NC State wrestling: 2026 ACC Championship preview

The postseason starts this weekend. NC State is set to travel up to Virginia Tech for the 2026 ACC Championship. All the action takes place on Sunday, and the final to be televised on ACC Network at 8 p.m.

The Wolfpack has finished first or second in 10 of the last 11 ACC Championships. NC State has also won seven ACC team titles since the 2015-16 season.

With seven ACC teams, only the top seed in each weight class gets a bye into the semifinals. Three Pack wrestlers (Koy Buesgens at 149, Will Denny at 165 and Isaac Trumble at heavyweight) all were awarded the top seed.

The Pack will start out with a mini-dual against UVA, as 125, 133 and 141 pounds are all NC State vs. the Cavs in No. 3 vs. No. 6 first round matches.

Here is a look weight-by-weigh at how NC State stacks up at the 2026 ACC Championship.

125 Pounds

NCAA Allocations: 5 | Coaches Panel Rankings: 5
Returning champion: Eddie Ventresca (VT – 2025)

NC State: No. 5 Vince Robinson (12-3) – No. 3 seed
Others Nationally Ranked: No. 3 Eddie Ventresca (VT), No. 9 Nico Provo (Stanford), No. 16 Kysen Terukina (UNC), No. 31 Keyveon Roller (UVA)

Pack Path: This weight class in the ACC is very deep as the top three will be in contention for All-American honors in Cleveland. Robinson has a tough draw in the first round in UVA’s very-athletic Roller, who has been ranked all year around No. 30. They did not meet in the dual as both teams sent out back-ups. If Robinson wants to win the ACC title, he will have to go through the two that beat him in the regular season in extra time – Provo in the semifinals (4-1) and Ventresca (3-2) in a rematch of last year’s ACC final.

133 Pounds

NCAA Allocations: 3 | Coaches Panel Rankings: 5
Returning champion: None

NC State: No. 21 Zach Redding (9-7) – No. 3 seed
Others Nationally Ranked: No. 7 Aaron Seidel (VT), No. 8 Tyler Knox (Stanford), No. 25 Evan Tallmadge (Pitt), No. 26 Ethan Oakley (UNC)

Pack Path: This is a big weekend for Redding. There are only three allocations at this weight, one of which he got, but there are four guys fighting for that third-place finish to get the last automatic NCAA bid – based off the top two are well above the rest of the field. Redding will open UVA’s Yarbrough in the first round. Yarbrough missed almost a year-and-a-half of action before returning in January. He was a 2024 NCAA Qualifier. They did not meet in the dual as the Pack sent out Troy Hohman instead. A win would push him into the semifinals against Stanford’s Knox, who got a close 5-3 win in the dual.

141 Pounds

NCAA Allocations: 5 | Coaches Panel Rankings: 5
Returning champion: Ryan Jack (NCSU – 2024)

NC State: No. 10 Ryan Jack (12-6) – No. 3 seed
Others Nationally Ranked: No. 11 Jack Consiglio (Stanford), No. 12 Luke Simcox (UNC), No. 18 Tom Crook (VT), No. 29 Gable Porter (UVA)

Pack Path: Jack scored a fall over Stanford’s Consiglio during the season, but his two losses put him behind the one-loss Consigilio and UNC’s Simcox. If Jack wants to win a second career ACC title, he will need to reverse a pair of ACC dual losses. One of the biggest upsets of the season was Jack’s loss to UVA’s Porter in the dual (4-2). If he turns that result around, he will match up with Simcox who won their dual match, 2-1. The winner would likely face Consigilio in the final.

149 Pounds

NCAA Allocations: 4 | Coaches Panel Rankings: 5
Returning champion: None

NC State: No. 8 Koy Buesgens (20-2) – No. 1 seed
Others Nationally Ranked: No. 7 Collin Gaj (VT), No. 11 Aden Valencia (Stanford), No. 23 Kade Brown (Pitt), No. 31 Wynton Denkins (UVA)

Pack Path: Buesgens was one of three Wolfpack wrestlers to receive the top seed, and will have a bye into the semifinals. He will await the winner of Pitt’s Brown and UVA’s Denkins in the semifinals. The other semifinal should be Stanford’s Valencia against Virginia Tech’s Gaj. Buesgens scored a major decision over Valencia in the dual (14-5), while Gaj scored an upset over Buesgens (6-0) to hand him one of his two losses this year.

157 Pounds

NCAA Allocations: 4 | Coaches Panel Rankings: 5
Returning champion: None

NC State: Luca Felix (8-11) – No. 6 seed
Others Nationally Ranked: No. 10 Daniel Cardenas (Stanford), No. 14 Ethan Miller (VT), No. 18 Dylan Evans (Pitt), No. 26 Laird Root (UNC), No. 30 Colton Washleski (UVA)

Pack Path: Felix will face the third seed, Pitt’s Evans. Evans scored a 12-2 major in the dual.

