The 2026 US Open is set to go down in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 24-25. This tournament will feature many of the country’s best wrestlers, and every US Open winner will advance directly to Final X to wrestle for the chance to represent Team USA at the 2026 World Championships. Check out the article below for a full preview with predictions for this incredible tournament!
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2026 US Open Events & Girls HS National Recruiting Showcase
57 kg
Pre-Seeds
1. Spencer Lee (Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)
2. Luke Lilledahl (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
3. Liam Cronin (Nebraska Wrestling Training Center/Titan Mercury WC)
4. Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC)
5. Anthony Knox (Scarlet Knight WC/Rhino Wrestling LLC)
6. Eric Barnett (Wisconsin RTC)
7. Max Gallagher (Pennsylvania RTC)
8. Antonio Mills (Roundtree Wrestling Academy)
Other notable wrestlers:
Spencer Lee and Luke Lilledahl are the clear favorites to meet in the finals at 57 kg. Lee is the heavy favorite over Lilledahl and is 3-0 in head-to-head matches since 2023. It is worth noting that Lilledahl closed the gap from their first meeting at the 2023 Bill Farrell to their best-of-three at Final X last year. In 2023, Lee defeated Lilledahl by tech fall in the first period, 11-0. Last year, Lee won two straight matches over Lilledahl, 7-2 and 6-0. Lilledahl, fresh off an NCAA title, is a credentialed freestyle wrestler as a U17, U20, and U23 world champion. Has he improved enough to defeat Lee this year? I’d be very surprised if that’s the case, but I’m really interested in seeing this matchup in Vegas.
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Though Lee and Lilledahl are the clear favorites, the depth of this weight class will make the early rounds exciting to watch. Can the young contenders like Anthony Knox and Antonio Mills challenge some of the more veteran wrestlers in the field? Is Vincent Robinson capable of knocking off Lilledahl? These are questions that will be answered at the Open!
Spencer Lee’s win over Luke Lilledahl to make the 2025 World Team:
57 kg Predictions
61 kg
Pre-Seeds
1. Jax Forrest (Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
2. Seth Gross (Titan Mercury WC)
3. Marcus Blaze (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
4. Ben Davino (Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
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5. Austin DeSanto (Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)
6. Michael McGee (Virginia Beach RTC/New York AC)
7. Nathan Tomasello (Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
8. Nic Bouzakis (Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
Jax Forrest is riding an incredible year of wrestling, and it all started last year when he won the 2025 US Open. Last year in Vegas, Forrest defeated Nahshon Garrett, Ben Davino, and Seth Gross to win the US Open title at 61 kg. He then took out world champion Vito Arujau in two straight matches to make the senior world team and ultimately finished 5th at the 2025 World Championships. Now fresh off an NCAA title, Forrest carries with him an incredible amount of momentum to Vegas and is the favorite to win the title at 61 kg.
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While Forrest is the big favorite, he’s not a “lock” to win this bracket. Marcus Blaze might be the biggest threat to defeating Forrest, and Blaze holds the last freestyle win in this rivalry – an 8-1 decision back at the 2024 Olympic Trials. Beyond that, Blaze finished third at the 2025 US Open, losing only to Seth Gross, while defeating Ben Davino, Nathan Tomasell, and Michael McGee. Blaze is notably better at freestyle than at folkstyle and is a U17 & U20 world champion. Blaze possesses incredible defense and might just be the only wrestler in the bracket with the skills to shut down Forrest’s high-powered offense.
The 61 kg bracket is going to be a tough one for any wrestler to navigate. Seth Gross is a past world team member and we already mentioned he placed second at last year’s US Open, defeating Marcus Blaze. Ben Davino gave Forrest his closest match last year (4-0) and defeated Marcus Blaze twice this year during the college season. Austin DeSanto, Nic Bouzakis, Nathan Tomasello, and Michael McGee are all dangerous freestyle wrestlers who make this bracket very interesting.
