Completed Event: Wrestling versus Harold Nichols Cyclone Open on January 18, 2026 , , One Champ
Final
Wrestling
Harold Nichols Cyclone Open
One Champ
Iowa State University Athletics
Saturday, March 7
Tulsa, Okla.
7:00 PM
Iowa State
vs
Big 12 Championship
PRIMER: 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championship
03.03.2026 | Wrestling
AMES, Iowa - No. 4 Iowa State competes for its second conference title in the last three seasons this weekend at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship presented by Allstate held in the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Action begins Friday morning at 10 a.m. and will conclude with the championship finals Saturday at 7 p.m.
What: 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championship Presented by Allstate
Where: Tulsa, Okla. // BOK Center
When: March 6-7
Live Stats: TrackWrestling // FloWrestling
Watch: ESPN+
[PxP: Mike Leslie; Analyst: Hardell Moore]
Listen: Varsity App
[PxP: Joe Sinclair; PxP: Ryan Rohlk; Analyst: Nate Carr]
BRACKETS // NOTES
TICKETS
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Friday, March 6
Session 1: Preliminary & Quarterfinal Matches - 10 a.m. (ESPN+)
Session 2: Semifinal & Consolation Quarterfinal Matches - 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, March 7
Session 3: Consolation Semifinals and Placing Matches - Noon (ESPN+)
Session 4: Finals - 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
ISU SEEDS & FIRST ROUND MATCHES
125: No. 2 Stevo Poulin (12-6) vs. Anee Vigil (ASU, 12-8)
133: Garrett Grice (3-1) vs. No. 1 Jax Forrest (OKST, 9-0)
141: No. 2 Anthony Echemendia (16-2) vs. David Saenz (WYO, 14-8)
149: No. 2 Jacob Frost (14-5) vs. Kenneth Evans (UNCO, 10-9)
157: No. 3 Vinny Zerban (14-3) vs. Daishun Powe (UNCO, 11-13)
165: No. 5 Connor Euton (14-6) received a bye
174: No. 4 MJ Gaitan (12-5) vs. Murphy Menke (UNCO, 10-8)
184: No. 7 Isaac Dean (15-5) vs. Brock Fettig (SDSU, 12-11)
197: No. 1 Rocky Elam (14-0) vs. Colton Hawks (ASU, 5-6)
285: No. 1 Yonger Bastida (21-0) vs. Brock Kehler (WVU, 11-17)
*At 133 pounds, Garrett Grice will be competing for the Cyclones in place of Evan Frost who was listed in the initial bracket release.
POST-MATCH SOCIAL
Cyclone wrestling fans making the trip south are invited to Albert G's Saturday night following Session IV for a post-match social.
Address: 421 E 1st St, Tulsa, OK 74120
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS QUALIFICATION
The Big 12 Championship Presented by Allstate serves as a qualifying event for the NCAA Championships. The Big 12 was awarded 63 allocations, the second-most of any conference. Those allocations are broken down by weight class below and represent how many Big 12 Championship placewinners at each weight will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships. In other words, if the 125-pound weight class received five allocations, the top five placers at the Big 12 Championship automatically qualify for NCAA Championships.
Big 12 Allocations By Weight
125: 5
133: 7^
141: 7
149: 5
157: 5
165: 4
174: 7
184: 8
197: 8
285: 6
Total: 62
^Note: E. Frost's allocation enters back into the NCAA's at-large pool, reducing the number of allocations at 133 pounds from eight to seven.
CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
- Nine of Iowa State's 10 wrestlers are seeded in their Big 12 Championship bracket, six of which are seeded third or better. Rocky Elam (197) and Yonger Bastida (285) were both given the top seed in their bracket after undefeated regular seasons.
- Three other Cyclones - Stevo Poulin (125), Anthony Echemendia (141) and Jacob Frost (149) - were slotted as the No. 2 seed at their weight.
- Five wrestlers in Iowa State's lineup have won a Big 12 title at some point in their career (Poulin, Echemendia, Zerban, Elam, Bastida).
- Garrett Grice (133) and Connor Euton (165) are set to make their postseason debuts this weekend in Tulsa.
- The Big 12's deepest weight class is 197 pounds. The conference features four wrestlers who are ranked in the top-8 nationally and six in the top-15. Overall, there are eight Big 12 197-pounders ranked in the top-25.
- The 174-pound weight class is also incredibly deep in Tulsa, featuring seven wrestlers ranked inside the top-16.
