'26 Hodge Trophy Finalists; Fan Vote Now Open

HikeNatParks · Mar 30, 2026

A former Pirate broadcaster said it best: There was nooooooo doubt about it!
So refreshing that neither resentment, Jax-hype, nor Lion fatigue could blur the vision of what every objective voter saw this year: Mat domination by one of the most unique and fascinating wrestlers, not just of our time, but of all time! May this special athlete re-rack and do it again.

Nitlion1986 · Mar 30, 2026

Headlock said:
Did he have a robe on? Asking for a friend.

I only heard it as a rumor, I haven't seen it hanging there. I think we just go with the "flo" and say on.

pawrstlersinpa · Mar 30, 2026

LB99 said:
Good. Everyone here can relax now.

Never Gonna Happen GIF by Rock This Boat: New Kids On The Block

Anon1683312534 · Mar 30, 2026

razpsu said:
Your reply doesn’t make any sense. Please clarify what you are trying to say.

I'm saying you're a d*ck

razpsu · Mar 30, 2026

Anon1683312534 said:
I'm saying you're a d*ck

Wow. That is a way to lose an argument. Cause you make no sense. I see you joined recently. Please go back where you came from,

razpsu · Mar 30, 2026

Anon1683312534 said:
Talk about stories!

Anon1683312534 said:

Make it however you want Hendrickson didn't beat Kerk twice.I just corrected your "believe ".I could have said you are wrong but I didn't did I?

Click to expand...

You did actually prove me right. You are a moron.
If you see below. I was challenging someone who said kerk beat Hendrickson twice. See the question mark????!
Not in the 2025 season he didn’t. Kerk didn’t beat him at all in 2025.
Hendrickson beat kerk as did Stevenson in 2025. So I said that Hendrickson was deserving of the hodge. You know what? The people who voted agreed with me.

“Kerk beat Hendrickson that year twice during the season? Kerk lost to Stevenson twice on one leg? That is a lot of stories you are telling.”

PSUbluTX · Mar 30, 2026

Psalm 1 guy said:
But what about if he used "surreal" like, "To hear that I won the Hodge was like waking from a dreamlike state only to realize it wasn't a dream at all. I really won! The possibilities are endless, and it is the off-season, so I see no reason to de-nerdify this grammarly change of direction : ).

I think that only counts as acceptable usage if Mitch gave his quote while in the absurd setting of a furious dodgeball game in the room where, everyone knows, it's like a war zone.

Cstroke · Tuesday at 6:43 AM

Aardvark86 said:
Very disappointed in MM for misusing the word "surreal", as is all too common these days.

Wouldn't that be sort of irregardless at this point..

PSU-75-DB · Tuesday at 6:45 AM

Not that there should have ever been any doubt or question who was the top wrestler in the country. now it's official ! Good for you Mitch.

BobPSU92 · Tuesday at 8:09 AM

GregPickel said:
Penn State wrestler Mitchell Mesenbrink is the winner of the 2026 Dan Hodge Trophy. He's the eighth Nittany Lion to win the award and the first since Aaron Brooks in 2024.

Penn State wrestler Mitchell Mesenbrink wins the 2026 Dan Hodge Trophy

Penn State redshirt junior Mitchell Mesenbrink is the winner of the 2026 Hodge Trophy, which goes to the nation's best wrestler.

www.on3.com

They spelled mendoza wrong.

Joejitsu · Tuesday at 11:55 AM

Congrats to Mitch...
felt like the only real competition was Josh
Jaxx is a worthy honorable mention... that kid was supposed to be in HS...

But Mitch was soooo Dominant... scary what he will do next year.? 100% fall or TF ?

Dogwelder · Tuesday at 2:09 PM

Aardvark86 said:
Very disappointed in MM for misusing the word "surreal", as is all too common these days.

There should be a rule. If you’re going to use the word surreal, you have to give a concrete example of what you mean. Tell us what is your favorite surreal! My favorite surreal is Kellogg’s Fruit Loops. Just follow your nose!

