The 2025-26 college wrestling season is in the rear-view mirror, and head coach Brian Smith will look to bring Mizzou back to perennial success after a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
The first step in building on this past season for the Tigers is retaining proven or potential talent and going after wrestlers who could replace their departures. The transfer portal opened April 1 and will remain that way for the entirety of the month. Mizzou has yet to have any wrestlers enter the portal.
Smith had a young roster in the post-Keegan O’Toole era – although the former two-time All-American thrived in his first season coaching by all accounts – which came with plenty of ups and downs.
Departures, transfers, internal development and the incoming freshman class are factoring into next season’s roster. The Tigers were once on an eight-season stretch finishing in the top 10 at nationals, and this past season laid the groundwork for a return to perennial greatness.
Departures
- Luqman Masud (125)
- Josh Edmond (149)
- Nate Pulliam (149)
- Joel Mylin (157)
- Teague Travis (157)
- Max Mayfield (165)
- Evan Bates (197)
- Jacobi Jackson (285)
Mizzou is losing a combined 11 NCAA qualifications between its departing wrestlers. Edmond, Travis, Mayfield and Bates were primary starters who will have to be replaced.
The quartet of starters from last season were also the only graduating wrestlers to ever qualify for nationals – Bates was the only one to qualify last season. Edmond was on the brink of his third straight trip to the NCAA Championships, but just missed the cut as the first alternate. His solid 20-6 record didn’t include enough marquee wins, and a seventh-place finish at the Big 12 tournament didn’t help his case.
The other three starters who are leaving were one-year rentals. Bates and Mayfield came from Northwestern, and Travis was a midseason acquisition from Oklahoma State. The 197lbs division was a particularly competitive crop in the Big 12, leading Bates to falter in conference play and the end-of-season tournament.
After going 0-2 at the conference championship, things were looking bleak going into nationals for him with an at-large bid. Bates took an upset against No. 8 DJ Parker in round one before going 1-2 in the remainder of the tournament. Even though he didn’t place, he was the most successful rental for the Tigers.
Travis was a Columbia, MO, native who never quite lived up to expectations. He went 12-8 in his semester with Mizzou and placed sixth at the Big 12 Championship. Mayfield had a season riddled with injuries, where he went 8-7 and finished 1-2 in the Big 12 Championship.
The rest of the departers aren’t leaving without having an impact on the program. Mylin and Masud both put in work in non-conference events. Mylin took second place in the silver bracket of the Soldier Salute at 165lbs. Masud participated in far more events in his redshirt junior season with the Tigers.
Returners to Watch
- Mack Mauger (125)
- Kade Moore (133)
- Gage Walker (133)
- Seth Mendoza (141)
- J Conway (157)
- Cam Steed (174)
- Aeoden Sinclair (184)
- Logan Cole (184)
- Jarrett Stoner (285)
Roster turnover is the primary reason for optimism in the program’s direction. Seven of their nine key returners have qualified for nationals, and there are plenty of returning starting-caliber talents.
Mauger, Walker, Steed, Sinclair and Stoner are coming off NCAA qualification seasons. Mauger and Sinclair will be redshirt sophomores next season, the latter as the face of the program. Walker will be a junior, and Stoner will be a redshirt junior. Stoner shouldn’t have a problem hanging onto his starting spot, coming off a season where he won the 2025-26 NCAA Elite Scholar-Athlete Award and can aim for a better finish with some added weight.
There may be a battle at 133lbs between Moore and Walker unless one of them makes the move up to 141lbs at the Tigers’ biggest position of need. Both are deserving of a starting spot. Mendoza is another option at 141lbs or 149lbs. He’s a former top recruit coming out of high school and turned heads in his redshirt season.
Steed and Conway are both going into their redshirt senior seasons. Steed was one of two All-Americans for Mizzou – the other being Sinclair – and Conway brings experience as someone who can wrestle at 157lbs or 165lbs.
Rounding out the returning wrestlers to look out for next season is Cole. He had the problem of competing in the same class as Sinclair, but Smith moved him to 197lbs when Bates was injured and that’s where he projects as the starter next season with little competition.
These fill nine potential starters for the 2026-27 campaign. Mizzou will likely hit the portal for at least one experienced starting option, and currently has three roster spots it can fill to hit the 30-man roster cap. The incoming freshmen class factors into that number.
Incoming Freshmen
- Brady Collins (125)
- Yandel Morales (133)
- Zion Borge (133)
- Jason Hampton (141)
- Trey Craig (184)
- Cash Cooley (197)
* Weight class listings are projections aside from Borge and Cooley, whose incoming classes have been confirmed by Smith.
The Tigers will be bringing in six freshmen next season. The class isn’t highlighted by a blue-chip recruit like the 2025 class was with Mendoza, but it has multiple wrestlers who could be contributors down the line.
Borge leads the crop as Mat Scout’s No. 95 overall recruit in 2026 as a Richland, Missouri native, but has wrestled in Utah and Oklahoma during high school. He is confirmed to come in as a 133lbs wrestler. Craig is the other Missouri-born wrestler in the incoming class, hailing from St. Louis. He is the 155th overall recruit in his class and wrestled at 190lbs in high school.
Leading the out-of-state recruits is Cooley, who is from Allen, Texas, and will compete with Cole at 197lbs. He is the No. 118 overall recruit in 2026. Collins follows as the No. 124 overall recruit – a Burlington, Wisconsin native. He trained under Ben Askren at Askren Wrestling Academy, going 9-0 at Junior Duals.
Morales and Hampton are the final two commits, Morales coming from Andover, Mass., and Hampton hailing from Illinois. The former is the 160th-ranked wrestler in his class and a three-time state champion. The latter is unranked and was a late commitment after he flipped from SIUE.
None of the incoming freshmen should get much starting time in duals next season, but they should make divisions more competitive. Smith commonly uses the redshirt on his true freshmen, even if they show great promise as rookies.
The decisions Mizzou makes in the coming weeks could decide whether its young core advances back into national contention as the transfer portal window draws to a close at the end of April.
