St. Cloud State Wrestling Projected First in NSIC Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Burnsville, Minn. – St. Cloud State Wrestling was picked to finish first in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) preseason coaches' poll as announced by the league office Thursday morning. Redshirt junior 157-pounder Joel Jesuroga was named the wrestler to watch for the Huskies.

Head Coach Steve Costanzo enters his 20th season at St. Cloud State ahead of the 2025-26 season. Costanzo and the Huskies are coming off a dominant 2024-25 season as the team produced a perfect 14-0 record with a 9-0 mark in conference play to bring home their second consecutive NSIC title, the 18th overall in program history. Along the way, the Huskies brought home their 8th NWCA National Duals Championship after a thrilling 21-16 victory over No. 4 Central Oklahoma where SCSU would trail 16-0. Costanzo guided the Huskies to their ninth consecutive and 12th overall Super Region V Championship. Eight Huskies would qualify for the NCAA Tournament with five going on to earn All-American Honors as the team placed third in Indianapolis. Costanzo captured his fourth National Coach of the Year Honor as well as his fifth Region Coach of the Year title.

This year, the Huskies will rely on eight newcomers out of the ten respected weight classes, said Costanzo. While our student-athletes will be unproven in terms of experience, expectations remain high. We will have a lot to prove to ourselves and to the nation that Huskies wrestling can remain one of the top elite programs in DII wrestling. We are excited for the challenge and look forward to the process.

Jesuroga enters his second season with the Huskies after an outstanding inaugural campaign. Jesuroga went 26-1 wrestling at 157 with 15 bonus point wins. He produced seven ranked wins throughout the year as he went on to be the National Runner-Up. Along the way, Jesuroga earned First Team All-NSIC, a Super Region V Title, and All-American honors. He would be ranked as the No. 1 wrestler in his weight class entering the NCAA Tournament.

Joel is the complete package as a student-athlete, said Costanzo. He is a driven individual who takes his classes, training and competition very seriously. He is a leader by example in and out of the wrestling room. He displays a championship lifestyle and embodies a team first mentality. We are very excited about what he brings to our program as a student-athlete. Looking for another great year out of Joel!

Two more All-Americans will join Jesuroga in the lineup in redshirt senior Captain Bryce Dagel and redshirt sophomore Cole Glazier. Dagel produced a 27-5 record at 174 with 13 bonus point wins. He tacked on six wins against ranked wrestlers including a 17-3 win against the reigning National Champion during the NCAA Tournament. Dagel qualified for the NCAA Tournament after a Title at Super Region V. He ultimately went on to place fourth after entering the tournament as the three seed. The Eden Prairie native earned All-American honors as well as First Team All-NSIC. Glazier went 15-4 wrestling at 174 last year with nine bonus point victories. The year prior as a true freshman, Glazier went 30-5 with 22 bonus point wins as he placed eighth at the NCAA Tournament to capture All-American honors. He also was named Second Team All-NSIC and placed third at Super Region V. Glazier will wrestle at 184 this year.

Other key returners for the Huskies will be 133-pound redshirt senior Conor Knopick, 149-pound redshirt senior Alyeus Craig, and 285-pound redshirt junior Jadon Mims. Knopick tallied an 18-7 record wrestling at 125 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. The Omaha native tallied 11 bonus point wins and ranked as high as No. 6. He produced two ranked wins, entered the NCAA Tournament as the ten seed, and earned Second Team All-NSIC. Craig went 16-11 wrestling at 141 with 13 bonus point wins. He would rank as high as No. 6 and did not place at Super Region V. Mims produced a 19-4 record with nine bonus point wins while notching a 3-1 record in duals.

The offseason saw the Huskies add to their talent by bringing in wrestlers such as Ben Aranda, Brendan Howes, Macray Klohs, and Mason Mills. Aranda comes from Cleveland State University where he tallied a 57-49 record wrestling at 125 in his tenure. He also totaled 21 bonus point wins with the Vikings. Howes comes from North Dakota State where he totaled a 27-31 record with 19 bonus point wins wrestling at 165. Klohs hails from North Iowa Area Community College where he was a national qualifier and All-Conference honoree at 197. Klohs produced a 20-8 record with 15 bonus point wins in his lone season at NIACC. Mills comes from West Virginia where he went 6-9 in his career wrestling at 133.

Preseason Coaches' Poll Results

St. Cloud State
Augustana
Wisconsin-Parkside
UMary
Minnesota State
Northern State
MSU Moorhead
Sioux Falls
Minot State
Southwest Minnesota State
Jamestown

St. Cloud State will kick off their season on October 30 with the annual Black & Red Classic. They will begin dual season with the Grand Valley State Duals on November 21 and start conference duals on December 5 against Jamestown.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Wrestling, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.