Wrestling's Ben Askren Announced as National Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductee
10/30/2025 2:12:00 PM | Wrestling
Missouri wrestling legend Ben Askren has been announced to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Askren joins fellow former Tiger J'den Cox as a distinguished member of the prestigious group.
"I am very proud of Ben and everything he represents", said head coach Brian Smith. "He is a great ambassador for the sport of wrestling, from his accomplishments at Mizzou or the U.S. Olympic Team, to how he has become the model club coach throughout the country. Ben has always lived it right, and even with his mental health, he continues to motivate and teach people how to live it the right way. Congratulations on an amazing accomplishment, making it into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame".
"The National Wrestling Hall of Fame is honored to announce the Class of 2026, an illustrious group whose enduring contributions exemplify the foundational principles of our sport. Every Hall of Fame class is special, but this one is even more so as it includes Lee Roy Smith, who will be retiring next year after more than 20 years of superb leadership as executive director of the Hall of Fame," said John Harris III, National Wrestling Hall of Fame Board of Governors Chairman. "These individuals have demonstrated exemplary leadership, discipline, and commitment, both on and off the mat, thereby advancing the legacy and cultural integrity of wrestling."
The Class of 2026 will be honored and officially inducted during the 49th Honors Weekend on June 5 and 6, 2026, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. For more information on Honors Weekend, please telephone (405) 377-5243.
Distinguished members can be a wrestler who has achieved extraordinary success in national and/or international competition; a coach who has demonstrated great leadership in the profession and who has compiled an outstanding record; or a contributor whose long-term activities have substantially enhanced the development and advancement of the sport. Wrestlers must have retired from active competition for a period of five years to be eligible for consideration as a Distinguished Member.
Askren was a two-time national champion and a four-time NCAA finalist for Missouri, who also competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Following runner-up finishes as a freshman and sophomore, Askren won 87 consecutive matches as a junior and senior while capturing back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007. The 87 wins in a row ranks in the Top 10 in NCAA history. Askren had a career record of 153-7, including 93 wins by fall (first in program history) and an NCAA record of pinning 18 consecutive opponents in the first period. In 2006 and 2007, Askren received the Dan Hodge Trophy, which is presented annually to the top college wrestler and referred to as the Heisman Trophy of wrestling, and the Wade Schalles Award, presented annually to college wrestling's best pinner.
He became the first Missouri wrestler to be a four-time All-American and the first to compete in the Olympics. Named the Outstanding Wrestler at the 2006 NCAA Championships, Askren was a three-time Big 12 Conference champion and four-time finalist while also being a four-time Big 12 Conference All-Academic selection. He was a two-time Wisconsin State Champion and a three-time All-American for Arrowhead High School in Hartland, Wisconsin.
Askren teamed up with his brother, Max Askren, and their high school wrestling coach, John Mesenbrink, to found Askren Wrestling Academy in 2011. It has grown into one of the biggest, and some would argue the best, clubs in America. AWA has produced 162 Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association state champions and three NCAA Division I champions, Parker Keckeisen, Mitchell Mesenbrink and Tiger Style's own Keegan O'Toole.
He underwent a double lung transplant in June of 2025 after being diagnosed with necrotizing pneumonia, a rare and severe version of the illness that destroys the lungs. Askren was released from the hospital on July 22 and has been recovering at home.
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