Every NCAA wrestling championship since 2007 years has been won by a Big Ten team. This year, much like the last several years, those top teams will get prime TV coverage by the conference's corresponding broadcast source — the Big Ten Network.
Here are some of the biggest duals to watch on the network this season as well as a the notable nonconference showdowns that will also be shown by the Big Ten Network.
Nonconference bout between Hawks and Cardinal kick off the season
The Big Ten's first live dual of the season will feature Iowa vs. Stanford, an unusual matchup on paper but one that should yield some fascinating, high-level individual bouts. Stanford has a stacked roster this year with eight ranked wrestlers, including three in the top-15, two of whom — No. 3 Hunter Garvin and No. 13 Jaden Abas — are previous All-Americans. Against the Hawks, Stanford will be favored in just two matches, though, neither of which feature those All-Americans: 125 and 141 pounds.
Who want it?
— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling)
Iowa's biggest strength comes from the fact that all of its eight ranked athletes sit in the top 11, making it difficult to find a weakness for the Hawkeyes outside of those two lightweights. That doesn't mean they won't be tested, however. No. 2 Mikey Caliendo will have a top-five battle at 165 pounds in Stanford's No. 3 Hunter Garvin, and No. 4 Kyle Parco could see a familiar foe in No. 13 Abas of Stanford at 149 pounds. Abas and Parco wrestled four times already in their careers when Parco was in the Pac-12 wrestling for Arizona State, with Parco winning all four bouts, though their last two matches was significantly closer with Parco earning a 5-1 decision and a 2-1 decision, respectively. Abas will now enter his second year under the Stanford coaching staff led by Chris Ayres, and another year with this new leadership might be exactly what the veteran middleweight needs.
This dual will be Iowa's second of the season, with the first coming against Oregon State, and while the Hawkeyes will be favored, Stanford shouldn't be underestimated. Iowa fans expect to come to Carver-Hawkeye to see a dominant show, and while the team has the potential to deliver just that, this Cardinal squad is deep.
First January Big Ten Saturday dual of the year features 20 ranked wrestlers
Only one dual meet this season scheduled for the Big Ten Network right now is set to feature two teams will all 10 ranked wrestlers — and it's not Penn State vs. Iowa or Michigan vs. Ohio State.
Instead, it's Nebraska vs. Minnesota, two midwestern programs with deep histories and team trophy aspirations this season.
The Huskers will welcome Minnesota on Jan. 11 at 4:30 p.m. for what is expected to be a nail-bitter of a dual. Nebraska has six wrestlers of its ten Top 33 wrestlers in the top 10, and Minnesota has five. If the match goes in weight ascending order, viewers will be treated to a likely barnburner match early between All-American No. 4 Caleb Smith and new Gopher No. 10 Cooper Flynn, formerly of Virginia Tech. The 125-pound weight class is always unpredictable, and it would be the perfect weight to start this intense matchup.
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At 133 pounds, we could see No. 13 Tyler Wells of Minnesota vs. No. 14 Jacob Van Dee for another top-15 match, followed by No. 4 Brock Hardy of Nebraska against No. 6 All-American Vance Vombaur of Minnesota. Last year, Wells majored Van Dee 11-2 at the NCAA tournament, and Hardy majored Vombaur 10-2 at the Big Ten tournament. Bonus points will matter in this dual.
Intensity is expected to continue into the upperweights where Nebraska will have options with regards to who to send out against the Gophers at 174, 184 and 197 pounds. Currently, the Huskers have No. 27 Christopher Minto listed at 174 pounds, No. 9 Lenny Pinto at 184 pounds and 2023 Big Ten champion Silas Allred at 197 pounds, though Pinto and Allred are expected to slide down to 174 and 184 pounds respectively, making room for freshman Camden McDanel at 197 pounds. This change does denial fans an Allred vs. 2024 Big Ten champion Isaiah Salazar matchup in the Minnesota dual at 197 pounds, but if the Huskers are making this move, it must be because they believe in McDanel.
Some of the conference matchups this season may lend themselves to lopsided results, but this is not expected to be one of those matches. Every point, every takedown and every weight will be critical here. This is a match to look forward to on the first weekend of Big Ten conference wrestling.
