UI Athletics news release
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee announced the pre-allocation spots for the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Thursday.
The Big Ten Conference was awarded 87 of the 288 automatic qualifying bids – the most of any conference. Those allocations are broken down by weight class below and represent how many Big Ten placewinners at each weight will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships.
The Big Ten allocations are as follows: 125: 9; 133: 8; 141: 7; 149: 9; 157: 8; 165: 9; 174: 10; 184: 8; 197: 10; 285: 9.
The Big Ten Championships take place March 7-8 in University Park, Pa.
Each qualifying tournament was awarded pre-allocations to the national tournament based on regular season performance by conference wrestlers through February 21. The pre-allocations were determined by using a sliding scale of the three standards, win percentage, coaches’ rank, and RPI ranking; while never going below the base of .700 winning percentage, top 30 coaches’ ranking and top 30 RPI ranking until reaching the maximum of 29 wrestlers per weight class.
For each wrestler that reached the threshold in at least two of the three categories, his conference tournament was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class. Each conference is awarded a minimum of one automatic qualification per weight class, which will go to the tournament champion, even if they did not have any wrestlers reach at least two of the three thresholds. NCAA championship spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at conference tournaments based solely on place-finish.
After all the conference tournaments have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 43 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 11, while brackets and seeding will be announced on NCAA.com at 8 p.m. on March 12. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers.
Additionally, the NCAA released the third coaches rankings and second RPI of the season.
Hawkeyes in the 2026 Coaches Rankings/RPI
125 – Dean Peterson 7/–
133 – Drake Ayala 8/–
141 – Nasir Bailey 11/4
149 – Ryder Block 15/11
165 – Michael Caliendo 3/3
174 – Patrick Kennedy 3/2
285 – Ben Kueter 10/–
2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Allocations
| Conference | 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 184 | 197 | 285 | Total |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 39 |
| Big 12 Conference | 5 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 63 |
| Big Ten Conference | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 87 |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 26 |
| Ivy League | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 23 |
| Mid-American Conference | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 27 |
| Pacific-12 Conference | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
| Southern Conference | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Pre-Allocations | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 288 |
| At-Large | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 42 |