Jax Forrest’s win over Seth Gross in the 2025 US Open Finals:
61 kg Predictions
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65 kg
Pre-Seeds
1. Joey McKenna (Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
2. Vito Arujau (Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
3. Aden Valencia (California RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
4. Jesse Mendez (Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
5. Brock Hardy (Nebraska Wrestling Training Center/Titan Mercury WC)
6. Bo Bassett (Titan Mercury WC)
7. Beau Bartlett (New York City RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
8. Nick Suriano (California)
9. Wyatt Henson (Mat Town USA)
10. William Dekraker (Wildcat WC)
11. Pierson Manville (Southwest WC)
12. Nathan Desmond (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
13. Kale Petersen (Hawkeye WC)
65 kg will be considered the most exciting bracket by many at the US Open and is one of the most challenging to predict. World Champion Vito Arujau is up at 65 kg after spending the last two quads at 57 kg and 61 kg. Joey McKenna won the US Open last year and has all the skills to win again this year. Jesse Mendez finished second at the US Open last year and has been knocking on the door of making a senior team over the past two years. High school phenom and U17 world champion Bo Bassett is in the field and only gets better every time we see him against high-level competition. Aden Valencia is fresh off winning the 149-pound NCAA Title and will be HUGE at 65 kg. Brock Hardy placed second at the World Team Trials last year, where he defeated Bo Bassett (12-7). Beau Bartlett was 5th at last year’s US Open, losing close matches to Jesse Mendez (4-2) and Real Woods (9-8). Then there’s the surprise entry, Nick Suriano. We haven’t seen Suriano on the freestyle scene in over two years! That makes it incredibly challenging to know what we’ll get from him, but if he’s wrestling his best, he can defeat anyone in this bracket.
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Who should be considered the favorite here? It feels like one of Arujau, McKenna, Mendez, Bassett, or Valencia will take home the US Open title. That’s still a big group of contenders, but they’re the most proven and complete wrestlers that possess the skills to navigate a bracket this deep. I know it might seem like I’m riding the Bassett hype train with my pick, but I think Bo Bassett has what it takes to win this bracket. He seemingly gets better ever tournament, and the trends suggest we should favor the younger wrestlers. Bassett will absolutely be tested by veterans Arujau, McKenna, Hardy, and Mendez, but I think we will see Bassett come out on top to make Final X.
Joey McKenna’s win over Jesse Mendez in the 2025 US Open Finals:
65 kg Predictions
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70 kg
Pre-Seeds
1. Alec Pantaleo (Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)
2. Caleb Henson (Southeast RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
3. Tyler Kasak (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
4. Ian Parker (PWC/Titan Mercury WC)
5. Ridge Lovett (Nebraska Wrestling Training Center/Titan Mercury WC)
6. Edward Scott (Brunson UVRTC/Titan Mercury WC)
7. Melvin Miller (Bishop McCort High School Wrestling)
8. Jaxon Joy (Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
9. Cody Chittum (Titan Mercury WC)
10. Chance Lamer (Nebraska Wrestling Training Center)
11. Jaden Abas (California RTC)
12. Dayne Morton (West Coast RTC)
Similar to 65 kg, 70kg is LOADED with talent and has several contenders who can win this bracket. Of the above 12 wrestlers, Pantaelo, Lovett, Henson, and Kasak are the “safest” picks to win in Vegas. Pantaleo is the most credentialed and has notable victories over James Green, PJ Duke, Caleb Henson, Amir Yazdani, and Haji Aliyev. However, Pantaleo is 29 years old, and there’s a chance his best days are behind him. Still, Pantaleo is dangerous, and no one should be surprised if he comes out on top of this bracket.
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Just over a year removed from his NCAA title, Ridge Lovett might be poised to make his first senior world team. Lovett finished fourth at last year’s World Team Trials and was a reversed takedown call away from defeating PJ Duke at those trials. With a year of freestyle under his belt, I expect to see major improvements from Lovett.
Tyler Kasak redshirted this past season for Penn State and focused primarily on his freestyle game. Kasak won the 2025 Bill Farrell with notable victories over Caleb Henson (6-3) and Ian Parker (3-2). Though he failed to place at the Zagreb Open, Kasak lost only to this year’s Asian Champ Abhimanyou (IND). Will this past year of focusing on freestyle only propel Kasak to a US Open title? We’ll find out in Vegas!
