By Jason Bryant
National Wrestling Coaches Association

MANHEIM, Pa. - A full slate of duals involving ranked teams highlighted the opening week of January as the NWCA Division I Men's Wrestling Coaches Poll was released Tuesday.
 
Top-ranked Penn State moved to 7-0 with a 48-0 win over then-No. 16 Rutgers, while second-ranked Ohio State remained unbeaten at 12-0 after a 45-0 shutout of then-No. 23 Indiana. Iowa State went 2-0 on the week, defeating Arizona State 29-14 before picking up a 36-3 win over North Dakota State.

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Fourth-ranked Iowa earned a 23-12 win over then-No. 18 Wisconsin, and fifth-ranked Oklahoma State blanked then-No. 15 Oklahoma, 37-0. Nebraska added a 36-3 win over Purdue, while No. 7 Virginia Tech edged then-No. 14 Pittsburgh, 18-15, on the road.
 
Northern Iowa captured the NWCA National Duals title with a 20-14 win over South Dakota State in the finals at the UNI-Dome. The Panthers went 5-0 on the weekend with additional victories over CSU Bakersfield, Ohio, Bloomsburg and Drexel, while the Jackrabbits finished 4-1 with wins against Harvard, Northern Illinois, Campbell and Central Michigan before the finals loss. SDSU slid two spots to No. 10, while UNI jumped to No. 14.
 
NC State picked up a 19-17 win over Virginia, while Minnesota defeated then-No. 10 Illinois, 27-9. Michigan earned a 43-3 win over Michigan State, and Wisconsin split its week with a 28-12 win over Maryland before falling at Iowa.
 
Cornell split its duals with a win over Bucknell and a loss to Lehigh, while the Mountain Hawks followed that result with a 32-7 win over American. West Virginia went 2-0 with wins over Arizona State and California Baptist, and Stanford earned a 35-10 victory over Duke.
 
A full slate of conference and non-conference duals involving ranked teams is scheduled for the coming week, highlighted by several head-to-head matchups. Top-ranked Penn State travels to Iowa on Friday to face the fourth-ranked Hawkeyes before closing the weekend at Northwestern. Sixth-ranked Nebraska heads to Minneapolis to meet No. 11 Minnesota, while seventh-ranked Virginia Tech hosts Appalachian State. No. 14 Pittsburgh will be at home Friday against No. 21 West Virginia before traveling to Duke on Sunday.
 
Additional ranked matchups include No. 12 Michigan visiting No. 16 Rutgers, No. 13 North Carolina traveling to Virginia, and No. 9 NC State heading west to face the 24th-ranked Cardinal. Illinois will be on the road twice, visiting Michigan State on Friday and Michigan on Sunday.
 
South Dakota State travels to Utah Valley on Friday and Wyoming on Sunday, while Missouri heads west to face Arizona State before continuing on to Utah Valley. Oklahoma closes the week with a road dual at West Virginia, and No. 18 Wisconsin hosts Northwestern.

Methodology: The NWCA Division I Men's Wrestling Coaches Poll is voted on by two coaches from each Division I wrestling conference. Each first-place vote is worth 25 points, 24 points for a second-place vote, 23 points for a third-place vote, and so on, through to one point for a 25th-place vote. The poll is based on dual meet results.

Others Receiving Votes: Drexel 14, Penn 6, SIU Edwardsville 4, Purdue 3, Wyoming 3, Columbia 1.
 
Dropped Out: None.

2026 Division I Men's Wrestling Coaches Poll Release Dates

Jan. 20, Jan. 27

Feb. 3, Feb. 10, Feb. 17, Feb. 24

2026 Division I Mid-Major Men's Wrestling Coaches Poll Release Dates

Jan. 21

Feb. 11, Feb. 25