Takedown Report

High School On SI Releases First Look at 2026-27 Boys National High School Wrestling Rankings

With the Class of 2026 graduated, Version 1 of our boys national preseason rankings welcome a new wave of contenders, including standout incoming freshmen, as the road to the 2026-27 season begins.
With Bo Bassett, one of the best high school wrestlers of a generation now officially off to the next level, Florida wrestler Lincoln Sledzianowski of St. John Neumann has taken over the nation’s No. 1 ranking at 144. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
The road to the 2026-27 high school wrestling season begins with Version 1 of the High School On SI National Rankings. With the Class of 2026 now graduated, this preseason update resets every weight class, welcomes the nation’s top incoming freshmen and provides the first snapshot of where the country’s best wrestlers stand heading into the new season.

A Fresh Start for a New Season

We will drop a new version in August and another later in the month as we being the process of moving wrestlers into their expected weight classes. For this initial release, wrestlers remain at the weight classes they competed in at the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals in Fargo. Weight-class adjustments will come later this month as wrestlers settle into their expected weights for the high school season. The other neat thing is that it allows you to see how the weights ended up with the seniors removed. Removing the graduating seniors created opportunities for wrestlers who emerged during the spring and summer to enter the rankings.

Building the Rankings

This was step one of building the new rankings. I need to do it in stages since The remaining preseason releases will also coincide with the release of High School On SI’s preseason girls national rankings. Each weight class includes 30 ranked wrestlers. Honorable mention lists will continue to expand as additional preseason evaluations are completed, particularly in the upper weights.
Our intent with the higher weights was to get to 30, but doing that research revealed other paths that needed to be traveled. The other factor with not filling up the honorable mention slots right away is that it allows the list to grow more naturally instead of hunting people down to fill it out. … more at … https://www.si.com/high-school/wrestling/high-school-on-si-releases-first-look-at-2026-27-boys-national-high-school-wrestling-rankings-01kzd0f8yffv?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

August 27, 2026 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | life, sports