Another Penn State wrestling season is here, and the Nittany Lions are again the team everyone else is chasing. Cael Sanderson’s group is expected to make a run at a 14th national championship in 16 seasons, and while the opener against Bloomsburg is set for Thursday at Rec Hall, the exact look of the lineup is still taking shape.
Sanderson gave some clarity at his press conference Tuesday, and it helped firm up Penn State’s fourth projected lineup of the 2026-27 season.
At 125, Luke Lilledahl is the projected starter.
At 133, Sanderson confirmed that Masanosuke Ono will be the guy, with Marcus Blaze shifting up to 141.
Blaze is projected there now, while Shayne Van Ness remains the pick at 149.
The coach also laid out another move in the middle of the lineup: Duke is expected to go from 157 to 165, and reigning Hodge Trophy winner Mitchell Mesenbrink is projected to move from 165 to 174.
The lower and upper weights also have some stability in this projection. Josh Barr is listed at 197, and Connor Mirasola is projected at heavyweight.
That heavyweight spot comes with a notable change from last season. Connor Mirasola’s twin brother, Cole, was Penn State’s heavyweight a year ago, but he will not be on the roster this season because he is going on a religious mission trip, along with sophomore Will Henckel.
“Both are strong men of faith and felt like this would be a good opportunity for them to go out and share that with the world,” Sanderson said Tuesday. “Those are their personal decisions, obviously, so they won’t be on our roster this year. You’ll see that when the roster comes out.”
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Bloomsburg arrives with a little momentum of its own after rebounding from an opening loss to win its next two, and freshman Morgan Schwarz has already stood out in that stretch. For Penn State, the bigger question is how quickly the new pieces settle in once the whistle blows, especially with a season-opening setting that tends to reveal a lot about where the lineup stands before the schedule gets serious. [Read more 🡒]