Wrestling No. 11 in Final NWCA Coaches Poll
Feb 25 | Wrestling
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – For the second consecutive year, Rutgers wrestling is No. 11 in the final NWCA Coaches Poll of the regular season. The Scarlet Knights tallied a 14-5 dual record in 2025-26, which included a 5-3 record in conference action to help RU secure its highest regular season Big Ten finish (T3rd) in program history.
Closing the regular season with a six-match win streak, which included a victory over No. 6 Minnesota, Rutgers secured 14 or more dual wins in a season for the ninth time under head coach Scott Goodale. The program has posted double-digit dual wins in 17 out of 19 seasons since Goodale took over the program in 2007.
Along with its first-ever win over the Golden Gophers, the Scarlet Knights secured notable victories against in-state rivals Rider (21-12) and Princeton (28-9), as well as conference wins over Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern and Purdue. RU's five losses all came against ranked foes, including three teams that finished the season within the NWCA top 10 – No. 1 Penn State, No. 8 NC State and No. 10 Illinois.
Since 2009-10, Rutgers has finished ranked within the NWCA Coaches Poll 14 times, including five consecutive top 25 finishes dating back to the 2021-22 campaign. This year's No. 11 final ranking marks the fifth time the program has finished ranked amongst the top 12 during Goodale's tenure.
Individually, all 10 starters went wire to wire ranked by Intermat to close the regular season. The Scarlet Knights were one of just six schools to have all of their starters ranked in Intermat's latest top 33, joining No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Iowa State and No. 6 Virginia Tech.
With a perfect 15-0 record, Joseph Olivieri (141) is the highest ranked individual for RU heading into the postseason, appearing as high as No. 6 (Intermat/The Open Mat/WIN Magazine). Five wrestlers – Olivieri, No. 15 Remy Cotton (197), No. 17 Andrew Barbosa (165), No. 18 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184), No. 19 Hunter Catka (HWT) and No. 20 Lenny Pinto (174) – own top 20 Intermat rankings.
| Wrestler | Intermat | FloWrestling | The Open Mat | AWN | WIN |
| Ayden Smith (125) | 23 | 26 | --- | 19 | --- |
| Dylan Shawver (133) | 24 | 32 | --- | --- | --- |
| Joseph Olivieri (141) | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| Andrew Clark (149) | 28 | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Anthony White (157) | 24 | 28 | --- | --- | --- |
| Andrew Barbosa (165) | 17 | 21 | 15 | 14 | --- |
| Lenny Pinto (174) | 20 | 23 | --- | 19 | --- |
| Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) | 18 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 19 |
| Remy Cotton (197) | 15 | 17 | 14 | 18 | 17 |
| Hunter Catka (HWT) | 19 | 19 | 19 | --- | 19 |
The final coaches ranking and first Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be released on Thursday. The coaches' ranking and RPI are two of several criteria that will be evaluated by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee during the at-large selection and seeding process along with head-to-head competition, quality wins, conference tournament placement, results versus common opponents and win percentage.
Rutgers sends all 10 starters to compete at the 2026 Big Ten Championships March 7-8 in State College, Pennsylvania. The 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships take place March 19-21 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.
Players Mentioned
