The NCAA has announced the final wrestling rankings and championship allocations for the 2026 Division I season. According to Thursday’s release, the Big 12 Conference received 61 pre-allocations for the upcoming NCAA Championship, making it second only to the Big Ten, which secured 87 spots.
Pre-allocations were determined through a sliding scale based on three criteria: win percentage, coaches’ ranking, and RPI ranking. Wrestlers who met at least two of these standards helped their conference earn an automatic qualifying spot in their weight class. Each conference is guaranteed at least one automatic qualification per weight class for its tournament champion, regardless of whether they meet the thresholds.
“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,” stated the announcement.
After all conference tournaments conclude, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will select an additional 42 at-large qualifiers during an in-person meeting. These selections are scheduled to be announced on March 10. The official brackets and seedings will be released on NCAA.com at 8 p.m. on March 11. Each weight class in the national championship will feature 33 wrestlers.
Missouri’s wrestling program has nine out of ten athletes ranked in this cycle’s final NCAA coaches’ rankings, with three appearing among the top fifteen in their respective divisions. Last year, Missouri qualified six out of ten wrestlers through placements at the Big 12 Championship and added three more via at-large bids.
The Tigers are set to compete in Tulsa, Oklahoma starting Friday, March 6 as part of this year’s Big 12 Championship event. Brackets and seeds for that tournament will be made public on Monday, March 2.
Fans can follow updates about Missouri wrestling by visiting MUTigers.com or following @MizzouWrestling on Twitter and Instagram or Mizzou Wrestling on Facebook.
Breakdown of Big 12 pre-allocations by weight class:
125 lbs – 5
133 lbs – 8
141 lbs – 7
149 lbs – 5
157 lbs – 5
165 lbs – 4
174 lbs – 7
184 lbs – 8
197 lbs – 8
285 lbs – 6
Missouri’s individual wrestler rankings include Mack Mauger (No. 27 at 125), Gage Walker (No. 28 at 133), Josh Edmond (No. 20 at 149), Teague Travis (No. 29 at 157), Max Mayfield (No. 26 at 165), Cam Steed (No.10 at 174), Aeoden Sinclair (No.2 at184), Evan Bates (No.11at197) and Jarrett Stoner (No.24at285).