2026-27 Season Preview · #7 of 15

#7 Stanford

MatScouts Crystal Ball projected 2027 NCAA top 15 (Willie Saylor), mid-summer update

At number 7, Stanford might have had the most important offseason in the country, and it happened off the mat. Following their best NCAA finish in school history, 6th place with 67.5 points, half the postseason lineup hit the portal. Cardenas, Garvin, Knox, Provo. They're all back. Add returning national champion Aden Valencia, and they're a real threat for a team trophy in March.

The numbers back it up. Stanford's AthletorIQ Development Score ranked 6th nationally in 2026, up from 45th in 2022. They're developing wrestlers at the same rate as Penn State, Ohio State, and Nebraska now. That's not a fluke finish. That's a program.

The question is whether a returning roster can turn experience into points in March, especially at the upper weights. If they answer that, seventh is going to look conservative.

Returning NCAA tournament points

Of the 68.5 team points Stanford scored at the 2026 NCAA Championships, wrestlers accounting for 68.5 points (100%) are back in the room this season. Hover over the bar for the breakdown.

2026 NCAA team points: returning vs. leaving

068.5 pts scored in 2026
Returning

NCAA finish by year

Where Stanford actually finished at the NCAA Championships each year (solid green line), next to where our development model expected a roster with these ratings to finish (dashed gray line). Hover over a point for the score.

Team finish at the NCAA Championships, 2021 to 2026

202120222023202420252026
Actual finish Model-expected finish

Impact Score

Impact score is our model’s one-number rating of a wrestler’s season, earned in the conference tournament and the NCAA bracket: the deeper the March run, the higher the score. Aden Valencia’s 147 was the best returning score on this roster last season.

Add up every season this roster wrestled in 2025-26 and it comes to 692 impact. 682 of it (99%) is already back in the room, 10 walked out the door through the portal.

Career impact score entering 2026-27

  1. Daniel Cardenas157 lbs 162
  2. Nico Provo125 lbs 148
  3. Tyler Knox133 lbs 142
  4. Aden Valencia149 lbs 126
  5. Angelo Posada197 lbs 79

Roster

Projected 2026-27 lineup

Every weight, who is projected to hold it, what they did in the 2025-26 postseason, and who held the spot last March. All numbers are conference-tournament and NCAA matches only. Impact score is our model’s rating of a season: the 2025-26 number is what they earned, the 2026-27 number is what the model expects next.

125

Nico Provo

Fifth Year
3rd2026 NCAA Tournament
2nd2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Nico Provo (5th year)3rd at NCAAs Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)72Impact Score
2025-26136Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate44%
Takedowns / Match2.0
Nearfall Pts / Match1.1
Riding Time Points7
Escape Pts / Match1.0
Reversals / Match0
133

Tyler Knox

Junior
6th2026 NCAA Tournament
2nd2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Tyler Knox (Jr)6th at NCAAs Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)72Impact Score
2025-26101Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate29%
Takedowns / Match1.1
Nearfall Pts / Match0.6
Riding Time Points4
Escape Pts / Match2.4
Reversals / Match0.5
141

Jack Consiglio

Sophomore
DNP2026 NCAA Tournament
1st2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Jack Consiglio (So)DNP at NCAAs (10 seed) Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)37Impact Score
2025-2647Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate0%
Takedowns / Match0.8
Nearfall Pts / Match0.7
Riding Time Points2
Escape Pts / Match1.0
Reversals / Match0.7
149

Aden Valencia

Sophomore
1st2026 NCAA Tournament
3rd2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Aden Valencia (So)1st at NCAAs Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)118Impact Score
2025-26147Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate38%
Takedowns / Match2.7
Nearfall Pts / Match0
Riding Time Points5
Escape Pts / Match1.4
Reversals / Match0
157

Daniel Cardenas

Senior
DNP2026 NCAA Tournament
1st2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Daniel Cardenas (Sr)DNP at NCAAs (9 seed) Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)37Impact Score
2025-2661Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate60%
Takedowns / Match2.3
Nearfall Pts / Match0
Riding Time Points4
Escape Pts / Match1.1
Reversals / Match0
165

Hunter Garvin

No 2025-26 postseason matches. Stats begin when they reach a bracket.

