Wrestlers · Career complete
Lexie Basham
2x NAIA national champion at 130 pounds, Texas Wesleyan's first; 2x Texas state champion at Byron Nelson; 202-8 in high school
Roanoke, TX · Byron Nelson HS · Texas Wesleyan University
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 3, 2026
Lexie Basham started wrestling at eight with Team Punisher and became the first wrestling state champion in the history of Byron Nelson High School in Trophy Club, Texas. She won back to back in 2018 and 2019 and finished high school 202-8, with six of the eight losses coming as a freshman. She was a Fargo All-American and a folkstyle national champion in 2019.
She signed with Texas Wesleyan. As a sophomore she went 31-2 and set school records for single-season wins and win percentage. She beat De'anna Price of Wayland Baptist for the Sooner Athletic 130-pound title. On March 12, 2022, in Jamestown, North Dakota, she upset top seed Nanea Estrella of Menlo College 3-2 in the NAIA final. It was the first national title in Texas Wesleyan women's wrestling, in the program's third year.
That summer she beat Estrella 5-3 at the World Team Trials to reach Final X at 59 kg, about 130 pounds, and lost the series to Abby Nette of Army/WCAP. In Pontevedra, Spain, in October 2022, she beat Karoline Ortiz Rosado of Puerto Rico 8-4 and pinned Anne Beatrice Nurenberger of Germany at the U23 World Championships. She lost in the semifinals to Himeka Tokuhara of Japan, the eventual champion, and placed fifth.
In November she beat Cameron Guerin of McKendree 3-1 and was named USA Wrestling's Athlete of the Week. She won a second NAIA title at 130 pounds in March 2023 over Sarah Savidge of Life University and was a finalist for Women's College Wrestler of the Year. She graduated with a psychology degree, went into coaching at Texas Wesleyan, and now runs the program at South Grand Prairie High School.
She is the head wrestling coach at South Grand Prairie High School in Texas, building a girls' program in the region where she grew up.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | High school | Texas High School State Championships | 1st | The first wrestling state champion in Byron Nelson High School history | |
| 2018-19 | High school | Texas High School State Championships | 1st | 202-8 career. Second straight state title; six of her eight career losses came as a freshman. She was also a Fargo All-American and a folkstyle national champion in 2019. | |
| 2020-21 | College | Sooner Athletic Conference season | 136 lb | class change to 136 pounds | Her only loss of the season was a fall to Desiree Zavala of Wayland Baptist, the eventual Sooner Athletic 142-pound champion. She then wrestled 136 and beat Zavala in 21 seconds in a rematch in her last match of the year. The cited page never puts Basham at 142. |
| 2021-22 | College | Sooner Athletic Conference Championships | 130 lb | 1st | 28-2 regular season. She beat De'anna Price of Wayland Baptist for the title |
| 2021-22 | College | NAIA Women's Wrestling Championships, Jamestown, ND | 130 lb | 1st | 31-2. March 12, 2022; beat top seed Nanea Estrella of Menlo College 3-2 for the first national title in Texas Wesleyan women's wrestling, in the program's third year; school records for single-season wins and win percentage; 22 of her wins came by fall or technical fall and she outscored opponents 194-18 |
| 2022 | Senior | Final X, Stillwater, OK | 59 kg | 2nd at Final X | She beat Nanea Estrella of Menlo College 5-3 at the World Team Trials to reach Final X, then lost the best-of-three series to Abby Nette of Army/WCAP, including an 8-5 decision, and finished No. 2 on the Senior National Team ladder at the weight |
| 2022 | Age group | U23 World Championships, Pontevedra, Spain | 59 kg | 5th | October 2022; beat Karoline Ortiz Rosado of Puerto Rico 8-4, pinned Anne Beatrice Nurenberger of Germany at 5:44, then lost in the semifinals to Himeka Tokuhara of Japan, the eventual champion |
| 2022-23 | College | NAIA Women's Wrestling Championships | 130 lb | 1st | March 10-11, 2023; second straight national title, won 6-3 over Sarah Savidge of Life University, with a 6-2 semifinal win over Cristelle Rodriguez of Doane and a 6-0 quarterfinal over Charmayne Delong of Indiana Tech; she was one of six finalists for 2023 Women's College Wrestler of the Year |
What we could not confirm
Anything not on this page, a high school record, a final score, a season, was left out because no primary source stated it when this was written. If you have a bracket, a program, or a clipping, send it and the page gets the number.
