WESTERVILLE, Ohio - Ohio Athletic Conference wrestling coaches voted Baldwin Wallace University as the favorites to top the league's 2025-26 wrestling standings.
The Yellow Jackets tallied 36 points and received the maximum six of seven first-place votes to top the projections. Ohio Northern University received the other first-place vote, placing second in the preseason poll with 31 points. The University of Mount Union and Heidelberg University rounded out the top four with 25 and 22 points, respectively. Otterbein University slotted into the fifth spot with 16 points, while Wilmington College (9 points) and Muskingum University (8 points) rounded out the preseason standings. Head coaches do not vote for their own teams in the balloting.
Defending OAC Champion Baldwin Wallace will look to add to a streak of five straight league titles dating back to the 2020-21 campaign. Last season, the Yellow Jackets finished with a 12-4 overall record that included a flawless 7-0 mark in conference action. As a team, BWU earned a fourth-place finish at the 2025 NCAA Division III Championships, marking the program's fourth consecutive top-10 national finish and its second top-five placement in the last three seasons. Led by last year's OAC Coach of the Year, Jamie Gibbs, who is in his 15th season at the helm, this season's squad enters the winter ranked No. 20 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association DIII Preseason Coaches Poll. Additionally, four Yellow Jackets are nationally-ranked as individuals, including returning NCAA Championship competitors Andrew Supers and Remington Bauer. BWU starts its season on Saturday, November 1, at the Adrian Invitational at 10 a.m. in Adrian, Michigan.
| 2025-26 OAC Wrestling Coaches Poll |
| Rank |
School (1st Place Votes) |
Pts. |
| 1 |
Baldwin Wallace (6) |
36 |
| 2 |
Ohio Northern (1) |
31 |
| 3 |
Mount Union |
25 |
| 4 |
Heidelberg |
22 |
| 5 |
Otterbein |
16 |
| 6 |
Wilmington |
9 |
| 7 |
Muskingum |
8 |