Lou DePrez Returns to the Binghamton Lineup

In January of 2023, Lou Deprez was injured in a match at the Southern Scuffle. Little did he know this injury was serious enough to end his final season of NCAA eligibility, and ultimately, his wrestling career. Because of his importance to the program, Head Coach Kyle Borshoff named Lou to the coaching staff immediately. He was very much a valued teammate on and off the mat. It was Borshoff’s intention to keep Lou around the program as much as possible, no matter the capacity. 

Fast forward almost a year later, Lou Deprez will return to the roster as a wrestler thanks to a medical redshirt. He brings one of the best resumes to ever step foot inside the Binghamton program. He is already a four-time NCAA qualifier and three-time EIWA champion while amassing an impressive 131 wins at the collegiate level. More importantly, he is the first two-time All-American in school history. He was selected as an NWCA All-American in the canceled 2020 tournament and finished 8th in 2021. In his last full season, he made the quarterfinals in 2022, failing to repeat as an All-American losing in the round of 12 – or infamously named the “Blood Round.”  

Deprez will compete at the 197 lbs weight class. Assuming he has not lost too much of a step, the Binghamton squad will now have a line-up containing four ranked wrestlers in addition to Brevin Cassella (165 lbs), Jacob Nolan (184 lbs), and Cory Day (285lbs). The opportunity will be a great chance for Deprez to earn another All-American honor while vastly filling a hole in the line-up in a major way. 

As a warm-up for the collegiate season, Lou decided to compete at the U.S. Senior Nationals freestyle event in Fort Worth, TX. He wrestled at 97 kgs – which equates to 213 lbs. He lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion, Kollin Moore, formally of Ohio State. He came back to earn eighth place in the star-studded bracket. In the final match, he injury defaulted. 

Yesterday, DePrez made his return to the collegiate scene yesterday at Lehigh’s Sheridan Invitational. There was very little rust as DePrez won the 197 lb bracket with four straight wins. He posted bonus points in his first three matches, then downed JT Davis (Lehigh) in the finals - 9-3. 
In our last rankings update, DePrez made his 2023-24 debut at #14.