SPARTANBURG, SC — Bellarmine University seniors and 2026 NCAA National Championships qualifiers Jeb Prechtel and Grant O'Dell were among the 10 grapplers recognized on the SoCon Wrestling Preseason All-Conference Team.

Prechtel was honored at 157 while O'Dell was acknowledged at 174. When it came to the conference's elite, the SoCon endured minimal attrition — eight of the 10 honorees are defending SoCon champions, including the Knights' standout duo.

Behind SoCon Coach of the Year Ned Shuck, Bellarmine placed third at the 2026 SoCon Wrestling Championships, and that's where the Knights were predicted in the preseason coaches' poll. Four-time defending champion App State (64 points), Chattanooga (56 pts) and Bellarmine (51 pts) were firmly forecasted as the top 3 in the nine-team league.

Prechtel (16-16, 4-3 SoCon) captured the 157 title as the 6-seed at last season's SoCon Championships. The native of Jasper, Indiana, defeated the top 3 seeds in descending order, the first two via fall over No. 3 seed Joeseph Giordano (Gardner-Webb) and No. 2 seed Cavarius Liddie (Chattanooga) before outlasting No. 1 seed Kyrel Leavell (The Citadel) for an 11-10 win by decision in the finals.

O'Dell (25-10, 5-2 SoCon) took the 174 crown as the 4-seed at last season's SoCon Championships. The product of North Liberty, Iowa, grinded out three victories by decision, at 4-1 over No. 5 seed Marc Koch (Davidson), 2-1 over top seed Kamdyn Munro (Chattanooga) and 4-3 over No. 2 seed Jacob Silka (The Citadel) in the title bout.

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2026-27 SoCon Wrestling Preseason All-Conference Team 
125 – Gylon Sims, Sr., The Citadel (19-12, 7-1 SoCon)
133 – T.K. Davis, Sr., Gardner-Webb (26-3, 8-0 SoCon) %
141 – Aldo Hernandez, Sr., App State (20-16, 4-3 SoCon) %
149 – Anderson Heap, Jr., Davidson (20-11, 8-0 SoCon) %
157 – Jeb Prechtel, Sr., Bellarmine (16-16, 4-3 SoCon) %
165 – Anthony Conetta, R-Sr., App State (25-11, 6-2 SoCon)
174 – Grant O'Dell, R-Sr., Bellarmine (25-10, 5-2 SoCon) %
184 – Tomas Brooker, R-Jr., App State (26-10, 7-0 SoCon) %
197 – Kade Rule, So., Chattanooga (18-7, 8-0 SoCon) %
285 – Stephan Monchery, Jr., App State (24-9, 8-0 SoCon) %
 % Defending SoCon Champion

2026-27 SoCon Wrestling Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. App State (8) – 64 points %
2. Chattanooga (1) – 56 points
3. Bellarmine – 51 points
4. Gardner-Webb – 40 points
5. Davidson – 37 points
6. The Citadel – 31 points
7. VMI – 20 points
8. Campbell – 17 points
9. Presbyterian – 8 points