2026-27 Season Preview · #5 of 15

#5 Virginia Tech

MatScouts Crystal Ball projected 2027 NCAA top 15 (Willie Saylor), mid-summer update

People have been talking about what Bo Bassett would do at the NCAA tournament since he was in middle school. This is the year we find out. He arrives as the number two recruit in the country, into a room that already has Caleb Henson, the 2024 national champion. That is a serious front half of a lineup.

Fifth is a projection, not a result: the Hokies finished eleventh in March. The case for it is 34.5 of their 41.5 points returning, and two true freshmen, Aaron Seidel in third and Collin Gaj in fifth, already on the podium. The development score sits 65th of 78. Bassett is how that number moves.

Returning NCAA tournament points

Of the 41.5 team points Virginia Tech scored at the 2026 NCAA Championships, wrestlers accounting for 34.5 points (83%) are back in the room this season. 7 points walked out the door. Hover over the bar for the breakdown.

2026 NCAA team points: returning vs. leaving

041.5 pts scored in 2026
Returning Departing

NCAA finish by year

Where Virginia Tech actually finished at the NCAA Championships each year (solid green line), next to where our development model expected a roster with these ratings to finish (dashed gray line). Hover over a point for the score.

Team finish at the NCAA Championships, 2021 to 2026

202120222023202420252026
Actual finish Model-expected finish

Impact Score

Impact score is our model’s one-number rating of a wrestler’s season, earned in the conference tournament and the NCAA bracket: the deeper the March run, the higher the score. Aaron Seidel’s 129 was the best returning score on this roster last season.

Add up every season this roster wrestled in 2025-26 and it comes to 576 impact. 401 of it (70%) is already back in the room, 175 walked out the door through the portal.

Career impact score entering 2026-27

  1. Eddie Ventresca125 lbs 159
  2. Aaron Seidel133 lbs 105
  3. Collin Gaj157 lbs 82
  4. Sergio DeSiante184 lbs 43
  5. Jimmy Mullen285 lbs 32

Roster

Projected 2026-27 lineup

Every weight, who is projected to hold it, what they did in the 2025-26 postseason, and who held the spot last March. All numbers are conference-tournament and NCAA matches only. Impact score is our model’s rating of a season: the 2025-26 number is what they earned, the 2026-27 number is what the model expects next.

125

Eddie Ventresca

Sixth Year
DNP2026 NCAA Tournament
1st2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Eddie Ventresca (6th year)DNP at NCAAs (2 seed) Graduated
2026-27 (expected)37Impact Score
2025-2652Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate0%
Takedowns / Match0.5
Nearfall Pts / Match0.3
Riding Time Points1
Escape Pts / Match1.2
Reversals / Match0
133

Aaron Seidel

Freshman
3rd2026 NCAA Tournament
1st2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Aaron Seidel (Fr)3rd at NCAAs Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)72Impact Score
2025-26129Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate86%
Takedowns / Match3.1
Nearfall Pts / Match3.0
Riding Time Points3
Escape Pts / Match0.6
Reversals / Match0.1
141

Bo Bassett

No 2025-26 postseason matches. Stats begin when they reach a bracket.

2025-26 Postseason Starter
Tom Crook (Sr)DNP at NCAAs (25 seed) Transferred out
2026-27 (expected)52Impact Score
2025-26–Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats

No postseason data yet.

149

Caleb Henson

No 2025-26 postseason matches. Stats begin when they reach a bracket.

2025-26 Postseason Starter
Collin Gaj (Fr)5th at NCAAs Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)11Impact Score
2025-26–Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats

No postseason data yet.

157

Collin Gaj

Freshman
5th2026 NCAA Tournament
1st2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Ethen Miller (5th year)DNP at NCAAs (14 seed) Graduated
2026-27 (expected)72Impact Score
2025-26109Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate11%
Takedowns / Match1.1
Nearfall Pts / Match0.5
Riding Time Points4
Escape Pts / Match1.1
Reversals / Match0.1
165

Noah Nininger

No 2025-26 postseason matches. Stats begin when they reach a bracket.

