BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW
Utah Valley University wrestling is set for the 2026 Big 12 Championship this Friday and Saturday, March 6-7 from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The championships will be streamed live on ESPN+ with all mats available with Mike Leslie and Hardell Moore on the call.

A trio of Wolverine seniors are seeded with both Haiden Drury and David Evans earning No. 3 seeds at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively, while heavyweight Jack Forbes is the No. 6 seed. 

Nine of the 10 Utah Valley competitors will compete in the opening round with Drury drawing a bye in the first round. He'll face either No. 6 seed Tyler Wells of Oklahoma or Joel Aguilar-Guerrero of Northern Colorado in the quarterfinal in what will be his fifth and final appearance at the championship. He is 7-9 all-time at the Big 12 Championships and is a two-time placer. As a freshman with Fresno State he took sixth and in 2022 took fifth for Utah Valley in a season he qualified for the NCAA Championships.

Four other Wolverines are competing for the second time at the Big 12 Championships with Bridger Ricks, Mark Takara, Caleb Uhlenhopp, Kael Bennie, and Forbes all back for their second appearance. Bennie finished eighth as a redshirt freshman in 2025 at 197 pounds.

UVU IN THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS FAST FACTS

• 2026 marks UVU's 11th season as affiliate members of the Big 12 and the 11th appearance at championships.
• UVU has twice had a Big 12 Champion. Demetrius Romero won in 2019 at 165 pounds and in 2021 at 174.
• The Wolverines have had finalists on four occasions; Romero twice, Dustin Dennison (285) in 2017 and Taylor LaMont (125) in 2021.
• The 2021 championships saw six UVU wrestlers reach the podium, a high for the program.
  

THE BRACKETS
The championship brackets were released on Monday with Bridger Ricks set to face No. 1 seed Troy Spratley of Oklahoma State at 125. Six of the nine opening bouts are rematches from the conference duals earlier this season including Forbes, who will open with South Dakota State's Luke Rasmussen. Forbes defeated him in the dual between the teams but Rasmussen won at the Cliff Keen in December.  The other first round rematches include Takara against Cael Swensen (SDSU), Zyon Trujillo vs. Marcus Espnioza-Owens (SDSU), Hudson Rogers will face Cam Steed (MIZ), and Uhlenhopp will go up against Wyoming's Eddie Neitenbach. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines wrestled in front a program record 5,541 fans against No. 6 Nebraska on Saturday, Feb. 21 in the UCCU Center. Utah Valley got wins from Uhlenhopp and Evans, who defeated No. 19 Chance Lamer with a takedown in the closing seconds of the match, 8-5. The Huskers won eight of 10 matches to win the dual, 32-6.

UP NEXT
The 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be held March 19-21 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. The selection show will be held on Wednesday, March 11 at 6 p.m. EST.