STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Brackets and seeds for the 2026 Big Ten Conference Wrestling Championships were finalized Friday at the conclusion of the coaches’ meeting.
Juniors Joey Blaze (165 lbs.) and Greyson Clark (141) were the only Boilermakers who saw changes from their previously announced pre-seeds.
Blaze, undefeated at 18-0, jumped to the No. 2 seed in his weight class and secured a first-round bye. He leapfrogged Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo, whom Blaze beat head-to-head last month. Clark dropped one spot and now holds the No. 7 seed in his bracket.
Blaze will be the only Purdue wrestler with a first-round bye. He will face the winner of No. 7 Andrew Barbosa (Rutgers) and No. 10 Cody Goebel (Wisconsin) in the quarterfinals.
Of Purdue’s nine first-round matches, six of them are rematches.
No. 13 Ashton Jackson (125) will face No. 4 Jacob Moran (Indiana) after having just wrestled him in the dual finale on Feb. 20. No. 12 Gavin Brown (149) will square up with No. 5 Carter Young (Maryland) after dropping a close 6-3 decision to Young earlier this season.
No. 9 Stoney Buell (157) will get his chance to avenge a 10-3 loss to No. 8 Luke Mechler (Wisconsin). No. 10 James Rowley (184) was edged out by No. 7 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers), 2-1, and will look to get one back on Saturday morning.
No. 9 Ben Vanadia (197) will face No. 8 Gabe Sollars (IU) in a rubber match after splitting the series from the past two seasons. No. 11 Hayden Filipovich draws No. 6 Luke Luffman (Illinois) after falling to the Illini heavyweight 10-3 last month.
Three other Boilers will face new opponents for the first time. No. 10 Blake Boarman (133) has No. 7 Sean Spidle (Northwestern), No. 7 Clark (141) has No. 10 Joey Olivieri (RU) and No. 8 Brody Baumann (174) has No. 9 Colin Kelly (ILL).
Session I of the Big Ten Championships will start at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday inside Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center. Action will be televised on Big Ten Network and streamed on B1G+. The full weekend schedule and preview is available here.
125 | #13 Ashton Jackson (R-So.)
Round 1: #4 Jacob Moran (IU)
133 | #10 Blake Boarman (R-Sr.)
Round 1: #7 Sean Spidle (NU)
141 | #7 Greyson Clark (Jr.)
Round 1: #10 Joey Olivieri (RU)
149 | #12 Gavin Brown (R-Jr.)
Round 1: #5 Carter Young (MD)
157 | #9 Stoney Buell (R-Sr.)
Round 1: #8 Luke Mechler (WIS)
165 | #2 Joey Blaze (Jr.)
Round 1: BYE
Quarters: #7 Andrew Barbosa (RU) OR #10 Cody Goebel (WIS)
174 | #8 Brody Baumann (R-Jr.)
Round 1: #9 Colin Kelly (ILL)
184 | #10 James Rowley (R-Jr.)
Round 1: #7 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (RU)
197 | #9 Ben Vanadia (R-Sr.)
Round 1: #8 Gabe Sollars (IU)
285 | #11 Hayden Filipovich (R-Sr.)
Round 1: #6 Luke Luffman (ILL)