INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA released its second RPI, third coaches' panel, and 2026 NCAA Championship pre-allocation slots on Thursday. Four Utah Valley wrestlers remain ranked in the Coaches' Rankings while there are five Wolverines among the top 33 in their respective weight class in the RPI.
David Evans boasts the top spot among Big 12 wrestlers at 149 pounds in the RPI, where he is No. 8. He's also 13th in the Coaches' Rankings.
The remaining UVU wrestlers in Coaches' Rankings include
Haiden Drury at 18 at 141 pounds,
Kael Bennie is 29th and 197, and
Jack Forbes is 25th at 285 pounds. Drury is 16 in the RPI and Bennie is 18th while Forbes and
Caleb Uhlenhopp (184) are both No. 33.
Each qualifying tournament was awarded pre-allocations to the national tournament based on regular season performance by conference wrestlers through February 23. The pre-allocations were determined by using a sliding scale of the three standards, win percentage, coaches' rank, and RPI ranking; while never going below the base of .700 winning percentage, top 30 coaches' ranking and top 30 RPI ranking until reaching the maximum of 29 wrestlers per weight class.
The Big 12 Conference received 63 pre-allocations with 133, 184, and 197 each garnering eight spots. 141 and 174 pounds both have seven allocations while 285 has six. Three weights — 125, 149, 157 — have five spots, and 165 pounds has four.
After all the conference tournaments have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 42 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 10, while brackets and seeding will be announced on NCAA.com at 8 p.m. on March 11. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers.
The 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships take place March 19-21 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, marking the third time the city will host.
| Conference |
125 |
133 |
141 |
149 |
157 |
165 |
174 |
184 |
197 |
285 |
Total |
| Atlantic Coast Conference |
5 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
39 |
| Big 12 Conference |
5 |
8 |
7 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
7 |
8 |
8 |
6 |
63 |
| Big Ten Conference |
9 |
8 |
7 |
9 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
8 |
10 |
9 |
87 |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association |
2 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
26 |
| Ivy League |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
23 |
| Mid-American Conference |
2 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
27 |
| Pacific-12 Conference |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
13 |
| Southern Conference |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
10 |
| Pre-Allocations |
28 |
29 |
29 |
29 |
29 |
28 |
29 |
29 |
29 |
29 |
288 |
| At-Large |
5 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
42 |
