The Stout wrestling lineage is widespread and marked by impressive achievements. Seven Stouts have or will compete at the NCAA Division I level. The patriarch, Bryan, was a four-time All-American at Clarion. That includes Bryan and his three sons, Kellan, Mac, and Luke, as well as John and his two sons, John and Wyatt. Younger John was a multiple-year starter at the University of Pennsylvania, and Wyatt, who just won a New Jersey state title for Southern Regional, will wrestle next year at Penn.
The Stout brothers, Mac and Luke, hail from Mt. Lebanon and have etched their names in wrestling history. Their journey is a testament to their dedication, family support, and individual achievements. This is the story of their wrestling careers, culminating in a historic match at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
Mac Stout, right, hugs brother Luke Stout of Princeton after their match in the second round of the NCAA tournament Thursday, March 20, 2025 in Philadelphia. (Photo by Heather Khalifa | For TribLive.com)
Early Years and Family Influence
The Stout brothers grew up in a wrestling family. Father Bryan was a four-time All-American at Clarion, and for a time, ran a gym where Luke and Mac trained. He spent many weekends traveling to meets, also involving their older brother, Kellen, who wrestled for Mt. Lebanon High School. Kellan, the oldest son of Jennifer and Bryan, was a 2015 PIAA champ (runner-up in 2014) for Western Pennsylvania’s Mt. Lebanon High School.
Mac and Luke both give a lot of credit to Kellan for their success. “Kellan paved the path for me and Mac. He gave us a template to follow,” said Luke. Mac earned two PIAA medals for the Blue Devils: a PIAA runner-up finish as a sophomore and third as a senior.
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Only 17 months apart, Mac and Luke grew up wrestling together. “Luke is our grinder,” said Bryan. “He’s dealt with adversity his whole life,” Bryan continued. “Luke was born with a medical condition called apraxia, a neurological disorder, which can impact movement and speech.
As most could imagine, the brothers wrestled often as kids. One day, Mac told Bryan, “Sometimes I let Luke win,” Bryan recalled. “I told him, you are a good brother Mac. “I beat him up for three years. Coaches had to pull us apart at times. We had a lot of awkward car rides after practice,” Luke chuckled. “He kicked my butt for three years (eighth through 10th-grade),” said Mac.
“We were around the sport our whole lives,” Luke said. “In middle school and high school, we took it a little more seriously. We were each other’s best [practice] partner. Sometimes, those were more contentious than others.“It was kind of a weird evolution,” Mac said.
“We were very close when we were younger. Around middle school, high school, he got a little bigger than me and he beat me up really bad for a while. “Ever since we’ve wrestled later in high school and college, it was always like for training purposes. We never really went too hard. We got past the point of fighting. As little kids, were rolling around trying to take each other’s heads off.
Collegiate Careers
At Lebo, Luke was 153-16 with a state title and a second-place state finish. Luke won a title at the inaugural Ivy League championships, and Mac won an ACC title.
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Mac Stout's Achievements at Pitt
The redshirt junior wrestler from Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, managed to put together one of the most decorated seasons in Pitt wrestling history. Stout finished seventh at the NCAA Championships, becoming a Division I All-American at 197 pounds and the first Pitt sophomore to earn that honor since 2010. He dominated from start to finish - a 27-4 overall record, a 6-0 run through ACC duals and a stretch of 22 straight victories between December and March, 16 of which came with bonus points.
He claimed the 197-pound ACC title as the No. 1 seed and rolled to a Midlands Championship crown. In the first week of the 2025-26 wrestling season, Stout was named ACC Wrestler of the Week after a dominant opening weekend, highlighted by winning the 197-pound title at the Navy Classic. He went 4-0 at the Navy Classic with three technical falls, finishing with a statement 20-4 tech fall over No. 6-ranked Camden McDaniel in the finals. He also opened the weekend by defeating No.
He was named as the 100th All-American at the University of Pittsburgh, the first as a sophomore to achieve that feat since Hugh Green in 1978.
Luke Stout's Journey at Princeton
Princeton’s wrestling team brought a total of five wrestlers to NCAAs, with all athletes winning their first rounds and advancing to the Friday matches. Luke will graduate from Princeton this spring with a degree in sociology.
The Historic Match at the NCAA Championships
Mac Stout Defeats Brother, Luke Stout, at NCAA Wrestling Championships
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A pair of brothers from Mt. Lebanon made history on Thursday night when they went head-to-head at the NCAA D1 Wrestling Championships in Philadelphia, the first time in tournament history. Mac Stout and Luke Stout squared off during the second round of the NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Championships at the Wells Fargo Center. Luke, a senior from Princeton (No. 11 seed) and Mac, a redshirt sophomore from Pitt (No. 6 seed), both wrestle in the 197-lb weight class.
A t-shirt made for family members to wear shows childhood photos of Mac Stout and Luke Stout, two college wrestlers from Mt. Lebanon, who wrestled against each other at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
When the NCAA Division I brackets were released, Mac was the No. 6 seed and Luke the No. 11 in the 197-pound bracket. One change in seed would move them to the opposite sides of the brackets. “I do not typically look at the brackets right away. My girlfriend looked, and I kind of got the hint,” Mac said. “I looked at her and said, ‘What?
