We're just over a week away from the start of the 2025-26 season. This offseason ended up being a busy one on the coaching front. Eight DI programs will have new head coaches for the season. This year’s coaching carousel started slowly and ended up going into the early fall. With the leaders of each program set, it seemed to be a good time to look back to see when every current DI head coach was hired. 
 

2025 

Army West Point - Troy Nickerson

Binghamton - Ryan LeBlanc

Campbell - TJ Dudley

Kent State - Josh Moore

Mercyhurst - Jimmy Overhiser

Penn - Matt Valenti

Northern Colorado - Teyon Ware

The Citadel - Luke Welch (Interim)
 

2024

Bloomsburg - John Stutzman

Buffalo - Donnie Vinson

Central Michigan - Ben Bennett

Columbia - Donny Pritzlaff

Hofstra - Jamie Franco

Long Island - John Arceri

Oklahoma State - David Taylor

Utah Valley - Adam Hall

 

2023

North Carolina - Rob Koll

North Dakota State - Obe Blanc

Oklahoma - Roger Kish 

Princeton - Joe Dubuque

Stanford - Chris Ayres

2022

Brown - Jordan Leen 

Davidson - Nate Carr Jr. 

California Baptist - Derek Moore

Morgan State - Kenny Monday
 

2021

American - Jason Borrelli

Bellarmine - Ned Shuck

Cornell - Mike Grey 

CSU Bakersfield - Luke Smith

Illinois - Mike Poeta
 

2020

Navy - Cary Kolat 

Oregon State - Chris Pendleton
 

2019

Maryland - Alex Clemsen
 

2018

Chattanooga - Kyle Ruschell 

Edinboro - Matt Hill

Indiana - Angel Escobedo

Little Rock - Neil Erisman

Michigan - Sean Bormet 

Presbyterian - Mark Cody

South Dakota State - Damion Hahn 

VMI - Jim Gibson

West Virginia - Tim Flynn 

Wisconsin - Chris Bono

2017

George Mason - Frank Beasley

Iowa State - Kevin Dresser

Pittsburgh - Keith Gavin

Rider - John Hangey 

Sacred Heart - John Clark

Virginia Tech - Tony Robie

2016

Cal Poly - Jon Sioredas

Minnesota - Brandon Eggum

Northwestern - Matt Storniolo
 

2015

Michigan State - Roger Chandler
 

2014

Air Force - Sam Barber

Arizona State - Zeke Jones 

Clarion - Keith Ferraro

Purdue - Tony Ersland
 

2013

Lock Haven - Scott Moore

SIU Edwardsville - Jeremy Spates
 

2012

Duke - Glen Lanham

NC State - Pat Popolizio
 

2011

Drexel - Matt Azevedo 

Northern Illinois - Ryan Ludwig
 

2010

Franklin & Marshall - Mike Rogers

Gardner-Webb - Daniel Elliott

Northern Iowa - Doug Schwab
 

2009

Appalachian State - JohnMark Bentley

Penn State - Cael Sanderson
 

2008

Lehigh - Pat Santoro 

Wyoming - Mark Branch
 

2007

Rutgers - Scott Goodale
 

2006

Iowa - Tom Brands 

Ohio State - Tom Ryan

Virginia - Steve Garland

2005

Bucknell - Dan Wirnsberger

2000

Nebraska - Mark Manning
 

1998

Missouri - Brian Smith 

Ohio - Joel Greenlee
 

1995

Harvard - Jay Weiss

One of the typical articles we write at this time of the preseason is the top positional battles. Even though we’re about a week and a half away from the start of the 2025-26 season, there are coaches with those “good problems to have.” That is more than one capable option at a particular weight.

We’ll highlight some of those situations to watch below. Keep these in mind as we see wrestle-offs, open tournaments, and dual meets. Most coaches put little stock into wrestle-off results, but is one guy clearly superior to the other? Did one wrestler advance further and beat a common opponent at an open tournament? Who got the dual start against a tough team? The answers to these questions might help us understand a coach’s decision-making process. 

Here are some of the top battles to watch:

Penn State

133/141 lbs - Marcus Blaze/Masanosuke Ono/Braeden Davis

As usual, it’s difficult to get any read on the Penn State lineup situation. What we’re pretty sure of is that 2025 All-American Braeden Davis will go up to 141 lbs. That could leave either super recruit Marcus Blaze or world champion Masanosuke Ono as the starter at 133 lbs. There’s also a chance that Blaze could wrestle at 141 lbs. However, this trio ends up manning the 133/141 lb weight classes, I’d expect them to be major players in the title hunt. 

Oklahoma State

141 lbs - Cael Hughes/Sergio Vega

184 lbs - Zack Ryder/Brayden Thompson

There are lots of possibilities in the Oklahoma State wrestling room. We didn’t even mention Tagen Jamison, who is expected to be out of action at the beginning of the season. Blue chip recruit Sergio Vega could force the hand of the Cowboy staff and work his way in at 141 lbs. While most assume that Penn State transfer Zack Ryder will be the guy at 184 lbs, I wouldn’t write off Brayden Thompson yet. 
 

Iowa

157 lbs - Jordan Williams/Victor Voinovich/Miguel Estrada

174 lbs - Patrick Kennedy/Gabe Arnold

It looks like we’ll have another round of competition between Patrick Kennedy and Gabe Arnold. I imagine that the loser of this battle might go up and challenge Angelo Ferrari for the spot at 184 lbs. The Hawkeyes also have plenty of options at 157 lbs. Bloodround finisher Jordan Williams transferred in from Little Rock and appears ready to move up from 149 lbs. Former national qualifier Victor Voinovich is also available, as is promising Miguel Estrada, who also has a redshirt available. 
 

Minnesota

285 lbs - Bennett Tabor/Koy Hopke

This is one I’m keeping a close eye on because we aren’t sure what to expect from Koy Hopke. He was a huge recruit after winning a U17 world title, but didn’t compete at all for Minnesota in 2024-25. Hopke did wrestle at the U20 Open and looked pretty solid. Bennett Tabor is a past national qualifier who has had to sit behind Gable Steveson. 

Ohio State

125 lbs - Brendan McCrone/Vinny Kilkeary

133 lbs - Ben Davino/Nic Bouzakis

First things first, McCrone/Kilkeary is a battle we’ve noted for the past two years. McCrone has held off Kilkeary and qualified for two national tournaments. Something else to note is that there have been rumors all offseason of Nic Bouzakis coming down to challenge at 125 lbs. Why would Bouzakis consider dropping down? Because, redshirt freshman Ben Davino is the real deal and coming off an impressive 19-1 redshirt season. 
 

Iowa State

149 lbs - Paniro Johnson/Jacob Frost

A slew of offseason transfers have suddenly given the Cyclones lots of possibilities up-and-down the lineup. The most significant battle may come at 149 lbs between Paniro Johnson and Jacob Frost. Frost was an All-American in 2025 at 141 lbs. Johnson has been an All-American threat his entire career, but has yet to actually make the podium. 
 

Stanford

149 lbs - EJ Parco/Aden Valencia

Last week, Stanford’s redshirt freshman Aden Valencia confirmed that he’s moving up to 149 lbs for the 2025-26 season. Valencia has been excellent on the freestyle scene and most assume that will carry over to folkstyle. Before Valencia’s move, fellow redshirt freshman EJ Paro was presumed to be the starter. Parco had a very solid 2024-25 campaign and came in at #19 in our preseason rankings. 
 

Pittsburgh

149 lbs - Kade Brown/Finn Solomon

Stanford isn’t the only school in the ACC with options at 149 lbs. Pitt has 2024 NCAA qualifier Finn Solomon returning, along with Kade Brown coming off redshirt. Brown was impressive, going 10-3, and saw some action in important duals. 
 

Army West Point

285 lbs - Brady Colbert/Lucas Stoddard

In each of the last two seasons, Army West Point has produced a national qualifier at heavyweight and both were freshmen. I assume we’ll have these discussions for the next couple of years. Lucas Stoddard has also had great success on the freestyle front, winning gold at the U23 Pan-Am’s and wrestling for a medal at the U23 World Championships. Brady Colbert came in last season and took the spot and ended up upsetting #11 Jimmy Mullen (Virginia Tech) in the first round at NCAA’s. 

Mike Moyer, the Executive Director of NWCA joins the show this week to talk about some new initiatives and we discuss the upcoming RAF 02 card along with the wrestle offs that took place last week and some that are coming up this week. 

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

1:45 - Weigh in

10:23 - RAF 02 

37:31 - Last week’s wrestle-offs

49:48 - Mike Moyer interview

1:18:24 - Recap

We’re only a few weeks away from the beginning of the 2025-26 collegiate season. Even so, there are still some coaching hires that have been announced within the last couple of weeks. As of Friday morning, here are the new DI coaches in place for the upcoming season. 

Coaching Changes

Appalachian State: Hunter Shaut (Assistant Coach)

Army West Point: Alan Clothier (Assistant Coach)

Army West Point: Troy Nickerson (Head Coach)

Bellarmine: Brayton Lee (Assistant Coach)

Binghamton: Brevin Cassella (Assistant Coach)

Binghamton: Ryan LeBlanc (Head Coach)

Brown: Tyler Grayson (Assistant Coach)

Campbell: TJ Dudley (Head Coach)

Campbell: Fabian Gutierrez (Assistant Coach)

Central Michigan: Colton Camacho (Volunteer Assistant)

Gardner-Webb: Vincent Scollo (Graduate Assistant)

Illinois: Eric Schultz (Assistant Coach)

Kent State: Fred Garcia (Assistant Coach)

Kent State: Josh Moore (Head Coach)

Kent State: Devin Schroder (Assistant Coach)

Lock Haven: Gavin Hoffman (Assistant Coach)

Lock Haven: Brock Mauller (Assistant Coach)

Long Island: Jay Nivison (Assistant Coach)

Maryland: Cole Matthews (Assistant Coach)

Mercyhurst: Jimmy Overhiser (Head Coach)

Missouri: Keegan O’Toole (Assistant Coach)

NC State: Malik McDonald (Assistant Coach)

North Dakota State: Willie Miklus (Assistant Coach)

Northern Colorado: Charles Jones Jr. (Assistant Coach)

Northern Colorado: Teyon Ware (Head Coach)

Northern Iowa: Ian Parker (Assistant Coach)

Oklahoma State: Kevin Ward (Assistant Coach)

Oregon State: Trey Munoz (Graduate Assistant)

Penn: Matt Valenti (Head Coach)

Penn: Lennox Wolak (Assistant Coach)

Princeton: Ryan Wolfe (Assistant Coach)

Purdue: Matt Ramos (Assistant Coach)

The Citadel: Luke Welch (Interim Head Coach)

The Citadel: Dazjon Casto (Assistant Coach)

Virginia: Michael Battista (Assistant Coach)

VMI: Joe Salinetro (Volunteer Assistant)

This week we discuss LVWC and schools making investments into RTC’s, we debate whether or not the NCAA weight classes need to change and how, should we ditch the singlet and go with the 2-piece uniforms and the matchups/field headed to Collegiate Duals this year.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

2:13 - Weigh in

12:23 - LVWC + schools making RTC investments

39:20 - Should we ditch the singlet for the 2-piece uniform?

57:50 - Collegiate Duals

1:14:16 - Do college weight classes need to change?

Having true freshmen start in the first year of a DI wrestling career isn’t a new phenomenon. However, true freshmen have never been as equipped to compete and win right out of the gate as they are in this era.

A fact I love to break out is that from 1981-2002, there was only one true freshman who won a DI title (Pat Smith - 1990). Two more occurred in 2003 and 2006. Since 2010, we’ve had six (Dake, Cox, Hall, Diakomihalis, Lee, Ferrari). There were also true freshmen who finished up as NCAA runners-up since 2010.

Another point of data to consider about true freshmen, particularly in 2025, is that there were two wrestlers who made the Senior World team in freestyle before ever setting foot on campus as a college freshman. The point being, not only do these freshmen have the potential to win national titles, but they could do so right away.

Here are the highest-ranked true freshmen that we expect to start for the 2025-26 season. Any by start, we mean wrestle for the majority of the season and into the postseason. The new-ish freshman redshirt rules allow coaches to get true freshmen a taste of duals or top tournaments and still retain redshirt status. We’re not looking for those wrestlers today, just the ones that are most likely to wrestle in Cleveland in 2026.

#1 PJ Duke (Penn State)

#2 Marcus Blaze (Penn State)

We’ll lump both of the Penn State studs together. Penn State is typically very tight-lipped about lineup-related decisions and this year is no exception. Penn State has options at both weights, in which PJ Duke and Marcus Blaze are slotted at in 2025-26 (133/Blaze and 157/Duke). If Blaze doesn’t go, it would be Japanese star Masanosuke Ono. With a Senior world title under Ono’s belt already, he’s legit, but is he ready for folkstyle in the Big Ten? The U20 world champion, Blaze, might be better equipped to wrestle right out of the chute in year one.

Duke has two-time NCAA third-place finisher Tyler Kasak ahead of him at 157 lbs. Could he beat Kasak in year one? Duke has passed every test thus far (Senior World Team Trials, U20 World Championship, and a Senior World appearance). Kasak already has moved up from 141-149 in the middle of year one. He went from 149 to 157 in between his first and second years in State College. Could he be ready to move up again? Or perhaps, this is the only time we’ll see Duke at 157 lbs?

Obviously, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered between now and November, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think that both Duke and Blaze could be in the lineup for Penn State immediately.

#3 Ladarion Lockett (Oklahoma State)

This is one that we’re pretty sure is happening - Ladarion Lockett in year one for the Cowboys. Lockett is a hometown kid and has been around the OSU program for years. He knows what to expect and is prepared. Lockett also has the goods and the resume, to boot. He is a U17 world champion and U20 world silver medalist. Lockett has two Super 32 belts and two Ironman titles.

He slots in perfectly for Oklahoma State at 165 lbs. This is a weight class that featured both returning national finalists from 2025, but aside from them, it isn’t the deepest bracket. That means Lockett could make an immediate impact. Should Oklahoma State and Iowa both advance to the semis of the National Duals Invitational, we could see a matchup between Lockett and national finalist Michael Caliendo in the first couple of weeks of the season.

#11 Seth Mendoza (Missouri)

With three-time national qualifier Josh Edmond ready to move up to the 149 lb weight class, it looks like there’s an opening at 141 lbs for Mizzou. True freshman Seth Mendoza is expected to step in and handle duties at 141 lbs right away. Mendoza has placed highly at virtually every big-time event on the high school wrestling calendar. He participated in two Who’s #1 events. His senior year included a finals appearance in Junior freestyle in Fargo, along with the Super 32 and Ironman. Mendoza was also in the UWW U17 finals twice in his career.

Mendoza was the centerpiece of a Tigers Class of 2025 that was ranked fifth in the nation by InterMat. Missouri was in the top ten at the NCAA Tournament every year between 2015-23. They missed out on the mark the last two years. He and redshirt freshman Aeoden Sinclair will likely lead a new generation of Mizzou stars in 2025-26.

141 lbs figures to be a tough weight class with starpower and depth. I could see Mendoza taking some lumps early, but figuring things out and making an impact in the postseason.

#29 Emmitt Sherlock (Virginia)

Emmitt Sherlock is one of the highest-ranked recruits to sign with the University of Virginia over the last decade. He rose up the recruiting rankings after winning the UWW U17 Trials in both styles in 2024. Sherlock competed in both styles at the U17 World Championships and ended competing in a bronze medal match in freestyle.

Though he went up in weight and wrestled at 190 lbs in the 2025 National Prep finals, 174 lbs is Sherlock’s collegiate weight - at least for now. In the offseason, Virginia picked up NCAA qualifier Dom Baker, who has wrestled at 165 lbs, but intends on moving up and redshirting. They also have a couple of other veterans in the mix for the spot (Michael Murphy/Mason Stefanelli); however, there’s a chance that Sherlock stands out and earns a starting role.

174 lbs will be a hard weight to break through in the ACC in 2025-26. Even with an All-American, Matty Singleton (NC State), the members of the weight class took turns beating up on each other. The bulk of them return and five are ranked in the top 20. I’m sure the UVA staff will have plenty of early opportunities to test Sherlock’s readiness before ACC dual season rolls around.

#42 Caedyn Ricciardi (Navy)

Sometimes we’ll see Navy recruits go to the Prep School before enrolling at the Academy, but Caedyn Ricciardi is going straight to Annapolis. Ricciardi was a four-time New Jersey state medalist, three-time finalist, and two-time champion. He also made the finals of the Beast on three occasions and won as a senior.

Ricciardi will fit in well for Navy at 141 lbs, as they’re looking to replace All-American and two-time EIWA champion Josh Koderhandt. There isn’t another 141 lber who immediately jumps out ahead of Ricciardi, at this point.

Ricciardi already has a little bit of experience on the collegiate level. Last year, he entered and won the East Stroudsburg Open. Two of his three wins came via major decision against opponents from the EIWA.

We mentioned above that the 141 lb class will be hard to break through during this upcoming season. The EIWA will have four returning national qualifiers expected at this weight, led by All-American and U20 world champion Luke Stanich (Lehigh).

#58 Gauge Botero (Michigan)

When lineups were submitted for the National Duals Invitational, one of the interesting tidbits of information we noticed was that All-American Dylan Ragusin was slated to move up from 133 to 141 lbs. That leaves a big opening at 133 lbs. That’s where Gauge Botero could come in for the Wolverines.

Botero was a five-time Fargo All-American, capped off by a Junior freestyle title at 120 lbs in 2024. He also placed highly at most of the notable national-level tournaments and competed for one of the top teams in the nation - Faith Christian in Pennsylvania. Botero finished in Pennsylvania with a state title and two finals appearances, among his four times on the podium.

Michigan’s other options at 133 lbs are Wilfred Tanefeu and Teddy Flores. The Wolverine staff might implore a similar strategy they used last season when they gave Brock Mantanona a lot of mat time early, but ultimately kept him in redshirt. We’ll see, maybe Botero forces their hand.

The verdict is still out on the following wrestlers. They have the potential to come in and win matches in year one, but they might have a veteran blocking their way (or not!).

#6 Sergio Vega (Oklahoma State), #15 Aaron Seidel (Virginia Tech), #35 Carson Thomas (Indiana), #38 Lane Foard (Wyoming)

One of the idiosyncrasies of college athletics is that student-athletes typically have only four years of collegiate competition before either pursuing their sport professionally or moving on to other ventures. Of course, COVID and extra eligibility have thrown that traditional four-year mark for a loop these past few years. As we move farther away from the extra eligibility and more towards normalcy, more college athletes will graduate and move on.

This applies to wrestling like any other sport. Today, we’ll look back at some of the collegiate stars who have graduated and moved on after the 2025 tournament. As it applies to the upcoming season, we’ll look at the wrestlers slated to replace those greats. Replace may not be the best word, because in many instances, it will be extremely difficult to replicate the production and leadership that these great wrestlers provided at their respective institutions. That being said, someone had to try!

The wrestler that comes after the great one can come from a couple of different places. Sometimes coaches use the transfer portal. Other times, a stud freshman is waiting in the wings. Maybe it’s a teammate moving up or down in the lineup. And finally, it could be a previously unheralded wrestler who is eager to finally get a shot. Whatever the case, we’re discussing them today!

Below, we’re going weight-by-weight and have singled out some of the notable seniors and have information on the wrestler (or wrestlers) that will replace them in the lineup:

Matt Ramos: Purdue (125)

The replacement(s): Ashton Jackson and/or Isaiah Quintero

It’ll take a lot to replace Purdue’s first national finalist in 17 years, but Ashton Jackson and Isaiah Quintero will get the task. Jackson racked up a 21-8 record in 2024-25, but did so largely on open tournaments. He only saw action in one dual meet. Quintero went 9-6 and got a shot in one dual meet during his redshirt season. Quintero probably posted the best win of the two, beating Missouri’s probable starter Mack Mauger early in the year.

