Friday's matchup marks the ninth all-time meeting between Maryland and Drexel, a series that dates back to 2006. The Terps have won seven of the first eight matchups and enter the contest on a three-dual winning streak in the series, most recently defeating the Dragons, 23–13, to close the 2024–25 season.
The dual will also serve as Senior and Alumni Night, as the Terps will recognize seven seniors prior to the match for their contributions to the program: John Martin Best, Anthony Bradley, Braxton Brown, Luke Jacobs, Ryan Money, Dom Solis and Carter Young
The Terps opened Big Ten competition against Northwestern, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, Penn State, Rutgers and Minnesota, and most recently hosted No. 2 Ohio State in their final conference dual of the regular season, falling 29–16.
Key individual performances include:
Carter Young (149 lbs) — owns a 9–1 record, with his lone loss coming against the nation's top-ranked wrestler. Young has recorded ranked wins over Joseph Zargo (No. 17, Wisconsin), Gavin Brown (No. 21, Purdue), Joey Butler (Indiana) and Andrew Clark (No. 29, Rutgers). He also earned his first Big Ten bonus-point victory with a 14–3 major decision over Brogan Fielding (Ohio State).
Branson John (197 lbs) — notched victories over Wyatt Ingham (No. 28, Wisconsin) and Gabe Sollars (No. 13, Indiana), recorded a pin against Northwestern, and earned a 4–1 decision over No. 25 Gavin Nelson (Minnesota). Against Ohio State, the No. 17-ranked John secured the first top-10 win of his career with a pin at 3:40 over No. 10 Luke Geog.
Braxton Brown (133 lbs) — holds a 7–3 dual record with multiple technical falls, including wins over Blake Boarman (Purdue) and Dylan Shawver (No. 27, Rutgers), and added a 5–0 decision over Brandon Morvari (Minnesota).
Two Terps earned their first Big Ten victories of the season against Ohio State. At 157 pounds, Mekhi Neal broke a 1–1 tie with a takedown in the final 40 seconds to claim a 4–1 decision over Daxton Chase. At 174 pounds, Seth Digby secured a 6–1 sudden victory decision over TJ Schierl.
Additional Big Ten wins for Maryland have come from Ryan Kennedy (141 lbs) over Carson Exford (Wisconsin), Sepanta Ahanj-Elias (184 lbs) over David Malin (Wisconsin), AJ Rodrigues (165 lbs) over Isaac Ruble (Purdue), Joey Schneck (285 lbs) over Caleb Marzolino (Indiana) and Dario Lemus (141 lbs) over Mason Gibson (Rutgers).
No. 17-ranked
Branson John secured the first top-10 win of his career with a pin at 3:40 over No. 10 Luke Geog