No. 14 Wrestling Heads to No. 4 Iowa State to Close Out Regular Season Sunday

Sunday, February 22

Ames, Iowa

2 p.m.

Missouri

Iowa State

No. 14 Wrestling Heads to No. 4 Iowa State to Close Out Regular Season Sunday

2/20/2026 10:29:00 AM | Wrestling

#14 Missouri (12-7, 5-2 Big 12) vs. #4 Iowa State (11-2, 7-1 Big 12)
Match Details	Sunday, Feb. 20 • 2 p.m. CT • Ames, Iowa • Hilton Coliseum
Match Coverage	ESPN+
Match Notes	Missouri \| Iowa State
Social Media	Twitter: @MizzouWrestling \| Instagram: @MizzouWrestling

No. 14 Mizzou wrestling will travel to Ames, Iowa, on Sunday, Feb. 22, to battle No. 4 Iowa State. The dual against the Cyclones will begin at 2 p.m. CT and will be streamed on ESPN+.

LAST TIME OUT

Missouri claimed a 23-14 Senior Day win over No. 16 Oklahoma on Feb. 12 in a Big 12 showdown.
The Tigers claimed six wins, three with bonus points, including back-to-back technical falls at 174 and 184.
Gage Walker (133), Josh Edmond (149) and Teague Travis (157) all picked up wins, highlighted by Travis's four takedowns and a reversal against Oklahoma's Layton Schneider to earn the technical fall.
Redshirt freshman No. 3 Aeoden Sinclair (184) picked up five takedowns in 90 seconds, picking up his 10th tech fall of the season, 22-6.
Additionally, Edmond's win marked his 19th of the season, inching him closer to his first 20-win season of his career.

FULL STEED AHEAD

Redshirt Junior Cam Steed picked up a tech over Oklahoma's Trae Rios, 21-3.
The NCAA All-American's technical fall over Rios marked his eigth bonus point win of the season and fourth tech.
Steed earned Big 12 Wrestler of the Week Honors from the league office on Feb. 10, after defeating No. 13 Brody Conley by fall in 23 seconds.
Despite a tough 11-5 start to the season, Steed is ranked 10th at 174 pounds by the NCAA Coaches Poll, with seven of his wins coming with bonus points.

PACING THE PACK

Redshirt freshman Aeoden Sinclair leads the team with 25 wins, followed closely by redshirt senior Evan Bates with 21. Redshirt sophomore Jarrett Stoner joined the duo after earning his 20th win of the season against Brock Kehler of West Virginia.
Sinclair tops the team with 18 bonus-point wins and seven pins, and leads the team with 96 takedowns this season, followed by redshirt senior Evan Bates (61).

COACHES CALL

The second NCAA Individual Coaches' Poll was released with eight Missouri starters ranked in the top 33 of their weight class.
Aeoden Sinclair (184) is the highest-ranked Tiger at No. 3, while Evan Bates (197) is eighth and Cam Steed (174) is No. 10.
The full list of rankings can be found on page 11, with final individual coaches' rankings scheduled to be released on Feb. 26.

SIGNED, SEALED, SINCLAIR

Redshirt freshman Aeoden Sinclair secured his 19th straight win with a first-period technical fall over Oklahoma's Eli Cordy, 22-6 (2:13), with five of his seven takedowns coming in the first 90 seconds of the match.
The third-ranked 184-pounder leads the team with 25 wins to just one loss, and has a 96-2 takedown ratio this season to average 3.7 takedowns per match.
Moreover, the redshirt freshman's 96 takedowns lead all NCAA wrestlers this season per TrackWrestling.

BEST IN THE BUSINESS

Head coach Brian Smith recorded his 350th career dual win with a 42-0 victory over Northern Colorado, Jan. 25.
Coach Smith now has 353 wins, which is currently tied for second among active NCAA Division I coaches behind North Carolina's Rob Knoll with 357. Ohio State's Tom Ryan is tied with coach Smith at 353 wins.
Moreover, Coach Smith ranks atop the Big 12 coaches, with the closest competition being Tim Flynn at West Virginia (284) and Kevin Dresser at Iowa State (264).

