Gophers Set Sights on Big Ten Championships

MINNEAPOLIS - No. 9 Minnesota starts its postseason journey this weekend at the 2026 Big Ten Championships in University Park, Pa. The two-day, four-session event will take place at the Bryce Jordan Center starting Saturday, March 7. Linear and streaming coverage will be provided by Big Ten Network and B1G+, respectively, as well as the Fox Sports App. Live results can be found on TrackWrestling.com.

The Maroon & Gold are coming off an 11-5 regular season, including a 5-3 mark in the Big Ten that saw the Gophers finish in a five-way tie for third place. Minnesota posted 11 duals wins for the third time in the last four seasons and and fourth time overall under head coach Brandon Eggum. In addition, the team finished with a winning record in the Big Ten for the fourth straight season and seventh time under Eggum.

The Golden Gophers are seeking the program's 13th Big Ten title, which would match Indiana for third-most in conference history. Iowa has won 37 championships, followed by Illinois with 17. Minnesota ranks third with 98 individual titles, behind Iowa (210) and Michigan (129). The Golden Gophers broke a 40-year title drought with its 1999 championship, and they added titles in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, and 2007.

Minnesota is making its 10th appearance at the Big Ten Championships under Eggum. In he team's previous nine trips, they've finished eighth or better each year, including fourth-place finishes in both 2019 and 2025. The team's 108.5 points last year were the most under Eggum. The Gophers have won five individual Big Ten titles over the last nine years, four at heavyweight by Gable Steveson from 2020-22 and again last year, and one at 184 pounds by Isaiah Salazar in 2024.

In addition to Steveson winning the heavyweight title last year, the Gophers also saw Vance VomBaur and Max McEnelly reach the finals at 141 and 184 pounds, respectively. Minnesota had multiple finalists for the third year in a row, while it was the first time since 2015 that the Golden Gophers put three into the finals.

MINNESOTA CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTER (Intermat ranking)
125: No. 5 seed Jore Volk (No. 14)
133: No. 14 seed Jager Eisch (N/A)
141: No. 3 seed Vance VomBaur (No. 9)
149: No. 10 seed Drew Roberts (No. 18)
157: No. 6 seed Charlie Millard (No. 19)
165: No. 4 seed Andrew Sparks (No. 11)
174: No. 7 seed Ethan Riddle (No. 24)
184: No. 2 seed Max McEnelly (No. 4)
197: No. 11 seed Gavin Nelson (No. 25)
285: No. 7 seed Koy Hopke (No. 10)

COMPETITION SCHEDULE
Saturday, March 7
9:00 a.m. CT - Session I (First Round/Quarterfinals/Wrestlebacks) – BTN
4:00 p.m. CT - Session II (Consolation Matches/Wrestlebacks) – B1G+
6:00 p.m. CT - Session II (Semifinals) - BTN

Sunday, March 8
11:00 a.m. CT - Session III (Consolation Semifinals/7th Place Matches) – B1G+
3:30 p.m. CT - Session IV (1st/3rd/5th Place Matches) - BTN

CONFERENCE ALLOCATIONS
This season, the NCAA has awarded the Big Ten conference with 87 automatic qualifier spots across 10 weight classes for the NCAA Championships, which is the most of any conference in Division-I wrestling. Once the conference tournament has concluded and all qualifying bids have been assigned, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will consider all non-qualified competitors for the remaining 42 at-large bids.

Weight-by-weight allocations for the Big Ten for this weekend's conference tournament are as follows:
125 - 9
133 - 8
141 - 7
149 - 9
157 - 8
165 - 9
174 - 10
184 - 8
197 - 10
HWT - 9

LAST GOPHER BIG CHAMPION/FINALIST BY WEIGHT
125: Jayson Ness (2007) / Patrick McKee (2024)
133: Chris Dardanes (2015) / Aaron Nagao (2023)
141: Mike Thorn (2010) / Vance VomBaur (2025)
149: Dylan Ness (2013) / Michael Blockhus (2023)
157: C.P. Schlatter (2007) / Dylan Ness (2015)
165: Jacob Volkmann (2004) / Matt Nagel (2006)
174: N/A / Logan Storley (2012)
184: Isaiah Salazar (2024) / Max McEnelly (2025)
197: Damion Hahn (2004) / Brett Pfarr (2017)
HWT: Gable Steveson (2025) / Gable Steveson (2025)

PRE-SEED NUGGETS

Senior Jore Volk is taking part in his first Big Ten Championships as the No. 5 seed at 125 pounds. He competed twice at the Big 12 Championships while at Wyoming, finishing fifth in 2023 before winning the title in 2024 (also seeded fifth that year).

