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Photo by: Brady Paitrick
Big Ten Announces Championship Pre-Seeds
3/2/2026 12:00:00 PM | Wrestling
MINNEAPOLIS - The Big Ten conference released pre-seeds Monday for this weekend's 2026 Big Ten Wrestling Championships in State College, Pa.
Minnesota heads into the championships with seven wrestlers seeded within the conference allocations determined by the NCAA last week, including four Gophers who slot in within the top five in their weight class.
The pre-seeds, utilized by WrestleStat's Tournament Seeder Program, rank 14 starters in all 10 weight classes. Official final brackets for the tournament are set to be finalized and released later this week.
Minnesota's highest seed comes at 184 pounds with reigning All-American Max McEnelly earning the No. 2 for the second year in a row. The redshirt sophomore was 17-1 in the regular season and 8-0 against the Big Ten, improving his career record to 16-0 in conference matches. McEnelly leads Minnesota in numerous categories this year including bonus point rate (.667) and dominance (3.89 net team points per match), while his 10 tech falls this year are tied for fifth in the country. A finalist in his inaugural appearance at the Big Ten Championships last season, McEnelly is the first Gopher at 184 to be seeded second or better in consecutive years since Kevin Steinhaus from 2011-14.
A two-time All-American, redshirt senior Vance VomBaur has earned the highest pre-seed of his career in his third appearance, checking in at No. 3. The two-time All-American has garnered the highest seed for a Gopher at the weight since Thomas Thorn was also No. 3 in 2017. VomBaur, who was a finalist last year, was 18-4 during the regular season and 7-1 in the Big Ten, closing out the year by winning his final five matches and eight of his last nine. His 5-2 record against the field is the second best among all competitors.
Like VomBaur, sixth-year senior Andrew Sparks has also earned the highest ranking of his career, claiming the No. 4 seed at 165 pounds as he competes at Big Ten for the fifth time. It's the best mark for a Gopher at the weight since Tyler Safratowich was No. 3 in 2008. Sparks is coming off a career-best fourth-place finish a year ago at Big Tens, to go with a ninth place finish in 2023. He was also sixth at 174 pounds in 2024. This year, he is 17-4 overall, 11-3 in duals and 5-2 in the Big Ten. Against the field, he went 5-2.
Senior Jore Volk will take part in his first Big Ten Championships as the No. 5 seed at 125 pounds. The 2024 Big 12 Champion when he was seeded fifth at Wyoming, Volk has gone 19-4 in his first season in the Maroon and Gold, two more victories than any other wrestler at the weight in the field. Volk sports a 12-4 dual record and 6-2 tally against the Big Ten. He's second on the team in overall win percentage (.826), dual wins, dominance (2.52) and win percentage against ranked opponents (.778, 7-2).
Redshirt freshman Charlie Millard is the highest-seeded of the five Gophers who will be making their postseason debuts this year. He was tabbed as the No. 6 seed at 157 pounds after a regular season that saw him accumulate a 17-6 record overall, a 10-6 dual record and 5-3 mark against conference foes. Along with McEnelly and Volk, Millard was one of three Gophers to start every dual match this season and he was second on the team in dual team points scored (45). Millard is the first freshman to compete at 157 for the Gophers at Big Tens since Ryan Thomas in 2020.
Also making his postseason debut is redshirt sophomore Ethan Riddle, the No. 7 seed at 174 pounds. He's gone 14-8 this year, including 8-7 in duals and 4-4 in-conference. Battle-tested, Riddle has competed in a team-high 14 matches against ranked opponents this season. He was 4-5 against the field this season.
Joining Millard and Riddle as a first-time postseason competitor, Koy Hopke also picked up the No. 7 seed at heavyweight. He's the first freshman to compete at the weight for the Gophers at Big Tens since Gable Steveson in 2019. Hopke was 19-7 on the season, including 8-6 in duals and 4-4 in the Big Ten. He did not give up a point in a team-best six matches this season, was second on Minnesota in matches versus ranked opponents (13) and tied for second in overall wins and ranked wins (7).