NO DEBATE(S)

Redshirt senior transfer Evan Bates has continued to rise since putting on the Black and Gold singlet, with his most recent win being over No. 14 Rune Lawrence of West Virginia, 7-4, on Feb. 6.
Bates ranks eighth at 197 pounds and is second on the team in wins (21) and bonus point wins (13).
Moreover, the Chesterton, Indiana native, has well surpassed his takedown average from a season ago at Northwestern. Bates is averaging 2.25 takedowns per match (61 takedowns in 27 matches), compared to 1.21 (39 takedowns in 32 matches) from a season ago.

THE STANDARD

Mizzou clinched its 22nd season totaling 10-or-more wins under head coach Brian Smith with the 33-9 victory over Little Rock, Jan. 31.
Additionally, with a 12-7 record and one dual left on the schedule, the Tigers secure their 23rd winning season under Smith. Additionally, coach Smith has only recorded three seasons below .500 in his 28 years at Mizzou.

DEDICATED TO DEVELOPMENT

True freshman Seth Mendoza has been making a name for himself during his redshirt season with a 14-6 record overall and is 7-4 in countable matches.
Mendoza teched his way to the Soldier Salute final at 149 pounds, including a 17-2 win over No. 30 Gabe Willochell (Wyoming) in 2:27, and topped the podium at Cyclone Open, Jan. 19.
Additionally, true freshman David Gleason made the finals of the Cyclone Open (Jan. 19), won the Missouri Valley Open and placed seventh at Solder Salute (Jan. 3-4). Gleason is 12-5 in attached matches this season.
Classmate Dominic Bambinelli is 13-6 in his attached matches this season at 165 pounds, having claimed a Missouri Valley Open title and Outstanding Wrestler award at the tournament.
Additionally, Bambinelli placed fifth at the Cyclone Open (Jan. 4) and eighth at the Cyclone Open (Dec. 7).
Additionally, freshman Danny Heiser claimed the top spot at 174 pounds in the Missouri Valley Open and holds a 10-4 record in countable matches this season.

LAST TIME VS. IOWA STATE

Missouri fell to Iowa State, 21-18, in a close home match on Feb. 22, 2025.
No. 30 J Conway earned an upset over No. 8 Cody Chittum at 157 pounds, 9-3.
Cam Steed (165) and Keegan O'Toole (174) picked up back-to-back falls in 1:20 and 6:14, respectively.
Seth Nitzel closed out the dual at heavyweight with an upset win over No. 26 Daniel Herrera.

THE SERIES: TIGERS - CYCLONES

The match marks the 60th meeting between the two programs, with Iowa State holding the series lead 47-12.
The Black and Gold have claimed victory in seven of the last 10 duals, and 10 of the previous 15.
Head coach Brian Smith is 11-13 against Iowa State since taking the helm in 1998.
Additionally, Smith's teams are 6-3 against Kevin Dresser-coached teams dating back to Dresser's time as the head coach of Virginia Tech (2006-17).

MATCHUP MADNESS

The Missouri - Iowa State dual has has the potential to feature eight ranked matchups:

125 - (22) Mack Mauger vs. (11) Stevo Poulin

133 - (26) Gage Walker vs. (5) Evan Frost

149 - (22) Josh Edmond vs. (9) Jacob Frost

157 - (30) Teague Travis vs. (7) Vinny Zerban

174 - (10) Cam Steed vs. (12) MJ Gaitan

184 - (3) Aeoden Sinclair vs. (12) Isaac Dean

197 - (8) Evan Bates vs. (2) Rocky Elam

285 - (27) Jarrett Stoner vs. (1) Yonger Bastida

MOST WINS (Active, 50+)

Josh Edmond (78), Max Mayfield (75), Evan Bates (73) and Luqman Masud (67).

ON THE HORIZON

The Tigers kick off the postseason with the Big 12 Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on March 6-7. Competition will start at 10 a.m. CT on Friday, March 6, inside the BOK Center. All sessions will be broadcast on ESPN+.

FOLLOW THE TIGERS
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