Now that the 2x Defending National Champions, Bellarmine University, have moved on to full NCAA-D1 status, the battle for the 2025 NCWA Men's National Championship seems to be a dog-fight between around 5 programs. Liberty graduated some top talent including National Champions but also brought in a stellar recruiting class. Thomas More and Apprentice re-loaded their rosters with several key returners. Menlo College will be in a NCAA-transition year along with Vanguard University. Tarleton State will be in their first year with a NCAA-recruited team. Then there are the upstart programs that have made a recent mark such as Washington State, Utah Tech, and Springfield Tech. For the top-25 Men's team (NCWA-D1 and D2 ranked together, click READ MORE).

DANVILLE, Va. - The Apprentice School men's wrestling program wrapped up their second event of the year Sunday at the Cougar Open with Matthew Henson and David McElravy, Jr. each earning second place finishes to lead the way for the Builders.

Henson started his road to the podium at 184 with a 4-1 decision win over Allen's Jerrel Baskings before a 4-2 win over Bluefield State's Aiden Santos in the quarterfinals. Henson then got a medical forfeit in the semifinals to earn his second place finish. More

Tarleton State University made a strong statement at this weekend's Viking Open, hosted by Carl Albert College in Poteau, Oklahoma. Competing against a talented field in their first season under coaches Grant Leeth and Dalton Brady, Tarleton’s wrestlers claimed impressive individual victories and clinched second place overall with 112.5 points. They finished just behind North Eastern Oklahoma, who led the team scores with 124 points.

Navy transfer Zach Espalin dominated the 133-pound bracket with an undefeated 4-0 record, taking home the title in his weight class. True freshman Finn Shephard turned in an outstanding performance, winning five matches against 0 losses in a tough 32-man bracket at 165 pounds, securing another championship for Tarleton.

Other notable performances came from 184 lb Laird Borbon 5-1 with a solid second place finish ,141 pound

The National Collegiate Wrestling Association is seeing unprecedented growth in its women’s wrestling division. Since introducing a national championship for women in 2007 with just seven teams, the NCWA has expanded to 86 schools now sponsoring women’s wrestling programs. This season alone, 27 new programs joined, adding to last year's total of 59 teams.

The surge highlights a rising demand for women’s wrestling opportunities in collegiate athletics. The NCWA’s steady commitment to supporting and promoting women’s wrestling is paying off as the sport continues to grow nationwide. This years Nationals will be expanded from a two day event to three days with competition beginning Thursday March 13th 2025. With a vibrant community of 86 schools, NCWA women’s wrestling is primed for an exciting year.

Teams to watch this season include Washington State, Ottawa University Arizona, Utah Tech, Tarleton State in Texas, and Liberty University in Virginia—all strong contenders likely to vie for the national championship title. With these powerhouse programs, the race for this year’s championship promises some of the most intense competition in women's wrestling nationwide.

Utah Tech University has been awarded the 2025 NCWA Women's National Duals and the Men's Western Regional Duals. Teams expected to compete for the Women's title include the host Utah Tech Trailblazers, Ottawa University - Arizona, Grand Canyon University, and UNLV. The application / contract for the 2025 NCWA Women's National Duals can be found at 2025 NCWA WOMEN'S NATIONAL DUALS APPLICATION / CONTRACT. The contract for the 2025 Men's West Regional Duals can be found at 2025 NCWA MEN'S REGIONAL DUALS CONTRACT.

The Apprentice School (NCWA-D1, Newport News, Virginia) has been officially awarded the 2025 NCWA Men's National Duals and Women's East Regional Duals. After 2 years of joining forces with the NWCA in Iowa and Kentucky, the NCWA Board of Directors made the decision to break the tournament back out in order to provide a date more accommodating to NCWA institutions and to allow for more teams to participate (increasing from 8 to 16). The National Duals returns to Virginia where it had been hosted for several years by Liberty University. The new host looks to build an annual event in the Virginia Beach area akin to the Virginia Duals. Official Men's National Duals contracts are now posted at 2025 MEN'S NATIONAL DUALS APPLICATION / CONTRACT . Teams expected to compete for a Men's Dual title include The Apprentice School, Liberty, Thomas More, Tarleton State, Springfield Tech, and Washington State among others. Official Women's East Regional Duals contracts are now posted at 2025 WOMEN'S EAST REGIONAL DUALS CONTRACT.

Assistant Coach Josh McIlhenny led a group of four junior wrestlers for a 10-day trip to the nation located between Eastern Europe and West Asia on the border of Russia.

The Washington State University Cougar Wrestling Team is locked and loaded for the upcoming 2024-2025 Season. The Cougar Women’s Team has 23 wrestlers. Our women’s roster features 5 returning All Americans including the defending National Champion Sophomore Genesis Vazquez,

also 2-time All American and 2024 Finalist Junior Petra Bernsten, 2-Time All American and 2023 Finalist Senior Julie Wilson, 4^th Place Maryum Ajaz and 5^th Place Jordan Washek.

The Cougar Men’s Team has 43 men on their roster with 4 returning All Americans led by 2024 3^rd Place Finisher Sophomore Mitchell

On September 15th, NCWA athlete clearinghouse registration opened, with over a hundred athletes signing up in the first 24 hours. The 2024-25 season is shaping up to be the biggest in the NCWA’s 28-year history, with 16 new teams already registered and another 12 in the process. Athletes should register and sign their waivers as soon as possible. Coaches will need to upload athletes' photos as well as their waivers before the 10-day practice blackout period begins. The Conference Championships, held on March 1st, will be the most competitive ever, and qualifying for the 2025 National Collegiate Wrestling Championships in Bossier City, Louisiana, will be more challenging than ever. The NCWA looks forward to another great year of competition and camaraderie. Good luck to all!

