Penn State wrestler Levi Haines exhausted his four years of eligibility with a legendary career in Happy Valley, winning four Big Ten titles and two national titles in 2024 and 2026.
For now, that’s where the four-time All-American’s story as a Nittany Lion ended, but on Tuesday at Penn State wrestling’s media day, head coach Cael Sanderson announced that Haines is preparing for a fifth season of eligibility.
"He's in class right now. He'd probably rather not be in class, but he's preparing just in case he gets that opportunity. Just like anybody else, we're just waiting to hear the final word. It's been a pretty wild five years of ups and downs and changes and twists and turns. But everyone's in the same boat, and everyone's trying to navigate and figure out what they're doing."
Cael Sanderson added that Levi Haines was in class today before he heads overseas to compete for a world title. https://t.co/Xj9ekvqITt
— Zach Seyko (@zach_seyko) October 20, 2026
Levi Haines is awaiting a national injunction for Class of 2022 athletes
Haines originally gained his eligibility as part of Judge Charlotte Sweeney’s nationwide injunction for Class of 2022 athletes who were not grandfathered into the NCAA’s five-in-five eligibility rule, which was enacted this summer. However, the NCAA won a stay against Sweeney’s injunction.
At that point, most athletes seeking a fifth year joined state-level lawsuits, which have been able to grant temporary restraining orders against the NCAA to allow them to participate. It does not appear that Haines has joined one of those lawsuits, but the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing the case for nationwide eligibility.
That appears to be Haines’s only hope and the reason he is currently taking classes at Penn State, with a chance to join the lineup for the Nittany Lions this season, but it appears unlikely at this point that the nationwide injunction will be reinstated.
Haines is also preparing for the senior World Championships, where he will wrestle in the 79-kilogram men’s freestyle division.
“If he gets the call back to folk style, he’s been around folkstyle for a while, so he’ll be good to go. It’s not like he’s out in the woods hunting. He wishes he’s out in the woods hunting every day, and he is when he can. But we’re not like, calling him back out of the woods. He’s preparing. He’s training. He is ready to compete, and obviously World Championships are next week. But if he gets a call back to folkstyle, he’s ready to go.”
Mitchell Mesenbrink gives Penn State options without Levi Haines
If Haines does not gain his eligibility, it has a solid replacement for him at 174 pounds in two-time 165-pound national champion Mitchell Mesenbrink. Mesenbrink went 27-0 last season, dominating his way to a national championship, and seemingly returns this season as the biggest favorite to win the national title in any weight class at 165.
However, if Haines does not get his eligibility, Mesenbrink could move up to 174, allowing PJ Duke, Tyler Kasak, or Jayden James an opportunity at 165. If Mesenbrink doesn’t move up, then it will likely be Will Henckel, who went 9-1 in his redshirt season, with his lone loss coming to Haines.
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