by our College Data Analytics Team
Choosing a college as a student athlete means weighing both the classroom and the competition. Our ranking highlights 7 schools for Men’s Wrestling by academic-athletic quality, using our 2026 methodology.
To help you decide, College Factual evaluates each program using a blend of academic-athletic outcomes (NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate), athletic financial resources (team revenue, expenses, and aid per athlete from the EADA survey), and overall school quality, drawing on NCAA, U.S. Department of Education EADA, and IPEDS data. Learn more about our ranking methodology.
Want to narrow by division or explore related lists? Pick a path below.
Here are the top-ranked colleges for student athletes:
No school ranked higher than Stanford University this year for Men's Wrestling. Stanford University is a private not-for-profit school based in Stanford, CA. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 965, alongside a GSR of 94%. Its federal graduation rate is 89%. The program generates about $71,448 in revenue per athlete, compared with $71,448 spent per athlete. The school awards about $42,012 in athletic aid per athlete.
Menlo College landed the #2 spot for Men's Wrestling. Menlo College is a private not-for-profit school based in Atherton, CA. Team revenue averages $25,088 per participant, against $25,088 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $13,086.
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo landed the #3 spot for Men's Wrestling. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo is a public school based in San Luis Obispo, CA. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 966, with a Graduation Success Rate of 92%. Its federal graduation rate is 75%. The program generates about $30,099 in revenue per athlete, against $30,099 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $10,344.
California Baptist University earned the #4 place for student athletes. This private not-for-profit school is set in Riverside, CA. California Baptist University records an NCAA APR of 966, with a Graduation Success Rate of 76%. About 42% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. Team revenue averages $51,766 per participant, compared with $47,198 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $23,790 per athlete.
California State University-Bakersfield earned the #5 place for student athletes. California State University-Bakersfield is a public school based in Bakersfield, CA. The team's NCAA APR score is 966, with a Graduation Success Rate of 89%. The federal graduation rate stands at 73%. The program generates about $21,285 in revenue per athlete, compared with $21,285 spent per athlete. The school awards about $10,121 in athletic aid per athlete.
San Francisco State University landed the #6 spot this year. This public school is set in San Francisco, CA. Team revenue averages $14,146 per participant, with expenses of about $14,146 per participant. Athletic aid averages $2,480 per athlete.
California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt ranked #7 on our 2026 list for Men's Wrestling. This public school is set in Arcata, CA. The program generates about $20,530 in revenue per athlete, against $12,355 in expenses. The school awards about $4,418 in athletic aid per athlete.
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
The ranking above is published by College Factual, 2026 edition. Rankings consider a blend of academic-athletic outcomes (NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate), athletic financial resources (team revenue, expenses, and athletic aid from the federal EADA survey), and overall school quality. The current methodology measures academic-athletic quality and does not include team win/loss performance.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.