Caleb Smith: Nebraska (125)

The replacement: Kael Lauridsen

The returning NCAA second-place team should be right in the trophy hunt again with a loaded lineup that features six returning All-Americans. One of those wrestlers looking to break through and establish himself as a potential podium threat is redshirt freshman Kael Lauridsen. Lauridsen went 6-4 last season and earned a win over NCAA qualifier Antonio Lorenzo of Oklahoma.

Connor McGonagle: Virginia Tech (133)

The replacement(s): Dillon Campbell and/or Aaron Seidel

In our preseason rankings, Dillon Campbell made his debut at #28. He was solid last season, while redshirting, and beat the opponents you’d hope he’d beat and hung tough with the veteran competition. Campbell got the call in three duals and pushed national qualifier Ethan Oakley (North Carolina) to sudden victory in one of those contests. Look for true freshman Aaron Seidel to see some action early in the season and then the Virginia Tech staff will gauge if he’s ready. Seidel was a three-time Pennsylvania state champion and two-time Junior National freestyle finalist (1x champion).

Beau Bartlett: Penn State (141)

The replacement(s): Braeden Davis and/or Aaron Nagao

We’ll have to see how this one plays out, but it’s likely that Penn State will have an All-American starting at 141 lbs, either way. Braeden Davis has wrestled 125 and 133 lbs his first two years in State College and appears to be moving up again. Nagao was a Big Ten finalist and a fifth-place finisher for Minnesota in 2022-23. He took some lumps and made the bloodround for Penn State in 2023-24, and then was injured and didn’t compete last season.

Andrew Alirez: Northern Colorado (141)

The replacement(s): KJ Evans and/or Ramon Salazar

Northern Colorado’s national champion, Andrew Alirez, has moved on, so he’ll have big shoes to fill. One of those looking to replace him is KJ Evans. Evans was a highly sought-after recruit for first-year head coach Teyon Ware while he was at Oklahoma. Last year, Evans went 12-4, competing primarily in open competition. He competed at both 149 and 157 lbs last season. We’ll see if the move down in weight is an issue. Another option for Ware is Ramon Salazar, a transfer from Oklahoma State. Salazar went 6-9 last season at 149 lbs.

Ridge Lovett: Nebraska (149)

The replacement: Chance Lamer

Nebraska had to go to the transfer portal to find a replacement for 2025 NCAA champion Ridge Lovett. That ended up being Chance Lamer, a two-time NCAA Round of 12 finisher for Cal Poly and Michigan. With his time at Michigan, moving to the Big Ten shouldn’t be as big a deal and a culture shock, as it is for others from a smaller conference.

Dylan D’Emilio: Ohio State (149)

The replacement: Ethan Stiles

For the most part, Ohio State used the transfer portal less than most of the power programs. They jumped in this offseason and picked up a replacement for two-time All-American Dylan D’Emilio. That wrestler is Ethan Stiles, who fell to D’Emilio in the NCAA quarterfinals. Stiles rebounded and found a place on the podium for Oregon State. He’ll have three years of eligibility going forward, so it’s a great pickup for Tom Ryan and company.

Peyton Hall: West Virginia (165)

The replacement: Shawn Taylor and/or Sasha Gavronsky

It looks like WVU will give both redshirt freshman Shawn Taylor and sophomore Sasha Gavronsky a shot at locking down the starting role at 165 lbs. Taylor was the #54 overall recruit in the high school Class of 2024. He went 13-5 in open tournaments and the five losses came against the five best wrestlers he faced. Gavronsky spent a lot of time in the West Virginia dual lineup at 157 lbs last season. He had four dual wins for the Mountaineers and went 2-2 at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

Terrell Barraclough: Utah Valley (165)

The replacement: Ryker Fuller and more?

Terrell Barraclough came in and made the NCAA podium for Adam Hall’s new coaching staff in year one. Moving up from 165 lbs in an attempt to replace Barraclough is Ryker Fullmer. Fullmer went 10-15 last year and was UVU’s entry at the Big 12 Championships. Utah Valley also might turn to one of two true freshmen, Keegan Goeas or Zyon Trujillo.

Dean Hamiti: Oklahoma State (174)

The replacement: Alex Facundo

The Cowboys have the potential for a very high-caliber replacement for 2025 NCAA champion Dean Hamiti. Their most likely starter at the weight is Penn State transfer Alex Facundo. The loaded Nittany Lion lineup squeezed the two-time Cadet world medalist Facundo out of a spot. A change of scenery, combined with help from David Taylor, could help Facundo develop into a high AA threat.

Keegan O’Toole: Missouri (174)

The replacement: Cam Steed

The Tigers don’t have to look far to find a replacement for their two-time national champion Keegan O’Toole. Cam Steed was a smart pickup as a recruit outside of the top 100. In his first year as a full-time starter, Steed racked up a 19-7 record, made the Big 12 finals, and finished seventh in the nation. While racking up the kind of number that O’Toole did might be hard to duplicate, Mizzou knows they have a proven replacement in Steed.

Cade DeVos: South Dakota State (174)

The replacement: Moses Espinoza-Owens

Two-time All-American Cade DeVos started his career at 157 lbs and eventually jumped up to 174, without spending time at 165. His replacement, Moses Espinoza-Owens, could make the same jump in 2025-26. Espinoza-Owens went 14-13 last season at 157 lbs and saw plenty of action in duals. In one of those dual appearances, Espinoza-Owens posted a win over former MAC champion and NCAA Round of 12 finisher Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan).

Carter Starocci: Penn State (184)

The replacement: Rocco Welsh

The wrestler who will take over for five-time NCAA champion Carter Starocci is the same one that Starocci defeated for his fourth title - Rocco Welsh. After making the national finals in 2024, as a true freshman, Welsh redshirted and moved up to 184 lbs for Ohio State. Welsh had a perfect redshirt season with three different tournament titles. In the offseason, he made the surprising move to Penn State.

Parker Keckeisen: Northern Iowa (184)

The replacement: CJ Walrath

The tall task of replacing an NCAA champion and five-time All-American belongs to sophomore CJ Walrath. Because of Keckeisen’s durability, Walrath has yet to see action in a dual meet. He did win the BVU Open last season and majored the eventual SoCon champion, Devan Hendricks (Bellarmine), at the Soldier Salute. Walrath starts the preseason ranked #31 in the nation.

Dustin Plott: Oklahoma State (184)

The replacement: Zack Ryder

Shortly after Rocco Welsh moved to Penn State, Zack Ryder entered the transfer portal and reunited with David Taylor in Stillwater. Just two years ago, the three-time age group world medalist, Ryder, was deemed one of the top four recruits in the nation. He’ll have four years of eligibility remaining for the Cowboys. Ryder was perfect during his redshirt season, winning the Black Knight Invite and the Southern Scuffle.

Chris Foca: Cornell (184)

The replacement: Christian Hansen

Initially, it looked like 2025 NCAA qualifier Mikey Dellagatta would be the guy here for Cornell; however, he’s been lost for the year due to an injury. In steps veteran Christian Hansen. Through his first three years with Cornell, Hansen has amassed a 25-14 record, though he’s only participated in two duals (and won one of them, against Ohio State). Hansen also won his pool at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic last season.

Stephen Buchanan: Iowa (197)

The replacement: Massoma Endene

Iowa got creative in its attempt to replace 2025 NCAA champion Stephen Buchanan. They found another national champion. Three-time DIII champion Massoma Endene of Wartburg. Endene was expected to transfer to Wisconsin last season, but returned to Wartburg and won his third title. I’d expect a small adjustment period for Endene with the level of competition, but he should adjust and do well for the Hawkeyes.

Jacob Cardenas: Michigan (197)

The replacement: Hayden Walters

The Wolverines had a Big Ten champion and All-American at 197 lbs in Jacob Cardenas. He’ll give way to Hayden Walters, a former #51 overall recruit for Michigan. Walters did not compete at all during his first year in Ann Arbor and then went 13-5 last year as a redshirt freshman. During Walters’ run through the Bobby Kauffman Open, he notched a win over the eventual MAC champion, Brock Zurawski (Rider).

Wyatt Hendrickson: Oklahoma State (285)

The replacement: Konner Doucet

Oklahoma State already has a proven replacement for national champion Wyatt Hendrickson in-house. Two-time national qualifier, Konner Doucet, still has a year of eligibility remaining. In 2024, Doucet won a pair of bouts at the NCAA Tournament. Last year, he went 5-0 and got a dual win filling in for Hendrickson against the Air Force Academy.

Gable Steveson: Minnesota (285)

The replacement(s): Bennett Tabor and/or Koy Hopke

We’re pretty sure Gable Steveson is out of eligibility. For real, this time! With Steveson out of the equation, the logical pick is former national qualifier Bennett Tabor. He starts the preseason ranked #25 in the country. The X factor is Koy Hopke, the #9 overall recruit in the Class of 2024. Hopke was a U17 world champion and a champion at each age group in Fargo. He didn’t compete at all in the 2024-25 regular season, so we don’t have much info to rely on. He did wrestle at the Open and took third at 125 kg in the U20 division, so he could be a threat to Tabor.

Cohlton Schultz: Arizona State (285)

The replacement: David Szuba

Arizona State had to turn to the portal to get instant help at heavyweight. In steps 2024 MAC champion David Szuba. Szuba redshirted in 2024-25 and went 12-1 for Rider, winning a pair of open tournaments along the way. He also managed to put points on the board, tallying bonus points in nearly 70% of his appearances. One of Szuba’s potential replacements is his younger brother, Ben, a freshman for the Sun Devils.

Greg Kerkvliet: Penn State (285)

The replacement: Cole Mirasola

Another mainstay near the top of the heavyweight weight class for the last five years has been national champion Greg Kerkvliet. Penn State already had his successor in-house, as they’ll turn to Cole Mirasola. Mirasola has made the last two U20 world team and earned a bronze medal in 2025. In 2024-25, Mirasola won the Black Knight Invite and the Southern Scuffle, downing three NCAA qualifiers along the way. He also made two dual appearances, but lost both to All-American contenders Nick Feldman (Ohio State) and Luke Luffman (Illinois).

With the 2025-26 season rapidly approaching and all sorts of preview articles in the works, it seemed like something that might be easy to overlook is simply the NCAA qualifier who are returning. So that's what we've done below. Any wrestler that has qualified for the DI national tournament at any point of their careers. I have tried to put them in the weights we expect them to compete in 2025-26. If there are more than one per weight at a school, both are listed together. Also, wrestlers that we're already aware will not compete due to injury issues, have not been included. 

125 lbs

Tucker Owens (Air Force)

Charlie Farmer (Army West Point)

Koda Holeman (Cal Poly)

Cooper Flynn (Chattanooga)

Marcello Milani (Cornell)

Richard Castro-Sandoval (CSU Bakersfield)

Spencer Moore (Illinois)

Jacob Moran (Indiana)

Joey Cruz/Dean Peterson (Iowa)

Stevo Poulin (Iowa State)

Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh)

Diego Sotelo (Michigan)

Caleb Weiand (Michigan State)

Jore Volk (Minnesota)

Vince Robinson (NC State)

Kysen Terukina (North Carolina)

Blake West (Northern Illinois)

Trever Anderson (Northern Iowa)

Brendan McCrone (Ohio State)

Maximo Renteria (Oregon State)

Luke Lilledahl (Penn State)

Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton)

Gylon Sims (The Citadel)

Keyveon Roller (Virginia)

Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech)

Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State)

Nico Provo (Stanford)

Jett Strickenberger (West Virginia)

Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin)

133 lbs

Max Leete (American)

Ethan Berginc (Army West Point)

Michael Joyce (Brown)

Tyler Ferrara/Brett Ungar (Cornell)

TK Davis (Gardner-Webb)

Lucas Byrd (Illinois)

Drake Ayala (Iowa)

Evan Frost (Iowa State)

Ryan Crookham (Lehigh)

Gable Strickland (Lock Haven)

Braxton Brown (Maryland)

Chris Cannon (Minnesota)

Kade Moore (Missouri)

Brendan Ferretti (Navy)

Zach Redding (NC State)

Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska)

Ethan Oakley (North Carolina)

Tristan Daugherty (North Dakota State)

Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado)

Julian Farber (Northern Iowa)

Sean Spidle (Northwestern)

Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State)

Tyler Wells (Oklahoma)

Richie Figueroa (Oklahoma State)

Blake Boarman (Purdue)

Dylan Shawver (Rutgers)

Derrick Cardinal (South Dakota State)

Tyler Knox (Stanford)

Marlon Yarbrough (Virginia)

Dyson Dunham (VMI)

Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin)

141 lbs

Jack Maida (American)

Braden Basile (Army West Point)

AJ Rallo (Bellarmine)

Dylan Chappell (Bucknell)

Zeth Romney (Cal Poly)

Lorenzo Frezza (Columbia)

Vince Cornella (Cornell)

Jordan Soriano (Drexel)

Ryan Sullivan (George Mason)

Danny Pucino (Illinois)

Nasir Bailey (Iowa)

Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State)

Luke Stanich (Lehigh)

Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven)

Dylan Ragusin/Sergio Lemley (Michigan)

Vance Vombaur (Minnesota)

Ryan Jack (NC State)

Brock Hardy (Nebraska)

Jayden Scott (North Carolina)

Frankie Tal-Shahar (Northwestern)

Jesse Mendez (Ohio State)

Tagen Jamison/Carter Young (Oklahoma State)

Nash Singleton (Oregon State)

CJ Composto (Penn)

Braeden Davis/Aaron Nagao (Penn State)

Briar Priest (Pittsburgh)

Eligh Rivera (Princeton)

Greyson Clark (Purdue)

Eli Griffin (Rider)

Joey Olivieri (Rutgers)

Julian Tagg (South Dakota State)

Haiden Drury (Utah Valley)

Tom Crook (Virginia Tech)

Jordan Titus (West Virginia)

149 lbs

Trae McDaniel (Army West Point)

Nathan Higley (Bellarmine)

Jesse Vasquez (California Baptist)

Richard Fedalen (Columbia)

Ethan Fernandez (Cornell)

Kaden Cassidy (George Mason)

Jack Crook (Harvard)

Jacob Frost/Paniro Johnson (Iowa State)

Kelvin Griffin (Lehigh)

DaShawn Farber (Lock Haven)

Kal Miller (Maryland)

Lachlan McNeil (Michigan)

Drew Roberts (Minnesota)

Josh Edmond (Missouri)

Koy Buesgens (NC State)

Chance Lamer (Nebraska)

Caleb Rathjen (Northern Iowa)

Sam Cartella (Northwestern)

Ethan Stiles (Ohio State)

Jack Gioffre (Oklahoma)

Casey Swiderski (Oklahoma State)

Cross Wasilewski (Penn)

Shayne Van Ness (Penn State)

Finn Solomon (Pittsburgh)

Andy Clark (Rutgers)

Caleb Tyus (SIU Edwardsville)

Alek Martin (South Dakota State)

Carson DesRosier (The Citadel)

Wynton Denkins (Virginia)

Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech)

Willie McDougald (West Virginia)

Joe Zargo (Wisconsin)

Gabe Willochell (Wyoming)

157 lbs

Mason Shrader (Central Michigan)

Cody Chittum (Chattanooga)

Kai Owen (Columbia)

Meyer Shapiro (Cornell)

Luke Nichter (Drexel)

DJ McGee (George Mason)

Jimmy Harrington (Harvard)

Kannon Webster (Illinois)

Victor Voinovich/Jordan Williams (Iowa)

Vinny Zerban (Iowa State)

Logan Rozynski (Lehigh)

Nick Stampoulos (Lock Haven)

J Conway (Missouri)

Jackson Arrington (NC State)

Antrell Taylor (Nebraska)

Gavin Drexler (North Dakota State)

Landen Johnson (Northern Illinois)

Brandon Cannon (Ohio State)

Rafael Hipolito (Oklahoma)

Teague Travis (Oklahoma State)

CJ Hamblin (Oregon State)

Jude Swisher (Penn)

Tyler Kasak (Penn State)

Dylan Evans (Pittsburgh)

Ty Whalen (Princeton)

Stoney Buell (Purdue)

Cael Swensen (South Dakota State)

Daniel Cardenas/Grigor Cholakyan (Stanford)

Colton Washleski (Virginia)

Ethen Miller (Virginia Tech)

Ty Watters (West Virginia)

Jared Hill (Wyoming)

165 lbs

Nicco Ruiz (Arizona State)

Gunner Filipowicz (Army West Point)

Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell)

Chander Amaker (Central Michigan)

Cesar Alvan (Columbia)

Ryan Burgos (Edinboro)

Evan Maag (George Mason)

Braeden Scoles (Illinois)

Tyler Lillard (Indiana)

Michael Caliendo (Iowa)

Aiden Riggins (Iowa State)

Max Brignola (Lehigh)

Matt Bianchi (Little Rock)

Dylan Gilcher (Michigan)

Blaine Brenner/Andrew Sparks (Minnesota)

Maxx Mayfield (Missouri)

Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa)

Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State)

Peyten Kellar (Oklahoma)

Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State)

Jared Keslar (Pittsburgh)

Joey Blaze (Purdue)

Tony White (Rutgers)

Drake Rhodes (South Dakota State)

Hunter Garvin (Stanford)

Thomas Snipes (The Citadel)

Nick Hamilton (Virginia)

Mac Church (Virginia Tech)

Cody Goebel (Wisconsin)

174 lbs

Cael Valencia (Arizona State)

Myles Takats (Bucknell)

Nick Fine (Columbia)

Simon Ruiz (Cornell)

Jasiah Queen (Drexel)

Derek Gilcher (Indiana)

Patrick Kennedy (Iowa)

MJ Gaitan (Iowa State)

Avery Bassett (Lock Haven)

Branson John/Dom Solis (Maryland)

Beau Mantanona (Michigan)

Connor O’Neill (Michigan State)

Clayton Whiting (Minnesota)

Cam Steed (Missouri)

Danny Wask (Navy)

Matthew Singleton (NC State)

Christopher Minto (Nebraska)

Josh Ogunsanya (North Carolina)

Jared Simma (Northern Iowa)

Garrett Thompson (Ohio)

Carson Kharchla (Ohio State)

Alex Facundo (Oklahoma State)

Matthew Olguin (Oregon State)

Levi Haines (Penn State)

Luca Augustine (Pittsburgh)

Brody Baumann (Purdue)

Enrique Munguia (Rider)

Lenny Pinto (Rutgers)

Lorenzo Norman (Stanford)

Dom Baker (Virginia)

Sergio DeSiante (Virginia Tech)

Brody Conley (West Virginia)

184 lbs

Tomas Brooker (Appalachian State)

Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia)

Jared McGill (Edinboro)

James Conway (Franklin & Marshall)

Malachi DuVall (George Mason)

Chris Moore (Illinois)

Gabe Arnold (Iowa)

Isaac Dean (Iowa State)

Anthony D’Alesio (Long Island)

Jaxon Smith (Maryland)

Max McEnelly (Minnesota)

Silas Allred (Nebraska)

Aidan Brenot (North Dakota State)

Dylan Fishback/Ryder Rogotzke (Ohio State)

Brian Soldano (Oklahoma)

Brayden Thompson (Oklahoma State)

TJ McDonnell (Oregon State)

Rocco Welsh (Penn State)

Kole Mulhauser (Princeton)

Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers)

Jaden Bullock (Virginia Tech)

Eddie Neitenbach (Wyoming)

197 lbs

Colton Hawks (Arizona State)

Wolfgang Frable (Army West Point)

Dean Bechtold (Bucknell)

Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia)

Dylan Connell (Illinois)

Gabe Sollars (Indiana)

Rocky Elam/Carson Floyd (Iowa State)

Stephen Little (Little Rock)

Tucker Hogan (Lock Haven)

Evan Bates (Missouri)

Payton Thomas (Navy)

Patrick Brophy (NC State)

Camden McDanel (Nebraska)

Zayne Lehman (Ohio)

Luke Geog/Seth Shumate (Ohio State)

DJ Parker (Oklahoma)

Justin Rademacher (Oregon State)

Josh Barr (Penn State)

Mac Stout (Pittsburgh)

Brock Zurawski (Rider)

Remy Cotton (Rutgers)

Bennett Berge (South Dakota State)

Ian Bush (West Virginia)

Joey Novak (Wyoming)

285 lbs

Stephan Monchery (Appalachian State)

David Szuba (Arizona State)

Brady Colbert/Lucas Stoddard (Army West Point)

Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly)

Ashton Davis (Cornell)

Connor Barket (Duke)

Luke Luffman (Illinois)

Ben Kueter (Iowa)

Yonger Bastida/Daniel Herrera (Iowa State)

Nathan Taylor (Lehigh)

Josiah Hill (Little Rock)

Taye Ghadiali (Michigan)

Max Vanadia (Michigan State)

Bennett Tabor (Minnesota)

Isaac Trumble (NC State)

AJ Ferrari (Nebraska)

Nolan Neves (North Carolina)

Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa)

Nick Feldman (Ohio State)

Bradley Hill (Oklahoma)

Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State)

Dayton Pitzer (Pittsburgh)

Hayden Filipovich (Purdue)

Hunter Catka (Rutgers)

Luke Rasmussen (South Dakota State)

Jimmy Mullen (Virginia Tech)

Braxton Amos (Wisconsin)

Last night, the brackets were set for the 2025 National Duals Invitational. The tournament will be held November 15th-16th in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and serves as a marquee event during the first month of the collegiate season. A total of $1 million worth of prize money will be distributed to the participating teams.

