NWCA Announces NCAA D1 Men’s National Coach of the Year Presented by Defense Soap
Manheim, PA – The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) has announced that Donny Pritzlaff of Columbia University has been named the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s National Coach of the Year, presented by Defense Soap.
Donny Pritzlaff was named Columbia University’s Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling on June 18, 2024, and has quickly elevated the program to national relevance. This season Pritzlaff guided the Lions to an 11-3 dual record and a perfect 5-0 mark in Ivy League competition, securing the program’s first regular season conference title since 1982. Columbia followed with a runner-up finish at the Ivy League Championships, producing three conference champions and qualifying six wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.
“Coach Pritzlaff has made an immediate and lasting impact at Columbia, guiding the program to historic success in a very short time,” said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. “Winning an Ivy League title and positioning his team for national success reflects his leadership, vision, and ability to develop … more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2026/3/21/national-wrestling-coaches-association-nwca-announces-ncaa-d1-mens-national-coach-of-the-year-presented-by-defense-soap.aspx
High School State Champions 2026
2025-26 Girls High School Individual State Champions List
With the high school wrestling season coming to an end, USA Wrestling has its final update of 2025-26 girls high school state champions. Across the country, more than 1,000 wrestlers won state championships.
Below is a list of each girls high school state champions. … complete list at … https://www.themat.com/news/2026/march/16/2025-26-girls-high-school-individual-state-champions-list
And …
2025-26 Boys High School Individual State Champions List
With the high school wrestling season coming to an end, USA Wrestling has its final update of 2025-26 boys high school state champions. Across the country, more than 2,100 wrestlers won state championships.
Below is a list of each boys high school state champions. … complete list at … https://www.themat.com/news/2026/march/16/2025-26-boys-high-school-individual-state-champions-list
TDR Top 12 awards update #2
Plaque Awards for the following schools have been mailed; Currituck County, First Flight, Franklinton, Manteo, New Hanover, North Eastern Carolina Prep, Northeastern, South West Onslow, Tarboro, and Wilson Hunt. So far 27 of the 44 schools have had their plaques presented, delivered or mailed out by this week.
2026 NCAA D1 Wrestling Transfer Tracker
Take a look at a running list of every NCAA D1 wrestler that has entered the transfer portal and where they have committed.
This offseason, we’ll be keeping track of every NCAA D1 wrestler that goes into the transfer portal and letting you know where they transfer to. The transfer portal for undergraduate student-athletes is open the entire month of April. However, graduate transfers are able to enter the portal prior to April 1st.
If you see someone missing or know where a wrestler is transferring, email me at jonathan.kozak@flosports.tv
Follow the listings at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/15701190-2026-ncaa-d1-wrestling-transfer-tracker
Wrestlers In The Transfer Portal Before April 1
| Athlete | NCAA Accolades | 2026-27 Year | Weight | Transferring From | Entered Portal |
| Ryan Crookham | NCAA All-American (3rd in 2024) | Grad Transfer | 133 | Lehigh | 3/26/26 |
| Massoma Endene | 3X D3 NCAA Champion | Grad Transfer | 197 | Iowa | 1/28/26 |
| Edmond Ruth | NCAA All-American (7th in 2023) | Grad Transfer | 184 | Illinois | 1/14/26 |
| Kai Owen | 2X NCAA Qualifier (Rd 12 in 2026) | Grad Transfer | 157 | Columbia | 10/1/25 |
| Brett Ungar | 2X NCAA Qualifier (Rd 12 in 2023) | Grad Transfer | 133 | Cornell | 3/2/26 |
Five Year AA and National Champion Totals
The 2026 NCAA Tournament provided an opportunity for ten wrestlers to earn NCAA titles and 80 to get on the NCAA podium. With 2026’s results still fresh, we’ve decided to look at the last five years to see how programs stack up in producing NCAA champions and All-Americans.
NCAA Champions (2022-2026)
Penn State (17)
2026: 4
2025: 2
2024: 4
2023: 2
2022: 5
Oklahoma State (5)
2026: 3
2025: 2 … complete listing at …https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/five-year-aa-and-national-champion-totals-r100915/
OSU First Team in NCAA History with Three Freshman Champs
CLEVELAND – Oklahoma State wrestlers Sergio Vega, Landon Robideau and Jax Forrest won individual titles at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships Saturday, making OSU the first team in history to record three freshman champions in one year at the national tournament.
