Hokie helmsman Tony Robie has reloaded the Virginia Tech wrestling program with one of the best recruiting classes of the year and supplemented his lineup with a trio of national-caliber transfers. The Hokies also return experienced vets like Caleb Henson, only the second national champion in program history.
With a solid returning core, a bumper crop of blue chips, and the new faces from the portal, the Hokies have assembled what one might call a ‘sneaky good’ team that will likely challenge for an ACC championship and NCAA team trophy.
More 2025-26 Lineup Looks: OK State | Penn State | Iowa | Ohio State | Northern Iowa | NC State | Minnesota | Little Rock | Illinois | Wyoming | Lehigh | Nebraska | Missouri
The current era of Hokie wrestling began when Coach Robie was named the interim head coach of the Virginia Tech wrestling program in February of 2017. Robie, a two-time All-American at Edinboro in the 90s, was then made the official head coach directly following the conclusion of the 2017 NCAA tournament.
Robie led the Hokies to an 8th-place finish at Nationals in his first full season as the official head coach. Since then, the Robie-led Hokies have averaged better than a top ten finish throughout his tenure.
Coach Robie returns this fall for his eighth full season, along with associate head coaches Jared Frayer and Zach Tanelli. Additionally, illustrious alum and NCAA finalist Jared ‘The Horseman’ Haught is back as an assistant coach.
Tech returns four starters to its lineup, all of whom were national qualifiers. Two of those four were All-Americans, including team leader Caleb the Hitman Henson, who is a three-time All-American, two-time finalist, and 2024 national champion (the first since Mekhi Lewis accomplished the feat in 2019). Tech also gets Tom Crook, a two-time national qualifier, back off redshirt.
The offseason was a busy one for the Hokies, as they added three likely new starters from the transfer portal. The Hokie staff was also busy signing one of the top recruiting classes in the country. That class clocked in at #4 in the 2025 NCAA Recruiting Class Rankings. The Hokies can boast of six big boarders, including two top 15-anked prospects.
2025-26 NC State Overview
Head coach: Tony Robie (8th)
Assistants: Jared Frayer, Zach Tanelli, Jared Haught
2025 NCAA Tournament finish: 11th
2025 NCAA Tournament points: 41
2025 ACC Tournament finish: 1st
2025 ACC Tournament points: 91.5
2025 dual record: 9-2 (5-1 conference)
Returning All-Americans: 2
Returning national qualifiers: 5
Key off-season transfers: Ethen Miller (Maryland), Sergio Desiante (Chattanooga), Jaden Bullock (Michigan)
Freshman recruits from the Class of 2024 Big Board: #10 Aaron Seidel, #13 Ryan Burton, #36 Collin Gaj, #44 Noah Nininger, #56 Drew Gorman, #76 Ben Weader
Last NCAA champion: Caleb Henson (2024, 149lbs)
Highest NCAA team finish under Head Coach Robie: 7th (2024)
NCAA All-Americans honors under Head Coach Robie: 24
NCAA Tournament qualifiers under Head Coach Robie: 72
Prospective Line-up
125: Eddie Ventresca, SR
The Hokie’s leadoff man had his breakout season as a redshirt freshman in 2023 when the New Jersey native placed 7th at NCAAs. Ventresca had to win the starting spot that year from another highly touted redshirt freshman in Cooper Flynn.
As the saying goes, iron sharpens iron, and Ventresca and Cooper both stayed in Blacksburg the next year. Flynn earned the postseason start in 2024, but Ventresca would bounce back in 2025 and advanced to the final day of the NCAA Tournament for the second time, placing 5th last season. He’s now returning to the lineup for his final bite of the apple.
Watch highlights from Ventresca’s final bout of his 2025 NCAA season:
133: Dillon Campbell RSFR/Aaron Seidel FR
This may be the most contentious weight class for the Hokies this year. Redshirt freshman Dillon Campbell acquitted himself well during his true frosh season, going 7-3 and winning the Appalachian Open. His three losses were all to NCAA qualifiers.
But challenging Campbell is Aaron Seidel, a blue-chip recruit from Central PA who, in fact, may already be in pole position for the gig. Seidel finished the season ranked #3 nationally at 132lbs. He was a PIAA AAA runner-up to Jax Forrest and placed at every tournament he entered. Whoever takes over the spot will have big shoes to fill, as the previous Hokie 133-pounder was All-American Connor McGonagle.
141: Tom Crook, JR
A graduate of Florida prep powerhouse Tampa Jesuit, Crook is coming off a redshirt year of respite that didn’t see him take the mat all season long. Crook qualified for the NCAA Tournament in both seasons before that, however, going 1-2 as a true frosh in 2023 and advancing to the round of 16 as a true sophomore in 2024.