165 Pounds

NCAA Allocations: 4 | Coaches Panel Rankings: 5
Returning champion: None

NC State: No. 9 Will Denny (15-2) – No. 1 seed
Others Nationally Ranked: No. 19 Bryce Hepner (UNC), No. 32 Jared Keslar (Pitt), No. 33 Mac Church (VT)

Pack Path: Denny was one of two Pack wrestlers to go undefeated in ACC action, and one of three to receive a bye into the semifinals as the top seed. He will face the winner of UNC’s Bryce Hepner and Pitt’s Jared Keslar in his first career ACC Championship bout. Denny scored a 10-2 major over Hepner and an 8-3 decision over Keslar. If he advances, the winner of Stanford’s EJ Parco and Virginia Tech’s Mac Church await in the final. It was a close 6-5 win over Parco for Denny, as Parco bumped up from 149 pounds this year, and Denny didn’t face Church this year, as VT make a late-season lineup change.

174 Pounds

NCAA Allocations: 3 | Coaches Panel Rankings: 3
Returning champions: Matt Singleton (NCSU – 2025), Nick Hamilton (UVA – 2024 at 165)

NC State: No. 6 Matty Singleton (13-3) – No. 2 seed
Others Nationally Ranked: No. 14 Luca Augustine (Pitt), No. 22 Aidan Wallace (Duke), No. 30 Sergio DeSiante (VT), No. 31 Nick Hamilton (UVA)

Pack Path: Singleton is the defending ACC champion at this weight, as he was the lone individual champion for NC State last year. In first round action, Singleton draws Stanford’s Collin Guffey who he defeated 7-2 in the dual. Singleton’s semifinal matchup is likely No. 22 Wallace from Duke, and the two did not meet in the dual. Top seed Luca Augustine is the favorite to reach the final as he went undefeated in ACC action. Augustine handed Singleton his lone ACC loss this year. Last year, Singleton fell to Augustine in the dual, but got revenge in the ACC final.

184 Pounds

NCAA Allocations: 4 | Coaches Panel Rankings: 4
Returning champion: None

NC State: Don Cates (7-10) – No. 5 seed
Others Nationally Ranked: No. 15 Jake Dailey (UNC), No. 26 Chase Kranitz (Pitt), No. 28 Abe Wojcikiewicz (Stanford), No. 29 Jaden Bullock (VT)

Pack Path: In his final season, this will be Cates’ first trip to the ACCs. He defeated the two wrestlers below him in the pre-seeds and fell to the four above him. In the first round, he will get UNC’s Dailey – the highest ranked wrestler in the ACC but the fourth seed. In the dual, it was a 15-5 major for Dailey. The winner gets the top seeded Kranitz.

197 Pounds

NCAA Allocations: 3 | Coaches Panel Rankings: 3
Returning champion: Mac Stout (Pitt – 2025)

NC State: Patrick Brophy (7-4) – No. 4 seed
Others Nationally Ranked: No. 8 Angelo Posada (Stanford), No. 9 Mac Stout (Pitt), No. 11 Sonny Sasso (VT)

Pack Path: This will be a big tournament for Brophy. He did not allocation a spot for the ACC at this weight, and 197 pounds only received three. Meaning, Brophy must place on the podium if he wants and automatic bid, as an at-large bid might not be available. He enters as the fourth seed, and must place above his seed to guarantee a trip to NCAAs. The top three seeds in this weight class are all ranked 11^th or better in the country. His first match is likely an NCAA elimination match vs. UNC’s Platt. Brophy took their dual meeting 8-1. The winner will get the top seed Posada, a freshman from Stanford, in the semifinals. Posada secured a fall against Brophy in the dual.

285 Pounds

NCAA Allocations: 4 | Coaches Panel Rankings: 4
Returning champion: Dayton Pitzer (Pitt – 2025)

NC State: No. 2 Isaac Trumble (14-0) – No. 1 seed
Others Nationally Ranked: No. 17 Dayton Pitzer (Pitt), No. 18 Jimmy Mullen (VT), No. 23 Connor Barket (Duke)

Pack Path: For the second straight year, Trumble enters as the top seed. But unlike last year, he is not coming off knee surgery and enters fully healthy. He is the second Pack wrester to go undefeated in ACC matches and the third top seed. After a bye, he likely faces Barket in the semifinals. Trumble got an 11-3 major decision in the dual. The winner likely faces the winner of Pitzer, the defending champion, and Mullen.