Brackets, Seeding Finalized for 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships
Mar 11 | Wrestling
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Brackets and seeding for the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships, held March 19-21 in Cleveland, have been released. No. 11 Rutgers wrestling will have nine competitors at NCAAs next week, the second-most participants at the national tournament in program history.
No. 9 in the bracket, Joseph Olivieri (141) is the highest-seed wrestler at the championships, while No. 11 seed Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) and No. 15 seed Remy Cotton (197) received top-half seeds to begin the tournament.
No. 21 seed Lenny Pinto (174), No. 26 seed Dylan Shawver (133) and No. 27 seed Hunter Catka (HWT) all return to nationals four the fourth time in their respective careers, with Shawver getting a rematch with reigning NCAA Champion Lucas Byrd (Illinois) in the opening round.
The opening round of the NCAA Championships begins at 12 p.m. ET from Rocket Arena. All six sessions of the NCAA Championships will broadcast on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU.
2026 NCAA Championships: Seeds & First Round Matchup
125: No. 24 seed Ayden Smith vs. No. 9 Maximo Renteria (Oregon State)
133: No. 26 seed Dylan Shawver vs. No. 7 seed Lucas Byrd (Illinois)
141: No. 9 seed Joseph Olivieri vs. No. 24 seed Nash Singleton (Oregon State)
149: No. 24 seed Andrew Clark vs. No. 9 seed David Evans (Utah Valley)
165: No. 14 seed Andrew Barbosa vs. No. 19 seed Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell)
174: No. 21 seed Lenny Pinto vs. No. 12 seed Carter Schubert (Oklahoma)
184: No. 11 seed Shane Cartagena-Walsh vs. No. 22 seed Zack Ryder (Oklahoma State)
197: No. 15 seed Remy Cotton vs. No. 18 seed Andrew Reall (Brown)
HWT: No. 27 seed Hunter Catka vs. No. 6 seed Nathan Taylor (Lehigh)
No. 9 in the bracket, Joseph Olivieri (141) is the highest-seed wrestler at the championships, while No. 11 seed Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) and No. 15 seed Remy Cotton (197) received top-half seeds to begin the tournament.
No. 21 seed Lenny Pinto (174), No. 26 seed Dylan Shawver (133) and No. 27 seed Hunter Catka (HWT) all return to nationals four the fourth time in their respective careers, with Shawver getting a rematch with reigning NCAA Champion Lucas Byrd (Illinois) in the opening round.
The opening round of the NCAA Championships begins at 12 p.m. ET from Rocket Arena. All six sessions of the NCAA Championships will broadcast on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU.
2026 NCAA Championships: Seeds & First Round Matchup
125: No. 24 seed Ayden Smith vs. No. 9 Maximo Renteria (Oregon State)
133: No. 26 seed Dylan Shawver vs. No. 7 seed Lucas Byrd (Illinois)
141: No. 9 seed Joseph Olivieri vs. No. 24 seed Nash Singleton (Oregon State)
149: No. 24 seed Andrew Clark vs. No. 9 seed David Evans (Utah Valley)
165: No. 14 seed Andrew Barbosa vs. No. 19 seed Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell)
174: No. 21 seed Lenny Pinto vs. No. 12 seed Carter Schubert (Oklahoma)
184: No. 11 seed Shane Cartagena-Walsh vs. No. 22 seed Zack Ryder (Oklahoma State)
197: No. 15 seed Remy Cotton vs. No. 18 seed Andrew Reall (Brown)
HWT: No. 27 seed Hunter Catka vs. No. 6 seed Nathan Taylor (Lehigh)
Players Mentioned
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