Since the brackets have been set, it’s an appropriate time to look at some of the potential individual bouts we could see during the first-round matchups.

These are just a few of the matches that jumped out to me at first glance. As the event gets closer, we’ll break down the tournament in more detail.

Iowa vs. Missouri

174 lbs: #2 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) vs. #7 Cam Steed (Missouri)

184 lbs: #3 Angelo Ferrari (Iowa) vs. #9 Aeoden Sinclair (Missouri)

197 lbs: #13 Evan Bates (Missouri) vs. #16 Massoma Endene (Iowa)

This dual has a handful of great potential matchups. Angelo Ferrari versus Aeoden Sinclair is one of my favorites for the entire first round. I’m sure we’ll talk about all the young talent this year at 184 lbs. These are two of the best freshmen at the weight. The 174 lb contest will feature a battle between two All-Americans, Patrick Kennedy and Cam Steed. Steed moves up after AA’ing at 165 lbs. This might help figure out where he fits in the pecking order at 174. The same can be said for 197 lbs. Iowa only had one dual at the National Dual Invitational. This will be the first substantial test for Massoma Endene against DI competition.

Illinois vs. Little Rock

165 lbs: #5 Matt Bianchi (Little Rock) vs. #8 Braeden Scoles (Illinois)

The stars don’t align quite as well between these two teams; however, the 165 lb contest is excellent and should be the main event in this dual. Matt Bianchi got on the NCAA podium last year at 157 lbs. Braeden Scoles was a Round of 12 finisher as a freshman in 2025. These two are both from Wisconsin and I was able to go back to 2019 and find a freestyle state final where Bianchi beat Scoles by a point in the finals.

NC State vs. Northern Iowa

149 lbs: #14 Caleb Rathjen (Northern Iowa) vs. #15 Koy Buesgens (NC State)

174 lbs: #4 Matthew Singleton (NC State) vs. #10 Jared Simma (Northern Iowa)

285 lbs: #3 Isaac Trumble (NC State) vs. #11 Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa)

We saw these two teams clash at the Collegiate Duals in 2022 and it was a memorable dual. In the marquee match, Parker Keckeisen cradled and pinned Trent Hidlay. This dual will feature a rematch of the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, where Matthew Singleton got by Jared Simma, 4-2. Singleton ended up on the podium and Simma went 1-2. The heavyweight match features a pair of athletic former 197 lbers, who have grown into heavyweights. This could be the kind of matchup we’ll see deep in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

Cornell vs. Oklahoma State

149 lbs: #11 Jaxon Joy (Cornell) vs. Casey Swiderski (Oklahoma State)

165 lbs: #31 Lou Cerchio (Cornell) vs. Ladarion Lockett (Oklahoma State)

174 lbs: #3 Simon Ruiz (Cornell) vs. #16 Alex Facundo (Oklahoma State)

Remember, Cornell will be without a handful of projected starters for the first half of the year, so there are a couple of good matchups that won’t happen because of this. Even so, we’ve got three good ones to keep an eye on.

Jaxon Joy had a remarkable grayshirt season in 2024-25. He’ll jump into the Big Red lineup and likely be a force. Casey Swiderski wasn’t the starter we considered for the preseason rankings. He’s a former All-American and will be highly ranked once the next set is released. 165 lbs has a good matchup between a grayshirted freshman, Lou Cerchio, and a true freshman, Ladarion Lockett. After a great summer on the freestyle circuit, Simon Ruiz could be ready to take the step to title contender status. He’ll have to go through Alex Facundo, who is trying to start over at Oklahoma State and re-establish himself.

Ohio State vs. Wyoming

184 lbs: #6 Dylan Fishback (Ohio State) vs. #11 Eddie Neitenbach (Wyoming)

197 lbs: #3 Joey Novak (Wyoming) vs. #11 Seth Shumate (Ohio State)

285 lbs: #6 Nick Feldman (Ohio State) vs. #27 Christian Carroll (Wyoming)

Despite the discrepancy between the rankings for these two teams, there are a handful of matches that are intriguing as Wyoming takes on Ohio State. The 184 lb clash features two Ohio natives who should be in the hunt for All-American honors. At 197 lbs is Wyoming’s lone returning All-American, Joey Novak. He’ll square off with a Round of 12 finisher from 2025, Seth Shumate. Heavyweight could be a lot of fun with All-American Nick Feldman, who hopes to be injury-free and return to national championship contention. His opponent is Iowa State transfer Christian Carroll, who hopes to find a home at 285 lbs, after trying to make 197 for the Cyclones.

Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech

125 lbs: #4 Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) vs. #8 Jore Volk (Minnesota)

141 lbs: #8 Vance Vombaur (Minnesota) vs. #20 Tom Crook (Virginia Tech)

157 lbs: #14 Ethen Miller (Virginia Tech) vs. #18 Charlie Millard (Minnesota)

165 lbs: #10 Andrew Sparks (Minnesota) vs. #24 Mac Church (Virginia Tech)

174 lbs: #18 Sergio DeSiante (Virginia Tech) vs. #19 Clayton Whiting (Minnesota)

197 lbs: #17 Gavin Nelson (Minnesota) vs. #19 Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech)

285 lbs: #14 Jimmy Mullen (Virginia Tech) vs. #25 Bennett Tabor/Koy Hopke (Minnesota)

Wow! There are lots of intriguing matches in this one! The lone contest between returning AA’s comes at 125 lbs. Although Eddie Ventresca and Jore Volk are both veterans of the 125 lb weight class, they’ve yet to meet at the collegiate level.

Two other matches I’d like to highlight now are the 157 lb bout and heavyweight. Charlie Millard had an excellent redshirt campaign, and this early-season event could serve as his coming-out party. At heavyweight, Koy Hopke was a Cadet world champion and a highly sought-after recruit. He did not compete at all during his redshirt season. I don’t know what to expect from him, but a bout with Jimmy Mullen will go a long way in determining where he stands at this weight.

Michigan vs. Arizona State

141 lbs: #7 (133 lbs) Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) vs. #31 Pierson Manville (Arizona State)

149 lbs: #3 Lachlan McNeil (Michigan) vs. #29 Kaleb Larkin (Arizona State)

285 lbs: #4 Taye Ghadiali (Michigan) vs. #18 David Szuba (Arizona State)

The first two matches we’ve highlighted feature established stars from Michigan taking on youngsters from Arizona State with an excellent pedigree. Dylan Ragusin and Lachlan McNeil may be too much, too soon for Pierson Manville and Kaleb Larkin, but you never know! The pre-collegiate achievements for Manville and Larkin lend themselves to wrestlers who jump in and have immediate success in college.

Once again, we close out with a good match at heavyweight. David Szuba quietly had an excellent redshirt year for Rider in 2024-25, but has now transferred out west. I wouldn’t be shocked if he puts himself into the AA discussion. Facing All-American Taye Ghadiali will certainly be a strong litmus test for Szuba. Ghadiali is already an All-American and now has been training in a Michigan (CKWC) room full of talented post-grads at heavyweight.

Nebraska vs. Lehigh

133 lbs: #3 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) vs. #6 Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska)

285 lbs: #2 AJ Ferrari (Nebraska) vs. #8 Nathan Taylor (Lehigh)

It looks like we won’t get a #2 vs #3 matchup at 141 lbs as U20 world champion Luke Stanich is not expected to compete. Even so, this will be one of the most competitive duals of the first round. All-Americans clash at 133 lbs as Ryan Crookham and Jacob Van Dee meet. While Crookham looks like the presumptive favorite, Van Dee is a big match competitor.

At heavyweight, AJ Ferrari will take on 2024 Round of 12 finisher and EIWA champion Nathan Taylor. Taylor is an old-school, big-bodied heavyweight that might give Ferrari some problems as he moves up from 197 lbs.

The pairings for the upcoming National Duals Invitational were drawn this evening. Iowa was awarded the top seed, followed by Nebraska, Ohio State, and Oklahoma State. The remainder of the field was randomly drawn into the bracket. This is what the bracket will look like. We'll have more on the first-round matchups tomorrow. 

Here are the wrestlers who have earned NCAA All-American honors, at some point in their careers, and are active in 2025-26. They are sorted by expected weight class for the upcoming season. There are a few teams with multiple AA’s at the same weight class. They have been included. 

The number in parentheses at the weight, is the number of AA’s in that respective class. 

Which weight classes will be the toughest? 

125 lbs (7)

Luke Lilledahl: Penn State (3)

Stevo Poulin: Iowa State (8)

Vince Robinson: NC State (1)

Sheldon Seymour: Lehigh (6)

Troy Spratley: Oklahoma State (2)

Eddie Ventresca: Virginia Tech (5,7)

Jore Volk: Minnesota (7)
 

133 lbs (10)

Drake Ayala: Iowa (2,2)

Lucas Byrd: Illinois (1,7,7)

Chris Cannon: Minnesota (7,7)

Ryan Crookham: Lehigh (3)

Richie Figueroa: Oklahoma State (1)

Evan Frost: Iowa State (6)

Zan Fugitt: Wisconsin (4)

Tyler Knox: Stanford (8)

Dylan Shawver: Rutgers (7)

Jacob Van Dee: Nebraska (7)
 

141 lbs (12)

Nasir Bailey: Iowa (4)

CJ Composto: Penn (4,8)

Braeden Davis: Penn State (5)

Anthony Echemendia: Iowa State (5)

Brock Hardy: Nebraska (2,3,6)

Ryan Jack: NC State (7)

Jesse Mendez: Ohio State (1,1,6)

Aaron Nagao: Penn State (5)

Dylan Ragusin: Michigan (5)

Zeth Romney: Cal Poly (3)

Luke Stanich: Lehigh (5)

Vance Vombaur: Minnesota (8,8)
 

149 lbs (5)

Jacob Frost: Iowa State (7)

Caleb Henson: Virginia Tech (2,1,5)

Lachlan McNeil: Michigan (5,6,4)

Ethan Stiles: Ohio State (6)

Shayne Van Ness: Penn State (3,3)
 

157 lbs (8)

Daniel Cardenas: Stanford (4)

Gavin Drexler: North Dakota State (8)

Tyler Kasak: Penn State (3,3)

Meyer Shapiro: Cornell (5,3)

Casey Swiderski: Oklahoma State (7)

Antrell Taylor: Nebraska (1,8)

Ty Watters: West Virginia (4)

Vinny Zerban: Iowa State (6)
 

165 lbs (6)

Joey Blaze: Purdue (2)

Matt Bianchi: Little Rock (7)

Michael Caliendo: Iowa (2,4,7)

Peyten Kellar: Oklahoma (5)

Hunter Garvin: Stanford (6,6)

Mitchell Mesenbrink: Penn State (1,2)
 

174 lbs (8)

Levi Haines: Penn State (3,1,2)

Patrick Kennedy: Iowa (4)

Carson Kharchla: Ohio State (7)

Christopher Minto: Nebraska (4)

Simon Ruiz: Cornell (5)

Matthew Singleton: NC State (7)

Cam Steed: Missouri (7)

Danny Wask: Navy (8)
 

184 lbs (4)

Silas Allred: Nebraska (7)

Max McEnelly: Minnesota (3)

Jaxon Smith: Maryland (6)

Rocco Welsh: Penn State (2)
 

197 lbs (7)

Josh Barr: Penn State (2)

Bennett Berge: South Dakota State (4)

Rocky Elam: Iowa State (6,3,4,5)

Stephen Little: Little Rock (6,7)

Camden McDanel: Nebraska (8)

Joey Novak: Wyoming (5)

Mac Stout: Pittsburgh (7)
 

285 lbs (6)

Yonger Bastida: Iowa State (5)

Nick Feldman: Ohio State (5)

AJ Ferrari: Nebraska (3,1)

Taye Ghadiali: Michigan (8)

Ben Kueter: Iowa (8)

Isaac Trumble: NC State (4)

The news in the offseason never seemed to stop and much of it centered around the transfer portal. While there are gripes about it (and many are understandable), it does add an element of intrigue around each collegiate season. Plenty of familiar faces have traded singlets over the past few months.

The transfer portal isn’t just limited to a few select teams. The five teams atop InterMat’s preseason tournament rankings all had at least one major addition via the portal. Other teams hope to crash that party, potentially led by additions of their own.

This year’s crop of transfers was about as good as any ever. There were two national champions who switched teams. How about a four-time All-American transfer? Or some young stars with multiple years of eligibility remaining. Yes, yes, and yes. All of the above were in and out of the portal this offseason.

And since everyone loves a good set of rankings. We’ve ranked the wrestlers that have swapped teams via the portal leading into the 2025-26 season. The criteria for these rankings were potential impact on the upcoming season and beyond. Wrestlers who have more than one year of eligibility jumped over some more accomplished wrestlers with only one year remaining.

1. AJ Ferrari: Nebraska (from CSU Bakersfield)

Even up a weight class, Ferrari will be a national title contender at 285 lbs. The 2021 NCAA champion, returned to college wrestling with Bakersfield and finished third in the nation at 197 lbs. The returning NCAA runner-up Cornhuskers could roll out a lineup that includes seven returning All-Americans and two past NCAA champions. There’s also a chance that Ferrari could have another year of eligibility after the 2025-26 campaign.

2. Rocco Welsh: Penn State (from Oklahoma State)

Going from Zack Ryder to Rocco Welsh, Penn State has a wrestler who has made the NCAA finals once (in his only previous appearance at nationals). He still has three years of eligibility remaining.

3. Zack Ryder: Oklahoma State (from Penn State)

The reason Ryder moved above many wrestlers with NCAA credentials is that he has four years of eligibility remaining. The U20 world silver medalist, Ryder, plus David Taylor/Zahid Valencia/Dustin Plott, and more, is a scary proposition.

4. Rocky Elam: Iowa State (from Missouri)

It’s not every day that you can add a four-time All-American to your roster. Actually, after this year, I’m not sure it will be possible at all! Rocky Elam gives Iowa State an instant title contender at 197 lbs and will form a formidable 1-2 punch with Yonger Bastida at the end of the ISU lineup.

5. Richie Figueroa: Oklahoma State (from Arizona State)

Two former NCAA champions on the move! Richie Figueroa has one year of eligibility remaining and seemed poised to wrestle 133 lbs for the Cowboys. Could the change in weight, new scenery, and training partners like Roman Bravo-Young and Daton Fix help Figueroa finish on top of the podium?

6. Ethan Stiles: Ohio State (from Oregon State)

Stiles was someone who really burst onto the scene for Oregon State in the second half of the season and ended up on the NCAA podium. He has three years of eligibility remaining, which helps his value here. Stiles can be even more dangerous than before after working alongside a two-time NCAA champion in Jesse Mendez.

7. Nasir Bailey: Iowa (from Little Rock)

Entering the 2024-25 season, Nasir Bailey was seen as one of the favorites at 133, as he was fourth in the country the previous year. That didn’t end up happening, but Bailey is expected to be up a weight class for Iowa and will have the opportunity to establish himself as a title contender.

8. Jore Volk: Minnesota (from Wyoming)

The former Big 12 champion and All-American is returning to wrestle in his home state. With a potential high NCAA finish at 125 lbs, Volk could help lead Minnesota into NCAA team trophy territory. His addition spices up the Big Ten as this weight, the conference only had one returning AA at 125 lbs, prior to Volk’s arrival.

9. Lachlan McNeil: Michigan (from North Carolina)

The move to Michigan makes sense on a couple of different levels for the three-time All-American McNeil. Lots of talent in the Wolverine room. He’s much closer to his hometown, Toronto. Michigan’s Cliff Keen Wrestling Club has a reputation for adding competitors who aren’t representing the USA internationally. McNeil has wrestled the preseason #1, Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech), very tough. Can Michigan push him over the top?

10. Casey Swiderski: Oklahoma State (from Iowa State)

A loaded Oklahoma State squad adds a past All-American in Casey Swiderski. As of now, he looks like the projected starter for the Cowboys at 149 lbs. Swiderski missed the entire 2024-25 campaign after finishing seventh at 149 lbs in 2024.

11. Stevo Poulin: Iowa State (from Northern Colorado)

12. Vinny Zerban: Iowa State (from Northern Colorado)

Stevo Poulin and Vinny Zerban were not initially in the transfer portal; however, they jumped in after UNC head coach Troy Nickerson took the Army job. Each of these wrestlers were All-Americans in 2025. Each has a conference title from the Big 12. The pair, along with other transfers, could help push Iowa State into the top three - after missing out on the top 20 entirely last year.

13. Dylan Fishback: Ohio State (from NC State)

In two years at NC State, Dylan Fishback finished as an ACC runner-up twice and advanced to the NCAA Round of 12 both years. Could going back closer to home help Fishback get over the hump? He’ll have to fight a lot of young talent for spaces on the podium in 2026.

14. Alex Facundo: Oklahoma State (from Penn State)

Also joining Oklahoma State is Alex Facundo. He likely had some sort of a relationship with David Taylor, while he was at Penn State, and Taylor the NLWC. Facundo only really has had one year of collegiate action. In that season, he was seeded 13th at NCAA’s. He’s higher than some more accomplished wrestlers on this list because of his new home and two years of eligibility.

15. Rafael Hipolito: Oklahoma (from Virginia Tech)

Rafael Hipolito stormed on the scene for Virginia Tech and captured an ACC title at 157 lbs and the fourth seed at the 2025 NCAA Championships. Unfortunately, Hipolito only went 1-2 and was eliminated much earlier than he anticipated. He’ll join an Oklahoma program that went through a huge facelift over the summer and will feature plenty of redshirt freshmen and transfers in their 2025-26 lineup.

