Last season’s National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic didn’t feature a single Penn State Nittany Lion, as the early-season exhibition event was held at Jersey Mike’s Arena, hosted by Rutgers University. This year, however, the event is coming back to Happy Valley for the second time in the last three years, to be hosted at Rec Hall on Tuesday, November, 24.
On Monday, the initial lineup was announced, and it included three Nittany Lions: NCAA Champion Josh Barr and national runners-up, Shayne Van Ness and Rocco Welsh. The heavyweight lineup was left TBA at the moment, and on Tuesday it was revealed that Penn State’s Connor Mirasola will wrestle Wisconsin’s Braxton Amos, ranked No. 6.
Mirasola, entering his third year at Penn State, is making the jump from 197 to heavyweight this year after coming off a U23 Pan-American gold medal at 125-kilograms. Amos, a redshirt senior, placed sixth at the Big Ten Championships last season and finished the year with a 20-7 record.
Penn State’s lineup and matchups for NWCA All-Star Classic at Rec Hall:
149: No. 3 Shayne Van Ness vs. No. 4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech)
184: No. 2 Rocco Welsh vs. No. 5 Brock Mantanona (Michigan)
197: No. 1 Josh Barr vs. No. 3 Stephen Little (Arkansas Little Rock)
285: Connor Mirasola vs. No. 6 Braxton Amos (Wisconsin)
Van Ness got the best of Hensen in their only previous meeting at the 2023 NCAA Championships, winning 5-3 for a spot in the third-place match. The Van Ness and Hensen showdown will be an important measuring stick for a loaded weight class this season, as Jesse Mendez of Ohio State, the 2025 national champion at 141, and Sergio Vega from Oklahoma State, who beat Mendez for that title in 2026, are both expected to move up to 149.
At 184, Welsh and Mantanona are familiar foes, having met three times last year as Welsh worked his way to an NCAA runner-up finish. Welsh won 8-1, 8-5, and 4-3 in the NCAA semifinals. The two will likely meet again later in the regular season as Penn State hosts Michigan for a dual on January 15.
Barr is also matched up with a familiar opponent in Little. Barr’s emergence in the 2024-25 season largely began with a 4-1 victory over Little at the Journeyman Collegiate Duals. He ultimately finished as the NCAA runner-up that season before winning the title last year. They met again in January 2026 at the Southern Scuffle, and Barr won 9-1.
As for Mirasola, he and his twin brother Cole will be battling for the heavyweight spot in Penn State’s lineup after Cole occupied it last season. A win over an established wrestler like Amos would go a long way for Connor. Cole finished 19-8 as a redshirt freshman last season and went 2-2 in his first trip to the NCAA Championships.
The Penn State lineup is more in flux this season than most. Early-season exhibitions, such as the NWCA All-Star Classic, could help head coach Cael Sanderson sort it out, especially his heavyweight decision between the Mirasola twins.
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