University of Northern Iowa Athletics
UNI wrestling: Allocations for 2026 NCAA Championships announced
2/26/2026 10:54:00 AM | Wrestling
INDIANAPOLIS --- The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee on Thursday morning announced the pre-allocation spots for the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, due to take place at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, March 19-21, as well as its latest coaches and RPI rankings.
A total of 63 wrestlers will automatically qualify for the NCAAs from the Big 12 Championships, scheduled to be held March 6-7 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The top-eight finishers in three weight classes (133, 184, 197) will punch their tickets to Cleveland, while the top seven athletes in the 141 and 174-pound weight classes will also advance. Top-six finishers at heavyweight, as well as the top-five at 125, 149 and 157 and top-four at 165 pounds will also earn automatic NCAA qualification. Seeding and brackets for 2026 Big 12 Championships are expected to be announced in the coming days.
2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship Allocations
| CONFERENCE | 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 184 | 197 | HWT | TOTAL |
| Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) | 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 (EIWA) | 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 (MAC) | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 27 |
| Pacific-12 Conference (PAC-12) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
| Southern Conference (SoCon) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| PRE-ALLOCATION | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 288 |
| AT-LARGE | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 42 |
HOW ALLOCATIONS WORK
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.
For each wrestler that reached the threshold in at least two of the three categories, his conference tournament was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class. Each conference is awarded a minimum of one automatic qualification per weight class, which will go to the tournament champion, even if they did not have any wrestlers reach at least two of the three thresholds. NCAA championship spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at conference tournaments based solely on place-finish.
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 March 11. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers.
UNI IN THE RANKINGS (NCAA Coaches)/Intermat/FloWrestling
- 125 | (29) #27/18 Trever Anderson
- 133 | (24) #20/19 Julian Farber
- 149 | (24) #21/16 Caleb Rathjen
- 165 | (6) #6/6 Ryder Downey
- 174 | (13) #13/14 Jared Simma
- 184 | (19) #21/19 Nick Fox
- HWT | (32) #32/28 Adam Ahrendsen
UNI enters the postseason ranked 17th in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) poll after a 10-8 record in dual competition and 4-3 mark against Big 12 competitors. The Panthers finished second at last year's Big 12 Championships and qualified ten athletes for the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1991.
Four Panthers will look to return to the national tournament in 2026 in Trever Anderson, Julian Farber, Ryder Downey and Jared Simma, while Caleb Rathjen looks to return for the first time since 2024 with Iowa. Nick Fox and Adam Ahrendsen meanwhile will be in search of their first NCAA berths.
UNI's RETURNING NCAA Qualifiers
- 125 | Trever Anderson (2025 NCAA qualifier / 7th at 2025 Big 12s)
- 133 | Julian Farber (2x NCAA qualifier / 3rd at 2025 Big 12s)
- 149 | Caleb Rathjen (2024 NCAA qualifier at Iowa)
- 165 | Ryder Downey (2x NCAA qualifier / 3rd at 2025 Big 12s at 157 pounds)
- 174 | Jared Simma (2x NCAA qualifier / 6th at 2025 Big 12s)
UNI wrestling action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (University of Northern Iowa Wrestling), X (@UNI_wrestling) and on Instagram (@uni_panther_wrestling). Check out the latest Panther news and information online at UNIpanthers.com.
Players Mentioned
