Penn State wrestling star PJ Duke no longer expected to compete at the Senior World Team Trials

Penn State All-American PJ Duke is no longer expected to compete at the Senior World Team Trials, which start Thursday. It is the final qualifier for Final X, which will set the senior Team USA for this year’s World Championships in June.

In response to a follow-up inquiry to confirm the accuracy of the following Wednesday afternoon social media message from the program’s official Twitter account, which reads:

“3 Penn Staters compete at US Team Trials tomorrow and Friday in Newark, NJ! Joe Sealey, Cole Mirasola and Zain Retherford compete…winners earn a spot at Final X in June!”

A Penn State spokesperson told BWI: “Only those 3 are competing.”

Duke and Connor Mirasola are still on the USA Wrestling entries list as having paid to register to compete in the 74-kilogram and 125-kilogram brackets, respectively, as of 5:10 p.m. ET on May 13. Duke is not in the pre-seeds, which came out on Wednesday night. Connor Mirasola still is. A handful of other Lions are, as well. More on that below.

Connor Mirasola could be bumping up to wrestle in his brother Cole Mirasola’s bracket. That’s because his usual weight of 92 kilograms is not being contested at the Trials. The Final X matchup at that weight is already set. A chance to wrestle Wyatt Hendrickson in the 125-kilogam Final X finals awaits the winner of that weight class at the trials.

Join us on The Wrestling Room to discuss the news!

Duke was one of the top favorites — along with former Iowa State wrestler and 2025 Senior Team USA member David Carr — to win the 74-kilogram Trials’ bracket. The winner of it will face former Nebraska wrestler James Green at Final X. Duke was also set to move up from 70 to 74 kilograms for the first time.

“PJ Duke is looking to get back on the world team this year, but this time up at 74 kg after making Team USA at 70 kg last year,” Jon Kozak wrote for FLO on Wednesday afternoon before predicting that the Penn State sophomore would beat Carr in the Trials’ title bout.

“Duke will be one of the most interesting wrestlers in the entire tournament to watch, considering he’s moving up in weight and considering we haven’t seen him wrestle since the NCAA Tournament.”

However, Carr (and others) will no longer need to deal with Duke, barring a last-minute change.

Penn State will still have a handful of connections at the World Team Trials

Shayne Van Ness, William Henckel, Josh Barr, Tyler Kasak, and Mitchell Mesenbrink are also out for the Trials, per the Penn State tweet. Each is qualified to compete in the tournament. But none will do so, barring a last-minute entry. The deadline is 7 p.m ET on Wednesday night.

Mesenbrink is the biggest surprise, of course. He would be among the favorites to win 74 kilograms, as well. The two-time Penn State NCAA champ skipped the US Open and the Trials. It is not clear why he does not want to compete this summer.

Without that group not on hand, Cole Mirasola (125 kilograms), Retherford (70 kilograms), Sealey (74 kilograms), and possibly Connor Mirasola will be joined at the Trials by incoming freshman Jayden James. The standout New Jersey wrestler will also compete in the 74-kilogram bracket.

The Trials start at 10 a.m. Thursday. They conclude Friday afternoon with the medal round.

Once it is done, June’s Final X lineup will be set. There, the winners of 10 best-of-three series will make the Senior Team USA for the 2026 World Wrestling men’s freestyle Championships. Three other NLWC members are already qualified for Final X. They are Levi Haines (79 kilograms), Kyle Dake (86kg), and Kyle Snyder (97kg).