Drexel University Athletics
Thursday, March 19
Cleveland, Ohio
12 p.m.
Drexel University
vs
NCAA Championships Day 1
Pleasant, Schon, and Walsh Poised to Start NCAA Wrestling Championship Campaigns Thursday
3/18/2026 2:04:00 PM | Wrestling
Date: March 19-21
Venue: Rocket Arena — Cleveland, Ohio
Watch: ESPN+, ESPNU, ESPN2, ESPN
Full Championships Bracket/Info
CLEVELAND — Drexel will be represented by three wrestlers at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. Desmond Pleasant, Nate Schon, and Cody Walsh are all set to make their tournament debuts, with competition running Thursday through Saturday, March 19–21.
Pleasant was one of five 125-pounders to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. The Piscataway, N.J., product will be the No. 31 seed and is set to match up with the No. 2 Eddie Ventresca of Virginia Tech. The redshirt senior had his best career effort at the EIWA Championships, taking third place after recording multiple late period wins. He finished the season with a 23-8 record, including a team-high nine technical fall victories.
Walsh was one of two Dragons to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships at 165 pounds. Walsh is the No. 32 seed and will wrestle in the and will battle No. 33 Ryan Vigil of VMI in the "wrestle-in" match. The winner will go on to face No. 1 seeded Mitchell Mesenbrink of Penn State. Walsh punched his ticket to Cleveland after finishing fourth at the EIWA Championships. The Cherry Hill, N.J. native defeated Binghamton's Jordan Brown by a 8-0 major decision to grab one of the four automatic spots. This season he has a team-best 27 wins to his record.
Nate Schon also automatically qualified for the NCAAs at 285-pounds in his first season as a Dragon. He will enter the tournament as the No. 19 seed and will face Minnesota No. 14 Koy Hopke. The redshirt junior finished runner-up at the EIWA Championships, advancing to the final in spectator fashion. The Selinsgrove, Pa., product pinned top-seeded Brady Colbert at the Championships in just 1:06 to advance to the championship match. Schon finished the regular season on a six match win streak and have five victories by pinfall this season.
Tournament Schedule
Session 1 - Preliminaries: March 19 | 12 p.m. | ESPN 2
Session 2 - Preliminaries / Wrestle-backs: March 19 | 7 p.m. | ESPN
Session 3 - Quarterfinals: March 20 | 12 p.m. | ESPNU
Session 4 - Semifinals: March 20 | 8 p.m. | ESPN2
Session 5 - Medal Rounds: March 21 | 11 a.m. | ESPNU
Session 6 - Finals: March 21 | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN
Venue: Rocket Arena — Cleveland, Ohio
Watch: ESPN+, ESPNU, ESPN2, ESPN
Full Championships Bracket/Info
CLEVELAND — Drexel will be represented by three wrestlers at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. Desmond Pleasant, Nate Schon, and Cody Walsh are all set to make their tournament debuts, with competition running Thursday through Saturday, March 19–21.
Pleasant was one of five 125-pounders to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. The Piscataway, N.J., product will be the No. 31 seed and is set to match up with the No. 2 Eddie Ventresca of Virginia Tech. The redshirt senior had his best career effort at the EIWA Championships, taking third place after recording multiple late period wins. He finished the season with a 23-8 record, including a team-high nine technical fall victories.
Walsh was one of two Dragons to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships at 165 pounds. Walsh is the No. 32 seed and will wrestle in the and will battle No. 33 Ryan Vigil of VMI in the "wrestle-in" match. The winner will go on to face No. 1 seeded Mitchell Mesenbrink of Penn State. Walsh punched his ticket to Cleveland after finishing fourth at the EIWA Championships. The Cherry Hill, N.J. native defeated Binghamton's Jordan Brown by a 8-0 major decision to grab one of the four automatic spots. This season he has a team-best 27 wins to his record.
Nate Schon also automatically qualified for the NCAAs at 285-pounds in his first season as a Dragon. He will enter the tournament as the No. 19 seed and will face Minnesota No. 14 Koy Hopke. The redshirt junior finished runner-up at the EIWA Championships, advancing to the final in spectator fashion. The Selinsgrove, Pa., product pinned top-seeded Brady Colbert at the Championships in just 1:06 to advance to the championship match. Schon finished the regular season on a six match win streak and have five victories by pinfall this season.
Tournament Schedule
Session 1 - Preliminaries: March 19 | 12 p.m. | ESPN 2
Session 2 - Preliminaries / Wrestle-backs: March 19 | 7 p.m. | ESPN
Session 3 - Quarterfinals: March 20 | 12 p.m. | ESPNU
Session 4 - Semifinals: March 20 | 8 p.m. | ESPN2
Session 5 - Medal Rounds: March 21 | 11 a.m. | ESPNU
Session 6 - Finals: March 21 | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN
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