Yonger is a problem ‼️@BastidaYonger 🥇
— Iowa State Wrestling (@CycloneWR) March 11, 2024
🌪️🚨🌪️ pic.twitter.com/xFX6uREeT4
KEY STORYLINES
- Yonger Bastida is the No. 1 ranked heavyweight in the country by all major pollsters and the top-seeded big man in Tulsa. Bastida leads the team with 102 takedowns on the season while surrendering only two. He is 21-0 and leads the nation with 13 tech falls.
- With 96 career victories entering the Big 12 Championship, Bastida is four wins away from becoming the 40th wrestler in Iowa State history to win at least 100 matches in his career. He would become the first Cyclone since David Carr (2019-24), and the 16th this century, to achieve the milestone.
- Rocky Elam, the No. 1 seed at 197 pounds, is 14-0 on the season with seven wins by bonus-point margin. Elam holds a 6-0 mark against Big 12 competitors in the field this weekend.
- Elam is in search of his third conference title and second Big 12 title. He won the 197-pound Big 12 title in 2023 and a MAC title in 2021 while at Mizzou.
- Vinny Zerban is the defending Big 12 champion at 157 pounds. He is one of three champions from last year's tournament back to defend their title (Dom Serrano - 133, UNCO; Jett Strickenberger - 125, WVU).
- Anthony Echemendia is eying his second career Big 12 title, having won at 141 pounds in his last tournament appearance in 2024. He defeated UNI's Cael Happel, 4-2, in that title match. Echemendia is 16-2 with 13 bonus-point victories (1 WBF, 6 TF, 6 MD) and is 4-2 against ranked foes this season.
- Isaac Dean has not seen the mat since Iowa State's Feb. 1 dual at Oklahoma State due to a knee injury suffered in that match but is back in the lineup for the Big 12 Championship. He is 15-5 on the year and owns four wins over ranked opponents. Dean, who prides himself on being tough to score on, has had 12 matches decided by a takedown or less this season. He is 9-3 in those matches, including 5-2 in overtime.
- MJ Gaitan has been known to hit another gear when the postseason arrives. Last year, Gaitan lost his first match at the Big 12 Championship to eventual champ Keegan O'Toole before winning four-straight matches to finish third as the No. 7 seed.
- Stevo Poulin is on the hunt for his second career Big 12 title. He won his first title in 2023 as a redshirt freshman at Northern Colorado.
- It was a bumpy start to the season for Poulin, who started with a 4-5 record through his first nine matches wrestling perhaps the most difficult first semester schedule of any Cyclone. He saw five top-15 opponents in those first nine matches. Since the rocky start, Poulin has won eight of his last nine and is now 12-6 on the season.
- Jacob Frost is 14-5 on the season with seven bonus-point victories (4 TF, 3 MD). One of his five losses is a medical forfeit in the third-place match at the CKLV. Frost is 4-3 against ranked opponents this season, including a 2-2 mark against top-15 foes.
- Garrett Grice is 3-1 on the season with a pair of ranked victories over UNI's No. 22 Julian Farber and Missouri's No. 28 Gage Walker. Grice missed most of the season due to an injury suffered at the Cyclone Invitational, ISU's first tournament of the season.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Team Championships: 18
Individual Champions: 221
Indiv. Champions Under Dresser: 11
Last Team Championship: 2024
First Team Championship: 1929
Most Recent ISU Big 12 Champions
125: N/A (Weight started in 1999)
133: Nick Fanthorpe (2009)
141: Anthony Echemendia (2024)
149: Paniro Johnson (2025)
157: David Carr (2022)
165: David Carr (2023)
174: Lelund Weatherspoon (2016)
184: Lelund Weatherspoon (2014)
197: Kyven Gadson (2015)
285: Yonger Bastida (2024)
Big 12 Titles on the Roster
2 - Paniro Johnson (2023, '25)
1 - Rocky Elam (2023)
1 - Yonger Bastida (2024)
1 - Anthony Echemendia (2024)
1 - Stevo Poulin (2023)
1 - Vinny Zerban (2025)
WEEKLY MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Head coach Kevin Dresser, MJ Gaitan and Isaac Dean spoke with the media Tuesday. Watch their interviews below.
Players Mentioned
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
Kevin Dresser Interview (NCAA Championships Session 6)
Saturday, March 21
Kevin Dresser Interview (NCAA Championships Session 4)
Friday, March 20
Yonger Bastida Press Conference (Semifinals)
Friday, March 20
Yonger Bastida Interview (NCAA Championships, Session 3)
Friday, March 20