All true freshmen, they claimed titles at 141, 157 and 133 pounds, respectively. It was just the third time a team has recorded multiple freshman champions, as Cornell College had two true freshmen win in 1947 and Penn State had a true freshman and redshirt freshman win in 2017.
OSU’s title winners were the biggest contributors to OSU’s team total of 131 points, which marked the third-highest score at the event in program history, the second-highest runner-up score in NCAA tournament history and a higher score than 12 of the 25 team champions since the NCAA began using the current placement point values in 2001.
“We had an awesome tournament,” coach David Taylor said. “It’s not something you’re typically proud of (getting second place), but it’s a stepping stone. You think about the progress we’ve made with a lot of young guys in the lineup, so it’s a pretty awesome season. I’m super proud of the guys, our organization, fans and supporters. All that to say, we’re going to keep getting better.”
No Cowboy contributed more than Forrest’s 26 team points, which broke Pat Smith’s 1990 program freshman record of 25 points (applying the current scoring model).
Vega and Forrest, who finished the season at 24-0 and 18-0, respectively, became the first true freshmen since 1947 to complete undefeated championship seasons.
Only four others in history have accomplished the feat, and all of them occurred in 1947 when many true freshmen who were already into their twenties competed after returning from World War II. None of that group, consisting of then-Oklahoma A&M’s Dick Hutton, Iowa’s Joe Scarpello, and Dick Hauser and Lowell Lange of Cornell College, won more than 15 matches.
Vega was the first Cowboy to claim his title, facing two-time defending NCAA champion, top-seeded and undefeated Jesse Mendez of Ohio State in the opening bout of the night.
Each wrestler scored an escape in regulation, and they took a 1-1 tie into sudden victory. Mendez got to a leg with less than thirty seconds remaining in the extra time, but Vega countered as he’s done all season to score a takedown with 22 seconds left and secure his national title. The win cemented a 24-0 season for the true freshman, who did not allow a single takedown all season. “That was awesome,” Vega said. “It hit me right away. It took them a while to call the takedown. It was awesome. I’ve never had a moment like that in my life.”
Fifth-seeded Robideau was the next Cowboy on the mat, facing defending NCAA champion and three-time All-American Antrell Taylor of Nebraska. Robideau opened the scoring with a two-point nearfall 25 seconds into the second period, then added an escape and stalling point in the third. He then held off several late shots from Taylor to secure a 4-2 decision and became OSU’s second true freshman national champion of the night.
Robideau, who has now avenged both of his season losses in this tournament, wraps up his season with a 21-2 overall record. “I was just super thankful,” Robideau said. “First, I’d like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. After that, I saw my teammates there supporting me. I saw my mom and my brother, and I thought of all the hard work I’d put in to get to that point. Having them there matside, supporting me, means a lot.”
Forrest, who was still in high school for the first semester of this season, wrestled in the main event to close out the tournament. He faced No. 2 Ben Davino of Ohio State in what many considered the final match of the most challenging weight class in the country.
Trailing 1-0 heading into the final period, Forrest used an escape, takedown and more than two minutes of riding time to secure a 5-2 win and cap his historic run. … more at … https://okstate.com/news/2026/3/21/cowboy-wrestling-osu-first-team-in-ncaa-history-with-three-freshman-champs
Blades, Hikiji, Jimenez, Rodriguez and Welker named finalists for 2026 USA Wrestling Anthony-Maroulis Trophy
Five finalists have been selected for the 2026 USA Wrestling Anthony-Maroulis Trophy, which is presented annually to the nation’s best women’s college wrestler—Kennedy Blades of Iowa, Erin Hikiji of Providence, Audrey Jimenez of Lehigh, Cristelle Rodriguez of Doane and Kylie Welker of Iowa.
Blades, Jimenez and Welker were champions at the inaugural NCAA Women’s Wrestling National Championships. Hikiji and Rodriguez earned national titles at the NAIA Women’s Wrestling Championships.
The award winner will be selected by a vote from three constituent groups—women’s college head coaches, national wrestling media and the fans. Each group accounts for one-third of the total vote.
Public voting is now open at usawrestlingevents.com/wcwoty and will run through Tuesday, March 31. The winner will be announced on Thursday, April 2.
