Barket Set for 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championship

2026 NCAA Wrestling Championship
March 19-21, 2026
Rocket Arena
Cleveland, Ohio
ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU & ESPN+
Watch l Notes

SETTING THE SCENE
• For the second year in a row, Duke's Connor Barket will compete in the NCAA Wrestling Championship, which will take place March 19-21 at the Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
• First round action will start at 12 p.m., with 125 pounds on ESPN2. The heavyweights will go last of the groups.
• Barket has been seeded No. 24 and will open play Thursday against ninth-seeded Cole Mirasola (17-6) of Penn State. The Barket/Mirasola winner advances to face the winner of the eighth-seeded Ben Kueter of Iowa versus 25th-seeded Alex Semenenko of Brown Thursday evening.
• For the second year in a row, Barket placed fifth at the ACC Championship and received an at-large bid to compete in the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championship.   He earned an automatic bid in 2025.
• Barket, who is from West Lafayette, Ind., has totaled a 21-7 record on the season.

THE SCHEDULE

Thursday, March 19
12:00 p.m. - First Round on ESPN2 & ESPN+
7:00 p.m. - Second Round and Consolation First Round on ESPN & ESPN+

Friday, March 20
12:00 p.m. - Quarterfinals and Consolation Second & Third Rounds on ESPNU & ESPN+
8:00 p.m. - Semifinals and Consolation Fourth & Fifth Rounds on ESPN2 & ESPN+

Saturday, March 21
11:00 a.m. - Consolation Semifinals and Third, Fifth, Seventh-Place Matches on ESPNU & ESPN+
6:30 p.m. - Championship Matches and Awards Ceremony on ESPN

HOW TO FOLLOW
• The championship will be aired live on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU & ESPN+.

IN THE RANKINGS
• Connor Barket is ranked nationally in the following --

WrestleStat (29), FloWrestling (30), Intermat (29)

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
• Blue Devil head coach Glen Lanham has now sent at least one wrestler to the NCAA Championship in 13 of his 14 seasons at the helm.
• The Blue Devils have had four wrestlers earn All-American honors: Konrad Dudziak (twice), Mitch Finesilver, Conner Hartmann (three times) and Jacob Kasper (twice).
• The Blue Devils have totaled at least one wrestler qualify for the NCAA Championships in every year since 2009 with the exception of 2024.
• Dudziak owns the program's best finish, finishing second in 2009.

MOVING UP WINS LIST
• Redshirt junior Connor Barket collected his 21st win of the season at the ACC Championship to rank sixth on Duke's single-season chart in the heavyweight class. He posted 24 wins a season ago to rank fifth.

Single-Season Wins List
HWT
1. Jacob Kasper, 2017-18              34-2
2. Konrad Dudziak, 2008-09        31-3
3. Jacob Kasper, 2016-17              30-6
4. Jonah Niesenbaum, 2022-23 26-6
5. Connor Barket, 2024-25           24-12
6. Wade Van Sickle, 2007-08       21-7
7. Connor Barket, 2025-26          20-5

BARKET VERSUS MIRASOLA
• Duke's Connor Barket will face Penn State's Cole Mirasola for the second time in his career. The duo met last season on Jan. 4 at the Southern Scuffle with Mirasola winning by technical fall, 21-6 (3:30).
• Both wrestlers finished fifth in their respective conference championships.

SECOND APPEARANCE AT NCAAS
• Connor Barket will make his second appearance at the NCAA Championship this week.
• In 2025, Barket faced sixth-ranked Joshua Heindselman of Michigan in the first round and was pinned (1:04). In the consolation round, Barket went up against 11th-ranked Jimmy Mullen and dropped a close bout by decision, 9-6.
• Barket is the 19th Duke wrestler to advance to the NCAA Championship multiple times and the first since Matt and Josh Finesilver advanced for the third and fourth times in their careers, respectively.

BARKET WITH 20 WINS ONCE AGAIN
• Duke redshirt junior Connor Barket joined the 20-win club with his victories against Virginia Tech and Cornell to close the regular season. Barket joined teammate Aidan Wallace this year to notch back-to-back 20+ win seasons.
• Barket became the 15th Blue Devil to notch back-to-back 20+ win campaigns in Duke history -- Matt Finesilver, Frank Cornely, Levi Craig, Voris Tejada, John Barone, Diego Bencomo, Jacob Kasper, Conner Hartmann, Mike Mitchell, Immanuel Kerr-Brown, Josh Finesilver, Marcus Cain, Tommy Hoang and Aidan Wallace.

Barket Set for 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championship

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Connor Barket

Aidan Wallace

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Barket Set for 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championship

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Connor Barket

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