Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson named The Open Mat's 2026 Division I coach of the year

Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson is being recognized by The Open Mat for his team’s success in 2025-2026. The longtime leader of the Nittany Lions is the outlet’s NCAA Division I Coach of the Year. The news was announced on Friday.

“Penn State’s dominance was evident all year,” The Open Mat writes. “The Nittany Lions went 15-0 in dual meets, including an 8-0 mark in Big Ten competition, before delivering a statement performance at the Big Ten Championships. Competing at the Bryce Jordan Center, Penn State crowned seven individual champions and won the team title with a school-record 184 points, nearly 40 points ahead of second-place Ohio State. It marked the program’s 10th conference title under Sanderson.

“At the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Penn State overwhelmed the field once again. The Nittany Lions clinched the team title early on the final day and finished with a record-setting 181.5 points, more than 50 points clear of the runner-up. The total broke Penn State’s own NCAA scoring record from the previous year and gives the program the top three scoring marks in NCAA history over the past three seasons. Penn State crowned four national champions — Mitchell Mesenbrink, Levi Haines, Josh Barr, and Luke Lilledahl — and tied an NCAA record with six finalists, going 4-2 in the championship matches.”

Penn State won its fifth straight NCAA title in Cleveland. The Lions also set a new national tournament scoring record for the third consecutive season.

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“I think this was an incredible year,” Sanderson said. “Obviously our heart and minds with kids who didn’t reach their goals, and we’re here thinking about hey what can we do better, we’ve got to do this better. We’ve got a lot on our minds now.

“Happy for the team. Just really an incredible group of guys, outstanding year. Our staff is, they’re all unicorns, really, up and down the lineup — director of ops, our general manager — every one of them, our trainer, obviously Cody and Casey and Nick Lee and the whole crew. We’re very blessed. Very grateful.”

The Nittany Lions only lose one starter from that team, two-time NCAA champ Levi Haines, and thus return seven All-Americans for the 2026-2027 season.