Finalists were determined by the Anthony-Maroulis Trophy oversight committee, which includes representatives of USA Wrestling, college coaches, media, officials and past winners.
| The following criteria were considered when evaluating finalist candidates, using data from the 2025-26 season only:• Season record• Bonus percentage• Number of falls• Number of technical falls• Quality of competition• Integrity and sportsmanship• Impact on program and team success• Cultural impact on women’s college wrestling |
| The USA Wrestling Anthony-Maroulis Trophy is named after Victoria Anthony and Helen Maroulis, who are the first four-time women’s college national champions. Both women won a fourth WCWA national title in 2014 as teammates at Simon Fraser University, becoming the first wrestlers in history to achieve the feat.Previous winners of the award were Yelena Makoyed of North Central (2023), Adaugo Nwachukwu of William Penn (2024) and Kennedy Blades of Iowa (2025).USA Wrestling created the Anthony-Maroulis Trophy to elevate a new award for women’s college wrestling that has significant cultural impact seen with other college athletic awards, such as the Dan Hodge Trophy in men’s college wrestling and the Hesman Trophy in college football. |
Hayden Hidlay Returns to NC State Wrestling
RALEIGH – NC State wrestling’s first-ever five-time All-American is returning to Raleigh to rejoin the NC State wrestling staff, this time as an assistant coach, as announced by head coach Pat Popolizio on Tuesday.
One of the most decorated athletes to come out of the NC State wrestling program, a Raleigh reunion will be had with Hayden Hidlay as he returns to his alma mater.
Hidlay joins the Wolfpack staff after spending the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons as an assistant coach at Stanford, as well as the 2023-24 season at North Dakota State. Immediately following his graduation from NC State back in 2022, the five-year member of the Pack served as the student-athlete development coordinator for NC State wrestling.
“Hayden was one of the most impactful student-athletes we’ve ever had, not only just within our program, but both at the conference and national levels too,” said head coach Pat Popolizio. “As one of the winningest wrestlers in NC State school history, he was our program’s first-ever five-time All-American, all while accumulating academic accolades across the board as well.
He’s spent the last few seasons growing, as a coach and as a man, at Stanford and North Dakota State. Just days ago, he guided Aden Valencia to his first national championship as a 10th-seeded redshirt-freshman at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland.
Hayden will continue to instill our program’s culture that he helped build as an athlete. We are thrilled at the opportunity to have him back in Raleigh, back in the wrestling room that he accomplished so much in.”
Over the last two seasons, Hidlay helped the Cardinal produce tremendous results during their first inaugural years in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The squad is coming off a historic season with its highest-ever finish at the NCAA Championships in sixth place and the third national champion in program history, a wrestler whom Hidlay closely oversaw.
“I am honored to be returning to NC State wrestling,” said Hayden Hidlay. … more at … https://gopack.com/news/2026/3/24/hayden-hidlay-returns-to-nc-state-wrestling
Newberry Men’s Wrestling Awarded Thrivent Community Service Team of the Week
This week’s Thrivent Newberry College Athletics Community Service Teams of the Week is the Wolves Men’s Wrestling team. The Wolves men’s wrestling team assisted the Newberry College Admissions team with set up in preparation for Admissions Preview Day.
Thrivent is a membership-owned fraternal organization dedicated to serving the unique needs of our clients—guiding them toward financial choices that will help them live the lives they want today and … more at … https://newberrywolves.com/news/2026/3/23/newberry-mens-wrestling-awarded-thrivent-community-service-team-of-the-week.aspx
UMO Features 111 Student-Athletes on the Winter Spring Academic All-Conference Teams
MOUNT OLIVE – A total of 111 University of Mount Olive student-athletes were named to the Winter/Spring Academic All-Conference teams presented by Barnes and Noble College Thursday morning.
The Conference Carolinas Academic All-Conference teams consist of junior and senior student-athletes in the conference who have competed in a conference-sponsored sport and maintained a cumulative grade-point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale in all work completed at their member institution.
The GPA is calculated based on the cumulative averages of the student-athletes through the previous semester and each student-athlete must have attended their member institution for at least one academic year. … more at … https://umotrojans.com/news/2026/3/19/baseball-umo-features-111-student-athletes-on-the-spring-presidential-honor-roll.aspx
TDR blog
After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
Martin Fleming, Editor
Takedown Report
Takedown Report 