Caleb Henson, like Tyler Kasak, redshirted this year and wrestled only in freestyle events. Henson took third at both the 2025 Bill Farrell and the 2026 Zagreb Open. In those events, he lost to Tyler Kasak (6-3) and Akaki Kemertelidze (6-4) but defeated Ismail Musukaev (5-4), Ebrahim Elahi (5-5), and Melvin Miller (8-6). Henson might not be THE favorite, but he’s capable of defeating any of the wrestlers in the 70 kg field and will be right in the mix with the top contenders.
Melvin Miller, just a junior in high school, might be the best pick outside of any of the top 4 to win this bracket. Despite losses to Ian Parker and Caleb Henson at the Bill Farrell, Miller is dangerous and showed he’s right there with some of the best guys in this bracket 5 months ago. Still only 18 years old, Miller is making huge improvements every time we see him, and I expect Miller to knock off some established veterans in Vegas.
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Ian Parker is the other wrestler we have to mention in this bracket. Because he never earned All-American honors in college, Parker often gets overlooked. However, he almost always finishes in the top 3 at big tournaments and has past victories over Ridge Lovett, Melvin Miller, Ed Scott, Bryce Andonian, Brayton Lee, Will Lewan, Aden Valencia, Jaydin Eierman, Cody Chittum, Joey McKenna, Beau Bartlett, Kendric Maple, Cole Matthews, and Luke Pletcher. That hitlist is insane, and Parker should be considered a legitimate threat to any wrestler in this field.
70 kg
74 kg
Pre-Seeds
1. David Carr (Cyclone RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
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2. Jarrett Jacques (Tiger Style WC)
3. Quincy Monday (New Jersey RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
4. Will Lewan (Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)
5. James Green (Nebraska Wrestling Training Center/Titan Mercury WC)
6. Peyton Robb (Nebraska Wrestling Training Center)
7. Terrell Barraclough (Brunson UVRTC/Titan Mercury WC)
8. Bryce Andonian (Southeast RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
9. Cameron Amine (Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
10. Yahya Thomas (New Jersey RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
11. Kannon Webster (Illinois RTC/New York AC)
12. Nicco Ruiz (Southwest WC)
13. Joseph Sealey (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
14. Joey Bianchi (Arkansas RTC)
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15. Matthew Bianchi (Arkansas RTC)
16. Elroy Perkin (Air Force RTC)
17. EJ Parco (California RTC)
18. Rider Downey (Panther Wrestling Club RTC)
With no Mitchell Mesenbrink in the bracket, David Carr might be the biggest favorite of any wrestler in any bracket at the US Open. Carr made his first senior world team last year and was seconds away from defeating both Zaurbek Sidakov and Chermen Valiev. Ultimately, Carr finished in 5th place at Worlds and has to fight his way back to Final X through the US Open. Last year at the World Team Trials, Carr defeated Ed Scott (13-3), Terrell Barraclough (6-3), and Jarrett Jacques (2-0). This field is obviously a deep one with several contenders, but I don’t think any of these contenders can defeat Carr.
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David Carr’s run to gold at the 2026 Zagreb Open:
74 kg Predictions
79 kg
Pre-Seeds
1. Chance Marsteller (Titan Mercury WC)
2. Dean Hamiti, Jr. (Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
3. Evan Wick (Titan Mercury WC)
4. Keegan O’Toole (Tiger Style WC/Titan Mercury WC)
5. Patrick Kennedy (Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)
6. Simon Ruiz (Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
7. Bernie Truax (Rancho Buena Vista High School Wrestling)
8. William Henckel (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
9. Matthew Singleton (Wolfpack RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
10. Ethan Riddle (Minnesota RTC)
11. James Rowley (Boilermaker RTC)
12. Muhamed McBryde (WVRTC)
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There are four wrestlers in the 79 kg bracket who should be considered the favorites – Chance Marsteller, DJ Hamiti, Evan Wick, and Keegan O’Toole. Of this group, Marsteller is the most credentialed as a 2023 World Team member. That year, Marsteller notably defeated Jordan Burroughs in an epic three-match series at Final X. Then in 2024, Marsteller defeated Keegan O’Toole at the World Team Trials in a controlling 6-0 decision. Marsteller also notably defeated Evan Wick at the 2024 Olympic Trials (6-0). Marsteller has never wrestled Hamiti, but the transitive results suggest Marsteller is the man to beat in Vegas.
