TEMPE – Sun Devil Wrestling opens the 2026-27 campaign at the Michigan State Open, being held at Jenison Field House in East Lansing, MI. The first matches to open the year will begin at 7:30 a.m. MST (9:30 a.m. EST), with action rolling throughout the day.
Fans can watch the action streamed live on FloWrestling with a purchase of a subscription. The tournament is a double-elimination bracket style for each weight class. Arizona State will send 25 wrestlers to compete against 11 teams this weekend.
Teams competing with the Sun Devils this weekend
Arizona State, Bucknell, Central Michigan, Edinboro, Indiana, Kent State, Michigan, Michigan State, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, VMI, Wisconsin
ASU Wrestlers in East Lansing
125: Christian Castillo, Damian Moreno, Rylan Seacrist
133: Adrian Meza, Gavin Bauder
141: Kyler Larkin, Emilio Ysaguirre
149: Pierson Manville, Daniel Miranda
157: Gabriel Delgado, Jabari Hinson, Travis Cardenas
165: Nicco Ruiz, Justin Wardlow, Israel Ibarra
174: Kaleb Larkin, Max Wirnsberger
184: Aidan Brenot, Azizbek Fayzullaev, Leo Tukhlynovych
197: Aidan Ysaguirre, Billy Ward, Luke Isaak
HWT: Ben Szuba, Kal-El Fluckiger
Six freshman will make their debut for the Maroon and Gold: Rylan Seacrist, Travis Cardenas, Justin Wardlow, Max Wirnsberger, Billy Ward, Kal-El Fluckiger
From last year’s Michigan State Open
Arizona State had six first-place finishers at last year’s Michigan State Open to begin last season, with nine finalists making the finals. Kyler Larkin opened his year going 4-0 at 133 lbs with two falls and two tech falls in the fresh/sophomore division. His brother Kaleb Larkin went 4-0 with a pair of falls, a tech fall and a major decision to place first at 149 lbs.
Additionally, Pierson Manville won at 141 lbs, and Nicco Ruiz secured first place at 165 lbs in the freshmen/sophomore division. Chance McLane and Leo Tukhlynovych also claimed titles in the open division.
Ranked opponents in 2026-2027
The Sun Devils enter their third year in the Big 12, and the competition continues to heat up as they face several ranked programs in duels and compete in 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
at #3 Nebraska
at #12 Lehigh
at #15 Iowa State
vs. #19 Oklahoma
at #23 West Virginia
vs. #27 Wisconsin
Sun Devils in the rankings
125: Christian Castillo - 12th (Intermat)
133: Adrian Meza - 24th (Intermat)
141: Kyler Larkin - 8th (FloWrestling)
149: Pierson Manville - 17th - (Intermat)
165: Nicco Ruiz - 2nd (FloWrestlng)
174: Kaleb Larkin - 5th (FloWrestling)
184: Aidan Brenot - 17th (Intermat)
HWT: Ben Szuba - 33rd (Intermat)
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 the 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 a 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 the Junior National Championships last Sunday, July 12 and was recognized as a Fargo junior All-American.
Sun Devil newcomers
Christian Castillo
Adrian Meza
Aidan Brenot
Rylan Seacrist
Antonio Rodriguez
Travis Cardenas
Justin Wardlow
Max Wirnsberger
Billy Ward
Kal-El Fluckiger
Been around for a while
Arizona State head coach Zeke Jones is entering his 13th season at the helm of the wrestling program and is the longest-tenured head coach in Tempe since his hiring in 2014. Jones is one of eight alumni who are head coaches at Arizona State and earned an ASU degree.
Sun Devil head coaching timeline:
- Zeke Jones, Wrestling (13th year in 2026–27/hired April 9, 2014)
- Missy Farr-Kaye, Women's Golf (12th year in 2026–27/hired June 26, 2015)
- Jay Santos, Gymnastics (11th year in 2026-27/hired May 27, 2016)
Under Jones’ leadership, the Sun Devils have won six conference titles, as Jones trails just Bobby Douglas (8) for most in team history. Jones sits behind just Douglas and Men's Golf's Randy Lein (8) for the most conference titles among any coach in Sun Devil history.
Returning Big 12 Champs
Zeke Jones and crew have 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 the NCAA Championships, which was the best by a Sun Devil since 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, finishing third 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, finishing 4-2 to end the season, highlighted by victories over No. 22 Cornell, No. 22 Oregon State, and No. 22 Lehigh.
From Maroon and Gold
Match results from Maroon and Gold scrimmage
149: Daniel Miranda def. Jamar Dixon - (MD 15-1).
149: Pierson Manville def. Gael Moreno - (F 13-2, 2:40)
125: Christian Castillo def. Damian Moreno - (Dec. 4-1)
133: Adrian Meza def. Gavin Bauder - (Dec. 5-1)
141: Kyler Larkin def. Emilio Ysaguirre - (F, 3:35)
157: Gabriel Delgado def. Jabari Hinson - (Dec. 4-2)
165: Nicco Ruiz def. Justin Wardlow - (MD 12-2)
184: Aidan Brenot def. Azizbek Fayzullaev - (MD 11-3)
197: Aidan Ysaguirre def. Luke Issak (Dec. 4-1)
HWT: Ben Szuba def. Kal-El Fluckiger (Dec. 4-2)
149: Pierson Manville def. Daniel Miranda - (MD 18-5)
Follow along
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