NORTHERN SUN RELEASES 2026-27 WRESTLING PRESEASON COACHES POLL

10/22/2026 11:23:00 AM

Burnsville, Minn. - The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference released the 2026-27 Preseason Wrestling Coaches' Polls today with the Northern State University Wolves picked sixth with 56 points. Sloan Johannsen was selected as the team's wrestler to watch heading into the season.

Sloan has continued to grow tremendously as both an athlete and a leader within our program. His work ethic, consistency, and commitment represent everything our coaching staff looks for in a student-athlete, both on and off the mat. We are excited to continue watching Sloan develop and take the next steps in his career, building on the growth and success he has shown to this point.

Joshua Nolan

2025-26 RECAP

The 2025-26 Wolves went 8-5 overall and 5-5 in league dual action. Northern tallied eight podium finishers from the NCAA Super Region V Tournament including Region Champions Sloan Johannsen (125) and Rudy Lopez (149), as well as third place finisher Griffin Lundeen (157). The trio qualified for the NCAA National Championships where Lopez tallied the first All-American honor of his career taking seventh. In addition, Lundeen was named to the CSC Academic All-District team and the Wolves led NCAA Division II wrestling in GPA with a 3.598 mark.

2026 OUTLOOK

Northern enters their second season under the helm of head coach Josh Nolan. In addition, the Wolves add five to the 2026-27 roster along with 12 returning student-athletes. NSU officially opens the season on Sunday, November 1 at the Jimmie Open in Jamestown, N.D. Their first home contest will be Sunday, December 6 against the University of Sioux Falls Cougars at 2 p.m. Single dual tickets are currently on sale, as well as season ticket packages heading into 2026-27 at nsuwolves.com/tickets. Visit the Wolves game day page at nsuwolves.com/gameday for promotions and giveaways, as well as helpful links heading into the season.

NSIC preseason wrestling teams are selected through a league-wide Coaches’ Poll in which all NSIC head coaches vote for their teams and individual wrestlers, with rankings based on points and first-place votes. Coaches do not rank their own team or vote for their own wrestlers.

Northern State will host the NCAA Super Region V Championships, scheduled for Saturday, February 27 at the Barnett Center in Aberdeen, South Dakota, while the NCAA Championships will take place on Friday-Saturday, March 12-13 at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

2026-27 NSIC PRESEASON POLL

RK.	OVERALL POLL	POINTS
1	Parkside (5)	93
2	Minnesota State (2)	89
3	St. Cloud State (2)	82
4	Augustana (2)	75
5	University of Mary	70
6	Northern State	56
7	MSU Moorhead	42
8	Sioux Falls	41
9	Minot State	24
10	Southwest Minn. State	20
11	Jamestown	13