Ten storylines to watch in NAIA wrestling
Life University has been the team to beat in NAIA women’s wrestling for the past two seasons. Last March, the Running Eagles won their second straight national title at the NAIA Women’s Wrestling National Championships in Park City, Kansas, holding off William Penn 169-158.5. Grand View, Providence and Wayland Baptist rounded out the top five.
A lot has changed since then. HerMat released its 2026-27 preseason NAIA rankings on Wednesday, including individual rankings in all 10 weight classes, tournament and dual meet team rankings and a top 10 pound-for-pound list. Graduation, coaching changes and a wave of transfers to NCAA programs have reshaped the national picture, and there is a new team at the top.
Here are 10 storylines in NAIA wrestling this season.
Grand View begins the season at No. 1
Grand View opens the 2026-27 season ranked No. 1 in both the HerMat tournament rankings and dual meet rankings. The Vikings, in their eighth season under head coach Angelo Crinzi, have been knocking on the door for years. Grand View placed third at nationals in 2023, fifth in 2024, second in 2025 and third last March with eight All-Americans. The Vikings are still looking for their first NAIA women’s national title. Grand View has 12 ranked wrestlers, the most of any team in the country, led by No. 1 Andjela Prijovic at 180 pounds. Prijovic reached the national finals last season. Four Vikings are ranked No. 2: Lita Cruz (103), Tristan Nitta (110), Cailin Campbell (117) and Martha Hinneh (207). Nitta, a three-time All-American, placed third last March, while Campbell placed fourth and Cruz placed fifth. Isabelle Apple (103), Eliana Martinez (110), Mayangelie Colon (117) and Selena Mares-Castro (207) are each ranked in the top five. On paper, the Vikings are the team to beat.
Indiana Tech is positioned to contend for a national title
Few programs in the country have climbed as quickly as Indiana Tech. The Warriors’ women’s program was only four years old when Rose Kaplan arrived on campus in 2024. Last season, Indiana Tech placed third at the Midlands Championships, finished second at the Mid-South Conference Championships for the best conference finish in program history and placed seventh at nationals with five All-Americans. Now, the Warriors open the season ranked No. 2 in both the tournament and dual meet rankings. Head coach Paul Rademacher has two No. 1-ranked wrestlers in Zoey Haney (103) and Kaplan (124). Haney reached the national finals as a true freshman last March, while Kaplan, a two-time All-American, was a national runner-up after placing sixth as a freshman. Bo Geibe (160), who placed fifth last season, is ranked No. 3. Lola Barkby (124) and Hayden Newberg (145), both All-Americans as freshmen, are each ranked No. 4. Kinnley Smith (131) and MaKenize Smith (110) are ranked fifth and sixth, respectively. The Warriors have never been in a better position to win it all.
Two-time defending champion Life U is no longer the favorite
Life U has won the past two NAIA women’s national titles, but the Running Eagles open the season ranked No. 4 in the tournament rankings and No. 3 in the dual meet rankings. Life U lost plenty of firepower from last season’s championship team. The McBryde sisters have graduated, including two-time national champion Jamilah McBryde (145), national runner-up Zaynah McBryde (138) and Latifah McBryde (160), who placed third. Life U still has 10 ranked wrestlers and picked up some notable additions. Janida Garcia, a transfer from Emmanuel, is ranked No. 2 at 131 pounds. True freshman Faith Bane is ranked No. 10 at 145 pounds. Reka Busa, who placed third last March, is ranked No. 2 at 180 pounds. Ariana Martinez (124), Christina Jaen (138), Madeline Welch (207) and Diana Gonzalez (110) are ranked fifth, sixth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Life U also added Grace Lachinsky, an NAIA All-American transfer who is redshirting this season. Counting out a two-time defending champion would be a mistake, but Life U will have to earn a three-peat.
