NEWTON, Iowa — Penn State wrestler Mitchell Mesenbrink was named the winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy, considered the Heisman Trophy for amateur wrestling, on March 30.
Mesenbrink is one of 41 individual national champions who have won a total of 65 NCAA titles for Penn State. He is the sixth different Nittany Lion to win the trophy, bringing Penn State's total to eight in its history.
Mesenbrink won with 61 out of 65 first-place votes. Voting for the Hodge is comprised of a retired college coach from each region of the country, the heads of each national wrestling organization, select national media members and past Hodge winners.
The 165-pound standout also won the official Hodge Fan vote, receiving 20,046 votes (67.6%) out of a total of 29,637 verified fan votes cast online from March 23 through 27. The overall winner of the fan vote receives an additional five first-place votes, bringing Mesenbrink's first-place vote total to 66.
He will receive his award at the Penn State wrestling banquet on April 12 in State College, Pennsylvania.
Mesenbrink finished his junior campaign with a 27-0 record, including eight pins, 11 tech falls, six major decisions and one victory via forfeit for a 96.3% bonus rate.
He racked up 17 wins over the wrestlers in the field at the 2026 NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. Nine of those wins came against the other seven who would go on to earn All-American status at 165. He earned three tech falls and five majors against those fellow All-Americans, which included tech-fall victories in the NCAA semis and finals.
Created in 1994, the Hodge Trophy is named for the late three-time NCAA champion Dan Hodge from the University of Oklahoma, who was an undefeated three-time NCAA champion at 177 pounds. Hodge was never taken down in his collegiate career and is the only wrestler to ever appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated (April 1, 1957). The trophy is considered the highest honor in amateur wrestling, and the award criteria includes record, dominance/bonus-point percentage, quality of competition and sportsmanship.