Penn State headlines Feb. 7's triple-header, 5 double-header Friday night duals
Circle Feb. 7 on your calendar. This is the only Friday of the season in which the Big Ten will carry back-to-back-to-back duals, showcasing wrestling from 6 p.m. to midnight. Michigan and Penn State start the evening with their 6 p.m. battle in University Park, where the Nittany Lions will be favored in eight weights. Last year, Penn State did in fact win eight of the 10 bouts and topped Michigan 27-9 with losses at 174 pounds 7-3 and a loss at 133 pounds by fall.
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The Nittany Lions lineup looks different at both 133 and 174 pounds this year. No. 11 Braeden Davis is in for All-American Aaron Nagao at 133 pounds after winning the Big Ten championship at 125 pounds last year, and Levi Haines is replacing Terrell Barraclough (who wrestled in last year's Michigan dual) and Penn State's four-time national champion starter Carter Starocci at 174 pounds after winning a title at 157 pounds in 2024. This lineup change will give the Nittany Lions the edge at 174 pounds, though Davis will still be an underdog against Michigan's All-American Dylan Ragusin.
Any path to victory for Michigan will involve Ragusin winning at 133 pounds, All-American Jacob Cardenas winning at 197 pounds and Sergio Lemley picking up an upset win at 141 pounds, but all three of those athletes would need bonus plus along with likely another unexpected upset for this bout to be close. The Nittany Lion squad is just so stacked with bonus potential of their own.
Michigan will wrestle on the five times this season. Those match times are set. ⤵️
— Michigan Wrestling (@umichwrestling)
Following the Penn State vs. Michigan dual, Nebraska will take on Iowa in Iowa City, bringing all 10 of the ranked Huskers into Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Last year, Nebraska was favored in five weights heading into this bout and ended up dropping, 22-10. This time, the Huskers have the advantage on paper in just two weights, though they'll still pose a challenge in ranked bouts at 133 pounds, 149 pounds, 157 pounds and 184 pounds.
The 149-pound match is particularly fun because it could feature a rematch from last year between No. 4 Kyle Parco and No. 5 Ridge Lovett of Nebraska. Parco delivered Lovett his lone regular season loss in this bout last season and then beat the Husker again at the NCAA tournament, but both matches were close. Parco's decision to transfer to Iowa and join the Big Ten means we could see this rematch in this dual, at the Big Ten tournament and again, possibly, at the NCAA tournament. This first meeting will be an important opportunity for both athletes to test themselves against the best heading into the final stretch of the dual season.
Purdue vs. Wisconsin will close out the Big Ten Network triple-header with a 10 p.m. battle in Madison. This matchup includes only one ranked match — No. 5 Matt Ramos vs. Wisconsin's No. 31 Nicolar Rivera — but the dual could have important team ranking implications. Both Purdue and Wisconsin finished out of the top 25 dual rankings last year following their 9-7 and 6-10 respective records, and this will likely be a match between two top 25 bubble programs again. A win, particularly a convincing win in one direction or the other, could put the Boilermakers or the Badgers back in the mix of the national rankings. Purdue is favored in eight of 10 matches, but with only one wrestler in the Top 20, nine of the matches could really be toss-ups.
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This triple-header is the biggest night in Big Ten wrestling from a quantity standpoint, but the other night to circle on the calendar is Jan. 31 when Penn State wrestles Iowa at 7 p.m., and Wisconsin wrestles Nebraska at 9 p.m. This is one of five double-headers on the Big Ten Network and will likely draw the most viewers because of the stakes of the Penn State vs. Iowa rivalry. PSU will be favored in seven matches, so this bout has the potential to be less competitive in year's past, particularly because the dual will be happening on centerstage in Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center, but Penn State vs. Iowa is always appointment viewing.
Penn State will be part of the other four double-headers, too, taking on Michigan State on Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. (following the Maryland vs. Michigan dual at 6 p.m.), Nebraska on Jan. 17 at 9 p.m. (following the Illinois vs. Iowa dual at 7 p.m.), Rutgers on Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. (following the Nebraska vs. Michigan dual at 6 p.m.) and Ohio State at 7 p.m. on Feb. 14 before the Iowa vs. Minnesota dual at 9 p.m.
The reigning champs earned their primetime spots.
