Takedown Report

The Top 50 Newcomers For The 2026-27 NCAA Wrestling Season

Ranking the best 50 college wrestlers new to the 2026-27 NCAA D1 season.
The 2026-27 college wrestling season is still over two months away, but it’s never too early to start getting excited for next year! To help you better prepare for the season, I’ve compiled a list of 50 wrestlers who didn’t wrestle last year and are either making their college debuts or returning back to college wrestling after an injury or redshirt. 

The Top 10

I’m going to give my breakdown for each wrestler in the top 10 below, but if you want to see the entire list, just keep scrolling! It’s also probably important for me to explain my criteria before you start reading. The best way I can explain my criteria is in one word: VIBES. There’s not much of a science to this list. I put the wrestlers in the order of who I’m most excited to see wrestle and who I think could have the biggest impact on college wrestling next year. That means that your list will probably look a lot different than mine. That’s what makes these things fun!

1. Masanosuke Ono, Penn State – 133/141

How can a world champion who’s never wrestled a competitive folkstyle match not be #1? Yes, there’s still a ton of questions surrounding whether Ono will even wrestle and, if he does, what weight he will be at! However, Ono’s run at the 2024 World Championships, where he teched Vito Arujau and defeated world and Olympic champion Zavur Uguev, was historic. Combine that with Ono’s electric personality, and he has the potential to take the college wrestling world by storm this year.

2. Bo Bassett, Virginia Tech – 141

Bo Bassett is the most popular high school wrestler of all time, and for good reason. He’s a U17 World Champion, 3-time PA state champion, 4-time Super 32 champion, U20 World bronze medalist, and is currently in Final X, waiting to wrestle off Real Woods for the senior world team spot at 65 kg (oh, and he’s also on the U20 and U23 world teams this year). Bo has more hype than anyone who has ever entered college wrestling, and I can’t wait to see how he lives up to it next year at Virginia Tech.

3. Caleb Henson, Virginia Tech – 149

Staying in Blacksburg with Caleb Henson, who is returning to college wrestling after redshirting last year. Henson is a 3-time All-American who has placed 5th, 1st, and 2nd in his three years as a Hokie. As an NCAA champion, he has to be high on this list, but what makes it even better is the depth at 149 pounds this year. Henson will be battling for another NCAA title alongside Sergio Vega, Aden Valencia, Shayne Van Ness, and potentially Jesse Mendez. That’s 4 NCAA champions in one weight class – could this be the best weight of all time!?

4. Dreshaun Ross, Oklahoma State – 285

Now this is where my opinion really starts to affect the order of wrestlers on this list. I think Dreshaun Ross has the potential to be an NCAA Champion at heavyweight this year. When was the last time that was done by a true freshman at heavyweight? Now, I did make this list before David Taylor announced that All-American Konner Doucet has another year of eligibility. I’m going to stick to my guns though here and keep Ross at #4. I think he’s that good, and if he’s in the lineup over Doucet, he has the potential to win a wide-open heavyweight field that won’t have 6 of last year’s 8 All-Americans (only Ben Kueter and Christian Carroll return). … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/16122994-top-50-college-newcomers-for-the-2026-27-ncaa-wrestling-season?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

August 28, 2026 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | history, sports, wrestling