2025-26 Top 40 National High School Wrestling Rankings - Dec. 3, 2025

As we drop the first edition of our 2025-2026 National Wrestling Team Rankings, we are taking a “they earned it” approach and leaving last year’s No. 1 team, Pennsylvania’s in the top spot, Dec 3, 2025.

Bishop McCort’s Star Power — And the Jax Forrest Question

On paper, it appears last year and this year’s No. 2, Bishop McCort, On paper, it appears last year and this year’s No. 2 nationally ranked firepower on their roster. But there are rumblings that Jax Forrest could be headed off to Oklahoma State in the second semester, which would obviously hurt their chances of overthrowing Faith Christian for the state dual and tournament titles.

The Biggest Wildcard: Faith Christian’s Freshman Lightweights

The wildcard in how things play out between these two powers is Faith Christian’s incoming crop of freshmen lightweights. If they hit the ground running it makes their squad more formidable. If they struggle, it could be the difference in all their battles with the top teams around the country this year.

Since we feel they are the top two teams as they were a year ago, it makes sense to leave Faith Christian at number one until someone topples them. That someone could be McCort or No. 3 Lake Highland Prep of Florida.

The Ultimate National High School Wrestling Schedule: Every Major Tournament, Power Program and Must-See Match

California’s No. 4 Buchanan lurks in the top five, and while they can’t attend Ironman, they will be in Ohio for the Brecksville Holiday Tournament. In addition, Buchanan will be at the Doc Buchanan Tournament in California, where Faith Christian, Delbarton and other top teams will be appearing this year.

Lake Highland Prep: Firepower vs. Depth Concerns

Lake Highland has the studs they typically stack their lineup with every year, but as we know, titles are won by depth, not star power, and that’s where things are a little questionable for the Highlanders. Nationally ranked Lucas Layne will be their 106-pounder for National Prep events and the National Prep Tournament but as an eighth grader he is not eligible for most high school competitions such as Ironman.

Lake Highland also has some questions in the upper weights where we some unproven guys will fill in at the top two weights. The Highlanders have trotted out nationally ranked guys in those spots in recent years, so it’ll be interesting to see how they fare at Ironman. They could be unknown talent or a void that keeps them from attaining the number one spot.

If anyone can get the most out of new or marginal talent, it’s Mike Palazzo. Year after year, the Highlanders roll into the National Prep Tournament posting upset after upset and turning heads. Last year that culminated in the school’s first ever National Prep Tournament Title. As we head into the season, they are the favorite to repeat.

Buchanan’s Loaded Lineup and Their National Roadmap

Buchanan is putting a super solid team on the mat. With their two planned encounters with the teams surrounding them in the rankings (minus Lake Highland Prep), after Doc B, we won’t have to speculate about the pecking order at the top. The teams mixing it up will give us plenty of data to determine their standing.

A Look at the heavy hitters favors Lake Highland as by comparison, most of their ranked wrestlers are higher in the rankings. Each has the same uncertainty on the national level with some of their weight classes. So, the depth is relatively equal, which lands us on tilting it in favor of the Highlanders because of their firepower in this instance.

St. John Bosco Rounds Out a Fearsome Top Five

California’s St. John Bosco rounds out our top five. They did not lose much to graduation and have one of the best 106-pounders in the nation, Luke Loren, coming in, giving them a murderer’s row from 106 to 150 pounds where all eight guys are nationally ranked (same as Buchanan). Solid wrestlers fill out the back end of a fairly well-balanced roster.

Malvern Prep vs. Blair Academy: A Battle for National Prep Supremacy

Two National Prep powers come in at six, Pennsylvania’s Malvern Prep and seven, New Jersey’s Blair Academy. Both rosters are similarly constructed with roughly half of the wrestlers being nationally ranked, but we feel it’s in the other places that Malvern holds a slight advantage. 

Delbarton’s Risky No. 8 Ranking — With Massive Upside

New Jersey’s Delbarton finished as our fifth rated team a year ago and it seems risky putting them at No.8, but they have some uncertainty in the lightweights similar to Faith Christian. If those new guys can acclimate themselves to high school wrestling it would not be a surprise to see the Green Wave move back into the top five or higher. Delbarton welcomes back Gabe Logan at 175 pounds after missing a year due to injury.

Christian Brothers Academy Starts in the Top 10

Another Garden State team, Christian Brothers Academy, cracked our rankings last year but lived in the back half. For this campaign, they start off in the No. 9 position. We imagine they and Delbarton having some monumental battles throughout the season to determine the Top Dog in Jersey.

Wyoming Seminary Reloads Under a New Coach

Pennsylvania’s Wyoming Seminary, a team that is typically in the top few spots of the rankings, is reloading this year after lots of graduation and the appointment of a new coach, Will Weber. We have five Knights in our national ratings with a few others just on the outside of the list. Seminary has had talented backups toiling away behind their graduated stars, so it would be no surprise to see them rocket up these rankings.

A Deep, Chaotic Middle Tier From 10–20

There is a lot of uncertainty in the middle of the rankings. The nine seem to be in one tier with the next tier going from 10 to 20, and tier three, and possibly four, being the back half of the list.

Last year, the rankings held steady throughout the season with most of the shuffling happening within the tiers of the rankings and not many teams making huge jumps. The two biggest risers last year happened for two different reasons.

New Jersey’s St. Joseph Regional was a top five team at the start and fell back to the upper teens at one point before rebounding to finish in ten top five at the end. Injuries were the biggest culprit of their challenges coupled with waiting on the eligibility of a few transfers.

Pennsylvania’s Bishop McDevitt went from unranked into the top ten. They have a team this year that could also finish in the top ten but we’re starting them off at No. 17. St. Joseph Regional lost a lot to graduation and begins the year at No. 19.  

Please keep in mind there is a lot of uncertainty with any first set of rankings. I like to think of this as identifying the top teams and slotting them in a running order that makes sense. Without any new results, it’s all speculation. If you feel we overlooked a team or have a reason a squad should be higher than we have them, feel free to reach out to me at billybwrestling@yahoo.com

Without farther ado, here is the High School on Cheap Rs-flyfishing Jordan Outlet’s Top 40 High School Wrestling Teams:

1-in the top spot, PA

2-Bishop McCort, PA

3-Lake Highland Prep, FL

4-Buchanan, CA

5-St. John Bosco, CA

6-Malvern Prep, PA

7-Blair Academy, NJ

8-Delbarton, NJ

9-Christian Brothers Academy, NJ

10-Wyoming Seminary, PA

11-Brownsburg, IN

12-Marmion Academy, IL

13-Poway, CA

14-Dublin Coffman, OH

15-Crown Point, IN

16-Massillon Perry, OH

17-Bishop McDevitt, PA

18-Clovis, CA

19-St. Joseph Regional, NJ

20-Edmond North, OK

21-Gilroy, CA

23-Layton, UT

24-St. Peter’s Prep, NJ

25-Center Grove, IN

26-St. Edward, OH

27-Pomona, CO

28-Clovis North, CA

29-Allen, TX

30-Stillwater, OK

31-Perrysburg, OH

32-Detroit Catholic Central, MI

33-S. Michael-Albertville, MN

34-Southeast Polk, IA

35-Bettendorf, IA

36-Bergen Catholic, NJ

37-SLAM! Academy, NV

38-Notre Dame-Green Pond, PA

39-Creighton Prep, NE

40-Camden Catholic, NJ