Dogwelder · Tuesday at 2:26 PM

Aardvark86 said:
Show me one Dali painting that even remotely reflects the theme you just described. Any one. I'll wait.

ps - LONG LIVE PEDANTISM

One of Dali’s lesser known works:

Roar More · Tuesday at 2:45 PM

I could be wrong here, but I think we are suffering a mass hallucination here, which would be surreal. I have watched an hour and a half of news coverage on BTN and there has not been any mention of this alleged awarding of the Hodge Trophy to to Mitchell Mesenbrink.

Still in State Colllege · Tuesday at 2:52 PM

Cstroke said:
Wouldn't that be sort of irregardless at this point..

I'm just saying...

vbbob · Tuesday at 5:06 PM

Joejitsu said:
Congrats to Mitch...
felt like the only real competition was Josh
Jaxx is a worthy honorable mention... that kid was supposed to be in HS...

But Mitch was soooo Dominant... scary what he will do next year.? 100% fall or TF ?

No doubt Forrest had a great start to his college career. A lot has been made about him belonging in high school when he is the same age as Marcus Blaze ( well one month older) and just a few months younger than PJ. Not sure if people know that. He has been highly rated for a long time and will likely have a great career.

Cali_Nittany1 · Tuesday at 5:13 PM

Dogwelder said:
One of Dali’s lesser known works:

View attachment 1239142

Well played!

creamery freak · Tuesday at 5:35 PM

Roar More said:
I could be wrong here, but I think we are suffering a mass hallucination here, which would be surreal. I have watched an hour and a half of news coverage on BTN and there has not been any mention of this alleged awarding of the Hodge Trophy to to Mitchell Mesenbrink.

It probably took BTN hours and hours to scrub all the Jesse Mendez, Hodge Trophy winner, from all their programming. Not enough time to acknowledge MM.

Aardvark86 · Tuesday at 7:41 PM

Still in State Colllege said:
View attachment 1239184

I'm just saying...

Is that the Illiterate’s thesaurus?

Cstroke · Wednesday at 6:43 AM

Aardvark86 said:
Is that the Illiterate’s thesaurus?

He clipped the bottom part off.

Is irregardless a word?: Usage Guide

Irregardless dates to the late 18th century, but didn't become popular until the early 20th. Synonymous with regardless, the word is widely disliked. Use regardless instead if you wish to avoid criticism.

Tryingtodoitright · Wednesday at 12:52 PM

BriantheLion said:
Carter is one of those guys who you love.. or at least are amused by, when he’s on your team… but you hate him if he’s on the other side… as my dad described Pete Rose

Catching up here. My dad went to an event that featured Pete Rose and brought home a photo of them shaking hands. My sister sees it and says, ‘that’s a great picture, who’s the guy standing with dad?’

Aardvark86 · Wednesday at 5:27 PM

FTR, I’m watching the Artemis launch and the cnn anchor chowderhead described it as surreal.

manatree · Wednesday at 7:22 PM

Aardvark86 said:
FTR, I’m watching the Artemis launch and the cnn anchor chowderhead described it as surreal.

I am reminded of when I was a kid and I first realized that I could dream in color. I was inside an early 80s vector graphics video game where green tanks were shooting pink fireballs and pink tanks were shooting green fireballs at each other. The tanks were operated by purple frogs on the green tanks and blue frogs on the pink tanks. As I was dodging fire from both sides, I stopped and exclaimed to myself “I’m dreaming in color! I have to tell Todd (my brother)!”

I immediately woke up and shook my brother awake yelling “I can dream in color!” Needless to say, he was less excited than I was. When our dad threw open the door and turned on the lights, he was even less excited than my brother.

'26 Hodge Trophy Finalists; Fan Vote Now Open

Senior

All-Conference

All-Conference

Junior

Heisman

Heisman

All-Conference

All-Conference

Redshirt

Heisman

Junior

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

Senior

Redshirt

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-American