Wrestling and women's volleyball brought national titles back home to Happy Valley in 2024-25. Both football and men's hockey were one win away from making it to the championship game. All four have stacked rosters to take home a championship win, and Penn State is in a position where it has four national championship winning teams in 2025-26.
Penn State women's volleyball and wrestling are defending their national titles, and have a good chance at doing so
Women's volleyball has a tough 2025 schedule ahead, but that should be expected for the reigning national championships. The Nittany Lions won the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship over Louisville in four sets. Penn State earned the No. 3 overall seed of the tournament with Pittsburgh and Nebraska taking the top two spots and the Cardinals at No. 4.
While the Nittany Lions don't have outside hitter Jess Mruzik anymore, head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley has AVCA Freshman of the Year and second team All-American setter Izzy Starck, all-Big Ten libero Gillian Grimes, and Big Ten all-freshman team selectee outside and right side hitter Caroline Jurevicius back for 2025-26. Other notable returning players are middle blockers Maggie Mendelson and Jordan Hopp. Under Schumacher-Cawley's coaching and a good group of returning players, Penn State has a reasonable shot at claiming the national championship again.
The Nittany Lions are coming off its fourth straight NCAA national championship win. Ahead of the 2025-26 season, JD Rader of FloWrestling made a top 20 ranking of his best wrestlers. The NCAA Wrestling Championship Prediction Rankings features eight from Penn State.
Headlining the group at No. 1 is junior Mitchell Mesenbrink. He was one of two Nittany Lions to earn individual national championship wins, the other being Carter Starocci. Mesenbrink won the 165-pound weight class.
At No. 3 is senior Levi Haines followed by freshman Masanosuke Ono at No. 4. Sophomore Josh Barr is ranked No. 8. Outside the top 10, sophomore Luke Lilledahl sits at No. 13, juniors Shayne Van Ness and Tyler Kasak take the 15th and 16th spots, and freshman Marcus Blaze caps off the list at No. 20.
Haines, Lilledahl, Van Ness, and Kasak placed third in the 2025 national championships, winning their wrestlebacks brackets. Barr and Blaze placed second after Iowa's Stephen Buchanan and Nebraska's Antrell Taylor defeated them for first in their respective weight classes.
Head coach Cael Sanderson is no doubt in a position to win his fifth overall national championship win in 2025-26. Aside from the success his returners had in the championships, Sanderson also has freshman PJ Duke joining. Duke defeated four-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis as an 18-year-old in the 2025 Final X competition.
The women's volleyball season starts on Saturday, Aug. 23 in the ACVA First Serve event in Nebraska against Creighton. The Nittany Lions' wrestling season begins Dec. 5 at the Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia against Drexel.
Penn State football and men's hockey have all the pieces they need to win the national championship in 2025
Head coaches James Franklin and Guy Gadowsky have the rosters they need to surpass the semifinals and win the national title in 2025-26.
Franklin and his Nittany Lions suffered tough losses in the Big Ten Championship Game and Orange Bowl in the College Football Playoffs semifinals. This upcoming season, though, he has one of the best roster of returners that have a chip on their shoulders to take those wins. There are expectations for Penn State to be at the top of the NCAA.
At the moment, the Nittany Lions are +750 to win the national championship, according to FanDuel. Only Texas, Ohio State, and Georgia are favored over them. Realistically, this is Franklin's season to get it done as key players enter their final year of eligibility.
As for Gadowsky, he's coming off a historical season for the men's hockey program. Penn State earned its first trip to the Frozen Four with an upset over Maine in the quarterfinals. Even though Boston University took the win in the semifinals, the Nittany Lions turned a lot of heads and they're continuing putting themselves on the map of legit competitors in the NCAA for years to come.
It really is a new era for Penn State, and the roster for this coming season is nothing less than impressive. Five-stars Gavin McKenna (the obvious headliner), Jackson Smith, Luke Misa, Pierce Mbuyi, Charlie Cerrato, and Aiden Fink top the group. Four-stars Lev Katzin, Shea Van Olm, Mac Gadowsky, and Nolan Collins follow right behind.
The Nittany Lions have the scoring and defense they need to book it right back to the Frozen Four. While Gadowsky isn't in the same boat as Franklin, since many of his players will be eligible to return to Penn State after the season, there's no reason to wait with this level of talent on the roster.
Penn State football opens its season at home against Nevada on Aug. 30. Men's hockey is currently set to take on Arizona State away in a non-conference series on Oct. 3-4.