2025-26 Postseason Starter
Mac Church (Jr)DNP at NCAAs (25 seed) Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)3Impact Score
2025-26–Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats

No postseason data yet.

174

Ryan Burton

No 2025-26 postseason matches. Stats begin when they reach a bracket.

2025-26 Postseason Starter
Sergio Desiante (Sr)DNP at NCAAs (25 seed) Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)11Impact Score
2025-26–Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats

No postseason data yet.

184

Sergio DeSiante

Senior
DNP2026 NCAA Tournament
2nd2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Jaden Bullock (6th year)DNP at NCAAs (14 seed) Graduated
2026-27 (expected)37Impact Score
2025-2644Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate25%
Takedowns / Match1.0
Nearfall Pts / Match0
Riding Time Points3
Escape Pts / Match1.4
Reversals / Match0
197

Sonny Sasso

Junior
DNP2026 NCAA Tournament
1st2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Sonny Sasso (Jr)DNP at NCAAs (4 seed) Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)37Impact Score
2025-2646Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate75%
Takedowns / Match1.7
Nearfall Pts / Match0
Riding Time Points1
Escape Pts / Match1.2
Reversals / Match0.2
285

Jimmy Mullen

Junior
DNP2026 NCAA Tournament
3rd2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Jimmy Mullen (Jr)DNP at NCAAs (16 seed) Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)37Impact Score
2025-2640Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate75%
Takedowns / Match2.0
Nearfall Pts / Match0.9
Riding Time Points1
Escape Pts / Match1.3
Reversals / Match0

Incoming recruits

The 2026 signing class, ranked by final big-board position. Expected entry score is the impact our model projects for a recruit’s first college season, set by where they finished on the board.

  • Bo Bassettprojected at 141 · expected entry score 52#2 board
  • Nick Garciaexpected entry score 5#38 board
  • Jon Rochaexpected entry score 5#42 board
  • Alex Rozasexpected entry score 5#49 board
  • Jake Robieexpected entry score 1#218 board

Transfer portal

The 2026 cycle, in and out.

  • Frank Dibella157 · out to an undeclared destination · undeclared Out
  • Gage Wright174 · out to an undeclared destination · undeclared Out
  • Matt Henrich157 · out to an undeclared destination · undeclared Out
  • Tom Crook141/149 · out to an undeclared destination · undeclared Out

The full portal history, cycle by cycle, is in the Development section below.

2026 NCAA team stats

What this roster did in the 2026 bracket, and where that ranks among every team that scored at the tournament.

44 Takedowns #8 of 67
7 Bonus-rate wins #11 of 45
32 Nearfall points #3 of 47
54 Escapes #6 of 70
3 Reversals #20 of 45
10 Riding-time points #6 of 57

How this team compares to all of D1

Bonus rate

Virginia Tech33%
All D131%

Takedowns per match

Virginia Tech1.1
All D11.0

Team points per qualifier

Virginia Tech4.2
All D11.5

Medians across the 70 programs that scored at the 2026 NCAA Championships.

Takedowns per match

2026 postseason pace, projected lineup only.

  1. Aaron Seidel133 lbs 3.1
  2. Jimmy Mullen285 lbs 2.0
  3. Sonny Sasso197 lbs 1.7
  4. Collin Gaj157 lbs 1.1
  5. Sergio DeSiante184 lbs 1.0

Nearfall points per match

2026 postseason pace, projected lineup only.

  1. Aaron Seidel133 lbs 3.0
  2. Jimmy Mullen285 lbs 0.9
  3. Collin Gaj157 lbs 0.5
  4. Eddie Ventresca125 lbs 0.3

Development

Recruiting and the portal, 2020 → today

Every signee and every portal move this program has made since 2020, and what came of them. Expected is the rating our model projects: a first college season is measured against the wrestler’s big-board entry score, later seasons against the development model. Actual is the rating they earned. Click a wrestler to open their score card: the season-by-season receipt behind those career totals.