After a successful trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Mizzou wrestling claimed fourth place as a team and two individual titles, six qualifying wrestlers will make the trip to Cleveland, Ohio, to compete at nationals. From first-time qualifiers to veteran qualifiers and even snubs, there are plenty of storylines for the Tigers going into the mecca of college wrestling.
Aeoden Sinclair (184lbs) and Cam Steed (174lbs) both earned automatic bids with Big 12 titles. Gage Walker (133lbs) and Jarrett Stoner
(285lbs) were the other two automatic bid recipients with fifth-place finishes. Mack Mauger (125lbs) and Evan Bates (197lbs) rounded out Mizzou’s qualifiers, both earning at-large bids.
Getting to the Tigers who fell just short of qualification, Joshua Edmond (149lbs), Teague Travis (157lbs) and Max Mayfield (165lbs) fell short in what was each of their final seasons of eligibility. Edmond has an outside shot at wrestling again, being named the first alternate in the 149lbs division if anyone gets hurt before the tournament.
Before nationals, let’s examine each bracket and every wrestler from Mizzou. The tournament will go from Thursday through Saturday at Rocket Arena. Bouts will be broadcast across ESPN’s networks.
All individual rankings are according to the NCAA Champs seedings.
125: No. 32 Mack Mauger
Mauger barely made the cut for the field of 33, having to wrestle in a play-in match to get into the main bracket. His reward if he beats No. 33 Jace Schafer (Bloomsburg): A match with No. 1 Luke Lilledahl (PSU). It’s an unfortunate situation, but it doesn’t mean he can’t go far in the wrestlebacks.
In his first starting season, Mauger went 22-14 and claimed seventh place at the Big 12 Championship. The redshirt freshman couldn’t find many upsets this season, but he’s set a great baseline for the rest of his collegiate career.
133: No. 19 Gage Walker
When Kade Moore was ruled out for the rest of the season coming into the new year, it was hard to imagine Walker filling in as well as he has. He went 17-7 as a true sophomore and took fifth place at the conference tournament, earning an automatic bid to nationals.
His first round match will be against No. 14 Ethan Berginc (Army), a four-time NCAA qualifier. That bout will be a tough test in itself, and even if he makes it through to the second round, he’ll likely have to deal with No. 3 Marcus Blaze (PSU). Walker got hot at the right time of the season. He could shock even more people this weekend and place higher than his seeding suggests.
174: No. 7 Cam Steed
Steed has a clear path to the quarterfinals with a match against No. 26 Derek Gilcher (IND) and likely No. 10 Myles Takats (Bucknell) in the second round. A quarterfinal mathcup with No. 2 Simon Ruiz is where things get tricky. Steed is another Mizzou wrestler who is wrestling his best at this point in the season and is no stranger to upsets.
The redshirt junior went 15-5 this season and won the 174lbs title at the SEC Championship. He battled through injuries throughout much of the season until catching his stride in 2026. Steed still has one season of eligibility left, but he could surpass his seventh-place finish in the 165lbs division from a season ago.
184: No. 2 Aeoden Sinclair
In what was possibly the biggest season-to-season jump by a Division I wrestler, Sinclair compiled a 30-1 season as a redshirt freshman en route to a 184lbs title at the conference tournament. His only loss came back in November against No. 7 Angelo Ferrari (Iowa).
Sinclair will likely see Ferrari again in the quarterfinals. It hasn’t been a flat line of consistency for Sinclair this season, but instead a steady rise in performance, one that could prove to bring him over Ferrari this time around.
If the top seeds make it through each round, Sinclair’s semifinal and final match will be against No. 3 Max McEnelly, then No. 1 Rocco Welsh (PSU). It would be a true gauntlet to a national championship, but he’s also Mizzou’s best hope at a title winner since Keegan O’Toole in 2023.
197: No. 25 Evan Bates
Bates sputtered to close the regular season and at the SEC Championship. He’s currently on a four-match losing streak, including a 0-2 finish in Tulsa. The SEC probably has the best crop at 197lbs in the nation, but Bates’ losses were both upsets.
His seeding was greatly affected by his recent performances. Bates will face No. 8 DJ Parker (OU) in the first round, a wrestler whom he already lost to by major decision on Feb. 12. He can definitely outperform his seeding, but the work will have to be put in through the consolation bracket.
285: No. 28 Jarrett Stoner
The final qualifier for the Tigers is a first time qualifier in Stoner. He took fifth place at the conference tournament for an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. Stoner went 23-14 as a full-time starter, remaining consistent throughout the season, but rarely competing with top-ranked talents.
He’ll have a challenging first round matchup with No. 5 Nick Feldman (OHST), but should not be chalked up as a two-and-done competitor. Stoner’s speed is better than most heavyweights and that aspect could contibute to some upset victories.
Mizzou finished last season strong with a 14th-place finish at nationals, also with six wrestlers competing. With two wrestlers who are real title contenders and others who can go far in the wrestlebacks, the program could surpass its 2025 result.