16. Dean Peterson: Iowa (from Rutgers)

It’s not very often that Iowa missed out on the NCAA podium at 125 lbs, but that’s what happened in 2025. The Iowa staff went to the portal to ensure that doesn’t happen again and landed Dean Peterson. Peterson is a two-time NCAA Round of 12 finisher who hopes that the Brands brothers and the Hawkeye Wrestling Club will help him break through in 2026.

17. Peyten Kellar: Oklahoma (from Ohio)

Another new face in the Sooner wrestling room is 2024 All-American Peyten Kellar. Kellar was fifth at the 157 lb weight class in 2024 and started the following year with a 10-2 record. He missed the remainder of the season due to eligibility concerns. Kellar is expected to move up to 165 lbs for Oklahoma.

18. Lenny Pinto: Rutgers (from Nebraska)

Lenny Pinto has been a Big Ten finalist, seeded in the top eight twice, but is still looking for his first All-American honor. For the past two years, Pinto’s seasons have ended in the NCAA Bloodround. He’s hoping that a reunion with former Nebraska teammate, turned Rutgers assistant, Mikey Labriola will provide the winning recipe for success.

19. Chance Lamer: Nebraska (from Cal Poly)

The graduation of 2025 NCAA champion, Ridge Lovett, left Nebraska with a hole at 149 lbs. Luckily, they added Chance Lamer, a two-time NCAA Round of 12 finisher. Lamer spent most of last season ranked in the top 15, but ended up going 1-2 at nationals. He’ll have a great training situation with NCAA finalists Brock Hardy and Antrell Taylor surrounding him - plus Lovett from the RTC and assistant coach James Green.

20. Jordan Williams: Iowa (from Little Rock)

A year ago, we wrote about Jordan Williams leaving Oklahoma State for Little Rock. At Little Rock, Williams won a Pac-12 title, went 26-6, and came up a match shy of the NCAA podium. With his move to Iowa, Williams will likely move up to 157 lbs.

21. Christian Carroll: Wyoming (from Iowa State)

Will a Wyoming room that has produced a handful of high-quality upperweights be the perfect spot for Christian Carroll? He’s expected to compete at heavyweight for the Cowboys and has a returning All-American, Joey Novak, to work with.

22. Isaac Dean: Iowa State (from Rider)

2024-25 was a breakout season for Isaac Dean. Previously, he had not made an NCAA Tournament. He announced his presence with a fifth place finish in Vegas and winning  a MAC title and earned a seventh seed at NCAA’s.

23. Chris Cannon: Minnesota (from Northwestern)

Strictly based on past credentials, Chris Cannon should be much higher on this list. He isn’t because he’s been hampered by injuries for the last two years. During that time, Cannon has wrestled a combined 15 matches. Last year, he did compete at the Big Ten Championships, but wasn’t able to qualify for NCAA’s. Should Cannon get healthy and return to the form that made him a two-time All-American, he’d be a huge boost for the Gophers.

24. Cody Chittum: Chattanooga (from Iowa State)

Here’s another case of a wrestler transferring back to his home state in search of success. Cody Chittum was a two-time national qualifier for Iowa State and made the Big 12 finals once. He’s looking to break into the top ten (and beyond), as he’s been around #15 in the nation for most of his collegiate career. Chittum will lead a group that could be very good at Chattanooga, perhaps the SoCon favorites, in 2025-26.

25. David Evans: Utah Valley (from Penn State)

The formula for an All-American in year one at Utah Valley for Adam Hall was to find a graduate student who had been stuck behind some studs in a loaded Penn State room and give him a chance. It worked with Terrell Barraclough, who was third in the Big 12 and fifth in the nation. Could it work in 2025-26 with David Evans? Back in 2023-24, Evans defeated All-American CJ Composto (Penn) and gave teammate, Tyler Kasak, a couple of good matches.

The 2025 NWCA All-Star Classic is coming to Rutgers University's Jersey Mikes Arena on November 1st. The dual will take place at 7pm and feature ten DI matches, along with a D2 vs D3 matchup and four women's matches. The initial lineup for the event will be as follows:

Men's Matches

125 lbs: #4 Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) vs. #5 Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh)

133 lbs: #1 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) vs. #8 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers)

141 lbs: #1 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) vs. #6 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State)

149 lbs: #3 Lachlan McNeil (Michigan) vs. Casey Swiderski (Oklahoma State)

157 lbs: #4 Daniel Cardenas (Stanford) vs. #6 Ty Watters (West Virginia)

165 lbs: #4 Hunter Garvin (Stanford) vs. #11 Max Brignola (Lehigh)

174 lbs: #3 Simon Ruiz (Cornell) vs. #6 Lenny Pinto (Nebraska)

184 lbs: #4 Jaxon Smith (Maryland) vs. #7 Zack Ryder (Oklahoma State)

197 lbs: #3 Joey Novak (Wyoming) vs. #4 Stephen Little (Little Rock)

285 lbs: #1 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) vs. #4 Taye Ghadiali (Michigan)

141 lbs: Khyvon Grace (West Liberty) vs. Mark Samuel (Roanoke)

Women's Matches

117 lbs: #1 Sage Mortimer (Grand Valley State) vs #1 Christianah Ogunsanya (William Penn)

138: #1 Zaynah McBryde (Life) vs #1 Katie Lange (Grand Valley State)

145: #1 Esther Kolawole (William Penn) vs #1 Reese Larramendy (Iowa)

160: #1 Latifah McBryde (Life) vs TBD

Yesterday, we talked about some top wrestlers returning from planned redshirts. Now, we’re going to look at notables expected back in 2025-26 after having their last season disrupted by injuries. A lot (if not most) wrestlers are dealing with some sort of ailment down the stretch and into the postseason; however, none of these wrestlers even took the mat during the postseason. Should they all return to the form they’ve demonstrated in the past, there could be a handful of national champions on this list.

1. Ryan Crookham (Lehigh)

In year one for Lehigh, hometown star Ryan Crookham quickly established himself as a national title threat, despite being in a weight class that contained Vito Arujau and Daton Fix - among others. Crookham only saw action in five matches last season and won all of them. The most notable came in the Mountain Hawks dual with Penn State, where he prevailed over eventual All-American Brendan Davis, 4-1. Crookham starts the preseason ranked #3 in the country at 133 lbs; however, if healthy he can take home a title.

2. Yonger Bastida (Iowa State)

In his first season at heavyweight, Yonger Bastida went 25-2 overall and was an NCAA title favorite. Unfortunately, those two losses came at the NCAA Tournament, and he failed to make the podium. Along the way, Bastida won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and posted a 10-7 win over Wyatt Hendrickson to capture a Big 12 title, among other wins. Bastida was available for two duals in 2024-25, one of which included a 7-2 victory over eventual All-American Ben Kueter of rival Iowa. Bastida starts the preseason ranked #1 at 285 lbs and is one of the favorites in a weight that is wide open for the first time in a decade.

3. Rocky Elam (Iowa State)

Not only is Rocky Elam returning from injury, but he’s also doing it for a new team - Iowa State. While at Missouri, Elam claimed a pair of Big 12 titles and got on the NCAA podium four times (6,3,4,5). Elam did not compete at all during the 2024-25 campaign. In his last year of competition, Elam posted wins over Stephen Buchanan, Joey Novak x2, Jacob Cardenas, Michael Beard, and Mac Stout. He’s certainly worthy of a preseason #2 ranking and could finish higher than that, if healthy. The new backend of the Cyclone dual lineup (Elam/Bastida), will be a good ace-in-the-hole against almost anyone.

4. Ty Watters (West Virginia)

As a true freshman, Ty Watters took the NCAA landscape by storm and went 30-6 and finished fourth in the nation at 149 lbs. Watters’ NCAA run included wins over Willie McDougald, Casey Swiderski, and Kyle Parco. He started the 2024-25 season on a high note with victories over eventual All-American Lachlan McNeil and Gavin Drexler en route to winning the Southeast Open. Over the next two weeks, Watters picked up two more dual wins, the second coming over 2025 All-American Sammy Alavrez (via tech fall). That proved to be Watters’ final match of the season. He’s expected back this year at 157 lbs. The top of that weight class is stacked with a handful of proven competitors; however, Watters is capable of re-establishing himself as a title threat.

5. Taye Ghadiali (Michigan)

Another returning face in a new place is Taye Ghadiali, who will use his final year of eligibility competing in his home state at the University of Michigan. Ghadiali went 62-11 during his final two full seasons with Campbell and became only the second Campbell wrestler to earn All-American honors. In 2024-25, Ghadiali saw action in six duals and went 4-2. Those two losses came to Gable Steveson and Isaac Trumble. Ghadiali did earn a win over Ohio State’s Nick Feldman in the NWCA All-Star Classic. Ghadiali starts the preseason ranked #4 at 285 lbs and there’s no telling where he could get to in a Michigan/Cliff Keen Wrestling Room loaded with talented workout options at heavyweight.

6. Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State)

The third (wow!) wrestler on this list for Iowa State is Anthony Echemendia. Throughout his career at Iowa State, Echemendia has bounced between 141 and 149 lbs. His action in 2024-25 came at 149 lbs, but he’s expected to man the 141 lb weight class for ISU in the upcoming season. Last season, Echemendia finished fourth at the CKLV with a 9-6 loss to the eventual national champion, Ridge Lovett, in the semifinals. Though he starts the preseason ranked #6 at 141 lbs, Echemendia is capable of beating anyone at the weight. We’ll have to monitor how the weight cut appears to impact him in the early stages of the season.

7. Jore Volk (Minnesota)

The final member of this list with a new singlet for 2025-26 is Jore Volk. After winning a Big 12 title and earning a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships for Wyoming, Volk has returned to his home state to wrestle for the Gophers. In 2024-25, Volk earned a pair of dual wins before downing Big 12 foe Tanner Jordan, 8-2, in the NWCA All-Star Classic. A week after the All-Star meet, Volk and the Cowboys headed to Oklahoma for a road trip with both in-state DI programs. Volk lost both matches, one of which was a sizable upset, and did not compete for the rest of the year. Volk starts the preseason ranked #8 in the country at 125 lbs. There are a lot of familiar faces from the Big 12 above him, and we’ll see how the move to the Minnesota room positively impacts him.

8. Dylan Ragusin (Michigan)

During the 2023-24 season, Dylan Ragusin made the Big Ten finals and got on the NCAA podium for the first time with a fifth-place finish at 133 lbs. With bonus point wins in his first three duals last season, Ragusin looked poised to return to the All-American ranks. Those hopes took a turn in Vegas when he suffered a few uncharacteristic losses on his way to an eighth-place finish. Ragusin did not return for the rest of the season. He’ll use his last year of eligibility in 2025-26. Recently, we’ve been told that Ragusin will move up to 141 lbs, which allows Sergio Lemley to take a redshirt. His addition makes an already top-heavy 141 lb weight class even tougher.

9. Nathan Taylor (Lehigh)

Despite a bunch of seniors graduating at heavyweight, we’re getting plenty of talent back from the training table as Taylor is the third 285 lber we’ve mentioned thus far. In 2024, Taylor won an EIWA title, was seeded fifth at nationals, and advanced to the NCAA Round of 12. There, he was beaten by Ghadiali in sudden victory. In the second week of the 2024-25 season, Taylor was injured at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic and lost for the year. He starts the preseason ranked #8 and is an imposing force on the back end of a tough Lehigh team.

10. Nico Provo (Stanford)

Nico Provo never competed during the 2024-25 season, but there were whispers out of Palo Alto that maybe he would return at various points of the year. Ultimately, he did not. In 2023-24, Provo had a breakout performance at the CKLV, winning the 125 lb bracket with victories over Volk and Matt Ramos. Provo was not able to maintain that consistency throughout the year and finished 2-2 at the NCAA Tournament. This season, he’ll jump into an ACC weight class that features the returning national champion (Vince Robinson) and a two-time All-American (Eddie Ventresca), among others. Provo could be the spark in a young Stanford lineup that has a ton of potential.

11. Braxton Amos (Wisconsin)

Yet another big man to add to the mix is Wisconsin’s Braxton Amos. One of the top prospects in the high school Class of 2020, Amos has qualified for nationals twice, but also battled multiple injuries throughout his career. Hopefully, eliminating weight-cutting will strengthen him in the higher class. We have Amos starting the preseason ranked at #17. Really, it’s a bit of a crapshoot. Amos has the talent to contend for national titles, so he might rise quickly at full health.

12. Cael Swensen (South Dakota State)

One of the consistent forces in the middle of the South Dakota State lineup for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns has been Cael Swensen. Swensen advanced to the NCAA bloodround as a freshman and was third in the Big 12 as a sophomore. During his most recent season, Swensen notched wins over Joey Blaze, Paniro Johnson, Brock Mauller, and Vinny Zerban. At the same time, he’s taken his share of losses in a deep 157 lb bracket in the Big 12. Should he return to past form, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Swensen on the podium, particularly with SDSU’s history of talent development.

As we assembled our preseason rankings, there were many wrestlers who didn’t compete at the 2025 NCAA Championships who needed to be considered. Some missed chunks of the 2024-25 season due to injury, others were on a planned redshirt.

The latter category is what we’re looking at today. Veterans who planned to take the year off and redshirt are now back on the scene. Wrestlers coming off an injury is an idea for another article in the future (hint, hint).

The group we’re focusing on today features a handful of All-Americans. Some wrestlers that will be considered title contenders in 2025-26. Some didn’t wrestle in open tournaments, others feasted on competition at those events. A few even made their mark internationally.

So, just because we didn’t watch these wrestlers at Philly, don’t forget about them!

Gable Strickland: Lock Haven (133)

Gable’s back! Not the heavyweight, but the two-time national qualifier for Lock Haven. Strickland combined to win 64 matches during his sophomore and junior seasons and captured a pair of MAC titles along the way. He’s yet to have a deep run at the NCAA tournament. With a year away, maybe Strickland takes that step during his final year of eligibility. Last season, while redshirting, Strickland went 11-3 with a win at the Mat-Town Open. He didn’t have any marquee wins, but beat the wrestlers you’d expect him to beat.

Forecast: Strickland starts the preseason ranked #20 in the nation. 133 lbs is a rather deep group, yet he could quickly move up a few slots.

Luke Stanich: Lehigh (141)

Did anyone’s proverbial stock rise with a redshirt year more than Luke Stanich? Stanich won the EIWA champion and finished fifth in the nation at 125 lbs as a freshman. He took the year off to put on size and grow into a 141 lber. From the first week of the season, it was evident that size wouldn’t be much of an issue for Stanich. He defeated Michigan’s Sergio Lemley and suffered his only loss of his redshirt year to the returning champion Jesse Mendez. Throughout the season, Stanich earned two wins over returning AA’s, CJ Composto (Penn) and Kai Orine (NC State). After the season, Stanich outlasted young phenom Bo Bassett for a spot on the U20 world team. In his first age group world championship event, Stanich grinded out close wins all tournament and eventually came away with a world title.

Forecast: Stanich starts the preseason ranked third behind the two finalists - Mendez and Brock Hardy (Nebraska). We’ll see how Stanich responds to being viewed as a title contender and having a target on his back. Also, can he close the gap on Mendez?

Tom Crook: Virginia Tech (141)

With senior Sam Latona moving up to 141 lbs and using his final year of eligibility, it was the perfect time for Tom Crook to take a redshirt. During the previous season, the Virginia Tech staff tried to give Crook a redshirt, but none of the freshmen at 141 were able to grab hold of the starting reins. That led to Crook coming out of redshirt in January. Though he needed an at-large berth to qualify for the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Crook did end up winning two matches along the way.

Forecast: 141 is a weight where there’s a quick drop-off after the top nine or ten wrestlers at the weight. Crooks starts at #20. It doesn’t take much imagination to think that Crook could establish himself as an outside podium contender and quickly move into that 10-15 range in the rankings.

Joe Zargo: Wisconsin (149)

Since teammate Braxton Amos took the year off due to injuries, it was also a good time to let Joe Zargo get a redshirt, himself. Now, with the pair back and the emergence of their lightweights, Wisconsin could be a very “tough out” in 2025-26. Zargo is a three-time NCAA qualifier who has gone 1-2 at the NCAA Tournament on two occasions. He has never finished higher than seventh at the Big Ten Championships, but that could change in 2026. We don’t have much new information to use, as Zargo did not compete in 2024-25.

Forecast: Like 141 lbs, there’s a severe drop after the first tier of talent at 149 lbs. Zargo might have the best resume out of anyone in the 10-16 range. He’s another one who should get into the podium threat category.

Daniel Cardenas: Stanford (157)

After getting onto the NCAA podium with a fourth-place finish in 2024, Cardenas sat out the 2024-25 campaign. In his only appearance during the redshirt year, Cardenas won a title at the Soldier Salute. In the process, he earned a win over one NCAA qualifier (Jared Hill - Wyoming). Through his first two years at Palo Alto, Cardenas amassed a 51-11 record and earned a Pac-12 title.

Forecast: Cardenas starts the preseason ranked #4 at 157 lbs. He did post a win over #3 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) at the NCAA Championships; however, Shapiro evened the score later in the tournament. Cardenas is on the short list of wrestlers who could reasonably win a title this year at 157 lbs. He’ll also lead a Stanford team that could be tough as nails up and down the lineup.

Max Brignola: Lehigh (165)

If Lehigh teammate Luke Stanich improved his stock more than anyone else in this group, Max Brignola might be second. Unlike a lot of wrestlers on this list, Brignola competed early and often and notched a perfect 22-0 record, competing for the first time at 165 lbs. Brignola’s best wins came over Julian Ramirez (Cornell) and Brock Mantanona (Michigan), but altogether he ended up with five victories over national qualifiers. Brignola has previously qualified for the NCAA Tournament at 149 and 157 lbs. In both instances, he went 0-2.

Forecast: The big redshirt season has Brignola ranked #11 in the preseason. We’ll see if he takes another leap forward this year. As it stands now, Brignola has to be considered a great developmental success for the Lehigh staff.

Rocco Welsh: Penn State (184)

Not only does Rocco Welsh re-emerge from a redshirt, but he also does it at a new spot. Welsh made the 2024 NCAA finals as a true freshman for Ohio State. Now, he’ll remain in the Big Ten but compete for Penn State. Welsh went 15-0 last season with wins at the Clarion, Cleveland State, and F&M Opens. During that redshirt season, Welsh was able to open up his offense more and earned bonus points at a nearly 87% clip. That’s a huge number to try and maintain during a regular season, but the move to Penn State will help in those efforts.

Forecast: Welsh starts the year ranked #2 in the country at 184 lbs. This is a weight class that’s wide open with young talent, so there will be a lot of interesting challengers that emerge. There might be some question as to whether Welsh wins or maintains this spot in the lineup, as highly-touted Connor Mirasola is rumored to be eyeing 184 lbs.

Aaron Ayzerov: Columbia (184)

With a new head coach in place for the 2024-25 season (Donny Pritzlaff), two of Columbia’s top wrestlers took a grayshirt for the year. Ayzerov had a breakout year in 2024, winning an EIWA title and qualifying for his first NCAA Tournament. He ended up with the #13 seed and went 1-2 in Kansas City. Ayzerov only saw action in one event over his grayshirt season, so there isn’t much that can be gained by looking at the results.

Forecast: There are only a handful of seniors in the top 15 at 184 lbs and Ayzerov is one of them #13. He started to show some consistency in 2023-24, if he continues to move in that direction, he’ll get into the top 10 relatively quickly. I’m anxious to see how he’s improved working with Pritzlaff and crew.

