Previewing NC State wrestling at 2026 NCAA Championships

The NC State wrestling team will be sending seven of its 10 starters to Cleveland this weekend to compete at the 2026 NCAA Championships. The event runs Thursday-Saturday, and each session will be televised, and each mat will be streamed on the ESPN networks.

Session 1 and Session 2 will take place on Thursday, as each wrestler will have two matches regardless of outcomes, one in the opening session and one later in the evening. A win in either session advances you to Friday action.

The Schedule

Thursday, March 19
Session 1 – 12 p.m. (First Round) – ESPN2
Session 2 – 7 p.m. (Second Round & Consolations) – ESPN

Friday, March 20
Session 3 – 12 p.m. (Quarterfinals & Consolations) – ESPNU
Session 4 – 8 p.m. (Semifinals, Blood Round & Consolations) – ESPN2

Saturday, March 21
Session 5 – 11 a.m. (Medal Matches) – ESPNU
Session 6 – 6:30 p.m. (Finals) – ESPN

TV assignments are listed above, and every bout will be streamed on ESPN+.

NC State Thursday Matchup – Sessions 1 & 2

125 (Match #16)

No. 12 Vince Robinson (15-4) vs. No. 21 Conrad Hendriksen (Oklahoma – 15-12)

For those World Cup fans, Robinson is in the Quad of Death at 125 pounds. Four 2025 All-Americans, three 2025 semifinalists, the two 2025 finalists and of course the 2025 national champion. In fact, all four 2025 semifinalists are in the top half of this bracket. If Robinson wants to return to the final, he will need to go through the No. 5, No. 4 and No. 1 seeds.

Robinson opens with Oklahoma’s Hendriksen, who is the shortest wrestler in the field. Very hard to get to his legs, Robinson’s ride will be crucial in this bout, we might not see a takedown. If he were to win, it would be a rematch of the 2025 final in the second round against Oklahoma State’s Troy Spratley. Robinson is 3-0 all-time against Spratley, including a 3-2 win this year at National Duals. But they have gone in opposite directions since that meeting, with Spratley winning a Big 12 championship and he leads the Cowboys in ranked wins this year.

WrestleStat prediction: Robinson by 9-2 decision.

Winner/Loser faces: No. 5 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State – 16-3) or No. 28 Andrew Binni (Navy – 17-9)

133 (Match #37)

No. 22 Zach Redding (12-8) vs. No. 11 Tyler Ferrera (Cornell – 23-7)

Redding came to the Wolfpack for his final season and will be making his third trip to the NCAA Championships. It will be his first since 2023 when he was at Iowa State, his other was 2021. But his last trip he advanced to the Blood Round and was one win away from All-American honors.

After starting out the season 1-5, Redding won 11 of his last 14 bouts of the year. His third-place finish at ACCs secured the automatic NCAA bid. Up first he has Cornell’s Ferrera. The two did not meet in the dual as Ferrera was out of the lineup. Ferrera scored back-to-back major decisions to win the Ivy League title and is in the NCAAs for the second straight year. Should Redding win, he would likely face Iowa’s Drake Ayala, a two-time NCAA finalist at this weight.

WrestleStat prediction: Ferrera by 7-3 decision.

Winner/Loser faces: No. 6 Drake Ayala (Iowa – 13-8) or No. 27 Marcel Lopez (SIUE – 26-9)

144 (Match #44)

No. 16 Ryan Jack (15-7) vs. No. 17 Caedyn Ricciardi (Navy – 18-8)

Jack will be making his fourth and final trip to the NCAA Championships. He redshirted last year, but his last trip in 2024 resulted in All-American honors with a seventh-place finish. He was the fourth seed that year and went 4-2.

In his first bout, he gets Ricciardi, a freshman from Navy. Ricciardi recently placed second at the EIWA Championships. The reward for the winner will be top seed and two-time defending national champion Jesse Mendez of Ohio State. Jack and Mendez have history with three career meetings. Mendez won the first two which were close, but this year in the dual in Columbus, he beat Jack by 21-6 tech fall.

WrestleStat prediction: Jack by 7-6 decision.

