It has been a strong start to the season for Virginia wrestling (8-3, 0-0 ACC), and a lot of that has to do with what is shaping up to be a breakout year for one of the Cavaliers’ best wrestlers.
Sophomore Gable Porter displayed flashes of brilliance in 2024-25, including a win over No. 30 Kyle Burwick in an early-season dual, but that brilliance did not manifest across a full season. In 2025-26, Porter appears to have put the pieces together, recording six bonus point victories in his first 10 bouts of the season. The tear earned him ACC Wrestler of the Week honors Dec. 2, but the sophomore is eyeing more significant victories — namely, ACC and NCAA Championships.
Porter began the year with a loss in the Round of 16 of the Navy Classic Nov. 2, but has not fallen since. He won his next four bouts in the Classic, including a victory over Drexel’s 2025 NCAA qualifier Jordan Soriano in the fifth-place match.
After his 4-1 showing, Porter won both of his duals at Journeymen Wrestling’s Wranglemania, earning a 9-2 decision and a 12-3 major decision in relatively dominant fashion. Porter followed that up by earning a 11-2 major decision in the dual against Kent State, and he was the only Cavalier wrestler to win a bout in the dual at Michigan, handing Wolverine freshman Eren Sement a loss by decision.
The following meet, Porter put together his best performance of the year, needing just two minutes and 14 seconds to pin Bloomsburg freshman Tristan Corbin. Albeit a short match, those 134 seconds proved enough to earn Porter his first ACC Wrestler of the Week honors.
The win pushed Porter to 9-1 overall and 5-0 in dual action this season. He’s already matched his overall win total from the last campaign when he went 9-9 — at this pace, 2025-26 is shaping into his most successful year yet.
The sophomore said that Virginia’s coaching staff and team culture have contributed the most to his success thus far.
“I love our coaches,” Porter said. “They’re absolutely great, and knowing that all the guys on the team want to win just as badly as me and are always pushing me in the room to be better, it’s just a great feeling.”
Porter’s excellence is finally starting to earn recognition on a national stage. Still, despite the praise he received from the ACC last week, he is not satisfied yet.
“It’s a great accomplishment, don’t get me wrong,” Porter said. “I’m focused on NCAAs, so I want to be an NCAA Champ, [an] NCAA All-American. That’s my goal and that’s what I’m focused on right now.”
As a three-time Iowa high school wrestling state champion, it’s no surprise that Porter is focused on the bigger picture rather than a weekly award. Porter’s mindset was built long before arriving in Charlottesville. Wrestling runs deep in the Porter bloodline. The sophomore’s father Scott Porter wrestled in college, and younger brother Weston Porter is wrestling in high school with interest from Division I schools.
8 duals and the Southern Scuffle remain before ACC and NCAA Championships take place in March. Porter has plenty of chances to build a resume for an at-large bid to the national tournament should he fail to qualify for a pre-allocated spot or win the conference tournament.
While Porter does not focus solely on the accolades, with a fast start and growing momentum, he could be in line for honors beyond ACC Wrestler of the Week.
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