Beyond the Rankings (Preseason 2023)

Preseason NCAA rankings have been released! With just over two months until the first competitions, the season will be here in no time. Since there are 330 wrestlers in the rankings and two sets of team rankings, sifting through them can be a task. Alongside the rankings, we have a companion piece detailing some of the changes you may have overlooked for each weight class. One note regarding multiple weight classes; Wrestlers implicated in the Iowa/Iowa State gambling probe have not been included. This has already been a lengthy investigation with no clear end in sight. Should those wrestlers be cleared and/or allowed to wrestle, they will be inserted into their respective weight classes. This was a difficult decision to make; however, leaving those wrestlers in the rankings could have resulted in a significantly inaccurate view of those weights (and team standings). 125 lbs This is a new-look weight class without Spencer Lee looming over the bracket. The order of wrestlers #4-12 is as difficult as any weight this year. There are hundreds of ways to interpret these wins and losses. 125 is extremely deep and should only get deeper as any true freshmen emerge as starters. There are at least five or six other wrestlers who could make a case for the top-33 at this time. Returning: Jakob Camacho (NC State), Justin Cardani (Illinois), Kysen Terukina (Iowa State), Robbie Howard (Penn State) Various injuries sidelined all of the past NCAA qualifiers during the 2022-23 campaign. Each will add even more depth to an already strong weight class. Moving Weights: Jack Maida (American) Maida had an excellent postseason that saw him finish fifth in the EIWA and even picked up a win in Tulsa while competing at 133 lbs. His EIWA rally made Maida the first qualifier for the Eagles during the Jason Borrelli era. True Freshmen: Vinny Kilkeary (Ohio State), Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) Ohio State has never been shy about starting true freshmen if they are the best option. The Buckeyes also have Brendan McCrone and Peyton Fenton here, but don’t be surprised if Kilkeary ends up as “the guy.” Princeton loses NCAA champion Patrick Glory but has one of the top recruits from the Class of 2023 coming in with Marc-Anthony McGowan. He’s on our watch list for freshmen that could have an early impact at this weight class. 133 lbs This weight was hit hard as the second and third-place finishers moved up, while the sixth-place finisher moved up to 141 lbs. There are a lot of new faces near the bottom of the rankings that are making their debuts in the top-33. Returning: Connor McGonagle (Lehigh), Haiden Drury (Utah Valley), Sean Carter (Appalachian State) Some excellent regular season wins and an injury default resulted in a #11 seed at the NCAA Championships for Connor McGonagle. He likely would have garnered a higher seed had he finished the conference tournament. It didn’t end up mattering as McGonagle was unable to compete and had to pull out of the NCAA Tournament. This year he’ll get pushed by redshirt freshman Ryan Crookham, too. There’s a chance that McGonagle/Malyke Hines both move up to make room for Crookham. Appalachian State has a pair of past national qualifiers here with Carter and Ethan Oakley. Possible Redshirt: Henry Porter (Indiana) Look for Indiana to try and redshirt Henry Porter. In his absence, Angel Escobedo’s team will likely turn to either true freshman Cheaney Schoeff or redshirt freshman Isaac Thornton. 141 lbs The top of this weight class is really strong with the top-six finishers all returning, an All-American moving up from 133 lbs and another returning from a year off. That leaves us with nine past AA’s which is an incredibly strong number, especially as we move farther away from extended eligibility from Covid. Returning: CJ Composto (Penn) The All-American who we alluded to that took the 2022-23 season off was CJ Composto. He had a limited competition schedule while wrestling for the Pennsylvania RTC, so he didn’t face many of these top competitors. Moving Weights: Jesse Mendez (Ohio State), Dylan Ragusin (Michigan), Mitch Moore (Rutgers), Zach Redding (Iowa State), Josh Edmond (Missouri), Dylan Chappell (Bucknell), Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven) Jesse Mendez is the most notable wrestler moving here, as he starts a chain reaction of bumping at Ohio State. In addition to wrestlers moving up from 133, Dylan Chappel and Mitch Moore were at 149 last season and are coming down. Michigan is still in the process of sorting out 133 and 141. Both Chris Cannon and Dylan Ragusin were 133’s last season. Ragusin has a redshirt to use if needed. There’s the possibility that the lineup looks like we have it in the rankings, but it could be reversed. Or Ragusin could redshirt and true freshman Sergio Lemley could get the call at 141. Possible Redshirt: Tom Crook (Virginia Tech) Tom Crook stepped into the Virginia Tech lineup last year as a true freshman and unseated a returning qualifier (Collin Gerardi) to solidify his spot in the starting ten. This time, Crook likely steps aside and gives