TEMPE – Sun Devil Wrestling opens its 2026-27 campaign with the annual Maroon and Gold scrimmage this Saturday, October 31st at 3 p.m. MST at Desert Financial Arena. The scrimmage will give fans the first glimpse of the squad and begin Zeke Jones’ 13th season in charge of the program.
The afternoon will feature 10 intrasquad matches with the projected matchups:
125 – Winner of Match 1 vs Winner of Match 2
133 – Adrian Meza vs Gavin Bauder
141 – Kyler Larkin vs Emilio Ysaguirre
149 – Daniel Miranda vs Jamar Dixon
149 – Gael Moreno vs Pierson Manville
157 – Winner of Match 1 vs Winner of Match 2
165 – Nicco Ruiz vs winner of Semis
184 – Aidan Brenot vs Azizbek Fayzullaev
197 – Winner of Match 1 vs Winner of Match 2
285 – Ben Szuba vs Kal-El Fluckiger
Ranked Opponents in 2026-2027
As the Sun Devils enter their third year in the Big 12, the competition continues to heat up, facing several ranked programs in duels and competing in the one of the most prestigious invitationals in college wrestling. Of the team's 11 duals, seven of the opponents appeared in FloWrestling’s preseason rankings, including two of the top three programs in the country. The Sun Devils host the Cowboys for the second consecutive season on November 20th before ASU football hosts Oklahoma State the following day.
vs. #2 Oklahoma State (Nov. 20)
at #3 Nebraska (Feb. 21)
at #12 Lehigh (Feb. 19)
at #15 Iowa State (Jan. 10)
vs. #19 Oklahoma (Jan. 17)
at #23 West Virginia (Jan. 24)
vs. #27 Wisconsin (Dec. 21)
Welcome to Tempe:
Arizona State welcomes 10 newcomers to the team and the No. 5 recruiting class ahead of the new season. Four top-70 recruits join the Sun Devils after a third-place finish in the Big 12 last March and a 12th place finish at NCAA championships. Head coach Zeke Jones is adding seven freshmen and three transfers to the program in a highly competitive Big 12 Conference.
Freshman Rylan Seacrist was the No. 2 lightweight prospect in the country coming out of high school and is an U.S. Open All-American and an Ohio state champion. He went 121-27 in high school and is the first top-20 recruit since the 2024 national champion, Richie Figueroa.
Two-time NCAA Championship participant Aidan Brenot joins the team after three seasons at North Dakota State, having a 48-37 career record. He finished fourth at the Big 12 Championships and made it to the blood round in 2025, going 3-2 at nationals and being a No. 23 seed at 184-pounds. In his collegiate career, he has 15 major decision victories and was a two-time Tennessee state champion at Clarksville.
Chandler, Ariz. native Kal-El Fluckiger is ranked No. 33 nationally and held a 21-8 record in high school. He is a top-ranked recruit in the 215 lb weight class, but will wrestle at 285 lbs. Fluckiger placed fourth at Junior National Championships last Sunday, July 12 and was recognized as a Fargo junior All-American. To read more about the newcomers this upcoming season, click here.
Sun Devil Newcomers:
Christian Castillo
Adrian Meza
Aidan Brenot
Rylan Seacrist
Antonio Rodriguez
Travis Cardenas
Justin Wardlow
Max Wirnsberger
Billy Ward
Kal-El Fluckiger
Returning Big 12 Champs:
Zeke Jones and crew has a pair of returning Big 12 Champions to the squad this upcoming season, Nicco Ruiz secured the first conference title in Big 12 history for the program at 165-lbs and earned All-American honors with a fourth place finish at NCAA Championships was the best by a Sun Devil .Steve Blackford took third in 2000 to earn All-American honors. Ruiz went 29-7 last year which led the team in wins. Joining him is junior Kaleb Larkin, who won a Big 12 title at 157-lbs and went 26-4 last year. Larkin, went 11-1 in duals and 8-0 in Big 12 matches last year.
2025-26 Season Recap:
The second season for the Sun Devils in the Big 12 Conference featured the debut of Kyler and Kaleb Larkin. Arizona State saw a 51-point improvement in the postseason with a third place finish at the conference championships. Ruiz and Ben Szuba earned All-American status last year as Szuba became the seventh-straight Sun Devil heavyweight to become an All-American with his seventh place finish. The team saw an improvement in duals with a 4-2 finish to end the season, highlighted by victories over No. 22 Cornell, No. 22 Oregon State, and No. 22 Lehigh.
Follow along
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