Redshirt senior Drew Roberts earned the No. 10 seed at 149 pounds for the second year in a row as he makes his third career trip to the Big Ten Championships, placing ninth in each of his previous appearances. He's 9-8 overall this year, including 7-4 in duals and 5-3 against the Big Ten. During the regular season, Roberts tied for the team lead in Big Ten matches wrestled (8), tied for fourth on the team in Big Ten wins (5) and tied for fifth in Big Ten win percentage (.625).
Two other Gophers will be making their postseason debuts with redshirt sophomore Gavin Nelson earning the No. 11 seed at 197 pounds and redshirt senior Jager Eisch seeded 14th at 133 pounds.
Nelson went 9-11 during the regular season, including 4-10 in duals and 3-5 in the Big Ten. Among his highlights were a win over then-No. 19 Sonny Sasso of Virginia Tech at the Southeast Open, plus a three-match conference win streak in January that included an upset of then-No. 25 Wyatt Ingham of Wisconsin.
Eisch enters the postseason after spending most of the season at 149 pounds. He went 9-8 at the weight, including 0-4 in dual action. Eisch then dropped down to 141 pounds for an exhibition match prior to the season-ending Michigan State dual, recording a 16-1 (2:51) tech fall over Andy Hampton. Eisch is tied for fourth on the Gophers in shutout wins (2) and tied for fifth on the team in wins by pin (2).
Minnesota starts its postseason journey this weekend at the 2026 Big Ten Championships in State College, Pa. The two-day, four-session event will take place at the Bryce Jordan Center starting Saturday at 9 a.m. CT. Linear and streaming coverage will be provided by Big Ten Network and B1G+, respectively.
Minnesota heads into the championships with seven wrestlers seeded within the conference allocations determined by the NCAA last week, including four Gophers who slot in within the top five in their weight class.
The pre-seeds, utilized by WrestleStat's Tournament Seeder Program, rank 14 starters in all 10 weight classes. Official final brackets for the tournament are set to be finalized and released later this week.
| Weight | Wrestler | Pre-Seed |
| 125 | Jore Volk | 5 |
| 133 | Jager Eisch | 14 |
| 141 | Vance VomBaur | 3 |
| 149 | Drew Roberts | 10 |
| 157 | Charlie Millard | 6 |
| 165 | Andrew Sparks | 4 |
| 174 | Ethan Riddle | 7 |
| 184 | Max McEnelly | 2 |
| 197 | Gavin Nelson | 11 |
| 285 | Koy Hopke | 7 |
Minnesota's highest seed comes at 184 pounds with reigning All-American Max McEnelly earning the No. 2 for the second year in a row. The redshirt sophomore was 17-1 in the regular season and 8-0 against the Big Ten, improving his career record to 16-0 in conference matches. McEnelly leads Minnesota in numerous categories this year including bonus point rate (.667) and dominance (3.89 net team points per match), while his 10 tech falls this year are tied for fifth in the country. A finalist in his inaugural appearance at the Big Ten Championships last season, McEnelly is the first Gopher at 184 to be seeded second or better in consecutive years since Kevin Steinhaus from 2011-14.
A two-time All-American, redshirt senior Vance VomBaur has earned the highest pre-seed of his career in his third appearance, checking in at No. 3. The two-time All-American has garnered the highest seed for a Gopher at the weight since Thomas Thorn was also No. 3 in 2017. VomBaur, who was a finalist last year, was 18-4 during the regular season and 7-1 in the Big Ten, closing out the year by winning his final five matches and eight of his last nine. His 5-2 record against the field is the second best among all competitors.
Like VomBaur, sixth-year senior Andrew Sparks has also earned the highest ranking of his career, claiming the No. 4 seed at 165 pounds as he competes at Big Ten for the fifth time. It's the best mark for a Gopher at the weight since Tyler Safratowich was No. 3 in 2008. Sparks is coming off a career-best fourth-place finish a year ago at Big Tens, to go with a ninth place finish in 2023. He was also sixth at 174 pounds in 2024. This year, he is 17-4 overall, 11-3 in duals and 5-2 in the Big Ten. Against the field, he went 5-2.
