COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Adams State University Grizzlies lead the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men’s Wrestling Preseason Coaches’ Poll, earning the title of preseason favorites, the conference announced Tuesday.

The league also announced its 2026-27 Preseason All-RMAC Men’s Wrestling Team with seven student-athletes earning recognition. Again this season, the RMAC’s preseason teams are determined by placing returning athletes in order of head coaches’ voting from the league’s 2025-26 All-RMAC Teams.
 

Adams State has been selected as the preseason favorite in the 2026-27 RMAC Men’s Wrestling Preseason Coaches’ Poll, earning 32 total points behind three first-place votes, two second-place votes, and one third-place vote. The Grizzlies are coming off a standout 2025-26 season, finishing 9-1 overall and 4-1 in RMAC duals. Adams State capped the campaign with a 10th-place team finish at the 2026 NCAA Division II National Championships, where four Grizzlies earned All-America honors. Adams State enters the 2026-27 season under the leadership of reigning RMAC Men’s Wrestling Coach of the Year Jason Ramstetter. The Grizzlies also return Levi Deaguero, a 2025-26 Second Team All-RMAC selection.

Colorado Mesa University sits just one point behind Adams State in the 2026-27 RMAC Men’s Wrestling Preseason Coaches’ Poll, with 31 total points, including three first-place votes and two second-place votes. The Mavericks finished the 2025-26 season with a 5-5 overall record and a 2-4 mark in RMAC duals. Among their conference victories were wins over New Mexico Highlands University (24-13) and Colorado State University Pueblo (34-9). Colorado Mesa is represented on the 2026-27 Preseason All-RMAC roster by AJ Hague, who claims the 133-pound spot after earning Second Team All-RMAC honors at the weight class last season.

Colorado School of Mines rounds out the top three in the 2026-27 RMAC Men’s Wrestling Preseason Coaches’ Poll, receiving 28 total points with one first-place vote, two second-place votes, and three third-place votes. Western Colorado University comes in at No. 4 with 23 points, receiving the remaining second- and third-place votes. The Mountaineers lead the 2026-27 Preseason All-RMAC roster with three selections.

Chadron State College, Colorado State University Pueblo, and New Mexico Highlands close out the 2026-27 Preseason Coaches’ Poll, earning 13, 12, and 8 points, respectively.

With no returning student-athletes from last season’s All-RMAC voting at 149, 184, 197, or 285 pounds, the seven-member 2026-27 Preseason All-RMAC roster features wrestlers who earned First Team, Second Team, or honorable mention All-RMAC recognition following the 2025-26 regular season.

CSU Pueblo’s Eddie Bowman and New Mexico Highlands’ Ivan Smith headline the Preseason All-RMAC roster as the only returning wrestlers who earned First Team All-RMAC honors last season.

The RMAC’s seven men’s wrestling sponsoring institutions aim to finish the 2026-27 season at the NCAA Division II Men’s Wrestling Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The national championships are set for March 12-13 at Alliant Energy Powerhouse, with tickets available for sale on NCAA.com.

All RMAC men’s wrestling matches broadcast by its sponsoring member institutions will be broadcast on the RMAC Network, with annual, monthly, and single-game passes available for purchase. A discounted annual subscription price will be available to students, faculty, and staff of each member institution throughout the year. Those fans can use their institutional email address with the code Y27-RMACEDU at any time during the 2026-27 season.

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