Penn State wrestling eyes multiple new records at NCAA Championships

Penn State wrestling is shooting for its fourth consecutive national championship and 12th title in 14 seasons when it takes to the mat at the NCAA Championships on Thursday in Philadelphia. The Nittany Lions have been the standard of the sport over the last decade-plus, with Cael Sanderson seemingly putting together a stronger lineup year by year.

Last season, Penn State broke two records at the NCAAs: the all-time record for team points (172.5) and the highest team winning margin (100). But despite all of the recent success, there are still more possible records for the Nittany Lions to break in Philadelphia this weekend.

Records on the line for Penn State wrestling at 2025 NCAA Championships

1. Most points scored (again)

Penn State wrestling 184-pounder Carter Starocci. © Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This week, Penn State can once again set the points record at the NCAA Championships. Last season, the Nittany Lions broke the 170-point mark set by Iowa in 1997 with a 172.5-point performance in Kansas City. This year, the lineup appears to be even more deadly. The Nittany Lions were projected to score 136 points based purely on seeding in 2024. In 2025, Penn State would earn 157 points if all the seedings hold.

While it may look like this team will crush the program’s previous record, there still should be a bit of hesitation. Every wrestler but Braeden Davis (No. 8) is seeded inside the top four of their respective weight classes. Ultimately, that means there is more room for the Nittany Lions to place below expectations than above them.

Penn State wrestling holds four No. 1 seeds this year. But outside of Mitchell Mesenbrink, the other three could all have tough matches on the way to a national title. That said, the roster has nine legitimate national championship contenders this season. If Penn State wins five individual titles and the rest finish in at least the top four of their weight class, the record will likely be smashed once bonus points are considered.

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The Nittany Lions went four for six in the 2024 Finals, and superstar Carter Starocci didn’t pick up any bonus victories in his title run due to a leg injury. If Beau Bartlett and Mesenbrink had won their titles, Penn State would’ve earned eight more points. Add in a modest four bonus points from Starocci, and the Nittany Lions team total would’ve been close to 185 points.

The NCAA Tournament is unpredictable, and we have seen Penn State wrestlers get upset in the past. But this year’s team may be the best that Cael Sanderson has ever assembled. We may not see another team with this much depth due to David Taylor’s rise at Oklahoma State and the proliferation of NIL money at other top schools. While unlikely, this team could push to score 200 points if all 10 wrestlers perform to expectations and average roughly five bonus points. That would be a record that even Penn State would have trouble breaking.

2. Six individual national champions

Penn State wrestling 125-pounder Luke Lilledahl. © Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Of the six Nittany Lions who made the NCAA Finals a year ago, five returned to the Penn State lineup this season. All five are projected to return to this year’s Finals, with Luke Lilledahl and Tyler Kasak also predicted to be wrestling for a national title on Saturday evening.

In addition to the seven projected finalists, Shayne Van Ness is the No. 3 seed at 149 pounds, and Josh Barr is the No. 4 seed at 197 pounds. Both have looked like the best wrestler at their weight class multiple times this season. If it wasn’t for Van Ness’s upset loss in the Big Ten Semifinals and Barr’s injury at the same tournament, both might be seeded in the top two at their weight.

The tournament record for individual NCAA champions by one team is five. Penn State has accomplished that feat twice – so has Iowa and Oklahoma State has done so once. If the Nittany Lions do it again this year, they will have the most tournaments with five NCAA Champions.

Cael Sanderson could possibly have his team positioned for an even greater achievement: six national champions. Penn State certainly came close last year, with Bartlett and Mendez losing by a single point. It wouldn’t be unreasonable for Penn State wrestling to achieve this mark, but the key will be for everyone in the lineup to survive until the Semifinals. While this feat will be easier said than done, nothing should be surprising from a Cael Sanderson-coached team anymore.

3. 10 All-Americans at last?

Penn State 133-pounder Braeden Davis. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

Despite all the individual and team achievements at the NCAA Championships, Penn State wrestling has never had ten All-Americans in the same year. The Nittany Lions always come up one or two short. Last season, No. 1 Braeden Davis ended up being eliminated in the round of 12. Aaron Nagao also failed to place after being eliminated, leaving the Nittany Lions with eight All-Americans.

Having ten All-Americans has only been accomplished once in NCAA history by the 2001 Minnesota team. Famously, the Gophers had an All-American at every weight class in that year’s tournament but didn’t have a single wrestler in the NCAA Finals. But just having 10 All-Americans was enough to give Minnesota its first national title in program history with a 13-point lead over second-place Iowa.

This year, Penn State has a wrestler seeded within the top eight at every weight class. Outside of an injury, this record will come down to Braeden Davis and Josh Barr. Both have experienced injuries this year, Davis throughout the season and Barr in the Big Ten Championships. If healthy, both have favorable chances of reaching the podium. Davis will have the tougher draw of the two, potentially facing No. 1 Lucas Byrd in the quarterfinals.

Any wrestler who is upset early will have to work his way back through the consolation bracket to try and finish on the podium. That is certainly something that every wrestler in this lineup can do. Last season, then-freshman Tyler Kasak lost his opening match before winning seven straight to finish third at 149.

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