Justin Rademacher: Oregon State (197)

Justin Rademacher is another wrestler whose stock and Q rating shot up significantly since the last time he took the collegiate mats. As a true freshman, Rademacher was a Pac-12 runner-up and won a match during his NCAA Tournament debut. Rademacher’s only collegiate competition in 2024-25 saw him win the Reno Tournament of Champions and defeat mega-prospect Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State) in the process. In freestyle, Rademacher really shone. He won a gold medal at the Senior level at the Pan-American Championships and another gold at the U20 World Championships. Rademacher now has two U20 world medals (he won bronze in 2024).

Forecast: Rademacher should be a contender at 197 lbs. He starts the preseason ranked #9, but that’s because of college results not potential. I’d expect him to quickly rise above that ranking. One thing to consider is that Rademacher’s world title came at 97 kg (213 lbs), so hopefully making this weight on a regular basis is not too difficult for him.

Jack Wehmeyer: Columbia (197)

The other Columbia upperweight wrestler who grayshirted in 2024-25 was Jack Wehmeyer. Similar to Ayzerov, Wehmeyer had a breakthrough season the last time he competed for the Lions. He was fourth at the EIWA Championships and wrestled in his first national tournament. Wehmeyer did not compete unattached during the 2024-25 campaign.

Forecast: 197 is a weight that cleared out a lot of seniors from the 2025 tournament. That makes Wehmeyer the preseason #15 wrestler at the weight. Unlike Ayzerov, he has two years of eligibility remaining. That’s a significant upgrade from 2024, when he was seeded #28 at the national tournament. 

This week we talk about Vito Arujau’s injury announcement, the next set of RAF matches, Big Ten schedules, Melvin Miller’s top 4 schools and the show ending questions are back as we pick schools that we would like to see revive their wrestling programs and who we’d like to coach them.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

1:25 - Weigh in

9:10 - Vito Arujau’s injury update

22:37 - PSU, Minnesota and the full Big Ten schedule

54:52 - Hayden Schwab to UNI (of course) + Melvin Miller’s top 4

1:12:00 - RAF match ups

1:31:17 - Revive a wrestling program

The 2025-26 season is right around the corner! With a new year comes a new set of faces leading DI wrestling program. We’ll have eight of them this year. Initially, the coaching carousel got off to a slow start, but eventually, there were some shakeups that led to multiple changes on the head coaching front.

Even though this group got off to a late start, it will be the season with the most new head coaches out of the last seven years (counting an interim hire). Last year, seven new coaches were added. 2018 is the biggest year in recent memory with 11 new hires (though two were brand-new programs).

So, here’s a little bit about each of the new head coaches. The background regarding the vacancy they filled, highlights from their coaching resumes, and a brief overview of their wrestling career.

Troy Nickerson (Army West Point)

Perhaps the most attractive and competitive opening during the 2025 offseason was at Army West Point.

With eight wrestlers returning with NCAA experience and top 25 recruiting classes in four of the last five years, it’s easy to see why this job was so coveted.

Ultimately, it was Northern Colorado head coach Troy Nickerson who got the call. Nickerson took the UNC program to unprecedented heights with a national champion in 2023 and two All-Americans in 2025. His wrestlers also combined to win five Big 12 titles over the last four years.

Nickerson is also a huge name in-state. He became the first high schooler to win five New York state titles and went on to earn All-American honors four times (including a 2009 championship) for Cornell.

Ryan LeBlanc (Binghamton)

In early July, Kyle Borshoff stepped down from his post as head coach of the Binghamton Bearcats. That started another chain of events that created another opening late in the game, as Ryan LeBlanc ended up getting named as Borshoff’s successor.

LeBlanc comes to Binghamton after five seasons leading The Citadel. He was fresh off a campaign that saw the Bulldogs turn in their best performance in a decade. LeBlanc was named SoCon Coach of the Year after his team finished second in the league and crowned three conference champions. Four wrestlers from The Citadel ended up qualifying for nationals.

Like Nickerson, LeBlanc is coming back to his home state. He was a two-time New York state champion for Morrisville-Eaton, which is just over an hour from Binghamton. LeBlanc wrestled collegiately at Indiana, where he qualified for the NCAA Championships on three occasions and advanced to the NCAA bloodround once.

TJ Dudley (Campbell)

After a tumultuous season that saw Campbell’s athletic department slash funds for wrestling and a handful of other sports, head coach Scotti Sentes stepped down to pursue a position with the Wrestlers in Business Network (WIBN). One of Campbell’s assistant coaches, TJ Dudley, ultimately got promoted to become a head coach for the first time.

Dudley joined the Campbell staff just over a year ago, after spending three years as an assistant coach at Brown. During his year at Campbell, the Camels pushed three wrestlers into the NCAA Tournament, one of whom was a SoCon champion.

Dudley had an excellent career wrestling for the University of Nebraska. He was a three-time NCAA All-American, finishing eighth, second, and third. In 2016, Dudley made the finals of both the Big Ten and NCAA championships. At the Senior level, Dudley took third at the US Open. He remains one of the best wrestlers to ever come out of South Carolina.

Josh Moore (Kent State)

2024-25 marked the final season of Cleveland State wrestling, as their administration followed through with their intentions of cutting the wrestling program. The Vikings head coach, Josh Moore, was quickly scooped up by MAC rival Kent State. The Golden Flashes were looking for a leader as long-time head coach Jim Andrassy stepped down in May after 22 years on the job.

This is not Moore’s first rodeo at Kent State. He spent 11 years as an assistant at the school before joining CSU’s staff as an assistant. Moore was later elevated to the Vikings head coach. That’s a role that Moore assumed for the last seven seasons. During that time, he produced 14 national qualifiers, including the program's first MAC champion.

Moore was a two-time All-American for Penn State. He made the national finals at 133 lbs in 2004. Even with all of the superstars that have been a part of the Nittany Lions program for the last decade and a half, Moore still remained tied atop the school’s all-time pins list with 53.

Jimmy Overhiser (Mercyhurst)

The 2024-25 school year was the first for Mercyhurst as a DI institution. They are in the middle of a transition from DII to DI status. With that in mind, the wrestling program looked for a new leader to help spearhead the move to DI status and Jimmy Overhiser is that man.

Overhiser came to Mercyhurst after spending the 2024-25 season as a member of Drexel’s coaching staff. Before that, he was an assistant at Army West Point. Overhiser has also coached at Tarleton State, the California RTC, Wisconsin-Whitewater, and Reinhardt. Overhiser has already hit the recruiting trail hard at Mercyhurst and has a handful of commitments from wrestlers in the Class of 2026.

Overhiser is the second Cornell alum to get a DI coaching job this cycle. He graduated from Cornell in 2010.

Teyon Ware (Northern Colorado)

Troy Nickerson’s departure left a vacancy in Greeley and it was one that Teyon Ware ended up filling. This will be Ware’s first head coaching position at any level, but he’s got plenty of experience on the bench and an excellent pedigree on the mat.

Ware comes over after spending three years as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Oklahoma. Ware was the only holdover on staff as Oklahoma transitioned from Lou Rosselli to Roger Kish. As the only member of the staff from Oklahoma, Ware was valuable in assisting with in-state recruiting and helped the Sooners to a #3 overall recruiting class in 2024.

Before coming back to Oklahoma, Ware spent eight years as an assistant at Wyoming. He was on staff at both OU and Wyoming, as Stephen Buchanan developed into a national title threat. Ware also worked with Wyoming’s two-time NCAA finalist Bryce Meredith. Early in his coaching career, Ware spent time at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club and Binghamton University.

As a competitor, Ware was a two-time NCAA champion and four-time All-American for Oklahoma. After posting a perfect high school record, Ware won his first NCAA title as a true freshman, in an era where very few true freshmen achieved such success.

Matt Valenti (Penn)

You might have forgotten that this will be Matt Valenti’s first season as Penn’s head coach. That’s because there was a succession plan in place and Valenti was tabbed to take over for the legendary Roger Reina at the conclusion of the 2025-26 campaign.

Valenti’s path to the head coaching position is an unusual one. He got his coaching career started at Ivy League rival Columbia, before returning to the Penn bench. In 2015, Valenti took a job in Penn’s athletic administration. He held various positions in the department before returning to focus solely on coaching wrestling in 2023.

Valenti remains one of the all-time greats in Penn wrestling. He is their most recent national champion. Valenti finished his collegiate career with back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007. Valenti got on the NCAA podium three times for the Quakers and remains their career win leader.

Luke Welch (The Citadel) - Interim Head Coach

Since it was just over a month ago that LeBlanc was named head coach at Binghamton, it was extremely late in the game to start the process of looking for his successor. With that in mind, The Citadel’s athletic department made the correct decision to name Luke Welch the team’s interim head coach for the 2025-26 season. Welch will get a full season to show why he deserves to hold the title on a full-time basis.

Welch came to Charleston at the same time as LeBlanc, so he played a huge role in the program’s rise and success during the 2024-25 campaign. The Bulldogs were able to win double-digit duals for a second straight year in 2024-25. The last time they were able to break the ten dual win milestone was in 2014. They were able to accomplish feats like this despite not having a lineup full of high school Big Boarders. The credit for finding diamonds in the rough and developing them into quality DI wrestlers has to go to LeBlanc, but also to Welch, who was very instrumental in the process.

Welch was a national qualifier as a senior for Purdue in 2018. He finished fourth in the Big Ten and was a match away from earning All-American honors.

With the World Championships behind us, we’re almost solely focused on the upcoming collegiate season. To kick off our collegiate coverage, we’re going to focus on some teams to watch for the 2025-26 season.

All of these teams finished outside the top 20 at the 2025 NCAA Championships for various reasons. Some had bad luck with injuries. Some had young teams. Others might have underperformed.

Whatever the reason, 2025-26 is a new year. In the current climate of collegiate athletics, it’s much easier to remake a roster in an offseason than ever before. Many teams below took advantage of that. High school wrestlers are also more prepared than ever to win at the collegiate level, so teams might be more apt to depend on positive results from freshmen today, compared to the past.

We’ve identified eight teams that are in position to return to the top 20 in 2025-26 and given some reasons why there is optimism about such an improvement this season.

Iowa State

The Cyclones are the poster team for this feature. They came in at #3 in our first preseason team rankings and in the dual rankings. 2024-25 was kind of an aberration and almost a worst-case scenario for Kevin Dresser’s team. Their potential national champion heavyweight (Yonger Bastida) only participated in two duals before being lost for the year due to injuries. A likely high All-American (Anthony Echemendia) was lost for the year after the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Their best 125 lb option missed the bulk of the regular season and wasn’t able to qualify for nationals. In Philly, their All-American 133 lber lost a pair of matches to eventual top-six finishers.

The problem this year could be getting everyone in the lineup - really, there isn’t a way for that to happen. An All-American threat will probably sit the bench at 141/149 with Anthony Echemendia, Jacob Frost, and Paniro Johnson vying for two slots.

Iowa State added national title threat Rocky Elam at 197 lbs. They now have an All-American and Big 12 champion at 125 lbs in Stevo Poulin. Poulin’s Northern Colorado teammate, Vinny Zerban, is a returning AA and will solidify the 157 lbs spot. 184 lber Isaac Dean will be in the podium hunt.

The theme of this exercise is making the top 20 by a team that was outside of it in 2025. Iowa State shouldn’t “just” make the top 20; they should be in NCAA trophy contention. Anything less would be surprising.

Pittsburgh

The key to NCAA team points is having stars rather than a balanced lineup. Pitt has both, with the star power in the back half of their lineup. Returning All-American Mac Stout started the preseason ranked fifth at 197 lbs. Those are some quality NCAA points to build around. Behind Stout in the lineup is heavyweight Dayton Pitzer. He’s ranked seventh in the nation. Two All-Americans are almost always enough to get into the NCAA top 20.

If that’s not enough, Keith Gavin’s team also has a 174 lber in Luca Augustine that starts the preseason ranked 13th. Augustine made the bloodround in 2025 and is certainly capable of taking another step forward in 2025-26.

A wild card for Pitt could be their redshirt freshman 149 lber Kade Brown. Brown went 10-3 last year, with two of his three losses coming to All-Americans and the third coming to an All-American caliber wrestler. He posted wins over multi-time qualifiers Malyke Hines (Lehigh) and Andy Clark (Rutgers). Brown starts the year ranked #18 in a weight class that gets pretty thin after the top tier or two.

Rutgers

2025 was only the second time since 2016 that Rutgers failed to make the top 20. Scott Goodale’s history shows it’s more likely that the Scarlet Knights will bounce back in 2025-26. Rutgers has a returning All-American and Big Ten champion in their lineup at 133 lbs in Dylan Shawver. Shawver was seventh in the nation in 2024 and came up a match shy of the podium in 2025. He’ll start the year ninth at a pretty loaded weight class. Based on his talent and pedigree, Shawver has the potential to outwrestle that ranking.

The second most likely AA for Rutgers comes in Nebraska transfer Lenny Pinto. Pinto is looking to get over the hump after losing in the NCAA bloodround in each of the last two years. A reunion with his former teammate and current Rutgers assistant coach, Mikey Labriola, could help in that effort. Pinto has also finished second and third in the Big Ten in each of the last two years. The new Scarlet Knight is also capable of putting up big points on quality wrestlers. Getting a few bonus points at the national tournament is extremely important when looking at team scores.

In addition to the two mentioned above, Rutgers also has Joey Oliveiri (141), Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184), and Virginia Tech transfer Hunter Catka (285), who aren’t very far from the podium either. If all goes well, they could easily be in the top 20.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin was outside the top 20 last season , but this could be the year they return. They’ll be led by 2025 NCAA semifinalist and fourth-place finisher Zan Fugitt. We’ll see how Fugitt handles wrestling this season with a target on his back, rather than being an overlooked freshman. He starts the year ranked fourth, but with the depth of the 133 lb weight class, he’ll have plenty of challengers looking to knock him down the ladder.

In front of Fugitt in the Badger lineup is Nicolar Rivera. The 125 lber had an all-around solid season, finishing fourth in the Big Ten, earning the #11 seed at nationals, and advancing to the NCAA bloodround. He starts the preseason ranked ninth at 125 lbs, so breaking through to become an All-American isn’t a huge stretch of the imagination.

A gigantic wild card for the Badgers is Braxton Amos. Amos was injured at the 2023 NCAA Championships and has been out of commission (from a collegiate standpoint) since. Amos is expected to re-emerge as a heavyweight in 2024-25. Taking cutting weight out of the equation will help Amos stay on the mat. We haven’t seen him compete at the collegiate level at 285 lbs and, with the long layoff, it’s hard to make realistic predictions for Amos. If he’s healthy, it’s not hard to imagine Amos being a factor nationally.

Wisconsin will also get 149 lber Joey Zargo back from a redshirt year. Zargo is a three-time national qualifier for the Badgers, twice at 141 and once at 149. With a lack of depth at 149, Zargo could quickly establish himself as one of “the guys” at the weight.

South Dakota State

The Jackrabbits had quietly finished in the top 15 at both the 2023 and 2024 NCAA Championships. With only one All-American in 2025, they missed out on the top 20. SDSU will have an All-American on the roster with Bennett Berge. Berge made the podium in 2024, but missed in 2025. He’ll move up to 197 lbs this year.

South Dakota State doesn’t necessarily have one additional guy that’s an All-American lock. However, they have a handful of wrestlers with that type of potential. Derrick Cardinal (133), Julian Tagg (141), Alek Martin (149), Cael Swensen (157), and Drake Rhodes (165). You have to take into account the way the SDSU staff develops and gets the most out of their wrestlers. Based on their track record, a couple of those wrestlers will threaten for All-American status.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma didn’t have a great NCAA Tournament last year. Only one wrestler advanced to the NCAA bloodround (DJ Parker) and he fell in that round. Parker returns and will be up a weight. 197 lbs will be tough in the Big 12, but he’s someone who has progressively improved throughout each season. There’s no reason to think he won’t take another step in 2025-26.

One big reason for optimism in the upcoming season is that Roger Kish’s staff remade the squad through the transfer portal. They’ve added an All-American at 165 lbs (Peyten Kellar) and a wrestler who was seeded fourth in the country after winning an ACC title as a freshman (Rafael Hipolito). They also added NCAA qualifiers Jack Gioffre (149) and Brian Soldano (184).

You also have to consider the fruits of the third-year staff’s recruiting efforts starting to blossom. Kish’s team inked the #3 overall recruiting class in 2024 and had patience with them, by generally keeping them in redshirt last year. Now, Beric Jordan and Alex Braun, two of the headliners from the group, get the opportunity to win starting roles and establish themselves nationally. Both start the year in the bottom half of the preseason rankings, but could rise quickly.

Maryland

The 2025 NCAA Tournament marked a big milestone in the Alex Clemsen era in College Park. 184 lber Jaxon Smith broke through and got on the NCAA podium with a sixth-place finish. There’s a lot of hype surrounding the young guys at this weight, but the senior Smith shouldn’t be overlooked. A high finish from him puts the Terps in a good position to crack the top 20 for the first time since 2014.

In addition to Smith, Maryland also has veteran Braxton Brown at 133 lbs. Brown is a three-time qualifier who was seeded ninth last year. He starts the year ranked 10th in a tough weight. Going from 10th to the podium isn’t much of a stretch, though.

We’ll see if Dario Lemus (141), Kal Miller (149), Dom Solis (174), or Chase Horne (285) are able to chip in with points at the NCAA tournament too.

Even with just putting Smith on the podium in 2025, Maryland was only 2.5 points out of a tie for 18th place.

Wyoming

Once again, NCAA team scores are star-driven and Wyoming has one of the top title contenders at 197 lbs in Joey Novak. Novak starts the year ranked third at the weight. He finished fifth in 2025 as a true sophomore. If Novak wrestles anywhere close to his ranking, the rest of the squad doesn’t need to chip in that much for the Cowboys to crack the top 20.

Even with a couple of seasons under his belt, we’re not sure what to expect from Christian Carroll at heavyweight. The former #2 overall recruit seems to be caught between weight classes; however, his talent should carry him at 285 lbs, as opposed to a big cut at 197. We’ll wait and see if he emerges as a podium threat.

Another one to watch is Eddie Neitenbach at 184 lbs. Like Novak, he competed at an upperweight and had a very solid season. Neitenbach ended up fourth at the Big 12 and he won two matches in Philly. Could he make a Novak-like leap in year two in Laramie? Based on Wyoming’s track record with big guys, it’s definitely something to consider.

Wyoming’s probable lineup also includes past national qualifiers like Gabe Willochell (149) and Jared Hill (157).

As we move closer to the collegiate season, most coaching staffs have been rounded out or are in the process of doing so. This week we have a couple of new additions - plus a couple that you might know about, but haven’t been announced as official by their respective schools. 

With Ryan LeBlanc taking the reins at Binghamton so late in the game, it made sense for The Citadel to announce that Luke Welch will serve as the program’s interim head coach for the 2025-26 campaign. Welch had spent the last five years as an assistant coach on LeBlanc’s staff. He presumably will be a finalist for the position next spring or, perhaps, be named the full-time head coach after the season. 

Another recent coaching announcement takes us across the country to Oregon State. Recent graduate Trey Munoz has been named the Beavers graduate assistant. Munoz was a two-time All-American for Oregon State, placing sixth and third in the nation at 184 lbs. He also captured three Pac-12 titles. Oregon State had a vacancy on staff after Nate Engel left to pursue a coaching position with the Army WCAP. 

There are also a couple of other coaching hires that have not yet been announced by the schools. Lehigh and Little Rock. Lehigh has added a stud from the other side of the state, while Little Rock’s new assistant has a family tie to the team. 

We still have some high-profile openings that will need to be filled, so pay attention for upcoming coaching announcements. 

