Virginia Tech Wrestling: Previewing the 2026 ACC Championships

After claiming its second consecutive regular-season dual meet title, No. 6 Virginia Tech wrestling enters the 2026 ACC Championship with momentum. The Hokies are eyeing back-to-back conference championships for the first time since 2017-18, after taking last year’s crown handily in Durham. With the release of the tournament’s pre-seeds and brackets, let’s take a look at how Sunday’s action in Blacksburg, which features 44 ranked wrestlers, could shake out.

(Rankings from InterMat.)

125 pounds

1. No. 3 Eddie Ventresca, Virginia Tech

2. No. 9 Nico Provo, Stanford

3. No. 5 Vincent Robinson, NC State

4. No. 16 Kysen Terukina, North Carolina

5. Tyler Chappell, Pitt

6. No. 31 Keyveon Roller, Virginia

7. Spencer von Savoye, Duke

Eddie Ventresca (17-2) enters Sunday red-hot, coming off a big win against Oklahoma State’s No. 6 Troy Spratley. He’ll be the favorite to defend his title from last year, but he’ll face stiff competition as three of his opponents are ranked inside the top-20 nationally. Ventresca is undefeated against the field in dual matches this season, including a 5-1 decision against Provo, a 2-1 tiebreaker victory over Robinson, a 7-2 decision against Terukina, and a 19-4 technical fall over Chappell. He’ll look to take care of business to secure a high seed at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland later this month.

133 pounds

1. No. 7 Aaron Seidel, Virginia Tech

2. No. 8 Tyler Knox, Stanford

3. No. 21 Zach Redding, NC State

4. No. 25 Evan Tallmadge, Pitt

5. No. 26 Ethan Oakley, North Carolina

6. Marion Yarbrough II, Virginia

7. Riley Rowan, Duke

After dropping a thriller against Oklahoma State’s No. 5 Jax Forrest, Aaron Seidel (13-1) comes into his first ACC tournament with plenty of wind in his sails. The true freshman has been nothing short of spectacular this season, earning bonus point wins in every match but two. He’s handled every wrestler in the field this year, earning a 13-0 major decision against Knox, a 16-0 technical fall over Redding, and a 15-0 technical fall against Yarborough. Knox and Redding pose the biggest threats to Seidel, but he throttled both wrestlers during the dual season. Anything can happen, but look for Seidel to score points early and often on Sunday en route to his first NCAA bid.

141 pounds

1. No. 11 Jack Consiglio, Stanford

2. No. 12 Luke Simcox, North Carolina

3. No. 10 Ryan Jack, NC State

4. No. 18 Tom Crook, Virginia Tech

5. Briar Priest, Pitt

6. No. 29 Gable Porter, Virginia

7. Raymond Adams, Duke

Tom Crook brings a 16-9 record into Sunday, looking to make some noise at a weight class in which Virginia Tech has struggled to compete in over the last several years. Crook dropped bouts against Consiglio (5-6) and to Jack (2-7), while he defeated Adams 7-4 during the regular season. So far, he’s handled himself fairly well against some tough competition, but he’ll look to have his best performance of the year to help the Hokies secure their second consecutive league title.

149 pounds

1. No. 8 Koy Buesgens, NC State

2. No. 11 Aden Valencia, Stanford

3. No. 7 Collin Gaj, Virginia Tech

4. No. 23 Kade Brown, Pitt

5. No. 31 Wynton Denkins, Virginia

6. Dylan Ross, Duke

7. Nate Askew, North Carolina

Fresh off an ankle injury, Collin Gaj (17-8) hopes to make the most of his return to the mat. The true freshman has not competed since he suffered his injury against Virginia, but has shown plenty of promise in his first collegiate season. He has racked up several impressive wins against the field, including a statement 2-1 victory over Valencia and a pivotal 6-0 decision against Buesgens. He also downed Brown 5-4 to pick up his first ranked win. Gaj’s No. 3 seed reflects his extended absence, and likely would have received the top seed if he had been healthy. Assuming he’s back to full strength, he could be a solid favorite to take this weight class, but he will need to wrestle his best in arguably the best division in the conference.

157 pounds

1. No. 10 Daniel Cardenas, Stanford

2. No. 14 Ethen Miller, Virginia Tech

3. No. 18 Dylan Evans, Pitt

4. No. 26 Laird Root, North Carolina

5. No. 30 Colton Washleski, Virginia

6. Luca Felix, NC State

7. Mikey Boulanger, Duke

Since transferring to Virginia Tech, Ethen Miller (14-4) has been a steady presence in the middle of the lineup. His lone loss in conference matches came against Cardenas, who notched an 11-2 major decision. In his other league bouts, Miller picked up ranked wins over Evans (4-2), Washleski (3-3 TB2), Root (5-2 SV), Felix (12-1 MD), and Boulanger (11-2 MD). Washleski and Root gave Miller the most trouble outside of Cardenas, but if he takes care of business, he should be wrestling for a title on Sunday night.

165 pounds

1. No. 9 Will Denny, NC State

2. EJ Parco, Stanford

3. No. 33 Mac Church, Virginia Tech

4. No. 19 Bryce Hepner, North Carolina

5. No. 32 Jared Keslar, Pitt

6. Michael Murphy, Virginia

7. Aurelius Dunbar, Duke

Similar to Crook, Mac Church (21-8) has held up decently well this season after splitting time with true freshman Ryan Buton, who will redshirt. Church has wins over Hepner (5-1), ranked No. 12 at the time, Murphy (5-1), and Dunbar (9-2). He wrestled well against Oklahoma State’s No. 2 Ladarion Lockett, coming up short 6-2. Church dropped his bout to Keslar, 2-4, and did not wrestle against Denny and Parco. The sophomore will need his best stuff if he wants to improve on his third-place finish in last year’s tournament.