Sources
- https://ramsports.net/sports/womens-wrestling/roster/coaches/lexie-basham/2126 · Texas Wesleyan coaching bio: began wrestling in 2009 with Team Punisher; wrestled at Byron Nelson High School in Trophy Club, Texas, and became the school's first state champion, winning back to back in 2018 and 2019 and finishing 202-8 with six losses as a freshman; Fargo All-American and 2019 folkstyle national champion; first national champion in Texas Wesleyan history, back to back in 2022 and 2023 at 130 pounds; reached Final X after the World Team Trials and made the U23 World Team, placing fifth at 59 kg in Spain; graduated in spring 2023 with a psychology degree; born and raised in the Dallas-Fort Worth area
- https://txwes.edu/student-life/news-and-events/department-news/athletics/lexie-basham-named-to-us-national-wrestling-team/ · Oct. 18, 2022: junior from Roanoke, TX; at the U23 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain, she beat Karoline Ortiz Rosado of Puerto Rico 8-4, pinned Anne Beatrice Nurenberger of Germany at 5:44 and lost in the semifinals to eventual 59 kg champion Himeka Tokuhara; 31-2 in 2021-22 with school records for single-season wins and win percentage; Sooner Athletic 130-pound title over De'anna Price of Wayland Baptist; NAIA title over top seed Nanea Estrella of Menlo, the program's first; named to the 2022 U.S. Senior National Team at 59 kg, second behind Abby Nette after an 8-5 loss; 28-2 regular season; 22 wins by fall or technical fall and a 194-18 scoring margin; 2020-21 season began with a loss to Desiree Zavala of Wayland Baptist and ended with a 21-second win over her. NOTE: this page gives her hometown as Roanoke, TX, while the Sooner Athletic Conference feature says Fort Worth.
- https://ramsports.net/news/2022/3/12/womens-wrestling-wwrestling-basham-wins-first-national-title-in-program-history.aspx · March 12, 2022 in Jamestown, N.D.: Basham won the 130-pound NAIA national title 3-2 over Nanea Estrella of Menlo College, the first national champion in Texas Wesleyan history; the team finished fifth with seven All-Americans and 135.5 points in its third year as a program
- https://soonerathletic.org/news/2023/3/30/wwrestling-basham-forges-her-path-in-womens-wrestling.aspx · Sooner Athletic Conference feature: NAIA national champion at 130 pounds in consecutive years, All-American, NAIA Invitational champion, 2021 WCWA Outstanding Wrestler of the Year, USA Wrestler of the Week on Nov. 22, 2022, one of six finalists for 2023 Women's College Wrestler of the Year, the most decorated wrestler in Texas Wesleyan history, coached by Jose Lazo, two-time national qualifier who earned All-America honors first as a sophomore. NOTE: this page gives her hometown as Fort Worth.
- https://www.themat.com/news/athlete-of-week/2022/november/22/lexie-basham-named-usa-wrestling-athlete-of-the-week · Nov. 22, 2022 USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week: Basham, ranked No. 1 in the NAIA, beat Cameron Guerin of McKendree, ranked No. 1 in the NCAA, 3-1 in a final
- https://wrestlingtexas.com/texas-womens-classic-coach-basham-harkins-south-grand-prairie-head-coach/ · Wrestling Texas video page from the 2025 Texas Women's Classic titled 'Coach Basham-Harkins, South Grand Prairie Head Coach', establishing her current role
- https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/7804656-the-full-final-x-stillwater-womens-freestyle-preview · FloWrestling's 2022 Final X Stillwater women's freestyle preview: '59 kg: Lexie Basham (Spartan Mat Club) vs. Abby Nette (Army/WCAP)', noting Basham won an NAIA national title in March for Texas Wesleyan
- https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/10717263-2023-naia-womens-freestyle-wrestling-championships-results-brackets · 2023 NAIA Women's Freestyle Wrestling Championships results, posted Mar 10, 2023: 130-pound final 'Lexie Basham (Texas Wesleyan) VPO1 Sarah Savidge (Life), 6-3'; semifinal 'Lexie Basham (Texas Wesleyan) VPO1 Cristelle Rodriguez (Doane), 6-2'; quarterfinal 'Lexie Basham (Texas Wesleyan) VPO Charmayne Delong (Indiana Tech), 6-0'
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