EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – First-year SIUE wrestling Head Coach Daryl Thomas knows that his team will have to earn every win and every accolade through hard work and perseverance.
As the team's previous associate head coach, Thomas has had a large presence not only in day-to-day practices but also as a lead recruiter for Cougar wrestling. The result is a program coming off a Mid-American Conference West Division title last season and a 11 dual match victories, the most in the Division I era.
That confidence includes SIUE receiving votes in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division I Coaches Preseason Poll. The Cougars get their first opportunity to compete Sunday at the Cowboy Invitational in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The 2026-27 roster includes returning NCAA Tournament participants Marcel Lopez at 133 pounds and Brock Woodcock at 165 pounds.
SIUE also features six other wrestlers who competed for the Cougars at the 2026 MAC Wrestling Championships. That list includes Drew Davis (125), Ben Lunn (141), Hayden Whidden (157 in 2026), Dominic Lopez (174), Nick Nosler (197) and Bryson Buhk (285).
"Us as coaches can only take them so far," said Thomas. "The people around them can take them a lot further."
Thomas sees the SIUE roster depth as only a positive.
"We have a challenging first month," he said. "It's going to take everybody to get through that in terms of putting a good product out there for dual meets."
Below is a brief sketch of each weight class.
125
"Davis committed to going back down to 125," said Thomas. "He had an up-and-down year last year and lost a razor-thin match last year at the MACs and just missed nationals." The Cougars have made a strong commitment to the lower weights with Deion Johnson returning for his senior season as well as three freshman with Austin Brown, Dominic Brown and Maximus Hay.
133
"Marcel Lopez got a taste of the NCAAs last season, and I think he took that into the offseason and really grew from it. He's looking incredible right now in the room, and I'm hoping that translates." Lopez isn't without challengers on the SIUE depth chart. The Cougars have added Issak Arevalo, a transfer from Army West Point and freshman Shawn Kogan.
141
Five SIUE wrestlers are slated for 141 pounds. The interesting choice is graduate student Ben Lunn, who returns for an unprecedented seventh season of NCAA competition. A previous transfer from Minnesota, Lunn will have plenty of competition for the weight class, including sophomore Donavon Allen, senior Danny Martinez, freshman Kiernan Meink and fifth-year Alec Peralta. Coach Thomas is looking for all of them to "take that next step."
149
Whidden returns to the lineup and will drop back to 149 after competing at 157 last season. "He went up last year because Caleb Tyus had come off redshirt last season," said Thomas. "Getting back to his natural weight class, I think he's in for a big year."
157
With Whidden moving to 149, that leaves a spot open for a newcomer at 157. PJ Murphy, a junior, recorded 12 wins last season at 157 pounds. Murphy will be challenged by freshmen Wil Oberbroeckling and Linkin Carter. Oberbroeckling comes from an elite wrestling club in Iowa while Carter is a former state champion in Indiana.
165
Woodcock led all SIUE wrestlers last season with a 29-11 victory. His appearance at the NCAAs last season after working his way back to a true second-place finish at the 2026 MAC Championships makes him not only a favorite in the Cougars' wrestling room but also nationally. The Cougars have sophomore Gage Murphy, who will be ready to step up after winning 13 matches last season.
174
Dominic Lopez won seven dual matches and 19 matches overall last season at 174 pounds. Thomas labelled Lopez as a "mat rat" as someone who loves to compete and is only getting better. "I think he's ready to announce himself this season. He had a couple of good wins last season but didn't put enough together last season. Experience abounds at 174 for the Cougars with sophomore Landen Johnson and fifth-year Bradley Gillum also looking for more mat time.
184
The 184-pound weight class figures to be an interesting one for the Cougars. Junior Amare Overton, sophomore Caleb Neal and junior transfer Asa Fayzullaev all have the ability to take over the weight class. Overton won six matches last season at 184. Neal was an 18-match winner at 174 last season. Fayzullaev is a two-time junior college All-American from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and has competed well on the international stage.
197
Nosler returns for his senior season after winning 16 matches last season. His recent offseasons include being a U23 All-American this past summer and a U20 world team member and US Pan Am team member the prior summer. "You have to be able to handle success and you have to be able to handle failure. He's learning how to do both. Now he has to put it all together and be consistent," said Thomas. Nosler's teammates will provide plenty of challenge moving forward with Nico Ronchetti moving up from 184 and North Carolina State transfer Rylan Breen jumping into the mix.
285
Buhk narrowly missed an NCAA berth last season. "He's a great leader for us, and he's been utilizing Coach Colton McKiernan for insights." McKiernan is a former SIUE wrestler who won a MAC title at heavyweight in 2023. The Cougars also have junior Jake Fernandez, who earned seven victories at heavyweight last season.
