sunday, January 25, 2026 – No. 1 Penn State vs No. 30 Maryland – TBA (College Park, Md)
Friday, January 30, 2026 – No. 2 Nebraska vs No. 1 Penn State – TBA (Bryce Jordan Center)
Friday, February 6, 2026 – No. 1 Penn State at No. 8 Michigan – TBA (Ann Arbor, Mich)
Friday, February 13, 2026 – No. 5 Ohio State vs No. 1 Penn State – TBA (Bryce Jordan Center)
Friday, February 20, 2026 – Princeton vs No. 1 Penn State – 7:00pm EST (Rec Hall)
Thoughts
I have several thoughts when looking at this year’s schedule.
First and foremost is this: I really like how the season is laid out.
While the Nittany Lions are slated to take on 11 ranked teams, the beginning of the schedule provides a great opportunity for iron to sharpen iron.
Right out of the gate Penn State Wrestling hosts the Oklahoma Sooners in a prime time clash of wrestling powerhouses. And it’s in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Side Note Alert
Look, I thoroughly enjoyed the idea of the Penn State Athletic Department scheduling home duals in the Bryce Jordan Center. It’s been a huge hit since it’s been an every-year staple dating back to 2013.
But, when they scheduled two BJC home duals in the 2022-2023 season, I told anyone who would listen that there was no going back from there. Accordingly the athletic department has scheduled two BJC home duals the last three years.
And now they’ve scheduled three for this upcoming season.
Does the Bryce Jordan Center offer a unique environment? You better believe it does!
The energy inside of that place is incredible. The pyrotechnics, the top ranked matchups (usually), and the 15,000+ fans make it a one of a kind experience.
However, the view of the mat isn’t the greatest for the majority of the fans.
Additionally, the price of some of those tickets on the secondary market borders on the absurd.
To me, Rec Hall is the best college wrestling venue in the nation. Period.
And, I know Penn State basically prints money when they schedule a BJC dual. But that means they’re taking a home dual away from the best mat and the best home crowd in the nation.
Will there now be three BJC home duals going forward? Only time will tell … but I for one hope not.
</rant over>
What? Where was I? I blacked out for a minute.
Oh yeah, the schedule.
Penn State Wrestling gets to cut their teeth on the 2025-2026 schedule by taking on three top-16 ranked teams before the calendar flips to 2026.
The Nittany Lions also are set to compete in the 2025 Black Knight Invite. Which is always a great early season tournament to get a majority of the roster some action. Furthermore, it’s a fantastic way for Penn State Wrestling to settle some of the wrestle-offs at certain weight classes.
Then the team goes out to Philly for another tune up before hosting a dangerous Lehigh team. Following that, Penn State Wrestling hits the open road with an away dual in Wyoming and then the Collegiate National Duals in Nashville.
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B1G Schedule for Penn State Wrestling
The beginning of the 2025-2026 season sets up perfect for the Nittany Lions to figure out their starting lineup heading into the B1G portion of the schedule. Otherwise known as “The Meat Grinder”.
But by then the younger guys should have plenty of experience. Additionally, the seasoned veterans should be starting to hit their stride.
And the three B1G duals I have circled in Sharpie are the following:
Penn State at Iowa
Nebraska vs Penn State
Ohio State vs Penn State
Because you know for sure, there are going to be a plethora of top 10 matchups in those dual meets. Which is exactly what the Nittany Lions need heading into the postseason.
Penn State Wrestling Starting Lineup (maybe??)
There are potentially a handful of questions for Penn State Wrestling heading into the year. Especially when it comes down to the starting lineup. But instead of diving into those question now (I’ll get to this in another article shortly), let’s just throw out a possible starting lineup. However this will also come with several “Or’s”. Because you know me, I’m the epitome of decisiveness.
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Penn State Wrestling Starting Lineup
125 – No. 3 Luke Lilledahl (So)
133 – Masanosuke Ono (Fr) or Marcus Blaze (Fr)
141 – No. 9 Braeden Davis (Fr) or Marcus Blaze (Fr)
149 – No. 2 Shayne Van Ness (Sr? – Jr? – No clue, ask Jessi)
157 – PJ Duke (Fr) or No. 2 Tyler Kasak (Jr)
165 – No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Jr)
174 – No. 1 Levi Haines (Sr)
184 – No. 2 Rocco Welsh (So)
197 – No. 1 Josh Barr (So)
285 – No. 12 Cole Mirasola (Fr) or Lucas Cochran (Sr)
I may or may not be tipping my hand based on which guy I listed first. Obviously as the season plays out the Penn State Wrestling faithful will find out. But I still think there might be a surprise or two down the road.
Which now leads us to …
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Can Penn State Wrestling win a fifth straight national title?
If the primary word is “can”, then certainly they can.
Cael Sanderson has proved everything you need to know in the past 16 years.
For sure there’s a ton of things that have to play out right for the Nittany Lions. Namely keeping the guys healthy, sharp, and peaking at the right time. But the Penn State Wrestling staff has done a tremendous job doing that over the years. So I won’t doubt them for a second this season.
And looking at the rest of the teams in the nation, there appears to be only one school which could have a shot. And no, it’s not Iowa. It’s Nebraska.
But for them to even have a chance of toppling Penn State Wrestling then their younger guys will need to find their A game’s. And fast.
Guys like Kael Lauridsen (125 – Fr), LJ Aruajo (174 – Fr), and Camden McDanel (197 – So) will have to make a huge leap forward. And that’s just for Nebraska to even start to close the gap between themselves and Penn State.
Can they do it? Sure.
But with what Cael and his coaching staff have built in Happy Valley, I just don’t see any program coming close to overtaking them anytime soon.
Between the revolving door of high ranked recruits coming into the wrestling room, the insane gets from the Transfer Portal, and the goat-level of coaching, Penn State Wrestling is going to continue chugging along.
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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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