174 pounds

1. No. 14 Luca Augustine, Pitt

2. No. 6 Matty Singleton, NC State

3. No. 22 Aidan Wallace, Duke

4. No. 30 Sergio Desiante, Virginia Tech

5. Nick Hamilton, Virginia

6. Collin Carrigan, North Carolina

7. Collin Guffey, Stanford

Sergio Desiante (16-12) comes into the tournament with a 2-3 record in conference play. On the year, he has wins against Guffey (8-6) and Hamilton (15-4 MD), but he dropped close bouts to Augustine (1-2), Singleton (4-5 riding time), and Carrigan (5-8 SV). He performed well against No. 7 Alex Facundo and looked as if he secured a late match-winning takedown before the Cowboy out-maneuvered him for a score of his own to end Desiante’s bid. The Chattanooga transfer may need some help ahead of him, but he’s demonstrated that he can compete with elite talent and could be a dark horse candidate to win the 174-pound title.

184 pounds

1. No. 26 Chase Kranitz, Pitt

2. No. 28 Abraham Wojcikiewicz, Stanford

3. No. 29 Jaden Bullock, Virginia Tech

4. No. 15 Jake Dailey, North Carolina

5. Don Cates, NC State

6. Griffin Gammell, Virginia

7. David Hussey, Duke

Another graduate transfer addition to the lineup, Jaden Bullock (17-10) has provided a veteran presence in the top half of the lineup, especially during the last several dual meets. He has wins over Hussey (19-4 TF), Cates (2-0), and Dailey (8-3). The latter two wins either regained momentum for the Hokies or stopped the bleeding when things weren’t going their way. He dropped a close match to Wojcikiewicz 5-6 and couldn’t keep up with Kranitz in a 6-9 loss. Bullock’s strength all season has been his defense and ability to slow down the action in his favor. While he hasn’t been known to score points in bunches, he has a knack for limiting opponents’ chances and remaining composed late in bouts, a skillset that could help him make a run in perhaps the most wide open division of the tournament.

197 pounds

1. No. 8 Angelo Posada, Stanford

2. No. 9 Mac Stout, Pitt

3. No. 11 Sonny Sasso, Virginia Tech

4. Patrick Brophy, NC State

5. Robert Platt, North Carolina

6. Steven Burrell Jr., Virginia

7. Owen McGrory, Duke

After a shaky stretch of matches in January, Sonny Sasso (20-5) has turned his game around in a big way. During the Hokies’ doubleheader weekend in February, in which it hosted No. 13 North Carolina and No. 3 Oklahoma State, Sasso picked up a 12-4 major decision over Platt and a 7-1 decision over the Cowboys’ No. 7 Cody Merrill. His win against Merrill dual arguably was the biggest of his career and signified that he had returned to form when it mattered most. During conference matches, he lost to Posada by way of a 4-13 major decision, fell to Stout, 4-10, but picked up big wins against Brophy (11-10), Burrell (9-1), and McGrory (18-3 TF). He looks to maintain his momentum and become the first Hokie to win the class in some time.

285 pounds

1. No. 2 Isaac Trumble, NC State

2. No. 17 Dayton Pitzer, Pitt

3. No. 18 Jimmy Mullen, Virginia Tech

4. Connor Barket, Duke

5. Brenan Morgan, Virginia

6. Jacob Levy, North Carolina

7. Luke Duthie, Stanford

Defending 2025 ACC Champion Jimmy Mullen (19-6) has been another consistent standout at the top of the lineup for the Hokies this season. With wins against Morgan (14-6 MD), Levy (19-3 TF), and Duthie (fall 2:58), the redshirt sophomore has handled the opponents he was favored against but hasn’t been able to get over the hump against the top grapplers in the division; he dropped decisions to Pitzer (1-0) and Trumble (7-0) this season. Pitzer, in particular, has been Mullen’s kryptonite, after he lost last season’s 285-pound title bout to the Panther 1-4 in sudden victory. With another season under his belt, Mullen looks to get even and defend his title.

Outlook

Virginia Tech enters Sunday with plenty on the line. Clinching a second consecutive league title would do wonders for head coach Tony Robie’s program, which, until last year, finished second in the conference tournament behind rival NC State for four straight years. Adding another trophy would further cement the Hokies’ place at the top of the quickly improving ACC.

Judging by pre-seeds and their performances in duals this season, the Hokies should be favored to do well in the lightweight division. Ventresca and Seidel should be in the mix for a title, and Gaj wouldn’t be a shocking contender, either. Miller has looked strong in nearly every conference bout he’s competed in this season, and should hang around in the latter rounds of the tournament, potentially for a rematch with Cardenas. From 165 onward, things get a little tougher. Although every Virginia Tech grappler has a good chance in their brackets, the odds of making the finals are somewhat slimmer. Last year, the Hokies sent six wrestlers to the championship round. They could reasonably do the same on Sunday, but they may need some help.

Overall, Virginia Tech should be in the thick of it for the team title later in the day. Where exactly the Hokies finish will depend on their ability to handle the matches that they’re favored in and whether or not they can secure key upsets along the way.