Ohio State University’s wrestling team is set to begin competition at the 2026 Big Ten Championships, which will take place at the Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State University’s campus. The event starts Saturday at 10 a.m., with coverage provided by the Big Ten Network and B1G+ streaming services.
Seven Ohio State wrestlers have earned Top 5 seeds for this year’s championships. The Buckeyes’ lineup includes Nic Bouzakis (125 lbs, No. 2 seed), Ben Davino (133 lbs, No. 3), Jesse Mendez (141 lbs, No. 1), Ethan Stiles (149 lbs, No. 2), Brandon Cannon (157 lbs, No. 7), Paddy Gallagher (165 lbs, No. 8), Carson Kharchla (174 lbs, No. 4), Dylan Fishback (184 lbs, No. 6), Luke Geog (197 lbs, No. 5) and Nick Feldman (heavyweight, No. 3).
In the opening round matches:
– Bouzakis, Mendez and Stiles each received a bye.
– Davino faces Jager Eisch of Minnesota.
– Cannon meets Victor Voinovich from Iowa.
– Gallagher takes on Tyler Lillard of Indiana.
– Kharchla faces Connor O’Neil from Michigan State.
– Fishback goes against J.D. Perez of Northwestern.
– Geog competes with Dylan Connell from Illinois.
– Feldman matches up with Caleb Marzolino of Indiana.
The Buckeyes enter the championships following a strong regular season in which they defeated several ranked opponents including Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan in home duals at the Covelli Center. Ohio State finished its home schedule undefeated at 7-0 and started the season with a school-record winning streak of 17 consecutive dual victories.
Throughout the season, Ohio State posted wins over multiple top-ranked teams: they went 4-1 against Top 5 teams and had an overall record of 11-1 versus Top 25 opponents.
The team also secured notable road victories over Minnesota and Nebraska; heavyweight Nick Feldman clinched a comeback win against Nebraska’s AJ Ferrari in sudden victory.
Earlier in the year, Ohio State recorded its first shutout against Indiana in series history with a score of 45-0.
At tournaments such as the Midlands Championships and National Duals Invitational, Buckeye wrestlers won individual titles across several weight classes while contributing to team success—at National Duals Invitational they claimed four dual wins including victories over Wyoming and top-ranked programs like Minnesota and Iowa.
Coach Tom Ryan is now in his twentieth year leading Ohio State wrestling and has guided his teams to more than ten wins in fifteen different seasons since arriving in Columbus. Under his leadership, Ohio State has produced numerous NCAA qualifiers and All-Americans; he was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023 after reaching career milestones including more than three hundred dual meet victories as head coach.
Myles Martin—a former captain who won an NCAA title as a freshman—was inducted into the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame during fall of last year.
Several current Buckeyes have achieved Black Shirt status for their performance standards within the program; most recently Brandon Cannon and Ben Davino were recognized with this honor last October.