STANFORD, Calif. – Aden Valencia was named Co-Wrestler of the Year and Freshman of the Year, while Chris Ayres was tabbed Coach of the Year, as announced today by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Additionally, five Cardinal earned spots on the 2025-26 All-ACC Team with their top-two finishes at the conference tournament – Daniel Cardenas, Jack Consiglio, Tyler Knox, Angelo Posada and Nico Provo.
Valencia, who captured Stanford’s third individual national title on March 21, is the fourth individual Cardinal to be named conference wrestler of the year, joining Matt Gentry (2004), Nick Amuchastegui (2012) and Shane Griffith (2020 & 2021). He shares the honor this season with NC State’s Isaac Trumble – the 2026 NCAA heavyweight champion.
Valencia is the seventh Stanford wrestler to earn freshman/newcomer of the year honors, and the first since Griffith (2020) to claim both in the same season. The Morgan Hill native is the first Cardinal freshman to win a national title, defeating the No. 23, No. 7, No. 2, No. 11 and No. 1 seeds in the process. He finished the season with a team-high 21 wins with 11 of those victories coming by bonus points.
Ayres, the Matt Gentry Head Wrestling Coach, collects the fourth coach of the year honors in program history. In his third season on The Farm, Ayres guided the Cardinal to a program-best sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, producing a program-record four All-Americans. Stanford was the runner-up at the ACC Championships and had eight NCAA qualifiers for a second consecutive season.
Cardenas, the ACC champion at 157 pounds, completed the season with a 20-5 overall record and a 10-2 mark in duals. He was undefeated in eight matches against ACC opponents. He led the team with 10 technical falls, and 15 of his 20 wins came by bonus points. The redshirt junior reached the Round of 12 at the NCAA Championships and is Stanford’s active career wins leader with 76.
Consiglio secured the ACC crown at 141 pounds – the 10th Cardinal freshman to win a conference title. The redshirt freshman went 2-2 in Cleveland and finished the season 16-7 overall with five bonus point wins. He was 7-1 against ACC competition.
Knox was the ACC runner-up at 133 pounds, ending his redshirt sophomore season 19-8 overall and 10-2 in duals. In Cleveland, he secured a sixth-place finish to become just the eighth Cardinal to earn multiple NCAA All-America honors. It was the highest showing by a Stanford 133-pounder at the national tournament.
Posada placed second at the ACC Championships at 197 pounds, completing the season 20-8 overall and 10-2 in duals. He became just the second true freshman All-American in program history, finishing sixth at the NCAA Championships. He led Stanford with eight falls on the season with 12 of his 20 wins coming by bonus points.
Provo, the ACC runner-up at 125 pounds, was 20-6 on the season with six bonus point victories. The redshirt junior earned his first career NCAA All-America honors with a third-place showing in Cleveland. After a 1-1 start, Provo reeled off six straight wins, including four major decisions, in the consolation bracket to claim the highest finish by a Cardinal 125-pounder in school history.