Rutgers wrestling head coach Scott Goodale hosted his 2026-2027 season preview press conference today to talk about how the team looks and share his insights and excitement about the season ahead.
During the press conference, Goodale spoke very highly about the depth of the current roster, calling it the most depth he has ever had.
“What I mean by that is, if somebody were to get hurt, knock on wood, you never want that, we have a No.2, a No.3 right behind them that are very, very capable. We are deep
at a lot of weights,” said Goodale.
“If somebody asked me to put down a lineup, because they ask me every day, I can’t give them our lineup right now; it’s that deep,” said Goodale.
“I don’t know if this is our best team; we won’t know that until March, but depth-wise and talent-wise and roster-wise it’s pretty deep,” said Goodale.
In the off-season, Rutgers landed a commitment from Anthony Knox, who was the No.1 125-pound wrestler in the 2025 recruitment class. Knox is the highest-rated recruit in Rutgers wrestling history. When Goodale was asked about his expectations for Knox, he took the time to instead talk about the expectations Knox has set for himself.
“He throws the word national championship around quite a bit. I truly believe he thinks that, that is the way he is wired and that’s awesome to be around. That’s where he wants to go and what he wants to do,” said Goodale. “It’s our job as a staff to hold him to that standard. That’s every day. So my expectations are to get the best out of him, to hold him to a high standard because that’s what he wants.”
After having two disappointing finishes at the NCAA tournament in the past two years, Goodale was asked if there is any urgency regarding this team’s performance in March.
“No, you can’t jump to it. I’ve made that mistake so many times, building up the national tournament. It would be silly for me to sit here and say it’s all about March; it’s not. We got to be better every single day,” said Goodale. “I am not putting the cart in front of the horse.”
Rutgers will compete in the National Duals Invitational, sponsored by Paycom, on Dec. 12-13 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Goodale shared his excitement for those duels as an early benchmark for the program during the press conference as well.
“We don’t know (who we are going to get), they are going to seed the top four, and then it is just going to be a blind draw. So heck, it could be Oklahoma State right away, it could be Virginia Tech right away it could be Ohio State right away. It’s awesome, I love it. Why else are you in it? I say it on every recruiting talk I have, if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it at the highest level. For us, this is a high level; it’s great. It’s a national dual meet championship, and I think we are a dangerous team in a dual meet. I really do,” said Goodale on his excitement for the invitational.
To view the entire press conference, click the link here.
