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  • Recruiting Lists for Top Class of '27 Recruits

    June 15th was New Year’s Day for those college coaches recruiting the Class of 2027 and the student-athletes waiting to plan out their futures. The 15th was the first day that collegiate coaches could officially contact rising juniors and there has been plenty of activity on the recruiting front. 
    Since the 15th, some of the nation’s top prospects have released lists of their top schools. Rather than trying to dig through social media or click through a bunch of state sites, we have compiled this list of these top recruits and their potential future homes. 
    Remember recruiting is a fluid process, so another school, currently unlisted, could jump into the picture for a recruit. Conversely, the recruits could trim their list at any time. 
    This is a feature that will be revisited as needed throughout the recruitment process. 
     
    #1 Melvin Miller (Bishop McCort, PA) - Arizona State, Michigan, Missouri, NC State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Pittsburgh
    #3 Sonny Amato (Rumson-Fair Haven, NJ) - Arizona State, Cornell, Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Penn, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Virginia Tech
    #5 Israel Borge (Westlake, UT) - Arizona State, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraksa,Oklahoma State, Penn State 
    #9 Mario Carini (Poway, CA) - Cornell, Iowa State, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Princeton, Purdue, Rutgers, Stanford, Virginia Tech
    #14 Max Konopka (Simsbury, CT) - Cornell, Lehigh, NC State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Princeton, Rutgers, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin
    #15 Hayden Schwab (Don Bosco, IA) - Cornell, Iowa, Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Virginia Tech
    #30 Jimmy Mastny (Marian Central, IL) - Air Force, Arizona State, Army, Cornell, George Mason, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Little Rock, Michigan, NC State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northern Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Penn, Purdue, Princeton, SIU Edwardsville, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin
    #38 Dawson Youngblut (Don Bosco, IA) - Cornell, Iowa, Iowa State, NC State, Nebraska, Northern Iowa
    #39 Gage Lohr (Watertown, SD) - Cornell, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota State, Wisconsin, Wyoming
    #41 Dale Corbin (Wyoming Seminary, PA) - Army West Point, Cornell, Lehigh, Maryland, Minnesota, NC State, North Carolina, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Utah Valley, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin
    #52 Luke Hayden (Hickman, MO) - Air Force, Cornell, Missouri, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Northwestern, Oregon State, Princeton, Purdue, South Dakota State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin
    #107 Caleb Tyler (Delone Catholic, PA) - Clarion, Duke, Franklin & Marshall, Virginia, Wisconsin

    Earl Smith -

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    Fantasy College Wrestling - 2025 Season Top 20 (149 lbs)

    With the school year over, the end of year awards and accolades start getting passed out for a season well-done. 
    As for us in Fantasy D1 Wrestling, the data has been processed, the charts have been reviewed, and the evaluations are complete. The breakdown of the Top Fantasy Wrestlers of the 2025 season is here to help you start your 2025 season research.  
    Just like in the past few years, some names are going to be expected, while a lot more may not be. That's the beauty of Fantasy Wrestling, where any wrestler can be the star of the weekend and win the dual for you.
    To compile these lists, we used standard WrestleStat Fantasy College Wrestling Data & Scoring. Just a reminder of how points were tallied in WrestleStat leagues:
    1) The scoring used was standard team scoring across all competitions (+3 for a win by decision, -4 for a loss by major, etc)
    2) Scoring only counted against D1 competition
    3) Wins via forfeits (FFT) would count as +6 towards a wrestler's point total
    4) Wins or losses by medical forfeit (MFF) did not count as + or - towards a wrestler's point total
    5) Points were only accumulated during the regular season
    149 Top-20

    Notes:
    As the saying goes, if you score more points than your opponent, most of the time you're going to win the game. Well, the same goes for pins in Fantasy Wrestling. The 2025 pin leader Kelvin Griffin also was the #1 Fantasy Wrestler at 149 this year, powered behind 17 countable pins (despite seven D1 losses totaling -30 Fpts!). In the 2024 season, Griffin finished #3 behind Caleb Henson and Ridge Lovett.
    You would think being the pin leader for the season across all weights would put a pretty decent gap with between the next closest wrestler, but not in this case. #2 through #5 were within 12 Fpts, with Shayne Van Ness being the closest by six Fpts. Van Ness only had one loss in the regular season and only three decisions in his 17 wins. That loss, a loss by major to Ridge Lovett, had he won would have been #1 at 149.
    Speaking of Ridge Lovett, the 149 national champion finds himself at #9 this season, after being #2 in 2024. Besides having fewer matches in 2025, he had one more loss and a PPM down by 0.6 which can account for the “fall” in the standings. That said, national finalist Caleb Henson, had less matches in 2025 than his 2024 campaign (where he was #1 at 149) but a higher PPM by 0.5.
    Lachlan McNeil wrestled up a weight this past season, and landed at #8 just like he did in 2024 at 141 (and #6 in 2023 at 141). Through the past three seasons, McNeil has been pretty consistent with matches wrestled (22 in 2025, 23 in 2024, and 25 in 2023) and points (63Fpts, 58 Fpts, and 61 Fpts respectively).
    The saying is, there are no guarantees or locks, but Kyle Parco being a Top-10 Fantasy Wrestler is just about a stone-cold-lock if there ever was one. All five seasons at 149, from 2021 to 2025, the lowest Parco has ever been was #9 at 149 in 2024. Unfortunately an injury at NCAAs derailed his probable fifth AA trophy. Replacing Parco in Iowa City will (possibly) be Jordan Williams, who transferred in after a #12 fantasy season at Little Rock. 
    Taking 4th place at the 2025 Nationals as a 13th seed was certainly a surprise, but Dylan D’Emilio was pretty consistent. Even though he did not have a very high-ranking win during the regular season (#11 Kannon Webster (ILL) was his best and ranked one ahead of D’Emilio at the time), he only lost three times to guys ranked in the Top 8.
    Five All Americans made the Top-20
     
    Who Missed The Cut:
    Four All Americans at 149 were seeded ninth or above. Three of them fell just short of making the Fantasy Top-20. 
    #22 seed Gavin Drexler (NDSU) was the #21st best Fantasy Wrestler this year, falling just three points shy with 45 Fpts. Sammy Alvarez (RID) was right behind him with 42 Fpts. The last AA that missed the cut was Ethan Stiles (ORST) at #25 with 38 Fpts.
    Other notables include Jaden Abas (STAN) & Dylan Layton (CSU) tied at #23 with 39 Fpts, Malyke Hines (LEH) at #29 with 36 Fpts, Kannon Webster (ILL) at #30 with 34 Fpts, Sam Cartella (NW) at #34 with 32 Fpt, Paul Kelly (CBU) at #37 with 28 Fpts, and Gabe Willochell (WYO) at #40 with 27 Fpts.

    Brooks Releases Statement Regarding Potential Suspension

    On Friday, 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Aaron Brooks released a statement on social media that might contain a reference to a suspension due to a failed drug test. At this time, a suspension and a failed drug test have not been made public by any of wrestling's governing bodies. Brooks starts the statement noting that he's dealt with a variety of injuries - he hasn't competed at all in 2025. We'll have more information as it becomes public regarding Brooks and this situation.
     
     

    Earl Smith -

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    • Recruiting Lists for Top Class of '27 Recruits

      Recruiting Lists for Top Class of '27 Recruits

    • Fantasy College Wrestling - 2025 Season Top 20 (149 lbs)

      Fantasy College Wrestling - 2025 Season Top 20 (149 lbs)

    • Brooks Releases Statement Regarding Potential Suspension

      Brooks Releases Statement Regarding Potential Suspension

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