Crook will be looking to improve on that finish as a fourth-year junior. He’ll also have Georgia recruit Drew Gorman to spell him at the weight class (up to five times in dual meets) should that be to his advantage. As with 133, Crook will have to replace an All-American starter following the departure of two-time AA Sam Latona.
149: Caleb Henson, SR
The undisputed leader and talisman for the Hokies, the Hitman is already one of Virginia Tech’s most accomplished wrestlers, not matter what he does in his senior season.
Henson was part of a wave of recruits from Georgia that helped establish that state as a wrestling power. He placed fifth as a true freshman and followed that up with back-to-back NCAA final appearances and a 52-3 cumulative record. A champion in 2024, Henson was upended in the 2025 finals by Nebraska’s RIdge Lovett, an opponent he held a 3-1 collegiate series advantage over at the time.
Henson has never taken a redshirt, and #44 on the 2025 Big Board, Noah Nininger, is available to man the spot should the Hokie braintrust decide it would be better for Henson to take a year off varsity. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Henson is kept off the mat, however, as he will be no doubt anxious to return to the top of the NCAA podium. We only mention it out of journalistic obligation to point out the possibility.
Watch Henson’s full match from the 2024 NCAA finals:
157: Ethen Miller, SR
One of Virginia Tech’s key portal pickups, the former Maryland Terrapin will be replacing Rafael Hipolito, who himself departed Blacksburg for the portal after one season on varsity.
Originally from Missouri, Miller was a consistent force for the Terps, qualifying for three straight NCAA Tournaments and winning a match at every tourney.
Battling Miller for the starting job will be true freshman Collin Gaj, a Quakertown, Pennsylvania native who won a PIAA AAA title last season.
165: Mac Church, SO
Mac Church will be back to once again take the reins of 165lbs for the Hokies. The Waynseburg, PA native qualified for the NCAA Championships last season as a redshirt freshman, but will be looking to improve on an up-and-down season that produced a 16-14 record.
174: Sergio Desiante, JR
Desiante is another big addition from the transfer portal, who also, perhaps not coincidentally, is a product of Tampa Jesuit, like teammate Tom Crook. Desiante finished up his third season in Chattanooga before hitting the portal. He completed his breakout season in 2025, winning the Southern Scuffle for the Mocs (for the first time in host Chattanooga’s history), then won a SoCon title (definitely not the first in Chattanooga history), and then advanced to the round of 16 at NCAAs.
Desiante will be assuming the role previously occupied by Lennox Wolak, a grad transfer from Columbia. Wolak placed 6th in 2024 but fell one match shy of reaching the podium in 2025.
True freshman Ryan Burton is on the roster with the potential to provide Desiante with a weekend off, assuming the blue-chip recruit from St Joe’s Montvale doesn’t earn the spot right out of the gate as a true freshman. Our guess is that Burton will redshirt, but at this point in the offseason, nothing is set in stone.
Watch Desiante win a 2025 Southern Scuffle title:
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184: Jaden Bullock, SR
As the lone 184-pounder currently listed on the Hokie roster, Jaden Bullock would appear to have the weight class all to himself. The former Michigan Wolverine from Chesapeake, Virginia, had his best season in 2024, when he advanced to the round of 16 at the NCAA Championships. 2025 was a step back for Bullock, who was unable to qualify for NCAAs in his third season starting for the Maize and Blue.
Bullock will be replacing 2024 All-American TJ Stewart, who entered the portal last season with two years of eligibility remaining. A change of scenery may be what Bullock, a grad transfer, needs as he enters his final season of eligibility in his home state (albeit an almost five-hour drive away from his hometown).
197: Sonny Sasso, SO
After waiting patiently for two seasons behind Hokie stalwart Andy Smith, Sonny Sasso is ready to take over light-heavyweight for the Technicians from Virginia. A so-so true freshman campaign on redshirt gave way to an auspicious second season in Blacksburg that saw Sasso start the season 9-0 before falling in the Southern Scuffle semifinals.
The Pennsylvanian native from the Lehigh Valley didn’t wrestle again after the Scuffle, but will be counted on this year to lead the way at 197.
285: Jim Mullen, SO
Big Jim Mullen came to Blacksburg as a recruit for both the football and wrestling programs. The New Jersey native thankfully decided to focus on his wrestling career, and Hokie faithful and college wrestling fans in general are better off because of it.
Mullen is back as the VA Tech anchor following a redshirt freshman season that culminated in a 2-1 record at the NCAA Championships. Mullen is a grad of St. Joe’s Montvale in North Jersey, from which the aforementioned true freshman Ryan Burton also hails.
