Start Times for Home Duals Also Announced
MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Minnesota wrestling team is scheduled to appear on the Big Ten Network four times this upcoming season, it was announced Wednesday.
In addition, the Gophers confirmed start times for all home meets this year. Season tickets are on sale now, while single-match tickets will be available in the near future.
MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University wrestling team will host its annual Brown & Gold exhibition dual this Saturday inside the PE Gym. The event begins at 12 p.m. and is free to attend. The exhibition will also be streaming live on Midco Sports Plus.
The dual is the first chance for the public to get a look at this season’s squad. SMSU sixth-year head coach Chayse Jackson has four seniors, ten juniors, five sophomores, and six freshmen.
Season Preview: Northland Community & Technical College
By Brian Jerzak
New Northland Community and Technical College wrestling coach Storm Booe didn’t start under the best circumstances. He wasn’t hired until late May and had only two wrestlers on the roster. Despite a late start, he didn’t panic. He approached recruiting like he wants his wrestlers to wrestle. Booe let it fly.
“I emailed every high school wrestling coach in the Midwest to introduce myself and let them know who I am and that we were hurting for numbers this first year,” Booe said. “I said I know it was short notice, but if you have any kids who are not committed, let me know. That got a few responses, but what really helped was a couple of coaches I know personally and some coaches who were former Northland wrestlers, building on relationships I had with other coaches. I reached out to as many kids as I could on (college recruiting site) NCSA, trying to start conversations with wrestlers rather than aggressively trying to recruit.”
The first-year head coach secured five commitments.
Season Preview: Southwest Minnesota State University
By Brian Jerzak
The 2025-26 Southwest Minnesota State wrestling season had one eye on the present and one on the future. The young team learned a lot last season and grew together in the process. Head coach Chayse Jackson believes the close-knit, hard-working team can surprise some teams this season.
“Last year was a season of growth,” Jackson said. “We went into it knowing we weren’t going to be the best team in the conference. We made a couple of strategic red-shirt decisions, which, of course, now don’t matter because of the rule changes. We wanted to bolster our lineup for this year. That said, I think we did exactly what we set out to do. We got guys some great matches and got a lot of experience. We were almost entirely freshmen and sophomores in our starting lineup, which I think is vital to being able to go out and wrestle at a high level.”
A week into the preseason solidified Jackson’s belief in this year’s team.
“When we went through Hell Week – which is a week where we challenge our guys with daily doubles every day,” Jackson said. “We treat it as an opportunity for them to experience the toughest week they could possibly have, so then, in season, nothing is as hard. We saw one of the best team environments I have seen in eleven years of coaching. They care for one another, push each other, and are excited to be at practice every day. That energy has permeated into every guy on our roster.”
Season Preview: Augustana University
By Brian Jerzak
Last season, the Augustana University Vikings’ wrestling team was rolling through the regular season. They went 9-1 in conference dual meets and defeated six ranked teams. Their only losses were to teams ranked in the top 15 in the nation. Unfortunately, once the postseason hit, the Vikings struggled. This season, coach Jason Reitmeier and his squad are looking to finish the season strong.
“We had a great year right up until the regional,” Reitmeier said. “We wrestled really well all season long. We had some guys in and out of the lineup. We got our best lineup out there in our last duel. We got to regions and had high hopes. We didn’t wrestle as well at regions as I hoped. We lost some close ones, but we finished the year with a national champion.”
Reitmeier feels the 2026-27 squad has a chance to be even better.
Season Preview: Concordia College
By Brian Jerzak
Culture is a buzzword used across society. It shows up in wrestling, in all athletics, and even in the business world. Sometimes, culture is just that – a buzz-word. At Concordia-Moorhead, head coach Quincy Osborn and his staff don’t just speak the culture into existence – they live it.
“I know a lot of programs preach their culture and hold their guys to a high standard, but we try to live that,” Osborn said. “As coaches, we try to model that – taking care of our bodies and showing our guys you can still live that dedicated lifestyle. We emphasize that dedicated lifestyle – not just in wrestling, but in academics and in life. Now, going into my 8th season, our team GPA has been over 3.0 every year. That speaks to the commitment of the guys.”
Last season, the Cobbers might not have had the results they hoped for, but they did make the progress they were looking for.
Season Preview: South Dakota State University
By Brian Jerzak
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits’ wrestling program didn’t have the national tournament they wanted. Head coach Damian Hahn knows that is ultimately what people look at, but Hahn looks at the entirety of the season; 2025-26 was another solid campaign. Wrestlers fought through a lot of stuff in the regular season for their teammates. Some of it likely prevented guys from having the national tournament they expected. Wrestling for each other at the expense of personal goals is what a family would do and exactly what Hahn had in mind when he first took the job in Brookings almost a decade ago.
“One of the biggest things we have been able to do here is create our culture,” Hahn said. “You hear some of the best teams talk about culture. That is easy when you are a top team. Winning masks everything. I look at culture when you have your ups and downs. How do you keep your team together when you are down? One of the biggest reasons we have had success here the last nine years is the culture and the brotherhood we’ve established. It’s cliché, but it matters because there will be ups and downs. Having your team behind you, picking you up, and celebrating the wins, wrestling is hard enough. When you have guys that are on board, it makes it that much more enjoyable.”
Parker Richards of Kasson-Mantorville has committed to wrestling for Minnesota State University Mankato following his upcoming senior season.
Season Preview: Minnesota State University Moorhead
By Brian Jerzak
During the 2022-23 season, the Minnesota State – Moorhead Dragons’ wrestling team finished the season with a 0-9 conference record. Wins had been few and far between in the handful of seasons before that winless campaign, but they hadn’t gone a full Northern Sun Conference season without a dual-meet victory. Since then, the Dragons’ wrestling program has improved its record, especially in the NSIC. Head coach Kris Nelson sees no reason for that upward trend to stop this season.
“Last season, we won seven duals – including four conference wins,” Nelson said. “We beat eleventh-ranked Kutztown when we were at the Virginia Duals. We took sixth there. That showed our guys that we can compete and beat some of those better teams when we wrestle well.”
This season, the Dragons will have a more experienced roster than the team that beat a top-fifteen team last season.