NAIA landscape is changing
Two of the top four teams from last season’s national tournament are rebuilding. William Penn, the national runner-up last March, crowned four champions in Park City. Three of them are now wrestling at Iowa State. Nigerian stars Christianah Ogunsanya (117) and Esther Kolawole (138) followed former William Penn coaches Jake Kadel and Cash Wilcke to the Cyclones, along with 180-pound champion Piper Fowler. Ogunsanya and Kolawole each won two NAIA titles, and they combined for an 80-0 record. All-American Avy Perez and Tatiana Paragas also transferred to Iowa State. William Penn hired Gary Woods II as its new head coach and director of wrestling in July. The Statesmen are unranked in both team rankings, with three ranked wrestlers. Providence, which placed fourth at nationals last March, faces an even bigger challenge. On Tuesday, the University of Providence announced it will close at the end of the 2026-27 academic year, citing declining enrollment and growing financial pressures. The Argos had already lost head coach Matt Atwood to Bellevue, and 10 of his wrestlers followed him to Nebraska. Two-time national champion Erin Hikiji has graduated. Marco Retano, a former Eastern Oregon assistant, was named head coach in April. Providence still lists some notable wrestlers on its roster this season. Paige Morales is ranked No. 4 at 110 pounds, while Alyssa Randles is ranked No. 3 at 124 pounds. Isabella Bocanegra (103) and Kayla Shota (110) are ranked eighth and ninth, respectively. Providence is ranked No. 11 in the tournament rankings and No. 16 in the dual meet rankings. This will be the Argos’ final season.
Bellevue looks to make an immediate impact
Bellevue hasn’t wrestled a match yet, but the first-year program is ranked No. 10 in the tournament rankings and No. 12 in the dual meet rankings. The Bruins, located just south of Omaha, Nebraska, are coached by Atwood, who led Providence to a program-best fourth-place finish at nationals last March. The Providence transfers give Bellevue a running start. Joely Slyter, who placed seventh at nationals last season, is ranked No. 4 at 117 pounds. Hailey Sutton, an All-American last season, is ranked No. 5 at 160 pounds. Elise Twait, a Cascade Collegiate Conference champion, is ranked No. 7 at 145 pounds. Atwood also landed a pair of junior college national champions. Keyahna Phillips, the 2026 NJCAA champion at 180 pounds, is ranked No. 6, while Rosalia Rubio, the 2025 NJCAA champion at 117 pounds, is ranked No. 16. Fargo national champion Amie Hartman is ranked No. 13 at 207 pounds. Bellevue has six ranked wrestlers, and its head coach has big expectations.
“If these athletes step up and do what they’re capable of, we have an opportunity to bring home a trophy in year one,” said Atwood.
Southern Oregon has star power at the top
Southern Oregon, the 2023 national champion, opens the season ranked No. 3 in the tournament rankings and No. 5 in the dual meet rankings. The Raiders placed sixth at nationals last March and return one of the best wrestlers in the country in Lillian Gradillas-Flores. The returning national champion is ranked No. 1 at 207 pounds and No. 2 in the pound-for-pound rankings. Vida Boskovic is ranked No. 2 at 160 pounds, while Holland Wieber is ranked No. 3 at 145 pounds. Jade Morales (138) and Liana Ferreira (103) are ranked fifth and seventh, respectively. Wayland Baptist, ranked No. 5 in the tournament rankings, is right behind the Raiders. The Pioneers, who placed fifth last season, have two of the top four wrestlers in the pound-for-pound rankings. With Life U rebuilding and William Penn and Providence starting over, the race for a trophy is wide open behind Grand View and Indiana Tech.
