Eight of the 10 highest wrestling NIL Score rankings spots belong to Penn State wrestlers, and the only other school on the list is Missouri. Here are the top 10 college wrestlers by RallyFuel NIL Score as of Nov. 7, 2026, heading into the 2026-27 season, and why wrestling scores look so different from other sports.
Quick summary
- Penn State holds eight of the top 10, led by Mitchell Mesenbrink at 60.0, a 6.7-point gap over Josh Barr (53.3).
- Missouri has two: Aeoden Sinclair (43.7) in sixth and Seth Mendoza (35.8) in 10th.
- Every wrestler in the top 10 has a performance score of 62 or higher, so results drive the order more than social reach does.
- Nine of the 10 have a fan demand score of zero. Shayne Van Ness is the exception at 5.
How the RallyFuel NIL Score works
The RallyFuel NIL Score, labeled NIL Index on athlete profiles, is a number out of 100 built from four parts: performance, NIL visibility, social power and fan demand. It measures NIL momentum, not dollars earned. It is not a contract value. The NIL glossary explains the terms.
The figures come from RallyFuel’s own athlete data, read on Nov. 7, 2026, across 808 active wrestling profiles with a score. We ranked athletes marked as active roster players, sorted by composite score rounded to one decimal. Former wrestlers who are no longer on a roster are not included. For a look at the same method in another sport, see our volleyball NIL Score rankings.
Wrestling NIL Score rankings: the top 10
| # | Wrestler | School | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitchell Mesenbrink | Penn State | 60.0 |
| 2 | Josh Barr | Penn State | 53.3 |
| 3 | Shayne Van Ness | Penn State | 51.6 |
| 4 | PJ Duke | Penn State | 51.5 |
| 5 | Levi Haines | Penn State | 46.1 |
| 6 | Aeoden Sinclair | Missouri | 43.7 |
| 7 | Luke Lilledahl | Penn State | 42.6 |
| 8 | Cole Mirasola | Penn State | 36.8 |
| 9 | Braeden Davis | Penn State | 36.0 |
| 10 | Seth Mendoza | Missouri | 35.8 |
Source: RallyFuel athlete data, NIL Score as of Nov. 7, 2026. Scores are out of 100. Red bars: Penn State. Green bars: Missouri.
Penn State’s depth
Mesenbrink’s profile is the strongest in the sport: performance 95, NIL visibility 64 and social power 70. Barr follows at 53.3 with a performance score of 90. PJ Duke (51.5) and Van Ness (51.6) are separated by 0.1 points, and Levi Haines is fifth at 46.1. Luke Lilledahl (42.6), Cole Mirasola (36.8) and Braeden Davis (36.0) fill out the Nittany Lions’ eight spots.
That is the deepest group of any team on the list. Explore the full roster on the Penn State wrestling team page, or start at the Penn State school page.
Missouri’s group
Sinclair’s 43.7 puts him ahead of Penn State’s Lilledahl, Mirasola and Davis. Behind Mendoza in 10th, Cam Steed (34.0) and Gage Walker (32.6) sit 11th and 12th, so Missouri has four wrestlers in the top 12. See the Missouri wrestling team page for more on the Tigers, and the Big Ten conference page for Penn State’s league.
A more spread-out top 10
The top 10 in wrestling spans 24.2 points, from Mesenbrink’s 60.0 to Mendoza’s 35.8. The volleyball top 10 spanned only 9.1 points, from 42.6 to 33.5. Wrestling has a clear leader and a clear second tier: after Mesenbrink and Barr, the next three scores (51.6, 51.5 and 46.1) are packed within 5.5 points, and then the list drops into the low 40s and 30s.
- Mesenbrink: performance 95, visibility 64, social power 70, fan demand 0.
- Barr: performance 90, visibility 52, social power 57, fan demand 0.
- Van Ness: performance 85, visibility 52, social power 51, fan demand 5.
- Duke: performance 87, visibility 44, social power 61, fan demand 0.
- Haines: performance 85, visibility 35, social power 47, fan demand 0.
Why wrestling scores look different
The average performance score across the top 10 is 79.3, while the average NIL visibility score is 36.0. In our volleyball list the pattern was reversed, with a 17.8 performance average and a 71.4 visibility average. Wrestling results are individual and easy to measure, so strong seasons show up in the performance component. Social reach lags: only Mesenbrink, Barr, Van Ness and Duke have visibility above 40.
In practical terms, a wrestler with elite results and low visibility scores well on one component and poorly on another, which is what the top 10 looks like. For deal-based context, read our breakdown of college wrestler NIL deals, and compare schools on the RallyFuel school leaderboard. You can also make your own calls on upcoming events on the predictions page.
FAQ
Who has the highest NIL Score in college wrestling?
As of Nov. 7, 2026, Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink has the highest among active wrestlers in RallyFuel’s data, at 60.0.
Which school has the most wrestlers in the top 10?
Penn State has eight of the 10. Missouri has the other two.
Does the NIL Score show how much a wrestler earns?
No. It is a 100-point comparison of performance, visibility, social reach and fan demand, not a measure of earnings.
Why is fan demand zero for most wrestlers?
In RallyFuel’s data, nine of the top 10 have a fan demand score of zero, which means that component is not separating them yet.
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