Winner/Loser faces: No. 1 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State – 22-0)

149 (Match #63)

No. 5 Koy Buesgens (21-3) vs. No. 28 Kade Brown (Pitt – 14-8)

Buesgens is making his second straight trip to the NCAAs. As a freshman last year, he went 0-2 as the No. 20 seed.

This year has been a different story, as Buesgens has been ranked in the top five for most of the season, highlighted by an OT win over the No. 2 seed Jaxon Joy of Cornell in a dual. He opens with ACC foe Brown of Pitt, a freshman making his first trip to NCAAs. The two met twice this year, but close decisions by Buesgens. In the dual at Pitt, it was 1 4-1 win, then last week at the ACCs it was 6-2. Buesgens did not concede a takedown in either bout. The winner likely gets Maryland’s R-Sr. Young, a three-time NCAA Qualifier and a mid-season transfer from Oklahoma State that has spent time this season ranked in the top 10 himself.

WrestleStat prediction: Buesgens by 5-4 decision.

Winner/Loser faces: No. 12 Carter Young (Maryland – 15-4) or No. 21 Gabe Willochell (Wyoming – 17-8)

165 (Match #104)

No. 10 Will Denny (16-4) vs. No. 23 Chris Earnest (Kent State – 18-6)

Denny came into the ACC Championships on a 13-match winning streak but was not 100% and took a pair of losses to place fourth at ACCs. The showing seemed to have affected his seeding slightly as he enters his first trip to NCAAs.

He opens with Kent State’s Earnest, a transfer from Campbell and first-time NCAA Qualifier. He is coming off a MAC championship, Kent State’s first since 2022. He went a perfect 3-0 in his run to the title, notching a seeding upset in all three matches. The winner likely faces Lehigh’s Brignola in the second round. The senior deferred eligibility last year and will be making his third trip to NCAAs. He is coming off his first career EIWA title.

WrestleStat prediction: Denny by 9-4 decision.

Winner/Loser faces: No. 7 Max Brignola (Lehigh – 17-4) or No. 26 Tyler Lillard (Indiana – 12-9)

174 (Match #118)

No. 6 Matty Singleton (16-3) vs. No. 27 Collin Carrigan (North Carolina – 13-10)

Singleton will be looking to replicate the success he had last March this year. Last year he won his first career ACC title and then went to his first NCAAs and earned All-American honors with a seventh place showing. Two weeks ago, he repeated as the ACC champion and was rewarded with the sixth seed.

Singleton opens with ACC rival Carrigan of UNC. The two met twice this season, with Singleton winning both. In the dual, Singleton scored an 8-3 decision, then at ACCs got an 11-2 major decision in the semifinals. Singleton did not concede a takedown in either bout. The winner likely gets Iowa State’s Gaitan, a three-time NCAA Qualifier. He reached the 2024 Blood Round as his best showing.

WrestleStat prediction: Singleton by 10-4 decision.

Winner/Loser faces: No. 11 MJ Gaitan (Iowa State – 16-6) or No. 22 Brody Baumann (Purdue – 16-8)

285 (Match #170)

No. 2 Isaac Trumble (16-0) vs. No. 31 Brenan Morgan (Virginia – 13-10)

Trumble’s fourth and final NCAA Championships appearance will be one to watch. He is coming off of his first career ACC title this year and is one of 15 wrestlers nationally to enter the NCAAs with a perfect record. Last year he placed fourth, and that was after he tore ligaments in his knee in his second match. This year he is fully healthy, up around 10 pounds from his first year at heavyweight.

Trumble opens with ACC rival Morgan of UVA. The two met twice during the season, Trumble going for bonus each time. It was Trumble’s fall over Morgan in the dual that won it for NC State, and then in the ACC semifinals, Trumble scored a 13-2 major decision. Should he advance, he faces the winner of Army’s Colbert vs. Wyoming’s Carroll. Colbert was ranked 14th and Carroll was ranked 7th heading into their conference tournaments before both had disappointing showings.

WrestleStat prediction: Trumble by 14-4 major decision.

Winner/Loser faces: No. 15 Brady Colbert (Army – 18-6) or No. 18 Christian Carroll (Wyoming – 19-6)