New Headline: Epic Clash of Champions: Top Fighters Battle It Out for Ultimate Victory!
We continue our preview of the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships with the 184 lb bracket, where once again a Penn State wrestler is the No. 1 seed. But there is quite a lot to look forward to in this bracket, and a lot of potential drama could be waiting.
Let's break it down. Favorites: Rocco Welsh (Penn State), Aeoden Sinclair (Missouri) This one has to hurt for Buckeye fans. Welsh was a standout freshman at Ohio State in 2024, putting together an insane run in the NCAAs (including three straight sudden victory wins) to reach the final, before falling to Carter Starocci of Penn State.
After redshirting last year, Welsh transferred over to Penn State, where he is in the midst of an undefeated season and is the No. 1 wrestler in the weight class. The thing about Welsh is that he just doesn't lose.
He doesn't dominate every match like some Penn State wrestlers do. Instead, he just finds ways to win. He has a lot of close battles––all three of his wins at the Big Ten Championships went into (or past) Sudden Victory, but he hasn't dropped a match yet this year.
Sinclair has lost a match this year, though. He lost 3-2 in November to Angelo Ferrari (Iowa). He has been dominant since then, putting up the stats you'd expect from an elite wrestler.