Minutes before their 197-pound media-hyped second-round match at the NCAA tournament, Mac and Luke Stout warmed up only a few feet from each other. The moment was surreal for them and for their parents, Bryan and Jennifer Stout. “We’ve wrestled a thousand times in the basement or at practice,” said Luke.
The Stout brothers talked about their potential match following the bracket release. “It’s just a match, no big deal,” Mac recalled them discussing on the call. When NCAAs arrived, both brothers won their first matches, and the stage was set. Before the match, Dubuque talked with Luke about his strategy and mentality facing his brother. For the athletes, this matchup was nothing new.
Both Luke and Mac won their first-round matchups on Thursday morning, setting up the brother-on-brother match that made history. Walking to the mat only a few feet behind Luke, it became real for Mac. The nerves set in a little. Both were hesitant early-not their usual style. The first period ended scoreless, likely due to familiarity.
Mac Stout chose bottom to start the second period and escaped quickly to put himself on the board first. A takedown from Mac Stout gave the Panther sophomore a 4-0 lead halfway through the second period. A second-period escape and takedown by Mac put him up 4-0. Luke countered with an escape in the second to end the period trailing, 4-1. Luke picked down to start the third and escaped to make the score 4-2.
The sixth-seeded Mac jumped out to a 4-1 lead in points by the middle of the second period. Luke continued to be the aggressor for the last two minutes of the match, but the senior was never able to get his younger brother to the mat. When the match ended, Mac won with a final score of 4-2, and the brothers embraced on the mat. The Panther hugged his Tiger brother and will now look ahead to the quarterfinals.
After beating his older brother, Mac now heads into the quarterfinals of the tournament and will square off with undefeated AJ Ferrari, the No. 2 ranked A.J. While Luke dropped into the consolation bracket, Mac suffered a 2-0 loss to 2021 NCAA champion and No. 3 seed AJ Ferrari in the quarterfinals. “I was just honestly so happy for him,” Luke said.
After the match, Bryan and Jennifer could relax a little more. They could watch their sons compete to be All-Americans without the added theatrics of being the first brother vs. brother match in NCAA DI tournament history. Jennifer is the family’s rock. “The boys go to her for everything,” said Bryan. He joked about a recent phone call from one of the boys. He beamed a little that he was called first. Jennifer was getting ready and didn’t have her phone.
Reactions and Reflections
“It stinks," Mac said. "I wish I never had to wrestle my brother, but I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for him, you know. I finally got one back after all those years he was shoving my head in the mat. It sucks.
"He's my best friend, I talk to him everyday," Mac said. "I knew that regardless of the outcome, we would still be best friends after the match."
“We tried not making it bigger than it was, but, obviously, it was super emotional,” said Luke, whose loss sent him into the consolation bracket, where he fell two wins short of a medal. “The whole time during the match I kind of heard the announcer talking about it. It felt like all eyes were on us. After the match ended, there was big applause.
“But as soon as it was over I couldn’t have been happier for him. We went up and saw our family, gave everybody a hug, made sure we were still buddies. Mac, who advanced to the quarterfinals off that win and finished seventh and as an All-American, was something of a reluctant participant.
“It was a cool experience to look back on,” he added. “I’m very grateful for it. Win or loss aside, I think both of us are able to look at it for what it was. It was cool for other people to witness and experience. History that he holds only in his memory bank.
Luke was nothing more than happy for his brother. “Him getting on the podium made it worth it. It was the silver lining on the weekend,” he said. “Luke wrestled hard; he knew that.
“We kind of let it simmer for, like, a day, and then I think Mac texted me, like, how about that? We just laughed about it. How many annoying comments have you heard? People bugging you?” Luke said.
“I still haven’t watched the match. I don’t know if I will,” Mac said. “It’s just kind of weird.
Future Plans
Mac has two more years of eligibility. He wants to be a national champion. However, Mac stays away from goals and prefers to let things take care of itself. “I was so focused on getting big wins. I lost close matches with All-Americans.
A new chapter in their wrestling relationship begins next school year. Next year, he will add to the Stout family ties at Pitt and be a graduate assistant coach. He will help Mac and the upper weights. Luke will be closer to his parents, Kellan, and 10-year-old sister, Josie. “She is the toughest of all of them,” Bryan says about Josie (only half jokingly).
“I don’t think there are very many people that I would rather have as my coach or in my corner than him,” Mac said of Luke. “We’ve faced all the relationships you can have in the sport - we’ve been teammates, now competitors and now he’s going to be on the other side and be my coach.
Although it was the first brother-vs.-brother match in NCAA Division I tournament history, it highlighted a family with five NCAA All-American awards, 11 NCAA tournament appearances, four state titles, and a big wrestling legacy. The match was one of the largest stories in college wrestling this year. Two brothers. Best friends. And a close-knit family.
Summary of Achievements
Here's a table summarizing the key achievements of the Stout family in wrestling:
| Achievement | Details |
|---|---|
| NCAA All-American Awards | 5 |
| NCAA Tournament Appearances | 11 |
| State Titles | 4 |
| Bryan Stout | Four-time All-American at Clarion |
| Kellan Stout | 2015 PIAA Champ |
| Luke Stout | Ivy League Champion, 153-16 record in high school with a state title and a second-place state finish |
| Mac Stout | ACC Champion, NCAA All-American |