No. 19 Wrestling Ventures to Little Rock for Match with Trojans

Saturday, January 31

Little Rock, Ark.

6 p.m.

Missouri

Little Rock

No. 19 Wrestling Ventures to Little Rock for Match with Trojans

1/29/2026 5:03:00 PM | Wrestling

#19 Missouri (9-7-0, 3-2 Big 12) at Little Rock (3-8-0, 0-1 Pac-12)
Match Details	Saturday, Jan. 31 • 6:00 p.m. • Little Rock, Ark. • Jack Stephens Center
Match Coverage	FloWrestling
Match Notes	Missouri \| Little Rock
Social Media	Twitter: @MizzouWrestling \| Instagram: @MizzouWrestling

Mizzou wrestling travels to Little Rock, Arkansas, to take on the Trojans on Saturday, Jan. 31, inside Jack Stephens Center. The action will begin at 6 p.m. CT and can be streamed on FloWrestling.

LAST TIME OUT

A busy weekend for the Tigers ended with a loss to No. 5 Oklahoma State (33-3) on Jan. 23 and a win over Northern Colorado (42-0) on Jan. 25.
Missouri's lone winner against the Cowboys was redshirt freshman Aeoden Sinclair, picking up a 4-1 decision win over No. 8 Zach Ryder.
Against the Bears of Northern Colorado, Mizzou won all 10 matches, seven by bonus point, and put up 40+ dual points for the fifth time this season. The most recent occurrence came versus LIU (42-0) on Dec. 5.
Additionally, the dual marked the fourth shutout of the season for the Black and Gold, second against a DI opponent.

PACING THE PACK

Redshirt freshman Aeoden Sinclair leads the team with 22 wins, followed closely by redshirt senior Evan Bates with 20.
Sinclair tops the team with 16 bonus-point wins and six pins, and leads the team with 86 takedowns this season, followed by redshirt senior Evan Bates (58).

COACHES CALL

The first NCAA Individual Coaches' Poll was released with all 10 Missouri starters ranked in the top 33 of their weight class.
Mizzou is one of six schools to have all 10 ranked in the first coaches poll and has three listed in the top 10.
Aeoden Sinclair (184) is the highest-ranked Tiger at No. 3, while both Cam Steed (174) and Evan Bates (197) are No. 9.

SIGNED, SEALED, SINCLAIR

Redshirt freshman Aeoden Sinclair continues to dominate the 184-pound weight class, securing his 11th-ranked win of the season, a 4-1 win over No. 8 Zach Ryder most recently.
The third-ranked 184-pounder leads the team with 22 wins to just one loss, and has an 86-1 takedown ratio this season to average 3.7 takedowns per match.
Moreover, the redshirt freshman's 86 takedowns lead all NCAA wrestlers this season per TrackWrestling.

A MOMENT FOR MAUGER

Continuing to build off a solid Soldier Salute title, redshirt freshman Mack Mauger is building momentum as the Tigers head down the home stretch of the regular season, and is currently ranked No. 22 at 125.
Mauger, 18-9 overall, has won seven of his last eight matches, including two ranked wins against No. 14 Kysen Terukina (UNC) and No. 20 Bridger Ricks (UVU).

NO DEBATE(S)

Redshirt senior transfer Evan Bates has continued to rise since putting on the Black and Gold singlet.
Bates ranks ninth at 197 pounds and is second on the team in wins (20) and bonus point wins (13).
Moreover, the Chesterton, Indiana native, has well surpassed his takedown average from a season ago at Northwestern. Bates is averaging 2.32 takedowns per match (58 takedowns in 25 matches), compared to 1.21 (39 takedowns in 32 matches) from a season ago.

GAGE IN GEAR

Missouri recently pulled the redshirt of sophomore Gage Walker following Soldier Salute (Jan. 3-4).
Walker competed unattached at UCM Kaufman Brand Bayly Open (Nov. 22) and Kent State Holiday Classic (Dec. 14), coming away with the top spot at both tournaments. Additionally, he made the final at Soldier Salute but lost a 4-2 decision to No. 17 Ethan Oakley (UNC).
The sophomore ranks 24th at 133 pounds and has gone 2-2 since being inserted back into the starting lineup, most recently defeating Kade Orr of Northern Colorado by major decision (11-1).

FULL STEED AHEAD

Tiger Style has been bolstered by the return of NCAA All-American Cam Steed to the lineup at 174 pounds.
Steed was out due to injury following National Duals, from Nov. 17 to Jan. 15.
The redshirt junior returned to action with a pin and technical fall (17-2) at Arizona State and Utah Valley, respectively.
Despite a tough 6-5 start to the season, Steed is ranked ninth at 174 pounds by the NCAA Coaches Poll, with four of his wins coming with bonus points.

DETROIT DIESEL

Redshirt senior Josh Edmond is quietly having a solid season after making the move up to 149 pounds.
The Detroit native is a three-time NCAA qualifier, spending the previous two seasons at 141 pounds, but actually qualified for his first national tournament at 149 pounds back in 2022.
Edmond holds a 19-3 record this season and has surpassed his five bonus-point wins from a season ago with six so far this year.
Additionally, the redshirt senior currently ranks 19th among 149s and has scored over 10 points in a match eight times so far in 2025-26, totaling six a season ago.

LAST TIME VS. LITTLE ROCK

Missouri competed against Little Rock earlier this season, matching up at National Duals on Nov. 15. The Tigers came away with a 34-6 win over the Trojans.
The Black and Gold won eight of 10 matches in the dual, including claiming the first five bouts (125-157).
Two Tigers secured falls in the matchup, redshirt freshman Mack Mauger (125) and redshirt junior Cam Steed (174).
True freshman Seth Mendoza earned a ranked win over No. 31 Jaivon Jones at 157 pounds by major decision, 11-3.
Moreover, Missouri totaled five bonus-point wins on its way to the win and eventually placed eighth at the National Duals Tournament.

THE SERIES: TIGERS - TROJANS

The dual will mark just the third meeting between Missouri and Little Rock wrestling, with the programs splitting the first two matches, 1-1.
The Little Rock wrestling program began in 2019 under head coach Neil Erisman.
The first meeting between the two programs dates back to last season at Collegiate Duals in Nashville, and the second meeting occurred this year at National Duals, making the scheduled dual this weekend Missouri wrestling's first trip to Little Rock, Arkansas.

MOST WINS (Active, 50+)

Josh Edmond (77), Max Mayfield (75), Evan Bates (72) and Luqman Masud (67).

ON THE HORIZON

The Tigers continue their travels, heading to No. 18 West Virginia on Friday, Feb. 6. The dual begins at 6 p.m. CT inside Hope Coliseum and can be viewed on ESPN+.

FOLLOW THE TIGERS
Visit MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou Wrestling. You can also find the Tigers on social media by liking us on Facebook (Mizzou Wrestling) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@MizzouWrestling).