Columbia News

Missouri’s wrestling team, ranked No. 25 nationally, will compete at the 2025 NCAA Championship from March 20 to March 22 in Philadelphia. The event will be held at the Wells Fargo Center and broadcast on ESPN platforms.

At the recent Big 12 Conference tournament, Missouri finished eighth with 65.5 points. Senior Keegan O'Toole secured his third Big 12 and fourth overall conference title after defeating Oklahoma State's Dean Hamiti Jr. Cam Steed placed second at 165 pounds, falling to Peyton Hall of West Virginia in the final match. Kade Moore achieved a notable win over Iowa State's Evan Frost on his way to a third-place finish and an automatic berth in the NCAA Championship. J Conway took seventh place while Colton Hawks finished eighth.

Six Missouri wrestlers have qualified for this year’s national tournament: three earned automatic bids—Kade Moore (133 lbs), Cam Steed (165 lbs), and Keegan O'Toole (174 lbs)—and three received at-large selections—Josh Edmond (141 lbs), J Conway (157 lbs), and Colton Hawks (184 lbs). This is the first time since the 2009-10 season that Missouri has sent only six qualifiers; previous seasons often saw more, including all ten starters qualifying six times since then.

Historically, Missouri has recorded thirteen top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championship, with two occasions resulting in team trophies: third place in 2006-07 and fourth place in 2014-15. Head coach Brian Smith, who began leading the program in the 1998-99 season, has overseen twelve of those top-10 results.

Individually, six Tigers have won ten national titles for Missouri. J'den Cox leads with three championships; Ben Askren and Keegan O'Toole each have two; Mark Ellis, Max Askren, and Drake Houdashelt have one apiece. Ben Askren remains notable as Missouri’s only Hodge Trophy winner—a distinction he earned twice—and as its only Outstanding Wrestler of the NCAA Championship recipient.

Missouri’s highest-ever finish was third place in 2006-07 with eighty points scored. The program’s record point total came during a fifth-place effort in 2016-17 when it scored eighty-six-and-a-half points.

At last year’s NCAA Championship, Missouri placed eleventh with forty-nine-and-a-half points—missing a top-ten finish by just six-and-a-half points—and had three All-Americans: Keegan O'Toole (third at 165 lbs) and brothers Rocky Elam (sixth at 197 lbs) and Zach Elam (fourth at heavyweight). After that season, several key athletes graduated or were sidelined due to injury or retirement.

The upcoming championship marks only the second time Philadelphia has hosted since the event was last there in 2010–11; that year current assistant coach Dom Bradley took third place as a competitor for Missouri.

Among this year’s qualifiers:

Kade Moore returns as a No. 31 seed at 133 pounds after going winless last year.

Josh Edmond is seeded No.23 at 141 pounds; he aims to earn All-American status after coming close last season.

J Conway debuts as a No.30 seed at 157 pounds.

Cam Steed enters his first nationals as No.9 seed following his runner-up finish at Big 12s.

Keegan O’Toole holds the top seed at 174 pounds for his fifth NCAA appearance—having previously won two national titles.

Colton Hawks is seeded No.31 at184 pounds after reaching last year's blood round.

O’Toole recently joined Mizzou Wrestling's "100-Win Club" and is tied with Max Askren on career wins heading into postseason competition.