Jager Eisch, the No. 14 seed at 133 pounds, enters his first career postseason after spending most of the season at 149 pounds. The redshirt senior 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 spent the past three seasons at 133 pounds.

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. A finalist at Big Tens last year, VomBaur has garnered the highest seed for a Gopher at the weight since Thomas Thorn was also No. 3 in 2017.

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.

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. Millard is the first freshman to compete at 157 for the Gophers at Big Tens since Ryan Thomas in 2020.

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 seed 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.

Also making his postseason debut is redshirt sophomore Ethan Riddle, the No. 7 seed at 174 pounds. Battle-tested, Riddle has competed in a team-high 14 matches against ranked opponents this season. He is looking to become Minnesota's first ever Big Ten champion at 174 pounds.

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. 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 did so from 2011-14.

Redshirt sophomore Gavin Nelson will make his postseason debut at 197 pounds after earning the No. 11 seed.

Koy Hopke 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 did so in 2019.

GOPHERS VS. THE FIELD

At 125 pounds, Jore Volk has gone 3-2 against the field this year. His two losses came to those ranked sixth or higher, while his best win was over No. 7 Nicolar Rivera of Wisconsin.

Jager Eisch has not faced anyone in the 133-pound field in his career.

Vance VomBaur is 5-2 versus the 141-pound class. At the weight, his win total is second and his win percentage is third. Both losses this season have come to Jesse Mendez of Ohio State. Of VomBaur's five wins, his best was a 10-1 major decision of Iowa's No. 4 Nasir Bailey.

At 149 pounds, Drew Roberts has gone 3-3 against the field this year. Two of his three losses have come to No. 2 seed Ethan Stiles of Ohio State and No. 3 seed Joseph Zargo of Wisconsin. Roberts' best win is over No. 8 Ryder Block of Iowa.

Charlie Millard went 4-4 against those at 157 pounds this season. He tied with Purdue's Stoney Buell (3-5) for the most matches against the field, while Millard's win total ranked third. Millard's best win came over No. 3 seed Kannon Webster of Illinois by injury default.

Andrew Sparks is 5-2 versus the 165-pound field with losses coming to No. 2 seed Michael Caliendo of Iowa and No. 5 LJ Araujo of Nebraska. Sparks' win total and win percentage (.714) both rank fourth at the weight, while his seven matches against the field ties for second. His best win has come over No. 7 seed Andrew Barbosa of Rutgers.

At 174 pounds, Ethan Riddle went 4-5 during the regular season against the field. His nine matches against the weight class are tied for third, and his four wins are tied for fifth. Four of his five losses have come against those seeded fifth or better, while his best win was over No. 9 Colin Kelly of Illinois.

Max McEnelly is one of two undefeated wrestlers against the field at 184 pounds along with Penn State's Rocco Welsh (8-0). McEnelly was 7-0 against his competition this year, including an overtime decision against No. 3 Silas Allred of Nebraska and two in sudden victory over No. 6 Dylan Fishback of Ohio State. In his career, McEnelly is 10-0 against the field.

Gavin Nelson has gone 1-6 against the 197-pound field this season. That win was a 4-2 decision over No. 6 seed Wyatt Ingham of Wisconsin.

Koy Hopke went 2-5 against his fellow heavyweights this season, tying for the fifth-most matchups versus the field. Four of his five losses came to those seeded 2nd-5th, and four of the five were decided by three points or less, including a 2-1 loss to No. 2 AJ Ferrari of Nebraska, a 4-2 loss to No. 3 Nick Feldman of Ohio State and a 2-0 loss to No. 5 Braxton Amos of Wisconsin. Hopke's best win was over No. 8 Hunter Catka of Rutgers.

A full history of Minnesota's wrestlers against their respective fields can be found on the final two pages of the notes.

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Jager Eisch

Koy Hopke

Max McEnelly

Charlie Millard

Gavin Nelson

Ethan Riddle

Drew Roberts

Isaiah Salazar

Andrew Sparks

Gable Steveson

Jore Volk

Vance VomBaur