In Piscataway, New Jersey, Rutgers wrestling is making waves again, finishing No. 11 in the final NWCA Coaches Poll for the second year running. The Scarlet Knights wrapped up the 2025-26 regular season with a solid 14-5 dual record, including a 5-3 mark in conference play, securing their best-ever Big Ten finish at third place.
Rutgers closed the season on a high note with a six-match winning streak, highlighted by a victory over No. 6 Minnesota.
This marks the ninth time under head coach Scott Goodale that the team has achieved 14 or more dual wins in a season. Since Goodale took the reins in 2007, the Scarlet Knights have notched double-digit dual wins in 17 of 19 seasons.
The team’s triumph over Minnesota was a first, adding to impressive wins against in-state rivals Rider (21-12) and Princeton (28-9), as well as conference victories over Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, and Purdue. The Scarlet Knights’ five losses were all to ranked opponents, including three that ended the season in the NWCA top 10: No.
1 Penn State, No. 8 NC State, and No.
10 Illinois.
Rutgers has finished in the NWCA Coaches Poll 14 times since the 2009-10 season, with five consecutive top 25 finishes since 2021-22. This year’s No. 11 ranking is the fifth time the program has cracked the top 12 under Goodale’s leadership.
On the individual front, all 10 starters were ranked by Intermat at season’s end. Rutgers is one of just six schools to have all starters in Intermat's top 33, joining the likes of Penn State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Virginia Tech.
Joseph Olivieri (141) leads the pack for Rutgers with a flawless 15-0 record, ranking as high as No. 6 across multiple platforms. Five wrestlers, including Olivieri, Remy Cotton (197), Andrew Barbosa (165), Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184), and Hunter Catka (HWT), are ranked in the top 20 by Intermat.
The final coaches ranking and the first RPI for the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are set to be released soon. These rankings, along with several other criteria, play a crucial role in the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee’s selection and seeding process.
All 10 starters from Rutgers are gearing up for the 2026 Big Ten Championships in State College, Pennsylvania, on March 7-8. Following that, the NCAA Wrestling Championships will take place from March 19-21 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. The Scarlet Knights are poised and ready to make their mark on the national stage.