Today is day one of the 2026-27 IHSA wrestling season, and Statebound is back for it. We don't have rankings yet, and we're not going to guess. What we do have is a clear picture of who's back, who graduated, and which schools changed class. And we need your help with the rest.
Who's Back, By the Numbers
Last season's state series sent 672 wrestlers to Champaign across three classes. Here's what happened to that field.
- 287 seniors graduated. That's 43% of every state qualifier in Illinois, gone.
- 385 state qualifiers return.
- 138 of 252 state placers are back. The other 114 were seniors.
- 23 of 42 state champions are back. More than half of last year's title winners get a chance to do it again.
You can browse every one of them on the 2026-27 rankings page, by class, or search for a wrestler or a school.
To be clear, that page is not a ranking. It's a starting point.
22 Schools Changed Class
This is the part people miss in November. IHSA reclassifies every year, and this year's boys wrestling cutoffs are 750 and 1,700. Up to 750 is 1A, 750 to 1,700 is 2A, and everything above that is 3A.
Of the schools that had a wrestler in last season's state series, 22 are in a different class now. They take 32 returning state qualifiers with them.
Moving up to 3A
- IC Catholic (from 2A). The biggest move on the board. Eight returning state qualifiers come along, including two state champions, Max Cumbee and Aiden Arnett.
- Rock Island (from 2A)
- Rockford East (from 2A)
- St. Ignatius (from 2A)
- Westinghouse (from 2A)
Moving down to 2A
- Joliet Catholic (from 3A), with eight returning state qualifiers
- Grant (from 3A)
- Libertyville (from 3A)
- St. Patrick (from 3A)
- Bradley-Bourbonnais (from 3A)
- Alton, Eisenhower, Hancock, Lindblom, St. Laurence, and Thornton (all from 3A)
Moving up to 2A
- Mt. Zion and Wheaton Academy (from 1A)
Moving down to 1A
- Charleston, Jersey, Lincoln, and Northridge Prep (from 2A)
What does that do to the brackets? Class 3A now has eight returning state champions. Two of them, Hononegah's Rocco Cassioppi and IC Catholic's Aiden Arnett, both won their titles at 150.
Will they be anywhere near the same weight this year? We have no idea. Which brings us to the real problem.
Why There Are No Rankings on Day One
Ranking wrestlers in November means guessing at two things nobody outside a wrestling room actually knows.
Who is wrestling. Seniors graduated, and that part is easy. The rest isn't. Kids transfer, in state and out. Some are coming off injuries. Some move in from somewhere else and nobody has heard of them yet.
What weight. Almost nobody comes back at the same weight. A sophomore who placed at 113 might be at 126 now. Or 132. Even the ones who wrestled all summer might show up somewhere different once the season starts.
Put those together and any list we published today would be last year's results with a new date on it. We'd rather wait for real matches.
Here's Where You Come In
On the rankings page there's a button that says Update a wrestler. Search a name, then tell us:
- What weight they're going this season
- If they changed schools
- If they aren't wrestling this year
It takes about a minute. Coaches, parents, and wrestlers are the best source there is for this.
Coaches: you can send your whole lineup at once. One name per weight, skip what you don't know yet.
Someone missing? A transfer in, a freshman who is going to make noise, a kid who was hurt last February. Add them from the same form.
Got your own top 5? Send it. Pick a class and a weight and tell us how you'd rank it. We read all of them.
Nothing gets published straight from a submission. We review everything first.
Dates to Know
- November 9: season opens
- November 23: first contests
- February 6: individual regionals
- February 12-13: individual sectionals
- February 18-20: individual state finals
- February 27: dual team state finals
What About IESA?
Middle school practice opens November 30 and meets start December 7. We have the same picture for IESA now: 88 state qualifiers are back, three of them state champions. Here's where IESA stands.
What's Next
First rankings are coming soon. We don't have a date yet. It depends on how many matches get wrestled and how much you tell us in the meantime. Sign up for the newsletter if you want to know the minute they're live.
Welcome back. Let's have a season.