Keegan O’Toole will be incredibly interesting to watch in this bracket. He suffered a torn ACL during his senior year in college and still split matches with Hamiti. That injury kept him out of the freestyle season last year, but if he’s back to 100%, he’s a major contender. O’Toole’s freestyle credentials are outstanding – he won a U23 world title in 2023 and was the U20 world champ in 2021. Those credentials usually translate well to the senior level, and this might be O’Toole’s year to break out and make his first world team.
Evan Wick and DJ Hamiti have had a great rivalry over the past year. Wick got the best of Hamiti at the US Open, winning 9-1 in the finals. However, Hamiti pinned Wick at RAF 04 in December of 2025, and then Hamiti won a close, 6-5 decision at the Zagreb Open in February.
Marsteller’s win over O’Toole from the 2024 WTT:
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Hamiti’s win over Evan Wick from the 2026 Zagreb Open:
79 kg Predictions
86 kg
Pre-Seeds
1. Kyle Dake (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
2. Parker Keckeisen (Panther Wrestling Club RTC)
3. Rocco Welsh (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
4. Marcus Coleman (Titan Mercury WC)
5. Mekhi Lewis (New Jersey RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
6. Colton Hawks (Southwest WC)
7. Cade DeVos (Jackrabbit WC)
8. Rylan Rogers (Lehigh Valley RTC)
Kyle Dake enters the US Open as the clear favorite to win 86 kg and meet Zahid Valencia back at Final X. Dake defeated Parker Keckeisen 7-1 at Real American Freestyle 07 less than one month ago. Beyond that, Dake took out Keckeisen 11-1 at last year’s World Team Trials and 8-1 at the 2025 US Open. Keckeisen closed that gap slightly at RAF, but he still showed an inability to finish on his leg attacks. That’s a huge puzzle for any wrestler to solve, and I don’t think we’ll see that result reversed in Vegas this year.
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Though he lost to Dake, Keckeisen feels like the clear #2 contender at this weight. He notably defeated Zahid Valencia at RAF 04 in December (10-2). He then went to the Zagreb Open in February and won gold with notable victories over Vladimeri Gamkrelidze (4-3, world silver medalist) and Ali Savadkouhi (9-5). Keckeisen has established himself as a serious threat to anyone in the world at 86 kg and adds phenomenal depth to Team USA.
With Max McEnelly out of the entries with a late injury, Rocco Welsh is the dark horse in this bracket. Welsh is coming off his runner-up finish at the NCAA Tournament and notably made the U23 World Team last year at 86 kg. Because they train in the same room, Welsh and Dake will certainly be familiar with one another. Could that help Welsh in a match against Dake? While that’s a possibility, I believe the familiarity will help Dake more than Welsh. I do expect the potential semifinal match between Wels and Keckeisen to be close. Welsh is incredibly challenging to open up, and though Keckeisen should be considered the favorite, I expect this match to be a war.
Dake’s win over Keckeisen at the 2025 US Open:
86 kg Predictions
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92 kg
Pre-Seeds
1. Joshua Barr (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
2. Aeoden Sinclair (Tiger Style RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
3. Jacob Cardenas (Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)
4. Dustin Plott (Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
5. Michael Macchiavello (Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
6. Cody Merrill (Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
7. Garavous Kouekabakilaho (Viking WC)
8. Dillon Bechtold (Buffalo Valley RTC)
9. Seth Shumate (Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
10. Patrick Brophy (Cyclone RTC)
11. Tucker Hogan (Mat-Town USA Wrestling)
12. Evan Bockman (Cyclone RTC)
Josh Barr is the favorite to win the US Open in a deep field. Barr won the World Team Trials last year while defeating Aeoden Sinclair (7-3) and Dustin Plott (10-4). Though he lost to Trent Hidlay at Final X in two straight matches (6-1 and 3-2), Barr has established himself as Team USA’s second-best 92 kg wrestler and is quite possibly one of the top 5-10 best wrestlers in the world at the weight. Barr is also coming off an incredible season at Penn State, where he went undefeated, winning the 197-pound NCAA title by going 24-0 with a 95.6% bonus rate.
