The Big Ten Conference has released the pre-seeds for the 2026 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, which will be held at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania, on March 7-8. The University of Maryland will send ten wrestlers to compete in the tournament.
Maryland’s lineup features two top-five pre-seeded athletes. Branson John is seeded fourth at 197 pounds and enters the postseason with a 22-5 record. Carter Young holds the fifth seed at 149 pounds after finishing the regular season with an 11-2 record.
Braxton Brown received the eighth seed at 133 pounds, compiling a 16-6 record during the season. Other Maryland wrestlers earning pre-seeds include Dario Lemus (No. 11 at 141), Mekhi Neal (No. 13 at 157), AJ Rodrigues (No. 13 at 165), Seth Digby (No. 14 at 174), Sepanta Ahanj-Elias (No. 12 at 184), Joey Schneck (No. 12 at heavyweight/285), and Abram Cline (No.14 at 125).
The full tournament brackets and official seeds are expected to be announced following the Big Ten Conference coaches meeting on Friday afternoon.
Competition begins Saturday, March 7, with first-round, quarterfinal, semifinal, and wrestleback matches scheduled for Sessions I and II. On Sunday, Session III will feature consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches; Session IV will include matches for first-, third-, and fifth-place finishes.
All four sessions of the championships will be available via live coverage on both Big Ten Network and B1G+. Linear coverage can also be accessed through the FOX Sports app.