2025-26 Postseason Starter
EJ Parco (So)DNP at NCAAs (27 seed) Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)25Impact Score
2025-26–Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats

No postseason data yet.

174

Grigor Cholakyan

No 2025-26 postseason matches. Stats begin when they reach a bracket.

2025-26 Postseason Starter
Collin Guffey (So)No NCAA bracket Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)5Impact Score
2025-26–Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats

No postseason data yet.

184

Abraham Wojcikiewicz

Junior
DNP2026 NCAA Tournament
3rd2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Abraham Wojcikiewicz (Jr)DNP at NCAAs (28 seed) Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)37Impact Score
2025-2638Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate75%
Takedowns / Match0.9
Nearfall Pts / Match1.1
Riding Time Points1
Escape Pts / Match1.4
Reversals / Match0.1
197

Angelo Posada

Freshman
6th2026 NCAA Tournament
2nd2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Angelo Posada (Fr)6th at NCAAs Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)72Impact Score
2025-2698Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate40%
Takedowns / Match0.9
Nearfall Pts / Match0
Riding Time Points3
Escape Pts / Match1.8
Reversals / Match0.2
285

Open

No projected starter on file for this weight.

2025-26 Postseason Starter
Luke Duthie (5th year)No NCAA bracket Graduated
2026-27 (expected)–Impact Score
2025-26–Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats

No postseason data yet.

Incoming recruits

The 2026 signing class, ranked by final big-board position. Expected entry score is the impact our model projects for a recruit’s first college season, set by where they finished on the board.

  • Zeno Mooreexpected entry score 5#30 board
  • Siraj Sidhuexpected entry score 1#95 board
  • Slava Shahbazyanexpected entry score 1#101 board
  • Jarrett Smithexpected entry score 1#172 board

Transfer portal

The 2026 cycle, in and out.

  • Lorenzo Norman174 · out to Oklahoma State Out
  • Hunter Garvin165 · back with Stanford Returning
  • Tyler Knox133 · back with Stanford Returning

The full portal history, cycle by cycle, is in the Development section below.

2026 NCAA team stats

What this roster did in the 2026 bracket, and where that ranks among every team that scored at the tournament.

70 Takedowns #5 of 67
9 Bonus-rate wins #7 of 45
15 Nearfall points #11 of 47
75 Escapes #1 of 70
10 Reversals #2 of 45
16 Riding-time points #2 of 57

How this team compares to all of D1

Bonus rate

Stanford31%
All D131%

Takedowns per match

Stanford1.6
All D11.0

Team points per qualifier

Stanford8.6
All D11.5

Medians across the 70 programs that scored at the 2026 NCAA Championships.

Takedowns per match

2026 postseason pace, projected lineup only.

  1. Aden Valencia149 lbs 2.7
  2. Daniel Cardenas157 lbs 2.3
  3. Nico Provo125 lbs 2.0
  4. Tyler Knox133 lbs 1.1
  5. Abraham Wojcikiewicz184 lbs 0.9

Nearfall points per match

2026 postseason pace, projected lineup only.

  1. Nico Provo125 lbs 1.1
  2. Abraham Wojcikiewicz184 lbs 1.1
  3. Jack Consiglio141 lbs 0.7
  4. Tyler Knox133 lbs 0.6

Development

Recruiting and the portal, 2020 → today

Every signee and every portal move this program has made since 2020, and what came of them. Expected is the rating our model projects: a first college season is measured against the wrestler’s big-board entry score, later seasons against the development model. Actual is the rating they earned. Click a wrestler to open their score card: the season-by-season receipt behind those career totals.