Ottawa University Arizona Women's Wrestling Season Preview
Lead by two returning National Champions (Liliana Voakes and Anja Hansen) and 4 All-Americans (Angelina Walker, Iyanla Thomas, Ebony Cortez, and Evelynn Coronado), National Qualifier Mia Iguado, and Lourdes Duran who was injured. Ottawa University Arizona is ready for another successful season.

Adding to those returners is a very strong recruiting class of fourteen wrestlers. Those fourteen include a State Champion (Sharnesia Tate), seven State Placers

Head coach Grant Leeth, a former NCAA All-American at Missouri, has his new recruiting class ready to hit the mats this season. Leeth, along with Assistant Coach Dalton Brady, a 4x Arizona State Champion and Arizona State University standout, has solid aspirations of winning their first NCWA National Title next March in Bossier City, Louisiana.

Leeth has had an outstanding recruiting class, bringing in 46 men and 16 women to Tarleton State University. "We were selective in not just recruiting great athletes but also looked for solid students with a focus on academics,” noted Leeth. With one returning All-American and one National Qualifier from the Texans' 2024 squad, Leeth has added numerous high school state champions and a handful of portal transfers from NCAA schools. The women’s program also looks strong enough in their first year to chase after Washington State, Ottawa, and Liberty, pushing those perennial leaders for the 2025 Title.

Beginning in 1997, the National Collegiate Wrestling Association now has over 160 schools represented within the league. With nearly three decades now of competition there have been some impressive NCWA alumni that continue on with their mat career. Here are just two of the many notable alumni that help showcase the prowess of many NCWA athletes.

Tom Lawlor is one of the many recognizable names who competed in the NCWA. He won three NCWA national championships in the 235 pound weight class. Shortly after graduating from University of Central Florida Tom began working on his career in professional MMA.

Two years later competing in season 8 of the Ultimate Fighter he defeated >>>>

NCWA will need, more than ever, to be prepared as a safety net for NCAA Wrestling Programs that could suffer the chopping block as a result of the recent supreme court ruling and the NCAA opening of a new era in college athletics. leaders do not have much time to prepare for the transformative age. College sports is on the precipice of changing forever after the NCAA Board of Governors and every Power Five conference agreed to destroy the amateurism model and share revenue with players by coming to terms on settling a multi-billion dollar lawsuit that threatened to bankrupt the collegiate athletics enterprise.

The NCWA Conference leadership, Coaches & Officials from across the country will gather in The Colony, TX this June at TRU by Hilton at GrandScape to promote their visions for improving & growing wrestling at the college level. The Vision Forum dates back to 1999 just 2 years after founding the NCWA and has been the catalyst for the unprecedented success of the organization This year we will again partner with coaches across the nation to promote our sport and give our leaders the opportunity to network, collaborate and build lasting relationships around the sport they all love.

All NCWA Coaches, Officials & Leaders are encouraged to attend and to make their voices heard. The NCWA is the most coach centered governing body within the wrestling community and this annual Vision Forum is one of the best ways the NCWA can take coaches input and develop comprehensive, wrestling friendly rules, best practices, scheduling and a long term direction for our sport. We look forward to including all coaches and administrators in the future plans of the NCWA.
​ Don't miss this chance to make a lasting impact. EVENT & HOTEL REGISTRATION HERE

For the last time, she walked to the wrestling mat’s center ring, only to turn around and find him on bended knee – holding a ring.

Samantha Tuttle isn’t the type to wish for a “ring by spring,” as the Grand Canyon University student adage goes, but even this gutsy grappler started to cry.

The former New Mexico high school wrestler had transferred from a nearby college to GCU in 2022 after the coach told her she’d never be an all-American. She promptly joined a GCU women’s team in Club Sports that just launched the year before and never forgot his words, becoming an all-American for the second time in mid-March.

“A couple years ago, we were talking about not bringing wrestling back

Sixteen Washington State Wrestling Men qualifiers and twelve WSU Wrestling Women qualifiers competed at NCWA National Championships in Shreveport, Louisiana. WSU Women’s team placed 3rd out of 35 Teams edging out Utah Tech 82.5 points to 81 and WSU Men’s Team placed 6th out of 86 Teams.

The coveted “College Cup Award” was won by combined points of 117 by WSU Men & Women’s Wrestling Teams. This award was determined from the Men’s 4th Place National Duals finish and 6th Place National Championships finish and Women’s 3rd Place Western Duals finish and 3rd Place National Championships finish.

Please check out https://ncwa.net/forms for all results from Nationals including Awards Brackets, Placers Grids, and Academic All-American Teams!

BOSSIER CITY, La. – Grays Harbor College won its second NCWA Women’s National Championship here Saturday with six All-Americans that outpaced defending champion Ottawa Arizona, 158-148. The Chokers clinched the title in the finals sessions by winning national titles at 191 pounds behind Renaeh Ureste and at 235 with Jojera Dodge. GHCs previous title came in 2019.

NCWA National Championships Pictures by Photographer Caleb Steele are now available. Many more are being edited so check back often for new photos each week. All Championship Podium Photos are available from Mr. Steele as a complimentary gift to the NCWA All-Americans and their families. Additional Action photo's of each session may be purchased at very reasonable prices on the Calab Steele Photography website. Please enjoy these memories of the 2024 National Collegiate Wrestling Championships. Link at Read More >>>