Coaching Changes

Army West Point: Alan Clothier (Assistant Coach)

Army West Point: Troy Nickerson (Head Coach)

Bellarmine: Brayton Lee (Assistant Coach)

Binghamton: Brevin Cassella (Assistant Coach)

Binghamton: Ryan LeBlanc (Head Coach)

Brown: Tyler Grayson (Assistant Coach)

Campbell: TJ Dudley (Head Coach)

Gardner-Webb: Vincent Scollo (Graduate Assistant)

Illinois: Eric Schultz (Assistant Coach)

Kent State: Fred Garcia (Assistant Coach)

Kent State: Josh Moore (Head Coach)

Kent State: Devin Schroder (Assistant Coach)

Lock Haven: Gavin Hoffman (Assistant Coach)

Lock Haven: Brock Mauller (Assistant Coach)

Long Island: Jay Nivison (Assistant Coach)

Mercyhurst: Jimmy Overhiser (Head Coach)

Missouri: Keegan O’Toole (Assistant Coach)

NC State: Malik McDonald (Assistant Coach)

North Dakota State: Willie Miklus (Assistant Coach)

Northern Colorado: Charles Jones Jr. (Assistant Coach)

Northern Colorado: Teyon Ware (Head Coach)

Northern Iowa: Ian Parker (Assistant Coach)

Oklahoma State: Kevin Ward (Assistant Coach)

Oregon State: Trey Munoz (Graduate Assistant)

Penn: Matt Valenti (Head Coach)

Penn: Lennox Wolak (Assistant Coach)

Princeton: Ryan Wolfe (Assistant Coach)

Purdue: Matt Ramos (Assistant Coach)

The Citadel: Luke Welch (Interim Head Coach)
 

RTC/Club

Lee Roper (Cowboy RTC)
 

Open

Appalachian State: Assistant Coach

Binghamton: Assistant Coach

California Baptist: Assistant Coach

Campbell: Assistant Coach (x2)

Central Michigan: Assistant Coach

Drexel: Assistant Coach

George Mason: Assistant Coach

Maryland: Assistant Coach

Mercyhurst: Assistant Coach

Michigan State: Assistant Coach

Oklahoma: Assistant Coach

The Citadel: Assistant Coach

Virginia: Assistant Coach

VMI: Assistant Coach

This week we dive into Citadel’s decision to elevate Luke Welsh to head coach, IMG Academy looking to start a wrestling program, Intermat’s pre-season rankings and our medal hopes for team USA men’s freestyle team at the World Championships.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro

1:36 - Weigh in

9:55 - Prospect camps + you don’t need to be D1 to have a great sports experience in college

17:45 - Luke Welch elevated to Citadel Interim Head Coach

26:00 - IMG Academy wrestling program

36:40 - Intermat Pre-season rankings

56:28 - Men’s Freestyle World Championships

It's September and school has started at most colleges and universities, so we're officially in the collegiate wrestling preseason. With that comes preseason rankings! Our first set of preseason rankings have been released. 

At this point, they are rather rough in some weights. With the extra COVID eligibility largely in the rearview mirror, there is more turnover than we've become accustomed to over the last four years. Remember, we don't rank true freshmen and there are definitely some that will likely make a significant impact this season. Even trophy contenders like Penn State and Oklahoma State could have prominent true freshmen starting, so they could shake up the team rankings. As usual, I tend to be conservative with redshirt freshmen (though there are some exceptions). 

These rankings will be updated at least once, perhaps twice, before the first matches. There are plenty of coaches I've spoken with who are uncertain about weight changes and have multiple rankable wrestlers vying for the starting role. So, there could be a lot of movement before November. 

Ranking can be found here

This week the crew dives into the first event from Real American Freestyle. They discuss their likes, dislikes and general thoughts about the first event and they talk about some of the horrible responses that followed.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

1:22 - Weigh in

10:57 - RAF Breakdown

55:45 - Wrap up: Coaches/Wrestlers we would like to have a beer with

The biggest coaching related news of the last couple of weeks came on Monday when Binghamton announced that Ryan LeBlanc will be the Bearcats next head coach. We wrote a bit about LeBlanc’s background here. 

With LeBlanc’s hire, it opens up the head coaching position at The Citadel very late in the game - so we have another head coaching vacancy. Related to the Bulldogs, InterMat was recently told that they were looking to hire an assistant coach, as well. This will be a new position. One might assume that this would get pushed to the backburner until the head coaching job is filled. 

In other coaching news, Teyon Ware rounded out his first coaching staff at the University of Northern Colorado by hiring Charles Jones Jr. Jones Jr. wrestled collegiately at Oklahoma and Fresno State and served in the United States Army from 2010 to 2022. He comes to Greeley after leading the girls high school program at Edmond North in Oklahoma. 

Troy Nickerson also completed his first coaching staff at Army West Point with the hiring of Alan Clothier. The two are very familiar with each other as Clothier qualified for the NCAA Tournament three times under Nickerson at Northern Colorado. Since then, Clothier has coached collegiately at Buffalo and Davidson. 

Finally, Gardner-Webb also added to their coaching staff with the hiring of Vincent Scollo as a graduate assistant. Scollo was a 2023 NCAA sixth place finisher for DII West Liberty. He comes to Gardner-Webb after holding the same position at his alma mater. 

Coaching Changes

Army West Point: Alan Clothier (Assistant Coach)

Army West Point: Troy Nickerson (Head Coach)

Bellarmine: Brayton Lee (Assistant Coach)

Binghamton: Brevin Cassella (Assistant Coach)

Binghamton: Ryan LeBlanc (Head Coach)

Brown: Tyler Grayson (Assistant Coach)

Campbell: TJ Dudley (Head Coach)

Gardner-Webb: Vincent Scollo (Graduate Assistant)

Illinois: Eric Schultz (Assistant Coach)

Kent State: Fred Garcia (Assistant Coach)

Kent State: Josh Moore (Head Coach)

Kent State: Devin Schroder (Assistant Coach)

Lock Haven: Gavin Hoffman (Assistant Coach)

Lock Haven: Brock Mauller (Assistant Coach)

Long Island: Jay Nivison (Assistant Coach)

Mercyhurst: Jimmy Overhiser (Head Coach)

Missouri: Keegan O’Toole (Assistant Coach)

NC State: Malik McDonald (Assistant Coach)

North Dakota State: Willie Miklus (Assistant Coach)

Northern Colorado: Charles Jones Jr. (Assistant Coach)

Northern Colorado: Teyon Ware (Head Coach)

Northern Iowa: Ian Parker (Assistant Coach)

Oklahoma State: Kevin Ward (Assistant Coach)

Penn: Matt Valenti (Head Coach)

Penn: Lennox Wolak (Assistant Coach)

Princeton: Ryan Wolfe (Assistant Coach)

Purdue: Matt Ramos (Assistant Coach)
 

RTC/Club

Lee Roper (Cowboy RTC)
 

Open

Appalachian State: Assistant Coach

Binghamton: Assistant Coach

California Baptist: Assistant Coach

Campbell: Assistant Coach (x2)

Central Michigan: Assistant Coach

Drexel: Assistant Coach

George Mason: Assistant Coach

Lehigh: Assistant Coach

Little Rock: Assistant Coach

Maryland: Assistant Coach

Mercyhurst: Assistant Coach

Michigan State: Assistant Coach

Oklahoma: Assistant Coach

Oregon State: Assistant Coach

The Citadel: Head Coach

The Citadel: Assistant Coach

Virginia: Assistant Coach

VMI: Assistant Coach

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

4:00 - Weigh in

11:36 - Housekeeping: Upcoming content + Binghamton coaching search update

17:14 - UFC moving on from PPV model

31:02 - Mason Parris is back!

37:38 - Rutgers gets a new NIL setup

50:12 - Ferrari moving up to heavyweight

59:30 - Create a folkstyle wrestler

Two weeks ago, we had a flurry of action on the coaching carousel front. This week, not so much. We already discussed Penn’s newest hire, Lennox Wolak. One move we haven’t mentioned yet is Bellarmine bringing in All-American Brayton Lee.

Lee was a 2021 NCAA sixth-place finisher for Minnesota. As a freshman in 2019-20, Lee won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and was fourth at the Big Ten Championships. He was set to compete at nationals as the seventh seed; however, the tournament was cancelled. After the season, Lee was named a first-team All-American by the NWCA.

The 2021-22 season ended prematurely for Lee due to an injury. His 2022-23 campaign never really got going and he struggled to a 4-9 record.

Lee finished his career back in his home state of Indiana, wrestling for the Hoosiers. At Indiana, Lee finished fifth in the Big Ten and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for a third time.

Lee joins a Bellarmine program that had their first SoCon champion and DI national qualifier(s) in 2025. Having an assistant coach of Lee’s caliber will surely raise the level of talent in the room and get more exposure on the recruiting trail.

While you might look at this article for the new coaching hires, we also have DI positions that we’ve been notified as being open. There were a couple of new additions to that portion of the article in this update.

Central Michigan has a vacancy as Colin Heffernan has left the staff. CMU has traditionally kept hires in the Chippewa family, so we’ll see if any of their recent grads get a call.

We also received word that Eddie Klimara went back home to Illinois. That leaves a vacancy on VMI’s staff.

California Baptist is also seeking an assistant. As does Mercyhurst, which recently made the move from DII to DI.

The other vacancies were posted in previous editions of this feature.
 

Coaching Changes

Army West Point: Troy Nickerson (Head Coach)

Bellarmine: Brayton Lee (Assistant Coach)

Binghamton: Brevin Cassella (Assistant Coach)

Brown: Tyler Grayson (Assistant Coach)

Campbell: TJ Dudley (Head Coach)

Illinois: Eric Schultz (Assistant Coach)

Kent State: Fred Garcia (Assistant Coach)

Kent State: Josh Moore (Head Coach)

Kent State: Devin Schroder (Assistant Coach)

Lock Haven: Gavin Hoffman (Assistant Coach)

Lock Haven: Brock Mauller (Assistant Coach)

Long Island: Jay Nivison (Assistant Coach)

Mercyhurst: Jimmy Overhiser (Head Coach)

Missouri: Keegan O’Toole (Assistant Coach)

NC State: Malik McDonald (Assistant Coach)

North Dakota State: Willie Miklus (Assistant Coach)

Northern Colorado: Teyon Ware (Head Coach)

Oklahoma State: Kevin Ward (Assistant Coach)

Penn: Matt Valenti (Head Coach)

Penn: Lennox Wolak (Assistant Coach)

Princeton: Ryan Wolfe (Assistant Coach)

Purdue: Matt Ramos (Assistant Coach)
 

RTC/Club

Lee Roper (Cowboy RTC)
 

Open

Appalachian State: Assistant Coach

Binghamton: Assistant Coach

Binghamton: Head Coach

California Baptist: Assistant Coach

Campbell: Assistant Coach (x2)

Central Michigan: Assistant Coach

Drexel: Assistant Coach

George Mason: Assistant Coach

Lehigh: Assistant Coach

Little Rock: Assistant Coach

Maryland: Assistant Coach

Mercyhurst: Assistant Coach

Michigan State: Assistant Coach

Northern Colorado: Assistant Coach

Northern Iowa: Assistant Coach

Oklahoma: Assistant Coach

Oregon State: Assistant Coach

VMI: Assistant Coach

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

1:25 - Weigh in

13:00 - Donor only Oklahoma State/Cowboy RTC vs China dual meet

34:27 - Coaching: Tj Dudley’s conversations with Nick Kosko + Colin Heffernan leaving CMU + Binghamton’s ongoing search

46:37 - Gabe Arnold going back to Iowa

58:46 - Best wrestling league model

1:14:47 - Creating our own NCAA video game

1:29:38 - Correction and upcoming content

This week we discuss Penn's huge $20 million donation, how NIL has changed sports and impacted wrestling, TJ Dudley being named the next head coach at Campbell and should Jax Forrest move on from high school wrestling?

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro

1:45 - Weigh In

10:22 - Penn gets $20 million donation

19:50 - NIL, rev share and it's impact on wrestling

34:43 - Rev share opt in and opt out

42:21 - Campbell elevates TJ Dudley to head coach

55:37 - Vito wrestling in Poland

1:02:42 - Should Jax Forrest leave high school wrestling?

1:10:00 - High School holdbacks: good or bad?

The coaching carousel is a hypothetical action where, once one door closes, another one opens. Usually, school A hires a coach from school B, who now has a vacancy, and turns to someone from school C. Round and round the carousel goes all spring and summer and even into the fall. 

The carousel tends to have its ebbs and its flows. There may be no action for a week and then that crucial domino falls and creates a spark that leads to multiple hirings and vacancies. This has been the case for the last week. 

Our last coaching update centered around a pair of hires by Kent State (Fred Garcia and Devin Schroder). That means that there is now a head coaching and assistant coaching vacancy at Binghamton - Garcia’s previous home. Schroder came to Kent State via Wyoming. 

Wyoming didn’t take long to announce a replacement for Schroder; they’ve added Josh Heil to the Cowboy staff. Heil spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Campbell. During his three years in Buies Creek, Heil helped eight wrestlers earn NCAA qualifying bids, including one All-American. The Camels also claimed one SoCon title during his time on the bench. 

Heil also wrestled at Campbell and qualified for the NCAA Tournament on five occasions. He made the SoCon finals every year he competed, winning three times. During the 2020 season, Heil was named a first-team All-American by the NWCA after the NCAA Championships were cancelled. That year was one of two in which he earned top-eight seeds for the tournament. 

With Heil leaving Campbell, they now have a pair of openings for assistants. This comes after assistant coach TJ Dudley was elevated to become the program’s head coach on Sunday. 

Today, we’ve seen Lock Haven announce their latest hire - 3x NCAA All-American Brock Mauller. Mauller was a three-time MAC champion during his career at Missouri. He got on the NCAA podium as a true freshman with a sixth-place finish at the 149 lb weight class. As a sophomore, Mauller was also named a first-team All-American. He then finished fifth and seventh at nationals in the years that followed. 

Mauller started his coaching career midway through the 2024-25 season as he was hired by Northern Colorado. Of course, with him moving on to Lock Haven, that will open a spot on Teyon Ware’s first staff at UNC. 

Lock Haven had an opening because 2018 NCAA runner-up Ronnie Perry has stepped away from his position with the Bald Eagles. We’ll see if he fills one of the positions available below. 

We’ve re-added Lehigh to the list of opening positions. In June, Sammy Sasso was hired by the school as an assistant. His recent arrest seemed to put that hiring in jeopardy. The school had Sasso listed on the website as a coach at the time of the arrest, but since then, he’s been removed. 
 

Coaching Changes

Army West Point: Troy Nickerson (Head Coach)

Binghamton: Brevin Cassella (Assistant Coach)

Brown: Tyler Grayson (Assistant Coach)

Campbell: TJ Dudley (Head Coach)

Illinois: Eric Schultz (Assistant Coach)

Kent State: Fred Garcia (Assistant Coach)

Kent State: Josh Moore (Head Coach)

Kent State: Devin Schroder (Assistant Coach)

Lock Haven: Gavin Hoffman (Assistant Coach)

Lock Haven: Brock Mauller (Assistant Coach)

Long Island: Jay Nivison (Assistant Coach)

Mercyhurst: Jimmy Overhiser (Head Coach)

Missouri: Keegan O’Toole (Assistant Coach)

NC State: Malik McDonald (Assistant Coach)

North Dakota State: Willie Miklus (Assistant Coach)

Northern Colorado: Teyon Ware (Head Coach)

Oklahoma State: Kevin Ward (Assistant Coach)

Penn: Matt Valenti (Head Coach)

Princeton: Ryan Wolfe (Assistant Coach)

Purdue: Matt Ramos (Assistant Coach)
 

RTC/Club

Lee Roper (Cowboy RTC)

Open

Appalachian State: Assistant Coach

Bellarmine: Assistant Coach

Binghamton: Assistant Coach

Binghamton: Head Coach

Campbell: Assistant Coach (x2)

Drexel: Assistant Coach

George Mason: Assistant Coach

Lehigh: Assistant Coach

Little Rock: Assistant Coach

Maryland: Assistant Coach

Michigan State: Assistant Coach

Northern Colorado: Assistant Coach

Northern Iowa: Assistant Coach

Oklahoma: Assistant Coach

Oregon State: Assistant Coach

Penn: Assistant Coach

VMI: Assistant Coach

It’s been a while since we have given any portal updates and with some movement on the head coaching front, it seemed like the appropriate time for another. 

With Scotti Sentes leaving Campbell, it re-opened the portal for Camel wrestlers looking to transfer. Two notable Campbell wrestlers are on the move and are headed north to the University of Virginia. NCAA qualifiers Wynton Denkins and Dom Baker have recently announced that they are moving on to Virginia. Both could end up starting immediately for the Cavaliers, Denkins at 149 lbs and Baker at 174 lbs (though Baker does have a redshirt available). 

We also had to remove a prominent name from the transfer list as 2025 All-American Sammy Alvarez is not headed to Iowa. Looking at his career, it was difficult to interpret how he would have another year of eligibility. 

Another name we’ve removed is Cody Chittum. Initially, Chittum indicated that he would transfer to Ohio State from Iowa State. Later this offseason, there were rumors that he would head back to his home state to wrestle for Chattanooga. The Mocs athletic department put out a release centered around their five transfers for this offseason and Chittum was not among that list. We’ll re-add him once there’s more concrete information regarding his landing spot. 

We’ve also added a handful of transfers for Kent State. Coach Josh Moore had brought a handful of wrestlers from his last stop at Cleveland State University. 

Remember, there are still avenues for a wrestler to enter the transfer portal at this time. Any additional entries will be tied to a coaching change or perhaps from a graduate student. 

The first list of wrestlers we’ve listed have already publicly committed to a new transfer destination. That new school is listed first, along with their projected weight, followed by their former school. 

Below them are notable wrestlers that have gone into the transfer portal. It is not a comprehensive list. 