one of the top-100 true freshmen, Mac Church or Hunter Mason, a shot. Virginia Tech probably hopes one will emerge as the starter early and they can preserve a redshirt for the other. True Freshmen: Mac Church/Hunter Mason (Virginia Tech) 149 lbs Barring any drastic weight changes, we’ll likely see a first-time champion at 149 lbs after the departure of Yianni Diakomihalis. This will continue to be a class that looks tougher and tougher as the year progresses. The top-12 only has three seniors and half of the top-20 are sophomores. Returning: Ridge Lovett (Nebraska), Willie McDougald (Oklahoma), Cody Bond (Appalachian State) The 2022 NCAA runner-up Ridge Lovett is back after redshirting last season. He assumes the top spot at 149 lbs and hopes to win Nebraska’s first national title since 2011. Willie McDougald gives Oklahoma an All-American threat in the middle of the lineup in year one for Roger Kish. Cody Bond is back from injury and also down a weight for App State. Bond was a 2021 national qualifier for the Mountaineers. Moving Weights: Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State), Casey Swiderski (Iowa State), Joe Zargo (Wisconsin), Jacob Butler (Rutgers) Dylan D’Emilio is another part of the lineup shift for the Buckeyes. Casey Swiderski was initially thought to redshirt this season, but he’ll move up with the uncertainty surrounding Paniro Johnson. Jacob Butler has competed at 141 and 157 lbs, so he may as well go 149, too. Possible Redshirt: Colin Realbuto (Northern Iowa) Colin Realbuto has competed for Team Italy at the U23 and Senior World Championships, and the European Championships and attempted to qualify for the Olympics in 2021. He’s omitted here because we expect him to use an Olympic Year to try and qualify for the 2024 Games. Other: Manzona Bryant (Northern Colorado) Initially, Manzona Bryant was slated to transfer to Northern Colorado. That fell through, so he won’t be competing for the Bears in 2023-24. 157 lbs Another weight class where a first-time national champion is very likely. Once you get past the initial wave of contenders, there are a lot of new faces in the bottom half of the rankings. Returning: Michael Blockhus (Minnesota), Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) He made us do some last-minute modifications to the rankings at 157 lbs, but that’s where we expect 2023 All-American and Big Ten runner-up Michael Blockhus. With his return, All-American Brayton Lee has entered the portal. We’ll see where he ends up. Jacori Teemer missed the entire 2022-23 season due to injury and if he’s anyone near his pre-injury ability level; he’ll challenge for a national title. Possible Redshirt: Cesar Alvan (Columbia) 2023 NCAA qualifier Cesar Alvan will be using an Olympic redshirt for the season. Alvan was a 2022 Pan-American bronze medalist wrestling for Brazil. True Freshmen: Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) Meyer Shapiro was named the #1 overall recruit in the Class of 2023 and showed why at the U20 World Championships. He isn’t in the rankings because we don’t rank true freshmen until they hit the mat, but needless to say, we expect him to be a significant factor wherever he wrestles. As of now, that is sort of unclear. Initially, it appeared as if he’d be a 149 lber, but after seeing him compete at 70 kg, it looks like 152 may be his spot. However, it shakes out, Shapiro and Cole Handlovic are expected to handle duties at 149/157 lbs. Other: Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) As of two weeks ago, we expected Sammy Sasso to move up to 157 lbs and challenge for an elusive national title. His status is now in question after a horrific carjacking and shooting. The entire wrestling community supports Sasso in his battle to rehab and recover from the terrible injuries suffered during this incident. 165 lbs 165 was perhaps the most anticipated bracket in 2023 and not much should change this season. A pair of past national champions inhabit the number one and number two slots. Graduation and weight movement make the top tier of contenders slightly more manageable than a year ago. Even so, this is a really strong weight. Returning: Justin Ruffin (SIU Edwardsville) At this time last year, we were disappointed to hear that Justin Ruffin’s career was potentially over after suffering a preseason injury. Ruffin is back for SIUE and up a weight class. If back to full strength, Ruffin should be a favorite for a MAC title. Moving Weights: Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) Possible Redshirt: Matty Singleton (NC State) We last saw Matty Singleton capturing a U20 World bronze medal less than two weeks ago in Amman, Jordan. Singleton is a likely redshirt in 2023-24, as he had his pulled late in the year last season and came up just short of qualifying for nationals. 