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Aeoden Sinclair, Jacob Cardenas, Dustin Plott, and Mike Macchiavello make up a strong group of contenders in this bracket. Sinclair leads this group after placing second at the World Team Trials and the US Open last year. In those tournaments, Sinclair defeated Mike Macchiavello twice (1-1 and 4-3). Sinclair has never wrestled Jacob Cardenas, and that’s currently set to be a semifinal match if the pre-seeds hold. Cardenas will hold a significant size advantage and will be a tough matchup for Sinclair. Cardenas is a credentialed freestyler as a three-time U23 world medalist. Cardenas also boasts a folkstyle win over Josh Barr and might be the biggest threat to Barr in the bracket.
Josh Barr’s win over Aeoden Sinclair from the 2025 WTT:
92 kg Predictions
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97 kg
Pre-Seeds
1. Stephen Buchanan (Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)
2. Hayden Zillmer (Gopher RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
3. Jonathan Aiello (Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
4. Justin Rademacher (Beaver Dam Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
5. Zane Lanham (Arkansas RTC)
6. Connor Mirasola (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
7. Nick Stemmet (Izzy Style Wrestling)
8. Sonny Sasso (Southeast RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
9. Christian Knop (Wolfpack RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
97 kg is one of the “weakest” weight classes at the Open in terms of high-level talent. Hayden Zillmer and Stephen Buchanan are the favorites to win this bracket and meet Kyle Snyder in Final X. Zillmer made it to Final X last year by winning the World Team Trials and defeating Jay Aiello (5-3) and Eric Scultz (2-1) Buchanan didn’t compete in freestyle last year but made a huge splash this year when he won the Zagreb Open by defeating world and Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani (13-3). With that result and Buchanan’s offensive abilities, it feels like Buchanan is the man to beat in Vegas. Still, Mirasola, Aiello, Rademacher, and Sasso add solid depth in what should be a really fun bracket.
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Stephen Buchanan’s win over Hassan Yazdani:
97 kg Predictions
125 kg
Pre-Seeds
1. Mason Parris (Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)
2. Wyatt Hendrickson (Cowboy RTC/WCAP)
3. Daniel Kerkvliet (Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
4. Trent Hillger (Minnesota RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
5. Demetrius Thomas (New York AC)
6. Jordan Wood (New York AC)
7. Anthony Cassioppi (Titan Mercury WC)
8. Coby Merrill (New York AC)
9. Koy Hopke (Minnesota RTC)
10. Jimmy Mullen (Southeast RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
11. Lucas Stoddard (West Point WC)
12. Jaron Smith (Maryland)
Heavyweight feels like a two-horse race between Wyatt Hendrickson and Mason Parris. We’ve seen these two go back and forth over the past few years in high-scoring matches. Check out their freestyle match history below:
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March 2026: Albanian Ranking Series – Mason Parris over Wyatt Hendrickson – 14-3
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December 2025: Real American Freestyle 04 – Wyatt Hendrickson over Mason Parris – 13-2
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May 2023: 2023 World Team Trials – Mason Parris over Wyatt Hendrickson – 12-11
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April 2023: 2023 US Open – Mason Parris over Wyatt Hendrickson – 20-7
Because they’ve gone back and forth so much, it’s a challenging rivalry to predict. I give Mason Parris a slight edge because he’s been more consistent and doesn’t typically concede as many points as Wyatt Hendrickson does. Still, Hendrickson’s point-scoring potential is outstanding, and he’s already shown he can defeat and put up big points on Mason Parris. At this point, there’s a great chance that whoever loses in Vegas will get a chance for revenge at Final X in June.
Greg Kerkvliet is the dark horse at 125 kg and is the only wrestler who I believe is capable of defeating both Parris and Hendrickson. Kerkvliet had considerable success over both in folkstyle, but he hasn’t wrestled much on the freestyle scene. If the best version of Kerkvliet shows up in Vegas, he can leave as the champ.
Mason Parris’ win over Wyatt Hendrickson from February of this year:
