CORVALLIS, Ore. – The 2026 Cascade Collegiate Conference Men's Wrestling postseason awards were announced Thursday by the conference office.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Kenneth Copley was named the McDonald's Wrestler of the Year, presented by Urban Edge Network, while teammate Yoshiya Funakoshi earned Newcomer of the Year honors.

Copley (285lbs), a junior from Sugar City, Idaho, delivered an outstanding season highlighted by a third-place finish at the prestigious Reno Tournament of Champions, where he won his first three matches by pins before dropping a semifinal bout and returning to win the consolation match by major decision. He later captured the individual title at the ERAU Mile High Open, going 4-0 with one technical fall and three pins to help lead the Eagles to the team championship on their home mat.

At the Cascade Conference Championship, Copley earned his first individual conference crown, advancing through the bracket with a 10-5 decision, a tiebreaker win, and a sudden victory in the final to claim the title and earn Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament. He carried that momentum into the NAIA National Championship, recording a technical fall in the quarterfinals, a 3-2 decision in the semifinals, and a dramatic pin with six seconds remaining in the championship match to claim his first National Title and third career All-American honor. Copley finished the season with a 32-4 overall record, including 18 wins by pin.

Funakoshi (141lbs), a junior transfer from Cerritos College, made an immediate impact in his first season with Embry-Riddle. The Eagles' standout finished the year at 27-5 overall, with his only NAIA losses coming at the CCC Championship. His season included a runner-up finish at the ERAU Open, a title at the Falcon Invite, and a fifth-place finish at the CCC Championship. Funakoshi shined on the national stage, entering the NAIA Championship in the middle of the bracket and upsetting several higher seeded opponents on the way to capturing his National Title. He secured an early takedown in the championship match and held on for the victory, helping lead the Eagles to a third-place finish at the CCC Championship and a fourth-place finish at the NAIA National Championship.