Little Rock wrestling enters its seventh season after a historic high and a bizarre low.
The Trojans started from scratch during the 2019-20 season and have steadily become a nationally recognized program. What head coach Neil Erisman has done with his upstart team is staggering, including two All-Americans in 2024 and a 17th-place finish at the 2025 NCAA Championships — also with two All-Americans.
The 2024-25 season ended in the strangest way. Little Rock won the Pac 12 Championships and Tyler Brennan won the 174-pound conference title, but Brennan was deemed ineligible for the NCAA Championships despite competing the entire season. His conference title was stripped, and Little Rock retroactively finished second to Oregon State.
“Last year was our best year ever, even though it was dampened at the end of the year by an unfortunate situation, or I would say garbage situation,” Erisman said. “That was shoved down our throats, and people were pressured to make decisions that were unnecessary at that time.
“In the end, it was deemed wrong, and I have no problem with that. It was not deemed wrong for the entire year. It was not deemed wrong when it was signed off on twice by the conference. I think the pressure from other universities and the misinformation of the media pushed this into something that it didn’t need to be. Regardless of one’s opinion about the situation, it was unfair to the student-athlete and to us in how it was handled.
“(Some guys decided) that they were going to depart, but I still felt like it was a phenomenal year. I’m really proud of what we did.”
Those departures are Nasir Bailey, the program’s highest national finisher (4th in 2024), and two-time NCAA qualifier Jordan Williams, both of whom transferred to the University of Iowa.
Erisman still has a solid foundation entering the 2026 season. All-Americans Matt Bianchi and Stephen Little return, as does national qualifier Josiah Hill. The team will also compete at the National Duals Invitational on November 15-16 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“This year, I think we have a sneaky good team,” Erisman said. “I don’t think people have paid much attention to the guys we brought in or the transfers or how we’ve done and the guys we’re bringing back who were redshirting last year. We had a few starters out last year, and we still did really well.
“We have a good mix of experience and age and a great mix of young guys who are under the radar and have done really well, and some good transfers that fit the program.
“The National Duals is a cool event. It’s cool that these people are being rewarded for competing. The fact that we earned the right to have our name thrown in the hat was cool, especially in year one. It’s an event we want to be in every single year. It’s a great spotlight for our sport.”
2025-26 Little Rock Overview
Head coach: Neil Erisman
Assistants: Javier Maldonado, Albert White, Austin Schafer
2025 NCAA tournament finish: 17th
2025 NCAA tournament record: 13-11
2025 NCAA tournament points: 22.5
2025 Pac 12 tournament finish: 2nd
2025 dual record: 17-3 (3-0 conference)
Returning national qualifiers: 3 (Matt Bianchi, Stephen Little, Josiah Hill)
Returning All-Americans: 2 (Stephen Little, Matt Bianchi)
Last NCAA champion: None
Highest NCAA tournament finisher: 4th (Nasir Bailey, 2024)
Highest NCAA team finish: 17th (2025)
Highest NCAA team finish under Erisman: 17th (2025)
Most national placers in a season under Erisman: 2 (2024, 2025)
Prospective Line-up
125 Pounds: Jeremiah Reno, SR, or Tyler Harper, FR
Reno transferred from Nebraska two seasons ago and didn’t compete last season. He’s a three-year starter, including two for Little Rock. He has a 33-37 career college record and is seeking his first national tournament appearance.
Harper didn’t compete last season but was a three-time Fargo All-American and a 2023 Junior finalist at 106 pounds.
133 Pounds: Dillon Cooper, FR
This weight is wide open after the departure of Bailey, who compiled a 52-9 career record during his two seasons at Little Rock. Cooper is the likely starter. Draegen Orine was expected to join the team from North Carolina State, but, as of now, that won’t happen.
141 Pounds: Jayden Gomez, SR, or Cael Keck, JR, or Brennan Van Hoecke, SR
This is an up-for-grabs weight that might get decided by who can last the longest.
Gomez has some nice wins, including a fall over All-American Chris Cannon, but was injured and missed most of last season.
Keck started during the 2024 season but was injured last year.
Van Hoecke started last season but didn’t qualify for the NCAA Championships with a 14-8 record. He won a U23 Greco national title this summer.
149/157 Pounds: Carter McCallister, SO, or Brock Herman, SO, or Jaivon Jones, SR
This could be a season-long storyline as Erisman decides who will lock down these two spots.
McCallister transferred from Missouri but was hurt during the first tournament of the year and didn’t get to compete.
Herman transferred from Ohio State and saw mat time for the Buckeyes at 157, including four duals.
Jones transferred from Northern Illinois and has competed at three MAC Championships, but hasn’t qualified for nationals. He notched an 11-0 win over Herman at the 2023 Midlands Championships.
165 Pounds: Matt Bianchi, SR
Bianchi is moving up from 157 pounds, where he finished seventh at the 2025 NCAA Championships and qualified in 2024. He has a 58-31 career college record.
174 Pounds: Kodiak Cannedy, JR, or Gunner Holland, FR
Cannedy might get his shot after three seasons behind Brennan. He went 6-5 last season, including a 1-1 dual record as the starter.
Holland went 14-6 last season and was 4-2 at the freestyle U23 National Championships.
184 Pounds: Brock Delsignore, SR, or Jake Stacey, FR
Delsignore was the starter last season, finishing 12-8, but didn’t qualify for nationals.
Stacey was 9-8 during his true freshman campaign.
197 Pounds: Stephen Little, JR
Little is an established star after a 68-14 career record and two All-American finishes, seventh in 2024 and sixth in 2025.
285 Pounds: Josiah Hill, SR
Hill redshirted last season but was a 2024 national qualifier with a 24-11 record.