Hattendorf brings an international resume to Doane
Doane has lost its biggest star, but it has added one of the most accomplished newcomers in the NAIA. Cristelle Rodriguez, a two-time NAIA champion and U20 and U23 world champion, has graduated. Skylar Hattendorf is back competing and set to wrestle for the Tigers this season. Hattendorf, a 2019 U17 world silver medalist at 57 kilograms, won a Junior Nationals freestyle title in Fargo in 2022 and was a Super 32 champion in 2021. She also trained as a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and competed in judo growing up. Hattendorf, expected to wrestle at 160 pounds, opens the season ranked No. 4 in the weight class behind Wayland Baptist’s Mercy Adekuoroye, Southern Oregon’s Boskovic and Indiana Tech’s Geibe. If Hattendorf lives up to her age-group resume, 160 pounds will be one of the most compelling weight classes in the country.
Bane, Lemus lead a small group of true freshmen
The NAIA doesn’t have as many highly ranked true freshmen as the NCAA, but two blue-chip recruits crack the top 10. Life U’s Bane is ranked No. 10 at 145 pounds. Bane became the first girls state champion in New Bern High School history in 2024, winning a title as a sophomore at North Carolina’s first officially sanctioned girls state championships. Wayland Baptist’s Leilani Lemus is ranked No. 7 at 180 pounds. Lemus finished last season as the high school national champion at 170 pounds. The Clovis High School standout won her fourth California state title in February, becoming just the fifth four-time girls state champion in California history. Last season, Indiana Tech’s Haney and Barkby both earned All-America honors as true freshmen. Don’t be surprised if Bane and Lemus do the same.
NJCAA champions are littered throughout the rankings
Several NJCAA national champions are making their NAIA debuts this season, and many of them start the season ranked. Grand View’s Hinneh, who won junior college titles in 2025 and 2026, is ranked No. 2 at 207 pounds behind Gradillas-Flores. Lindsey Wilson’s Ayana Fletcher, also a 2025 and 2026 NJCAA champion, is ranked No. 9 at 145 pounds. Bellevue’s Phillips, the 2026 NJCAA champion at 180 pounds, is ranked No. 6. Cumberlands’ Nevaeh Hayden, a 2025 NJCAA champion, is ranked No. 9 at 160 pounds. Wayland Baptist has two former NJCAA champions in the rankings: Anna Spencer, who won a title in 2026, is ranked No. 14 at 138 pounds, while Delise Villa, a 2025 champion, is ranked No. 18 at 145 pounds. Bellevue’s Rubio, who won an NJCAA title in 2025 at 117 pounds, is ranked No. 16. Expect a few of them to climb the rankings as the season progresses.
Adekuoroye tops the pound-for-pound rankings
Wayland Baptist’s Adekuoroye is ranked No. 1 in HerMat’s top 10 pound-for-pound rankings. The native of Akure, Nigeria, won the national title at 160 pounds last March as the fourth seed, going 4-0 at nationals to finish the season 30-4. She placed third as a freshman in 2025. Adekuoroye sits atop a list that looks much different from a year ago. Rodriguez has graduated, while Kolawole and Ogunsanya transferred to Iowa State. Another Nigerian, two-time national champion Jumoke Adekoye, also transferred to Iowa State from Dickinson State. Adekoye won NAIA titles at 131 pounds in each of her first two seasons and was a member of Nigeria’s 2025 senior world team. Southern Oregon’s Gradillas-Flores is ranked No. 2, Indiana Tech’s Kaplan is No. 3 and Wayland Baptist’s Jordan Suarez is No. 4. Suarez went 34-1 last season, losing only in the national finals at 145 pounds. Haney (No. 6) gives Indiana Tech two wrestlers in the top 10, and Grand View also has two with Prijovic (No. 7) and Nitta (No. 9). Oklahoma City’s Avery Jansing (No. 5), Missouri Valley’s Zao Estrada (No. 8) and Lindsey Wilson’s Kori Campbell (No. 10) round out the list. Interestingly, eight of the 10 wrestlers on the list are ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes. The exceptions are Nitta, ranked No. 2 at 110 pounds behind Jansing, and Campbell, ranked No. 2 at 145 pounds behind Suarez. Stay tuned.