174 lbs Three of the top four finishers from 2023 return and are joined by 2021 NCAA champion Shane Griffith who bumps up after transferring from Stanford. Those four form a formidable quartet at the top of this weight. After that group, there’s a noticeable difference between the rest of this weight. That should result in at least a few first-time All-Americans. Going down the top-33 there are a lot of new faces towards the bottom. Moving Weights: Shane Griffith (Michigan), Carson Kharchla (Ohio State), Justin McCoy (Virginia), Andrew Sparks (Minnesota), Adam Kemp (Cal Poly) In addition to Griffith, 2022 All-American Carson Kharchla and Round of 12 finisher Justin McCoy are also podium threats. True Freshmen: Brayden Thompson (Oklahoma State) With no Oklahoma State wrestler mentioned in the rankings at 174 lbs, it means we may see true freshman Brayden Thompson emerge as the year-one starter for the Cowboys. Thompson is accustomed to having success against older competition, as he was a U20 World Team member in 2022, before his senior year of high school. 184 lbs It’s a new-look 184 lb weight class with three-time national champion Aaron Brooks expected to move up to 197 lbs. Graduation and weight changes have opened this weight class significantly. As the year progresses, I’d expect a lot of movement between #8 and #24 as a lot of wrestlers in this range have beaten each other before and there isn’t much that separates them from each other. Returning: Jonathan Loew (Cornell) 2022 All-American Jonathan Loew is back after an injury-plagued campaign last year. If he’s back to his past form, Loew could be an X-factor that helps Cornell win another NCAA team trophy. Moving Weights: Bernie Truax (Penn State), Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State), Troy Fisher (Northwestern), Cael Valencia (Arizona State), Triston Wills (Little Rock) This weight class gets a shot in the arm from Bernie Truax and Dustin Plott, one who is moving up (Plott) and another who is moving down (Truax). As of now, Truax is the only wrestler in this weight class with a career win over #1 Parker Keckeisen. 2023 was a breakout year for Northwestern’s Troy Fisher, as he earned a top-20 seed at nationals and picked up a pair of NCAA wins. He’ll move up for the Wildcats and become another possible threat in a relatively even Big Ten weight class. Other: Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) Dustin Plott is slated to move up to 184 lbs as Travis Wittlake is reportedly done for Oklahoma State. 197 lbs One NCAA champion is gone (Nino Bonaccorsi) but another one has appeared (Aaron Brooks) to make this weight extremely tough again. 197 is a weight that tends to have a lot of turnover and new All-American threats emerge. That may not be the case with the star power returning in 2023-24. Returning: Stephen Buchanan (Oklahoma) After redshirting and transferring to Oklahoma, two-time All-American Stephen Buchanan is back and should play a prominent role in the national title hunt at 197 lbs. Buchanan has wins over the returning NCAA runner-up (Tanner Sloan) and the third-place finisher (Rocky Elam) as he slides into a #2 ranking. All three are in the Big 12 and should have entertaining scraps all year long. Possible Redshirt: Isaac Trumble (NC State), Braxton Amos (Wisconsin) An injury to Braxton Amos at the 2023 NCAA Championships and the 2024 Olympic Games looming, both lead Amos to redshirt this year. NC State’s weight changes and success on the freestyle circuit allow Isaac Trumble to take the year off, as well. Moving Weights: Aaron Brooks (Penn State), Trent Hidlay (NC State), John Poznanski (Rutgers), Anthony Montalvo (Arizona State) In addition to Aaron Brooks, other past All-Americans moving up from 184 lbs include Trent Hidlay and John Poznanski. Hidlay is a past NCAA finalist and has been able to hold Brooks in check (as much as anyone can). He’ll have some new fun matchups with the Big 12 contenders at this weight. 285 lbs Little by little, the 285 lb class is thinning out every year. Just two years ago, it was one of the most star-studded weight classes ever. This year’s version should be really strong (and could get even stronger; winky-eye emoji). Returning: Luke Luffman (Illinois), Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) After competing and having success for a few years without a redshirt, Luke Luffman took off the 2022-23 season. He’ll find the Big Ten and the overall weight class slightly more manageable than it was in the past and could earn All-American honors for the first time. Lewis Fernandes had his season cut short due to injuries. He’s close to All-American range, as well. Moving Weights: Owen Pentz (Nebraska) The coaching change at North Dakota State led to a handful of veterans moving on, one of whom was Owen Pentz, who has resurfaced at Nebraska. Pentz introduced himself on a national stage back in 2021 when he pinned then-number two-seeded Eric Schultz (Nebraska) in the first round at nationals. Now he’s a Cornhusker. Other: Jonah Niesenbaum (Duke) Duke’s lone national qualifier from 2023, ACC runner-up Jonah Niesenbaum, will not return to the Blue Devils. Niesenbaum has an interesting employment option that our ACC correspondent, Robbie Wendell, will detail in the coming weeks or months.

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Beyond the Rankings (Preseason 2023)

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