NCAA Championships
4 Cal Poly Wrestlers Open NCAA Championships Thursday in Cleveland
3/18/2026 6:00:00 PM | Wrestling
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cal Poly wrestling team is officially ready to rock and roll in Cleveland for the 2026 NCAA Championships.
The Mustangs’ four qualifiers — Koda Holeman (125), Andre Gonzales (149), Ceasar Garza (184) and Trevor Tinker (285) — open their NCAA journeys at 9 a.m. PDT Thursday inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with first-round matches.
Action during the three-day national tournament can be seen live on ESPN+ via a special MatCast stream that will feature every match at all 10 weight classes. The morning session Thursday will also be carried live on ESPN2, with the evening session on the opening day starting at 4 p.m. PDT and airing live on ESPN. Morning sessions both Friday and Saturday will be televised live on ESPNU, with the evening session Friday streaming live on ESPN2.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE: The national tournament gets underway with first round bouts for the 33-man brackets at 9 a.m. PDT Thursday, with second round and consolation matches taking place at 4 p.m. PDT that day. On Friday at 9 a.m. PDT, quarterfinal and consolation second and third round bouts are scheduled to get started, then a brief break will be taken before semifinal and more consolation matches begin at 5 p.m. PDT. On the final day Saturday, placing matches get underway at 8 a.m. PDT and first-place bouts start at 3:30 p.m. PDT live on ESPN. Any wrestlers that make it to the final day Saturday guarantee themselves a placing position and All-American honors.
ONE LAST RIDE: Making his fourth straight and last NCAA Championship appearance, Trevor Tinker will look to go out with some hardware when he takes the mat this week in Cleveland.
Tinker returned to the mat from injury for the first time in over two months on March 6 to wrestle in the Pac-12 Championships, where he showed little rust to secure his second straight Pac-12 title at heavyweight. He became the first Mustang to repeat as a Pac-12 champion in their weight class since Chase Pami in 2008-09 (157 pounds) and the first two-time heavyweight champion in Cal Poly history.
The St. Louis, Missouri enters NCAAs as the No. 22 seed at 285 pounds with an 11-4 record and will wrestle No. 11 Devon Dawson from Northern Illinois in his opening match. Dawson is 31-4 this season and is the Mid-American Conference heavyweight champion.
The 10th four-time NCAA qualifier in Division I program history will look to improve upon his 2-2 showing at last year’s NCAAs. Tinker went 0-2 in his first two appearances at NCAAs in 2023 and 2024. Tinker owns a 73-38 record across his Cal Poly career.
THE IRONMAN LOOKS TO MAKE SOME NOISE: Koda Holeman, who wrestled in every major tournament and dual for the second straight season, is the highest seeded wrestler for the Mustangs entering the NCAA Championships, checking in at No. 15 at 125 pounds.
After earning an at-large bid to his first NCAA Championships last year, Holeman emphatically punched his ticket to NCAAs this year, capturing the Pac-12 Championship at 125 pounds. Holeman took down No. 8-ranked Maximo Renteria from Oregon State by a thrilling 5-4 decision to become the third Mustang ever to win a Pac-12 title at 125 pounds and the first since Chad Mendes in 2006.
Holeman went 0-2 in his first appearance at NCAAs and will look to improve upon that performance when he faces No. 18 seed Spencer Moore from Illinois in his opening match. Holeman is seeded 13 spots higher than last year, and enters nationals with a 19-5 record on the year, including four victories over ranked opponents.
BRINGING THE HEAT: Riding a nine-match winning streak, redshirt junior Ceasar Garza will look to carry that momentum into his first appearance at NCAAs this week.
Boasting a team-best 18-2 record on the year, Garza is fresh off capturing the 184-pound title at the Pac-12 Championships, taking down defending champion TJ McDonnell by a 2-1 decision to become the second Mustang ever and the first since Ryan Halsey in 2003 to win a Pac-12 title at 184.
The Oakdale, Calif. native, who transferred to Cal Poly from Michigan State over the offseason, is seeded No. 23 and will take on No. 10 Caleb Campos from American, who won the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association title, in his first-round match.
Garza has four victories over ranked opponents and has won seven of his matches via bonus points this season, including five by technical fall.
TIME TO CUT LOOSE: Qualifying for NCAAs for the first time in his final season of eligibility, Andre Gonzales will look to let it fly this week in Cleveland in his last time on the mat.
The San Diego, Calif. native placed second at 149 pounds at the Pac-12 Championships, upsetting No. 24-ranked Noah Tolentino from Oregon State by a 4-2 decision in the semifinals to book his ticket to NCAAs. Gonzales earned the No. 27 seed and will face No. 6 Caleb Tyus from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, who is 22-2 this season, in the opening round.
Gonzales, an Ohio State transfer, is 16-11 this season.
TEAM FACTS: This is the fifth consecutive year Cal Poly has sent at least four wrestlers to NCAAs — just the second time in program history the Mustangs have accomplished that feat and the first since qualifying at least five from 2003 to 2007. Thanks in large part to Zeth Romney’s third-place finish at 133 pounds at last year’s NCAA Championships, Cal Poly finished in a tie for 29th as a team (17.5 points).
FOLLOW: Follow Cal Poly wrestling on Twitter/X (@CalPolyWrestle) and Instagram (@cpwrestle) for updates throughout the NCAA Championships.
NCAA First Round Matches
125: No. 15 Koda Holeman (Cal Poly) 19-5 vs. No. 18 Spencer Moore (Illinois) 17-8.
149: No. 27 Andre Gonzales (Cal Poly) 16-11 vs. No. 6 Caleb Tyus (SIUE) 22-2.
184: No. 23 Ceasar Garza (Cal Poly) 18-2 vs. No. 10 Caleb Campos (American) 25-6.
285: No. 22 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) 11-4 vs. No. 11 Devon Dawson (NIU) 31-4.