Senior Jore Volk will take part in his first Big Ten Championships as the No. 5 seed at 125 pounds. The 2024 Big 12 Champion when he was seeded fifth at Wyoming, Volk has gone 19-4 in his first season in the Maroon and Gold, two more victories than any other wrestler at the weight in the field. Volk sports a 12-4 dual record and 6-2 tally against the Big Ten. He's second on the team in overall win percentage (.826), dual wins, dominance (2.52) and win percentage against ranked opponents (.778, 7-2).
Redshirt freshman Charlie Millard is the highest-seeded of the five Gophers who will be making their postseason debuts this year. He was tabbed as the No. 6 seed at 157 pounds after a regular season that saw him accumulate a 17-6 record overall, a 10-6 dual record and 5-3 mark against conference foes. Along with McEnelly and Volk, Millard was one of three Gophers to start every dual match this season and he was second on the team in dual team points scored (45). Millard is the first freshman to compete at 157 for the Gophers at Big Tens since Ryan Thomas in 2020.
Also making his postseason debut is redshirt sophomore Ethan Riddle, the No. 7 seed at 174 pounds. He's gone 14-8 this year, including 8-7 in duals and 4-4 in-conference. Battle-tested, Riddle has competed in a team-high 14 matches against ranked opponents this season. He was 4-5 against the field this season.
Joining Millard and Riddle as a first-time postseason competitor, Koy Hopke also picked up the No. 7 seed at heavyweight. He's the first freshman to compete at the weight for the Gophers at Big Tens since Gable Steveson in 2019. Hopke was 19-7 on the season, including 8-6 in duals and 4-4 in the Big Ten. He did not give up a point in a team-best six matches this season, was second on Minnesota in matches versus ranked opponents (13) and tied for second in overall wins and ranked wins (7).
Redshirt senior Drew Roberts earned the No. 10 seed at 149 pounds for the second year in a row as he makes his third career trip to the Big Ten Championships, placing ninth in each of his previous appearances. He's 9-8 overall this year, including 7-4 in duals and 5-3 against the Big Ten. During the regular season, Roberts tied for the team lead in Big Ten matches wrestled (8), tied for fourth on the team in Big Ten wins (5) and tied for fifth in Big Ten win percentage (.625).
Two other Gophers will be making their postseason debuts with redshirt sophomore Gavin Nelson earning the No. 11 seed at 197 pounds and redshirt senior Jager Eisch seeded 14th at 133 pounds.
Nelson went 9-11 during the regular season, including 4-10 in duals and 3-5 in the Big Ten. Among his highlights were a win over then-No. 19 Sonny Sasso of Virginia Tech at the Southeast Open, plus a three-match conference win streak in January that included an upset of then-No. 25 Wyatt Ingham of Wisconsin.
Eisch enters the postseason after spending most of the season at 149 pounds. He went 9-8 at the weight, including 0-4 in dual action. Eisch then dropped down to 141 pounds for an exhibition match prior to the season-ending Michigan State dual, recording a 16-1 (2:51) tech fall over Andy Hampton. Eisch is tied for fourth on the Gophers in shutout wins (2) and tied for fifth on the team in wins by pin (2).
Minnesota starts its postseason journey this weekend at the 2026 Big Ten Championships in State College, Pa. The two-day, four-session event will take place at the Bryce Jordan Center starting Saturday at 9 a.m. CT. Linear and streaming coverage will be provided by Big Ten Network and B1G+, respectively.
Cinematic Recap: Gophers Smash the Spartans on Senior Day
Thursday, February 19
Highlights: Gophers 37, Michigan State 6
Sunday, February 15
Cinematic Recap: Gophers Leave No Doubt at Maryland
Friday, February 13
Play in Focus: Max McEnelly
Thursday, February 12