Transfers

Appalachian State: Joe Fongaro (149) - Rutgers

Arizona State: Benji Alanis (149) - Northern Colorado

Arizona State: Gavin Bauder (133) - Clackamas CC

Arizona State: David Szuba (285) - Rider

Arizona State: Leo Tukhlynovych (174) - Rochester CTC

Arizona State: Jude Randall (157) - Oklahoma

Arizona State: Ane’e Vigil (125) - Clackamas CC

Army West Point: Jake Crapps (133) - Missouri

Bloomsburg: Eric Alderfer (157) - Lock Haven

Bloomsburg: Michael Giugliano (133) - Buffalo

Bloomsburg: Cael Raines (149) - Buffalo

Bloomsburg: Coy Raines (197) - Buffalo

Bloomsburg: Jace Schafer (125) - West Virginia

Bloomsburg: Braiden Woodward (174) - Buffalo

Buffalo: Connor Jacobs (184) - Clarion

Buffalo: Kelin Laffey (165) - Pittsburgh

Buffalo: Gianni Silvestri (141) - Clarion

Cal Poly: Caesar Garza (174) - Michigan State

Cal Poly: Luke Gayer (165) - Rutgers

Cal Poly: Andre Gonzales (141) - Ohio State

California Baptist: Kurt McHenry (125) - Penn State

California Baptist: Jesse Vasquez (149) - Arizona State

Campbell: Ethan Ducca (184) - Wyoming

Central Michigan: Seth Larson (157) - Campbell

Central Michigan: Gianni Maldonado (165) - Air Force Prep

Chattanooga: Cooper Flynn (125) - Minnesota

Chattanooga: Hunter Mason (141) - Virginia Tech

Chattanooga: Billy Meiszner (149) - Kent State

Chattanooga: Mason Reiniche (165) - Oregon State

Chattanooga: Carter Neves (285) - Ohio State

Clarion: Brandon Bauer (141) - Little Rock

Clarion: Peyton Costa (133) - Cleveland State

Clarion: Connor Eck (157) - Lock Haven

Clarion: Ky Szewczyk (133) - Ohio

CSU Bakersfield: Mason Cover (285) - Cleveland State

CSU Bakersfield: Jeremy Manibog (157) - Oklahoma State

CSU Bakersfield: Ramon Salazar (149) - Oklahoma State

Davidson: Anwar Alli (165) - Virginia

Drexel: Nate Schon (285) - Iowa State

Duke: Aurelius Dunbar (165) - Penn State

Edinboro: Brycen Arbogast (125) - West Virginia

Edinboro: Tate Geiser (165/174) - Cleveland State

George Mason: Jack Kelly (174) - Penn State

Illinois: Ryan Boersma (285) - Triton College

Illinois: Michael Gioffre (157) - Virginia

Illinois: Cade Lautt (197) - North Carolina

Illinois: Spencer Moore (125) - North Carolina

Indiana: Orlando Cruz (174) - Purdue

Iowa: Nasir Bailey (133/141) - Little Rock

Iowa: Massoma Endene (197) - Wartburg

Iowa: Dean Peterson (125) - Rutgers

Iowa: Jordan Williams (149) - Little Rock

Iowa State: Isaac Dean (184) - Rider

Iowa State: Rocky Elam (197) - Missouri

Iowa State: Stevo Poulin (125) - Northern Colorado

Iowa State: Malton Powe (165) - Pratt CC

Iowa State: Vinny Zerban (157) - Northern Colorado

Kent State: JT Chance (157) - George Mason

Kent State: Landon Duncan (141) - Cleveland State

Kent State: Nick Molchak (133) - Cleveland State

Kent State: Parker Pikor (125) - Cleveland State

Kent State: Reese Stephen (157) - Cleveland State

Little Rock: Brock Herman (157) - Ohio State

Little Rock: Draegen Orine (133) - NC State

Lock Haven: Sam Gatreau (165) - Maryland

Long Island: Domenic D’Agostino (165) - Drexel

Maryland: Chase Horne (285) - NC State

Michigan: Taye Ghadiali (285) - Campbell

Michigan: Lachlan McNeil (149) - North Carolina

Michigan: Diego Sotelo (125) - Harvard

Minnesota: Chris Cannon (133/141) - Northwestern

Minnesota: Jore Volk (125) - Wyoming

Missouri: Evan Bates (197) - Northwestern

Missouri: Maxx Mayfield (165) - Northwestern

Morgan State: Anthony Ferrari (157) - Long Island

NC State: Zach Redding (133/141) - Iowa State

Nebraska: AJ Ferrari (197/285) - CSU Bakersfield

Nebraska: Chance Lamer (149) - Cal Poly

North Carolina: Bryce Hepner (157/165) - Ohio State

North Carolina: Kysen Terukina (125) - Iowa State

Northern Colorado: Murphy Menke (174) - Oregon State

Northern Colorado: Emilio Trujillo (141) - California Baptist

Northern Illinois: Ali Adel (184) - Harper College

Northern Illinois: Caleb Roe (184) - Presbyterian

Northern Iowa: Caleb Rathjen (149) - Iowa

Northwestern: Gabe Christenson (285) - Virginia

Northwestern: Sean Spidle (133) - Central Michigan

Ohio State: Dylan Fishback (184) - NC State

Ohio State: Xander Myers (197) - Cleveland State

Ohio State: Ethan Stiles (149) - Oregon State

Oklahoma: Tyson Charmoli (133) - Wyoming

Oklahoma: Jack Gioffre (149) - Virginia

Oklahoma: Rafael Hipolito (157) - Virginia Tech

Oklahoma: Peyton Kellar (157) - Ohio

Oklahoma: Brian Soldano (184) - Rutgers

Oklahoma: Tyler Wells (133) - Minnesota

Oklahoma State: Alex Facundo (165) - Penn State

Oklahoma State: Richie Figueroa (125/133) - Arizona State

Oklahoma State: Zack Ryder (184) - Penn State

Oklahoma State: Gary Steen (133) - Penn State

Oklahoma State: Casey Swiderski (149) - Iowa State

Oregon State: Joel Adams (149) - Michigan/CKWC

Oregon State: Daschle Lamer (174) - Cal Poly

Penn State: Rocco Welsh (184) - Ohio State

Pittsburgh: Lucas Daly (184) - Michigan State

Purdue: Blake Boarman (133) - Chattanooga

Purdue: Gavin Brown (149) - Ohio State

Rider: Brendon Abdon (165) - Little Rock

Rider: Eli Griffin (141) - California Baptist

Rider: Dylan Layton (149) - Cleveland State

Rider: Hogan Swenski (285) - Ohio State

Rutgers: Patrick Adams (125) - Northwestern

Rutgers: Hunter Catka (285) - Virginia Tech

Rutgers: Remy Cotton (197) - Michigan State

Rutgers: Lenny Pinto (174) - Nebraska

Sacred Heart: Anthony Clem (133) - West Virginia

Sacred Heart: Joey Clem (133) - West Virginia

Sacred Heart: John Hildebrandt (133) - Drexel

Sacred Heart: Caden Smith (125) - Virginia Tech

SIU Edwardsville: Kevin Zimmer (285) - Wyoming

Utah Valley: David Evans (149) - Penn State

Virginia: Dom Baker (165/174) - Campbell

Virginia: Wynton Denkins (149) - Campbell

Virginia: Colton Washleski (157) - Rider

Virginia Tech: Jaden Bullock (184) - Michigan

Virginia Tech: Sergio DeSiante (174) - Chattanooga

Virginia Tech: Ethen Miller (157) - Maryland

West Virginia: Louie Gill (125) - NC State

West Virginia: Willie McDougald (149) - Oklahoma

Wyoming: Christian Carroll (197/285) - Iowa State

Wyoming: Sefton Douglass (125) - Western Wyoming

Wyoming: Cody Phelps (133) - Michigan State

Portal

Kyle Dutton (149) - Little Rock

Caden Horwath (125) - Michigan

Isaiah Powe (141) - Chattanooga

TJ Stewart (184) - Virginia Tech

On this week's show the crew discusses Sammy Sasso's arrest, Nate Engel leaving Oregon State, who is in the mix for the Binghamton head coaching position, the Russia vs USA dual and the ranking series tournament performances. At the end, Holmes and Robbie respond to some of the latest comments on previous episodes.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro

1:04 - Weigh in

9:54 - Sammy Sasso arrest

25:18 - Nate Engel leaving Oregon State

40:45 - Who is in the mix for the Binghamton head coaching job?

53:23 - USA vs Russia dual

1:06:45 - Ranking series recap

1:32:32 - Responding to past comments

This week we jump into the latest coaching changes as Kyle Borshoff steps down at Binghamton, Teyon Ware is hired at Northern Colorado and other spot are still TBD. We also discuss the upcoming World Team final between Vito Arujau and Jax Forrest as well as the new NCAA rule changes, our thoughts on Real American Freestyle and the potential matchup. We end on a funny note as we dig into Mark Manning's comments on the small impact that Bill Belichick's girlfriend, Jordan Hudson, had on AJ Ferrari not getting into UNC.

Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro

3:35 - Weigh In

10:00 - Coach changes: Kyle Borshoff steps down at Binghamton, Teyon Ware hired at Northern Colorado, other coaching openings

31:32 - Vito Arujau vs Jax Forrest

44:04 - New NCAA Rule Changes

1:03:13 - Real American Freestyle: thoughts on the league and the potential matchups

1:17:21 - Did Bill Belichick’s girlfriend have something to do with AJ Ferrari’s denial from UNC??

Last week, the coaching carousel continued to turn as two-time NCAA finalist Sammy Sasso was hired by Lehigh and two-time national champion Teyon Ware took over at Northern Colorado. With Ware moving on, Oklahoma will have an opening on their staff. That vacancy should garner plenty of interest with a relatively new coaching staff and a talented, young Sooners team. 

In addition to the Oklahoma opening, there are still plenty of good opportunities from an assistant standpoint. We also have one head coaching vacancy with Campbell’s job open. Now that we’ve gotten some movement, I think the coaching carousel will only pick up steam. 

Also, we’re less than a week away from action getting underway in Fargo. Fargo provides an excellent opportunity for networking, so some coaching deals could be struck in the FargoDome (or perhaps the Bison Turf). 
 

Coaching Changes

Army West Point: Troy Nickerson (Head Coach)

Binghamton: Brevin Cassella (Assistant Coach)

Brown: Tyler Grayson (Assistant Coach)

Kent State: Josh Moore (Head Coach)

Lehigh: Sammy Sasso (Assistant Coach)

Mercyhurst: Jimmy Overhiser (Head Coach)

Missouri: Keegan O’Toole (Assistant Coach)

NC State: Malik McDonald (Assistant Coach)

North Dakota State: Willie Miklus (Assistant Coach)

Northern Colorado: Teyon Ware (Head Coach)

Oklahoma State: Kevin Ward (Assistant Coach)

Penn: Matt Valenti (Head Coach)

Princeton: Ryan Wolfe (Assistant Coach)

Purdue: Matt Ramos (Assistant Coach)
 

RTC/Club

Lee Roper (Cowboy RTC)
 

Open

Appalachian State: Assistant Coach

Bellarmine: Assistant Coach

Campbell: Head Coach

Drexel: Assistant Coach

George Mason: Assistant Coach

Kent State: Assistant Coach

Little Rock: Assistant Coach

Maryland: Assistant Coach

Michigan State: Assistant Coach

Northern Iowa: Assistant Coach

Oklahoma: Assistant Coach

Penn: Assistant Coach

The drama and bad headlines keep rolling in for PSU. On this week's show we dive into the Carter Starocci allegations, Beau Bartlett speaking out, Aaron Brooks failed drug test and how PSU is handling things to this point. We also discuss Gabe Arnold being dismissed from Iowa and Sammy Sasso being the newest addition to the Lehigh coaching staff.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

0:38 - Weigh in

5:13 - Penn State's silence throughout the chaos

17:05 - Aaron Brooks fails drug test

35:40 - Carter Starocci allegations + Beau Bartlett speaks out

59:09 - Is PSU dominance at stake?

1:02:17 - Gabe Arnold dismissed from Iowa

1:10:00 - Sammy Sasso joins Lehigh staff

This week we dig into the Bo Bassett news and talk about the current recruiting landscape. We also give the story behind Cody Chittum's movement to UTC and the current coaching openings at Northern Colorado and Campbell.

Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro

1:06 - Weigh in

10:38 - Bo Bassett decommits from Iowa

34:38 - What's happening with Cody Chittum

43:50 - Sneak peak of Scott Green interview (full interview coming 6/25)

46:56 - Coaching vacancies: Northern Colorado + Campbell

56:04 - Ryan Crookham gets medical redshirt

Since our last coaching carousel update, we have added two new head coaches to our list - Josh Moore and Jimmy Overhiser, while also seeing another head coaching position come open (Campbell). 

Additionally, with Overhiser taking the Mercyhurst job, a slot on the Drexel staff opened up. 

We also understand that Northern Colorado might be getting close to making a decision for their head coaching position. That might impact other staffs, as well. But, I suppose that’s why it’s called the coaching carousel. 

Here is what we have as of Friday afternoon - of course, this could change quickly as Moore’s hiring was announced around this time a week ago. 
 

Coaching Changes

Army West Point: Troy Nickerson (Head Coach)

Binghamton: Brevin Cassella (Assistant Coach)

Brown: Tyler Grayson (Assistant Coach)

Kent State: Josh Moore (Head Coach)

Mercyhurst: Jimmy Overhiser (Head Coach)

Missouri: Keegan O’Toole (Assistant Coach)

Oklahoma State: Kevin Ward (Assistant Coach)

Penn: Matt Valenti (Head Coach)

Princeton: Ryan Wolfe (Assistant Coach)

Purdue: Matt Ramos (Assistant Coach)
 

RTC/Club

Lee Roper (Cowboy RTC)
 

Open

Appalachian State: Assistant Coach

Bellarmine: Assistant Coach

Campbell: Head Coach

Drexel: Assistant Coach

George Mason: Assistant Coach

Little Rock: Assistant Coach

Maryland: Assistant Coach

Michigan State: Assistant Coach

NC State: Assistant Coach

Northern Colorado: Head Coach

Northern Iowa: Assistant Coach

Penn: Assistant Coach

MANHEIM, PA — The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) is proud to announce that Scotti Sentes has been appointed the new Executive Director of the Wrestlers in Business Network (WIBN). This national peer networking initiative connects wrestling alums with career opportunities, business development pathways, and reinvestment strategies for the sport.

Sentes joins WIBN after a highly successful tenure as head wrestling coach at Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC, where he led the program to four conference championships and coached 27 NCAA qualifiers. His leadership extended far beyond the mat—spearheading donor campaigns that raised over $150,000 annually and forging innovative partnerships.

"Scotti brings a unique blend of business acumen, coaching excellence, and a deep passion for wrestling," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "His ability to connect with stakeholders, scale national initiatives, and drive strategic growth makes him the ideal person to lead the WIBN into its next chapter."

In his new role, Sentes will oversee national programming aimed at building and leveraging a talent-rich pipeline of high school and college wrestlers, fostering career placement opportunities, and expanding WIBN chapters nationwide. His responsibilities will include employer engagement, chapter development, fundraising strategy, and integration of WIBN initiatives across the NWCA's coaching education programs.

Sentes will be based at the NWCA Headquarters in Manheim, PA. He will travel extensively to cultivate employer partnerships, attend major wrestling events, and deploy initiatives such as the Spartan Fitness Challenge and WIBN Career Services workshops.

"I'm honored to step into the role of Executive Director for Wrestlers in Business Network,” Sentes stated. “One of my top priorities is creating more opportunities for companies to tap into the unmatched talent within our wrestling community. I'm here to open doors—for wrestlers and the businesses lucky enough to hire them. When organizations bring wrestlers into their teams, they're not just hiring—they're gaining high-character leaders who know how to compete, adapt, and deliver," continued new WIBN Executive Director Sentes. "It's a privilege to lead an organization committed to advancing careers, building businesses, and strengthening the wrestling community nationwide and across all levels."

With a proven track record of success in alum engagement, business development, and nonprofit advancement, Sentes is well-positioned to elevate WIBN's national impact—helping wrestling alums not only succeed in business but also reinvest in the next generation of student-athletes.

We’re a ways away from the deadline to enter the transfer portal (May 2nd), but there are still wrestlers who are in the portal who are making decisions regarding their next step. 

Over the weekend, we had the sudden announcement of AJ Ferrari to Nebraska. Ferrari’s addition will give a huge boost to a Cornhusker team that finished second at the 2025 NCAA Championships. 

Just when we thought that the portal news was drying up, California Baptist had to go and make a couple of notable moves. The Lancers brought in a pair of veterans that should make an immediate impact. Kurt McHenry and Jesse Vasquez were both announced as transfers by school on Tuesday. 

Vasquez qualified for the 2024 NCAA Tournament for Arizona State, but has dealt with a variety of injuries throughout his career. McHenry, a two-time Cadet world champion, has been behind some good 125 lbers at Michigan and Penn State and has had injuries of his own. 

Remember, there are still avenues for a wrestler to enter the transfer portal at this time. Any additional entries will be tied to a coaching change or perhaps from a graduate student. 

The first list of wrestlers we’ve listed have already publicly committed to a new transfer destination. That new school is listed first, along with their projected weight, followed by their former school. 

Below them are notable wrestlers that have gone into the transfer portal. It is not a comprehensive list. 

