Arizona State coach Zeke Jones is hitting the reset button after last season. And you can’t blame him. 

The Sun Devils were 4-11 in duals, finishing 11th at Big 12s and 18th at NCAAs, thanks in large part to heavyweight Cohlton Schultz finishing third during his super senior season. This was far from the standard of a program that consistently contends for trophies at the national tournament. 

This feels like a revived and invigorated Arizona State squad, with no returning All-Americans and only four returning national qualifiers, two of whom are transfers. Fresh and familiar faces will lead the Sun Devils into their second season in the Big 12. 

“I think our Sun Devil fans, and wrestling community nationally, have gotten used to ASU returning four and five all-Americans, returning national champions, and it's really exciting right now, because we have a lot of new faces,” Jones said. “It reminds me of 11 years ago when (our staff took over) the program where we started new and had new faces and new people, new energy, and existing kids that were really trying to achieve high goals.”

“I think you're going to see, right down the middle, 50-50, of an existing team and a new team. It's exciting times for us. There's a lot of change going on, as we all know. You have the transfer portal, you have roster limits, and rev share, and all these factors that are going into collegiate athletics, and obviously, in our world of wrestling, we are in the forefront of all of those changes happening.”

The Larkin brothers will be at the forefront of a line-up filled with potential. Their dad, Eric, was a 2003 NCAA champion and four-time All-American (4-3-2-1) for Arizona State. Like their father, Kyler (133) and Kaleb (149) will use their creative and innovative style to — hopefully — score big points for the team. Greco-Roman specialist Pierson Manville (141) gets his first shot in the line-up after a redshirt season. 

Transfers Colton Hawks (Missouri, 184) and David Szuba (Rider, 285) were much-needed additions — especially after five-time All-American Cohlton Schultz graduated. Returning Sun Devil national qualifiers Nicco Ruiz (165) and Cael Valencia (174) will need to perform optimally for the team to contend. 

Jones has decisions to make at 125 with three viable options. Chance McLane (157) enters his seventh season, and Aziz Fayzullaev (184) was a two-time NJCAA champion who gets a shot on college wrestling's biggest stage. 

“I think the future is bright,” Jones said. “I think we have kids that can compete at the highest level, on the national stage, as well as the World and Olympic stage. We're excited. We're pumped. I've rejuvenated a little bit in the last couple of years. These kids want to wear that Sun Devil singlet with pride, but they have their own personal goals. They signed up to wrestle because they want to be the best in the country and the best in the world. I think we have a really good group of kids. We’re just super excited about the year.” 

Arizona State will compete at the inaugural National Duals Invitational on November 15-16 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

2025-26 Arizona State Overview

Head coach: Zeke Jones (12th season)

Assistants: Lee Pritts, Frank Molinaro, Eric Thompson

2025 NCAA tournament finish: T-18th

2025 NCAA tournament record: 8-5

2025 NCAA tournament points: 21

2025 Big 12 tournament finish: 11th

2025 dual record: 4-11 (1-7 conference)

Returning All-Americans: 0

Returning national qualifiers: Colton Hawks, David Szuba, Nicco Ruiz, Cael Valencia

Key Off-Season Transfers: Colton Hawks (Missouri), David Szuba (Rider)

Last NCAA champion: Richard Figueroa (2024)

Highest NCAA team finish: 1st (1988)

Highest NCAA team finish under Jones: 4th (2021, 2022)

Most national placers in a season under Jones: 5 (2021, 2022)

Prospective Line-up

125: Damian Moreno, SO, or Tristan Mascarenas, SR, or Ane'e Vigil, JR
This three-way battle could be a storyline all season. Mascarenas went 1-2 in varsity duals and 2-5 overall last season; Moreno was 3-3 and 1-2 in duals; and Clackamas Community College transfer Ane'e Vigil was a two-time NJCAA champion. 

133: Kyler Larkin, FR
Larkin gets his crack at the line-up as a true freshman. The two-time Fargo champion won the 2023 Reno Tournament of Champions while still in high school. 

141: Pierson Manville, FR
Manville gets his first crack as the starter following a stellar high school career and a 5-2 redshirt season, going 2-2 in varsity duals. He was an eight-time Fargo All-American, three-time finalist, and two-time champion. 

149: Kaleb Larkin, SO
Larkin went 2-0 in duals as a true freshman but was sidelined with an injury last season. 

157: Chance McLane, SR
McLane enters his seventh season following a three-year stint at Oklahoma State. He wrestled at the 2024 Pac-12 Championships but didn’t qualify for the NCAA Championships. The Bozeman, Montana, native has a 50-22 career college record.

165: Nicco Ruiz, SO
Ruiz was 14-9 last season and 1-2 at the NCAA Championships. The Ontario, California, native was a two-time state champion for St. John Bosco. 

174: Cael Valencia, SR
Valencia is a two-time national qualifier despite a 24-35 career college record. He was 2-8 at 184 pounds last season but is moving back down to 174 pounds, where he competed his first two seasons. 

184: Aziz Fayzullaev, SR
Fayzullaev was a two-time NJCAA champion (2023-24) for Northwest (Wyo.) before transferring to Arizona State last season. He was 1-1 in duals, dropping an 11-7 match to All-American Edmond Ruth of Illinois. 

197: Colton Hawks, SR
Hawks was a late but important addition to the Sun Devil roster. He has the best college credentials on the team, including three appearances at the NCAA Championships (2023-25) and a Round of 12 appearance in 2024. 

285: David Szuba, SR
Szuba transferred from Rider for his senior season. He finished 12-1 during his redshirt year and was 23-10 as a junior, during which he won the MAC Championships and went 1-2 at the NCAA tournament.