First NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll: Penn State Remains No. 1 With Minimal Movement

First NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll: Penn State Remains No. 1 With Minimal Movement

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Penn State claims the top spot without having wrestled a match, while the only ranked teams that opened their seasons this week—Missouri, Michigan, Oklahoma and Wyoming—are the ones that actually moved up. That is the central tension of the first regular-season NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll, released Wednesday by the National Wrestling Coaches Association and corroborated by TheMat.com: with just seven duals involving ranked teams during the opening week, sixteen of the twenty-five teams held their positions and no ranked squad suffered an upset, leaving the national hierarchy looking frozen even as seven of the top eight have yet to compete.

The poll, presented by Theraworx, reflects a season barely underway. Penn State collected sixteen first-place votes and 400 points to remain No. 1, but the Nittany Lions stand at 0-0. The entire top eight—No. 2 Oklahoma State (382 points), No. 3 Nebraska (364), No. 4 Iowa (344), No. 5 Virginia Tech (341), No. 6 Ohio State (316), No. 7 Stanford (315) and No. 8 Minnesota (274)—also remain untested, holding their preseason positions without stepping on the mat.

Missouri and Michigan Lead the Only Notable Movement

Iowa State (1-0) beat Bucknell 29-12 on Sunday, earning 261 points to match Missouri.

Michigan also climbed one spot to No. 13 after shutting out VMI 50-0 on Sunday, collecting 204 points. No. 17 Oklahoma held its spot after blanking Division II Northeastern State 46-0, while Wyoming beat Western Wyoming of the NJCAA 51-0 on Saturday to rise to No. 20 with 114 points. The rest of the lower half saw minor shuffling, with Arizona State dropping from 13 to 14 and Northern Iowa moving from 21 to 22.

First NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll: Penn State Remains No. 1 With Minimal Movement
Photo: themat.com

The Full Rankings

Rank Team (First-place votes) Record Points Conference Previous
1 Penn State (16) 0-0 400 Big Ten 1
2 Oklahoma State 0-0 382 Big 12 2
3 Nebraska 0-0 364 Big Ten 3
4 Iowa 0-0 344 Big Ten 4
5 Virginia Tech 0-0 341 ACC 5
6 Ohio State 0-0 316 Big Ten 6
7 Stanford 0-0 315 ACC 7
8 Minnesota 0-0 274 Big Ten 8
9 (tie) Iowa State 1-0 261 Big 12 9
9 (tie) Missouri 3-0 261 Big 12 10
11 Cornell 0-0 229 Ivy League 11
12 Lehigh 0-0 213 EIWA 12
13 Michigan 1-0 204 Big Ten 14
14 Arizona State 0-0 182 Big 12 13
15 NC State 0-0 162 ACC 15
16 North Carolina 0-0 147 ACC 16
17 Oklahoma 1-0 128 Big 12 17
18 Illinois 0-0 122 Big Ten 18
19 Rutgers 0-0 117 Big Ten 19
20 Wyoming 1-0 114 Big 12 18
21 Pittsburgh 0-0 88 ACC 22
22 Northern Iowa 0-0 74 Big 12 21
23 West Virginia 0-0 66 Big 12 23
24 Penn 0-0 28 Ivy League 24
25 Indiana 0-0 13 Big Ten NR

Princeton dropped out of the top 25 entirely.

A Busy Week Ahead Could Finally Test the Elite

Eleven duals involving ranked teams are scheduled for the coming week, including three head-to-head matchups between ranked opponents that could finally shake up the standings.

It will be a busy weekend for the Mountain Hawks. The Hoosiers will make their ranked debut at the event and will also face Lock Haven.

How the Coaches’ Poll Is Calculated

This points-based system awards 25 points for a first-place vote, more than the three points combined for 24th and 25th place.

The next poll will be released on November 10, followed by weekly releases through November 24, then December 1, 8, 15 and 22, continuing through January and February with the final poll scheduled for February 23.

With second-ranked Oklahoma State, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Iowa and the rest of the top eight yet to compete, the top of the poll remains unchanged.

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