KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Following a season that eclipsed many program-best marks, the seventh-ranked Kutztown University wrestling team hopes to carry its momentum into the 2025-26 as it looks to continue its rise on the national stage.

Reigning Super Region 1 Head Coach of the Year Robert Fisher led the Golden Bears to an 11-1 dual record in 2024-25 as well as a season-opening tournament victory at the East Stroudsburg Open. KU started the second half of the year off with a 50-0 non-conference victory over American International to set a new program record for margin of victory, and finished the season with a 5-1 dual mark in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, headlined by a statement win over No. 14 Gannon.
 
The postseason was a huge success for KU, as the squad came out of the Super Region I Championships with a program record six grapplers earning trips to the NCAA DII National Championships, including a pair of top finishers to go along with the team's third-place finish. Kutztown didn't stop there, as it surpassed its 20th-place ranking from the National Wrestling Coaches Association by finishing with a program-best eighth-place finish at nationals, one that featured four All-American honorees.
 
All that success earned them a program-best seventh-place ranking in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division II polls, eclipsing its former best mark of 11th, which the team held entering the 2021-22 and 2024-25 seasons. While the conference is loaded with No. 3 Pitt-Johnstown and No. 10 Gannon among the nation's top teams, last year's results showed that Kutztown can hang with the top tier of Division II wrestling programs.
 
Three wrestlers who were featured on that eighth-place team return to headline the 2025-26 Golden Bears squad: No. 3 165-pound redshirt senior Bailey Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg), No. 6 174-pound redshirt senior Dalton Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) and No. 3 285-pound dual sport senior Freddie Retter (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown). Kutztown also returns national qualifier Wayne McIntyre (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg North), the eighth-ranked 197-pound grappler, and redshirt junior Javien DeLeon (Allentown, Pa./Liberty), who wrestled to a 16-8 record at 133 pounds a season ago.
 
Newcomer Cole Casilio (Wilcox, Pa./Johnsonburg) joins the program as a graduate transfer from Gannon, looking to fill the void left by now-graduate assistant coach Matthew Weinberg at 184 pounds. Entering the season as the 13th best wrestler in the weight class, the Wilcox, Pa., native finished his most recent season with a 23-11 overall record, an 8-2 dual record and seven falls in 2023-24.
 
The Maroon and Gold will take part in six tournaments and seven dual matches, six of which are PSAC opponents and four of which will take place inside Keystone Arena. Kutztown's lone home dual in 2025 will take place against Seton Hill, followed by a pair of road tournaments before it resumes dual competition in 2026.
 
The team will hold Alumni Night on Friday, Jan. 16, against Pitt-Johnstown, Youth Night on Friday, Jan. 23, against non-conference foe Fairmont State, and Senior Night against East Stroudsburg on Tuesday, Feb. 17, all beginning at 7 p.m.
 
The Golden Bears will open the season at the Tonee Ellis Memorial Tournament, hosted by Alvernia, on Saturday, Nov. 1, which begins at 11 a.m. The team hosts its first dual meet on Friday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. against Seton Hill.