Photo submitted by SMSU Athletics. Sean Howk (gold) grabs the leg of his opponent in a match during the 2023-24 season. He is originally from New Ulm and was named an All-Academic honoree last season. 

MARSHALL — Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) has been selected to host the 2026 NCAA Division II regional wrestling tournament for the third time in program history.

Previously held on Mustang property in 2005 and 2009, the one-day competition is currently scheduled to take place on Feb. 28, 2026. Although two years away, training and preparations begin now as coach Chayse Jackson is determined to get his players ready for the chance to qualify for nationals on their home mat.

“It’s really a phenomenal opportunity for the university and our program, along with the City of Marshall, to be able to host this event,” Jackson said. “It’s going to bring in some of the top Division II teams in the country with a national qualifying spot on the line. For our program, this really shows that we’re moving in the right direction to be able to receive this bid.”

Jackson is entering his fourth season coaching the team. Under him so far, the Mustangs were ranked No. 22 nationally at the start of the 2022-23 season, and defeated Minnesota State in his first season in 2021 for the first time since 2014.

“To have this chance is huge … It kind of shows that we’re becoming more established in the NSIC (Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference),” Jackson said. “The conference is seeing that, the teams around the conference are seeing that, and getting the opportunity to host is truly a chance for us to put our best foot forward, put our foot on the line and go after it.”

Last year’s tournament was hosted by Minot State University in North Dakota and this season’s will be at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, S.D.

A perk to hosting the tournament will be able to limit travel time and being in the comfort of home.

“Most of the time we’re traveling. Last year, we traveled seven and a half hours up to Minot, North Dakota … You’re away from home, you’re sleeping in a hotel, it’s a long day of travel,” Jackson said. “Now, we get to host it. It’s our home environment. We’re going to have a home crowd, we get to sleep in our own bed … And give it our best shot.”

On the planning side of things, SMSU athletic director Jennifer Flowers is already getting to work to set up the event.

“We’ll start planning, actually this week, with the first staff meeting, which we will try to get some of the very preliminary things done,” Flowers said. “The nice thing about an NCAA championship is they provide you a checklist, so it gives you a baseline of making sure that we don’t miss anything. Then, you work hard to figure out where we can put our own touches on it, and do something unique to SMSU and Marshall. So we will plan for the next year and a half, make sure that we can put on the right event, and that we can control all the things that we can control.”

SMSU also held another large athletic tournament just a few months ago.

“We’re always excited to have events of this caliber on campus. It gives us a chance to not only showcase SMSU, but also showcase Marshall and our region. So much like having the National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament this past March, to have something this big again, relatively soon, it’s exciting,” Flowers said. “We’re a kind of fast growing wrestling community with a long history in wrestling … For our team to get the opportunity to compete, certainly we’re excited to provide that opportunity for them.”

Jackson will be rebuilding his squad in a way this year, as 11 graduated last year and he recruited 11 new wrestlers. By 2026, he is hoping to have everyone ready to compete at a high level.

“The quality of guys that we’re bringing in is phenomenal,” Jackson said. “I think by the time the 2026 regional rolls around, those classes are going to be set to go.”

There are six super regions. Based on NCAA wrestling, each team can enter 10 wrestlers, one per weight class. The top three from each class for each school in their region qualify for the national tournament. The national bracket consists of 18 wrestlers at each weight, the three from each region.

Both the regional and championship tournament, which is held two weeks after regionals elsewhere, is double elimination. SMSU’s region is known to produce top-candidate wrestlers.

“What makes it fun is Super Region Five, our super region, is notoriously the best,” Jackson said. “Last year, out of the 30 guys that qualified, 20 of them were All-Americans. The year before, 24 were all Americans out of the 30. So, to qualify out of this super region, your odds of being an All-American are exponentially higher.”

There were 11 teams in Super Region Five last year, and nine of them were in the top-25 in the country, according to Jackson.

“When I say we are bringing in some of the best Division II teams, some of the best Division II guys in the country, I have stats to back that up, which is what makes this tournament number one for us,” Jackson said. “When we talk about prepping for this tournament with the visualization, they (his wrestlers) just need to walk down to the R/A (recreation/athletic facility) … The chance that we get to train where we’re going to host the regional championship is an opportunity second to none.”

Although training is rigorous every season as the tournament rolls around, there is an extra motivation factor to perform well when it comes to your own town.

“We do a lot of mental training with our guys, and part of that is in practice. We will say, ‘Hey, this is the first round of the regional tournament, this is semi-finals,’ … We will put them in the regional championships and in the national tournament all year long,” Jackson said. “One of our core pillars is development. Every time our guys step on the mat, we want to get better … We should be improving every single time. If we can put them in that environment, put them where they can visualize what the tournament is going to feel like, what the crowd is going to sound like, and really replicate that environment, then we can help them.”

Wrestling in this region is renowned for drawing large crowds and filling up gymnasiums. Jackson and Flowers anticipate a big turnout when the time comes.

“We pack the gym,” Jackson said. “I really believe that we’re going to have a packed house and that it is just going to be a rocking place, and an environment where our guys are going to go out and compete at a high level.”

Flowers echoed the same message and has trust in knowing the Marshall community will show up to support their team.

“When you can have the biggest event of your season in your own backyard, that should provide some calmness to them (athletes), and some opportunity for them hopefully to be at their best in front of, what I hope, is a big crowd of Mustang fans,” Flowers said. “When you get these opportunities, you really have to make the most of them and put your best foot forward. We are going to do that.”