FAIRFAX— George Mason wrestler Kaden Cassidy was among the 42 at-large selections for the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championships in Cleveland announced by the NCAA today.
Cassidy earned the bid after a tremendous season on the mat. The grad student finished with a 16-3 and finished the season ranked No. 2 in the MAC at 149 pounds. Nationally ranked all season, #22 Kaden Cassidy (16-1) qualified for the NCAA Championship last season after a third place finish in the conference championship.
The Bedford, Pa. native defaulted both matches at the MAC Championships because he wasn't medically cleared in time.
With the addition of Cassidy, the Patriots will send four wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, the most since the 2000-01 season when seven qualified. Logan Messer won the MAC Championship, Malachi DuVall was runner-up at 184, and DJ McGee (157) finished in third.
Coach Beasley has coached 18 NCAA Qualifiers since becoming head coach of the Patriots in 2017-18. This year marks the fifth time during Beasley's nine seasons the Green and Gold have at least three qualifiers.
The at-large selections were made by the NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Committee using the following selection criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins, results against common opponents, winning percentage, ratings percentage index, coaches ranking and conference tournament finish.
Seeding and brackets for this year's event will be revealed tomorrow, March 11, during the NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championships Selection Show on NCAA.com at 8 p.m. ET.
Visit http://ncaa.com/wrestling for more information about this year's championship.