Penn State Wrestling Turns Toward Big Ten Championships With an Eye on NCAAs
Penn State wrestling’s favorite time of year, the postseason, begins this weekend at the 2025 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. It’s the first step of college wrestling’s final challenge cup, which culminates with the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Philadelphia.
Penn State, the nation’s overwhelming No. 1 team, seeks to win its third straight team title at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, though that’s primarily a weigh station for the Nittany Lions. This year, Penn State also seeks to send its full 10-wrestler lineup to Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center for a coronation. But the Nittany Lions can’t do it without the proper performances this weekend at Big Tens, hosted by Northwestern University.
“It’s always about getting ready for the next match, and we talk about that each year, and this year is about getting ready for next year,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson told reporters in State College this week. “And obviously the conference tournament is really about preparing for the national tournament. So we just keep that mentality consistent, and it seems to help our guys peak at the right times.”
Sanderson covered a variety of topics with reporters during the pre-practice session in State College, where the Nittany Lions are in their final taper of preparations for the conference championships. Here’s a glimpse of what Sanderson discussed.
On Penn State wrestling’s health
The Nittany Lions had some injuries this season, notably to starters Braeden Davis (133 pounds) and Tyler Kasak (157), both of whom missed multiple bouts. Kasak returned in Penn State’s regular-season finale against Amercan to score a second-period pin. Davis did not wrestle in the finale but appears ready for the Big Ten Championships, Sanderson said.
“[Davis is] looking good, doing good, feeling good,” Sanderson said. “This will be the best and healthiest he’s been since before the season started. He tweaked himself in the first match out. He’s had some time to recover and he’s made some adjustments. … He’ll be ready to roll.”
On the potential heavyweight blockbuster final
Greg Kerkvliet, the defending Big Ten and NCAA champ at 285, should get his first look at Minnesota’s Gable Steveson, a two-time NCAA champ who returned to college wrestling this season after two years away. Steveson and Kerkvliet, ranked 1-2 nationally, have not competed against each other in college, and this could be the first of two championship bouts in March.
“Greg just needs to be Greg and do what he does and compete freely, because he’s really, really good,” Sanderson said. “You just want to take your best self out there and compete. He beat good guys last year [on his way to the NCAA title]. There’s always a lot of good wrestlers, and he’s wrestling good guys in here all the time. Greg’s a student of the game. He’s gotten a lot better ever year since he’s been here. … He’s an NCAA champ, a Big Ten champ, so he came back for the team. We’re excited to see him go compete for the team and see what he can do.”
Assistant coach Nick Lee’s influence on the program
Nick Lee, a two-time NCAA champ and Penn State’s first five-time All-American, joined Sanderson’s staff as an assistant coach this season. Lee is one of Penn State’s all-time great wrestlers and has brought that competitive focus and drive to the coaching staff. Now, he enters his first postseason as a coach.
“Coach Lee has been a great addition,” Sanderson said. “He’s got a huge heart. He really cares about the kids, and they know that and they can see that. You can’t fake that, and he’s made our staff better in that he just challenges what we’re doing. I couldn’t be happier with the effort he puts in and the mentality and [how he’s] helping the program take a step forward.”
Cael Sanderson’s postseason mission statement
Since the 2016-17 season, Penn State has won seven NCAA team titles and 27 NCAA individual titles, a dominant run in the sport. But Sanderson doesn’t have any profound words or grand gestures to describe Penn State’s recent postseason success. The program runs on his very simple philosophy: “The bigger the match is, the more fun it is.”
“Our guys have always competed really well in the postseason, and I think they have a lot of confidence in that, and there won’t be an exception this year,” Sanderson said. “Our guys are going to go wrestle great and they’re going to wrestle well at Big Tens and they’re going to wrestle even better at nationals. It’s going to be fun.”