Transfers

Appalachian State: Joe Fongaro (149) - Rutgers

Arizona State: Gavin Bauder (133) - Clackamas CC

Arizona State: David Szuba (285) - Rider

Arizona State: Leo Tukhlynovych (174) - Rochester CTC

Arizona State: Ane’e Vigil (125) - Clackamas CC

Army West Point: Jake Crapps (133) - Missouri

Bloomsburg: Eric Alderfer (157) - Lock Haven

Bloomsburg: Michael Giugliano (133) - Buffalo

Bloomsburg: Jace Schafer (125) - West Virginia

Buffalo: Connor Jacobs (184) - Clarion

Buffalo: Kelin Laffey (165) - Pittsburgh

Buffalo: Gianni Silvestri (141) - Clarion

Cal Poly: Caesar Garza (174) - Michigan State

Cal Poly: Luke Gayer (165) - Rutgers

Cal Poly: Andre Gonzales (141) - Ohio State

California Baptist: Kurt McHenry (125) - Penn State

California Baptist: Jesse Vasquez (149) - Arizona State

Campbell: Ethan Ducca (184) - Wyoming

Central Michigan: Seth Larson (157) - Campbell

Central Michigan: Gianni Maldonado (165) - Air Force Prep

Chattanooga: Cooper Flynn (125) - Minnesota

Chattanooga: Hunter Mason (141) - Virginia Tech

Chattanooga: Billy Meiszner (149) - Kent State

Chattanooga: Carter Neves (285) - Ohio State

Clarion: Brandon Bauer (141) - Little Rock

Clarion: Peyton Costa (133) - Cleveland State

Clarion: Connor Eck (157) - Lock Haven

Clarion: Ky Szewczyk (133) - Ohio

CSU Bakersfield: Mason Cover (285) - Cleveland State

CSU Bakersfield: Jeremy Manibog (157) - Oklahoma State

Davidson: Anwar Alli (165) - Virginia

Drexel: Nate Schon (285) - Iowa State

Edinboro: Brycen Arbogast (125) - West Virginia

Edinboro: Tate Geiser (165/174) - Cleveland State

Illinois: Ryan Boersma (285) - Triton College

Illinois: Michael Gioffre (157) - Virginia

Illinois: Cade Lautt (197) - North Carolina

Illinois: Spencer Moore (125) - North Carolina

Indiana: Orlando Cruz (174) - Purdue

Iowa: Sammy Alvarez (149) - Rider

Iowa: Nasir Bailey (133/141) - Little Rock

Iowa: Massoma Endene (197) - Wartburg

Iowa: Dean Peterson (125) - Rutgers

Iowa: Jordan Williams (149) - Little Rock

Iowa State: Isaac Dean (184) - Rider

Iowa State: Rocky Elam (197) - Missouri

Iowa State: Malton Powe (165) - Pratt CC

Little Rock: Brock Herman (157) - Ohio State

Little Rock: Draegen Orine (133) - NC State

Lock Haven: Sam Gatreau (165) - Maryland

Long Island: Domenic D’Agostino (165) - Drexel

Maryland: Chase Horne (285) - NC State

Michigan: Taye Ghadiali (285) - Campbell

Michigan: Lachlan McNeil (149) - North Carolina

Michigan: Diego Sotelo (125) - Harvard

Minnesota: Chris Cannon (133/141) - Northwestern

Minnesota: Jore Volk (125) - Wyoming

Missouri: Maxx Mayfield (165) - Northwestern

Morgan State: Anthony Ferrari (157) - Long Island

NC State: Zach Redding (133/141) - Iowa State

Nebraska: AJ Ferrari (197/285) - CSU Bakersfield

Nebraska: Chance Lamer (149) - Cal Poly

North Carolina: Bryce Hepner (157/165) - Ohio State

North Carolina: Kysen Terukina (125) - Iowa State

Northern Colorado: Murphy Menke (174) - Oregon State

Northern Colorado: Emilio Trujillo (141) - California Baptist

Northern Illinois: Ali Adel (184) - Harper College

Northern Illinois: Caleb Roe (184) - Presbyterian

Northern Iowa: Caleb Rathjen (149) - Iowa

Northwestern: Sean Spidle (133) - Central Michigan

Ohio State: Cody Chittum (157) - Iowa State

Ohio State: Dylan Fishback (184) - NC State

Ohio State: Xander Myers (197) - Cleveland State

Ohio State: Ethan Stiles (149) - Oregon State

Oklahoma: Tyson Charmoli (133) - Wyoming

Oklahoma: Jack Gioffre (149) - Virginia

Oklahoma: Rafael Hipolito (157) - Virginia Tech

Oklahoma: Peyton Kellar (157) - Ohio

Oklahoma: Brian Soldano (184) - Rutgers

Oklahoma: Tyler Wells (133) - Minnesota

Oklahoma State: Alex Facundo (165) - Penn State

Oklahoma State: Richie Figueroa (125/133) - Arizona State

Oklahoma State: Zack Ryder (184) - Penn State

Oklahoma State: Gary Steen (133) - Penn State

Oklahoma State: Casey Swiderski (149) - Iowa State

Oregon State: Joel Adams (149) - Michigan/CKWC

Oregon State: Daschle Lamer (174) - Cal Poly

Penn State: Rocco Welsh (184) - Ohio State

Pittsburgh: Lucas Daly (184) - Michigan State

Purdue: Blake Boarman (133) - Chattanooga

Purdue: Gavin Brown (149) - Ohio State

Rider: Brendon Abdon (165) - Little Rock

Rider: Eli Griffin (141) - California Baptist

Rider: Dylan Layton (149) - Cleveland State

Rider: Hogan Swenski (285) - Ohio State

Rutgers: Patrick Adams (125) - Northwestern

Rutgers: Hunter Catka (285) - Virginia Tech

Rutgers: Remy Cotton (197) - Michigan State

Rutgers: Lenny Pinto (174) - Nebraska

Sacred Heart: Anthony Clem (133) - West Virginia

Sacred Heart: Joey Clem (133) - West Virginia

Sacred Heart: John Hildebrandt (133) - Drexel

Sacred Heart: Caden Smith (125) - Virginia Tech

SIU Edwardsville: Kevin Zimmer (285) - Wyoming

Utah Valley: David Evans (149) - Penn State

Virginia: Colton Washleski (157) - Rider

Virginia Tech: Jaden Bullock (184) - Michigan

Virginia Tech: Sergio DeSiante (174) - Chattanooga

Virginia Tech: Ethen Miller (157) - Maryland

West Virginia: Louie Gill (125) - NC State

West Virginia: Willie McDougald (149) - Oklahoma

Wyoming: Christian Carroll (197/285) - Iowa State

Wyoming: Sefton Douglass (125) - Western Wyoming

Wyoming: Cody Phelps (133) - Michigan State

Portal

Jordan Decatur (141) - Kent State

Kyle Dutton (149) - Little Rock

Caden Horwath (125) - Michigan

Isaiah Powe (141) - Chattanooga

TJ Stewart (184) - Virginia Tech

Erie, PA – Jimmy Overhiser steps onto the mat as the next head coach of the Mercyhurst Wrestling program.

"We are thrilled to announce Jimmy as our new head wrestling coach," said Athletic Director Joe Spano. "Jimmy's passion for wrestling and his focus on academics are the qualities we need to carry on Mike's legacy and help guide us through reclassification."

Overhiser is set to take the helm of the wrestling program following the retirement of longtime head coach Mike Wehler. He joins Mercyhurst from Drexel University, where he served as an assistant coach during the 2024 season and helped guide the team to its highest-ever conference finish — second place. Before arriving at Drexel, he was an assistant coach at Army for the 2023 season, where he played a key role in bringing in two nationally ranked recruiting classes. At the start of his coaching career, Overhiser contributed to Reinhardt University's (NAIA) pursuit of its first-ever national title, coaching three All-Americans along the way.

"I'm incredibly honored to be named the Head Wrestling Coach at Mercyhurst University." Overhiser said. "This program has a proud tradition, and I'm excited to lead it into this new chapter at the Division I level. I look forward to building a strong culture, developing our student-athletes on and off the mat, and competing at the highest level."

A native of Bradford, New York, Overhiser attended Wyoming Seminary, where he was a National Prep All-American and helped the program win its first-ever team National Prep title. He also attended Lansing High School, where he graduated as a wrestling state champion. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture, Art, and Urban Planning from Cornell University, where he was also a member of the wrestling team throughout his collegiate career. He is currently pursuing his Masters in Educational Admin. at Missouri Valley.

Yesterday, the coaching carousel got a swift jolt as Army West Point announced Troy Nickerson as the program’s next head coach. Of course, Nickerson filling that vacancy creates another in Greeley as Northern Colorado will now need to find a head coach themselves. We’ll see if Nickerson’s hiring leads to further moves from the Army or Northern Colorado staff. 

Another move that was announced over the weekend was Tyler Grayson returning to the Brown University coaching staff. The Central Michigan grad had previously served on staff at Brown for eight years under previous head coaches Dave Amato and Todd Beckerman. 
 

Coaching Changes

Army West Point: Troy Nickerson (Head Coach)

Binghamton: Brevin Cassella (Assistant Coach)

Brown: Tyler Grayson (Assistant Coach)

Missouri: Keegan O’Toole (Assistant Coach)

Oklahoma State: Kevin Ward (Assistant Coach)

Penn: Matt Valenti (Head Coach)

Princeton: Ryan Wolfe (Assistant Coach)

Purdue: Matt Ramos (Assistant Coach)
 

RTC/Club

Lee Roper (Cowboy RTC)
 

Open

Appalachian State: Assistant Coach

Bellarmine: Assistant Coach

George Mason: Assistant Coach

Kent State: Head Coach

Little Rock: Assistant Coach

Maryland: Assistant Coach

Michigan State: Assistant Coach

NC State: Assistant Coach

Northern Colorado: Head Coach

Northern Iowa: Assistant Coach

Penn: Assistant Coach

The AJ Ferrari situation has a lot of twists and turns with plenty of people responding to the fallout. The team discusses everything and responds to some of the things that have been said in the aftermath. We also dig into the standouts at the U20 and U23 tournaments along with what's going on with the Army head coaching process.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

1:30 - Weigh In

13:31 - AJ Ferrari denied admission to UNC and the fallout from it

39:11 - Standouts at U20 and U23 + tournament format

1:06:43 - Army Head Coach search

We’re a ways away from the deadline to enter the transfer portal (May 2nd), but there are still wrestlers who are in the portal who are making decisions regarding their next step. 

The biggest recent transfer-related news in some time came down yesterday as AJ Ferrari was denied entry to North Carolina. After speaking with a coach knowledgeable about the portal, it is thought that he’ll be able to transfer again since he was in the portal during the allotted time frame. 

Also dropping yesterday, was news that NCAA qualifier Jaden Bullock was coming home for a final year of eligibility. He’ll leave Michigan to wrestle for the Virginia Tech Hokies in his home state. Bullock qualified for the national tournament in 2024 and went 2-2 at in his only NCAA appearance. Last year was a bit rough as Bullock went 13-13 and didn’t qualify for nationals. His presence is needed since All-American TJ Stewart went into the portal and there wasn’t a clear cut successor at 184 lbs. 

Remember, there are still avenues for a wrestler to enter the transfer portal at this time. Any additional entries will be tied to a coaching change or perhaps from a graduate student. 

The first list of wrestlers we’ve listed have already publicly committed to a new transfer destination. That new school is listed first, along with their projected weight, followed by their former school. 

Below them are notable wrestlers that have gone into the transfer portal. It is not a comprehensive list. 

Transfers

Appalachian State: Joe Fongaro (149) - Rutgers

Arizona State: Gavin Bauder (133) - Clackamas CC

Arizona State: David Szuba (285) - Rider

Arizona State: Leo Tukhlynovych (174) - Rochester CTC

Arizona State: Ane’e Vigil (125) - Clackamas CC

Army West Point: Jake Crapps (133) - Missouri

Bloomsburg: Eric Alderfer (157) - Lock Haven

Buffalo: Connor Jacobs (184) - Clarion

Buffalo: Kelin Laffey (165) - Pittsburgh

Buffalo: Gianni Silvestri (141) - Clarion

Cal Poly: Caesar Garza (174) - Michigan State

Cal Poly: Luke Gayer (165) - Rutgers

Cal Poly: Andre Gonzales (141) - Ohio State

Campbell: Ethan Ducca (184) - Wyoming

Central Michigan: Seth Larson (157) - Campbell

Central Michigan: Gianni Maldonado (165) - Air Force Prep

Chattanooga: Cooper Flynn (125) - Minnesota

Chattanooga: Hunter Mason (141) - Virginia Tech

Chattanooga: Billy Meiszner (149) - Kent State

Chattanooga: Carter Neves (285) - Ohio State

Clarion: Brandon Bauer (141) - Little Rock

Clarion: Peyton Costa (133) - Cleveland State

Clarion: Connor Eck (157) - Lock Haven

Clarion: Ky Szewczyk (133) - Ohio

CSU Bakersfield: Jeremy Manibog (157)

Davidson: Anwar Alli (165) - Virginia

Drexel: Nate Schon (285) - Iowa State

Edinboro: Brycen Arbogast (125) - West Virginia

Edinboro: Tate Geiser (165/174) - Cleveland State

Illinois: Ryan Boersma (285) - Triton College

Illinois: Michael Gioffre (157) - Virginia

Illinois: Cade Lautt (197) - North Carolina

Illinois: Spencer Moore (125) - North Carolina

Indiana: Orlando Cruz (174) - Purdue

Iowa: Sammy Alvarez (149) - Rider

Iowa: Nasir Bailey (133/141) - Little Rock

Iowa: Massoma Endene (197) - Wartburg

Iowa: Dean Peterson (125) - Rutgers

Iowa: Jordan Williams (149) - Little Rock

Iowa State: Isaac Dean (184) - Rider

Iowa State: Rocky Elam (197) - Missouri

Iowa State: Malton Powe (165) - Pratt CC

Little Rock: Brock Herman (157) - Ohio State

Little Rock: Draegen Orine (133) - NC State

Lock Haven: Sam Gatreau (165) - Maryland

Long Island: Domenic D’Agostino (165) - Drexel

Maryland: Chase Horne (285) - NC State

Michigan: Taye Ghadiali (285) - Campbell

Michigan: Lachlan McNeil (149) - North Carolina

Michigan: Diego Sotelo (125) - Harvard

Minnesota: Jore Volk (125) - Wyoming

Missouri: Maxx Mayfield (165) - Northwestern

Morgan State: Anthony Ferrari (157) - Long Island

NC State: Zach Redding (133/141) - Iowa State

Nebraska: Chance Lamer (149) - Cal Poly

North Carolina: Bryce Hepner (157/165) - Ohio State

North Carolina: Kysen Terukina (125) - Iowa State

Northern Colorado: Murphy Menke (174) - Oregon State

Northern Illinois: Ali Adel (184) - Harper College

Northern Iowa: Caleb Rathjen (149) - Iowa

Ohio State: Cody Chittum (157) - Iowa State

Ohio State: Dylan Fishback (184) - NC State

Ohio State: Xander Myers (197) - Cleveland State

Ohio State: Ethan Stiles (149) - Oregon State

Oklahoma: Tyson Charmoli (133) - Wyoming

Oklahoma: Jack Gioffre (149) - Virginia

Oklahoma: Peyton Kellar (157) - Ohio

Oklahoma: Brian Soldano (184) - Rutgers

Oklahoma: Tyler Wells (133) - Minnesota

Oklahoma State: Alex Facundo (165) - Penn State

Oklahoma State: Richie Figueroa (125/133) - Arizona State

Oklahoma State: Zack Ryder (184) - Penn State

Oklahoma State: Gary Steen (133) - Penn State

Oklahoma State: Casey Swiderski (149) - Iowa State

Oregon State: Joel Adams (149) - Michigan/CKWC

Oregon State: Daschle Lamer (174) - Cal Poly

Penn State: Rocco Welsh (184) - Ohio State

Pittsburgh: Lucas Daly (184) - Michigan State

Purdue: Blake Boarman (133) - Chattanooga

Purdue: Gavin Brown (149) - Ohio State

Rider: Brendon Abdon (165) - Little Rock

Rider: Eli Griffin (141) - California Baptist

Rider: Dylan Layton (149) - Cleveland State

Rider: Hogan Swenski (285) - Ohio State

Rutgers: Hunter Catka (285) - Virginia Tech

Rutgers: Remy Cotton (197) - Michigan State

Rutgers: Lenny Pinto (174) - Nebraska

Sacred Heart: Anthony Clem (133) - West Virginia

Sacred Heart: Joey Clem (133) - West Virginia

Sacred Heart: John Hildebrandt (133) - Drexel

Sacred Heart: Caden Smith (125) - Virginia Tech

SIU Edwardsville: Kevin Zimmer (285) - Wyoming

Utah Valley: David Evans (149) - Penn State

Virginia: Colton Washleski (157) - Rider

Virginia Tech: Jaden Bullock (184) - Michigan

Virginia Tech: Sergio DeSiante (174) - Chattanooga

Virginia Tech: Ethen Miller (157) - Maryland

West Virginia: Louie Gill (125) - NC State

West Virginia: Willie McDougald (149) - Oklahoma

Wyoming: Christian Carroll (197/285) - Iowa State

Wyoming: Sefton Douglass (125) - Western Wyoming

Wyoming: Cody Phelps (133) - Michigan State

Portal

Chris Cannon (133/141) - Northwestern

Jordan Decatur (141) - Kent State

Kyle Dutton (149) - Little Rock

AJ Ferrari (197/285) - CSU Bakersfield

Rafael Hipolito (157 - Virginia Tech

Caden Horwath (125) - Michigan

Isaiah Powe (141) - Chattanooga

Sean Spidle (133) - Central Michigan

TJ Stewart (184) - Virginia Tech

Jesse Vasquez (149) - Arizona State

Back for episode 2 and the guys are digging into the suspensions of Kyle Snyder and Thomas Gilman, Lehigh's announcement of their women's wrestling team along with what the future holds for women and we ask the question: are duals the answer for the future of college wrestling?

Timestamp:

0:00 - Intro

1:59 - Weigh in

8:57 - Lehigh announces women’s team + future of women’s wrestling

25:30 - Suspensions: Kyle Snyder + Thomas Gilman

52:00 - Are duals the future? + Mike Moyer’s tweet

1:16:03 - Posts for tickets at Final X…Really?

Late last week, news broke that Army West Point head coach Kevin Ward had stepped down from his position leading the Black Knights after 11 years. On Monday, we found out the reason Ward left his position at West Point was to head to his alma mater, Oklahoma State, as an assistant coach. 

Ward’s move might have helped give a jump start to the coaching carousel for the 2025 offseason. As of now, it has been unusually quiet. With his former position open, there are a pair of head coaching opportunities currently available. 

Aside from Ward’s move, the only coaching hires that we have seen are a pair of graduates staying with their respective teams in a coaching role. Two-time national champion Keegan O’Toole being the first and, yesterday, Binghamton announced that 2025 EIWA champion Brevin Cassella would stay on the Bearcats coaching staff. 

Below are the moves that we’ve tracked thus far - along with some open DI coaching positions that we’re aware of at this time. This list will surely grow in the coming weeks and months. 

Coaching Changes

Binghamton: Brevin Cassella (Assistant Coach)

Missouri: Keegan O’Toole (Assistant Coach)

Oklahoma State: Kevin Ward (Assistant Coach)
 

RTC/Club

Lee Roper (Cowboy RTC)
 

Open

Appalachian State: Assistant Coach

Army West Point: Head Coach

Bellarmine: Assistant Coach

George Mason: Assistant Coach

Kent State: Head Coach

Little Rock: Assistant Coach

Maryland: Assistant Coach

NC State: Assistant Coach

Northern Iowa: Assistant Coach

Penn: Assistant Coach

We’re a ways away from the deadline to enter the transfer portal (May 2nd), but there are still wrestlers who are in the portal who are making decisions regarding their next step. Since our last update, there weren’t any earth-shattering moves; however, a few teams quietly got better. Most notably, Central Michigan. 

The Chippewas have picked up Gianni Maldonado who spent the last year at the Air Force Academy’s Prep School. Just a year ago, Maldonado was deemed a top 150 recruit (#146) coming out of high school in Florida. He put together a 4-2 record at 157 and 165 lbs while competing for the prep school in 2024-25. 

CMU also picked up Seth Larson who went 1-7 at 157 lbs for Campbell. All of Larson’s action came in dual meets as a true freshman in 2024-25. The addition of Maldonado gives CMU some depth in the middle weights, so the Central Michigan could redshirt Larson during the upcoming season. 

Northern Colorado is a school that has used the portal well, of late. The Bears latest addition is Murphy Menke, a Colorado native, who started for most of the year at Oregon State. Menke began the year at 165 lbs, but moved up and was the postseason entry for Oregon State at 174 lbs. He made the Pac-12 finals and lost to Tyler Brennan (Little Rock) who was later deemed ineligible. 

Remember, there are still avenues for a wrestler to enter the transfer portal at this time. Any additional entries will be tied to a coaching change or perhaps from a graduate student. 

The first list of wrestlers we’ve listed have already publicly committed to a new transfer destination. That new school is listed first, along with their projected weight, followed by their former school. 

Below them are notable wrestlers that have gone into the transfer portal. It is not a comprehensive list. 

Transfers

Appalachian State: Joe Fongaro (149) - Rutgers

Arizona State: Gavin Bauder (133) - Clackamas CC

Arizona State: David Szuba (285) - Rider

Arizona State: Leo Tukhlynovych (174) - Rochester CTC

Arizona State: Ane’e Vigil (125) - Clackamas CC

Army West Point: Jake Crapps (133) - Missouri

Bloomsburg: Eric Alderfer (157) - Lock Haven

Buffalo: Connor Jacobs (184) - Clarion

Buffalo: Kelin Laffey (165) - Pittsburgh

Buffalo: Gianni Silvestri (141) - Clarion

Cal Poly: Caesar Garza (174) - Michigan State

Cal Poly: Luke Gayer (165) - Rutgers

Cal Poly: Andre Gonzales (141) - Ohio State

Campbell: Ethan Ducca (184) - Wyoming

Central Michigan: Seth Larson (157) - Campbell

Central Michigan: Gianni Maldonado (165) - Air Force Prep

Chattanooga: Cooper Flynn (125) - Minnesota

Chattanooga: Hunter Mason (141) - Virginia Tech

Chattanooga: Billy Meiszner (149) - Kent State

Chattanooga: Carter Neves (285) - Ohio State

Clarion: Brandon Bauer (141) - Little Rock

Clarion: Peyton Costa (133) - Cleveland State

Clarion: Connor Eck (157) - Lock Haven

Clarion: Ky Szewczyk (133) - Ohio

Davidson: Anwar Alli (165) - Virginia

Drexel: Nate Schon (285) - Iowa State

Edinboro: Brycen Arbogast (133) - West Virginia

Edinboro: Tate Geiser (165/174) - Cleveland State

Illinois: Ryan Boersma (285) - Triton College

Illinois: Michael Gioffre (157) - Virginia

Illinois: Cade Lautt (197) - North Carolina

Illinois: Spencer Moore (125) - North Carolina

Indiana: Orlando Cruz (174) - Purdue

Iowa: Sammy Alvarez (149) - Rider

Iowa: Nasir Bailey (133/141) - Little Rock

Iowa: Massoma Endene (197) - Wartburg

Iowa: Dean Peterson (125) - Rutgers

Iowa: Jordan Williams (149) - Little Rock

Iowa State: Isaac Dean (184) - Rider

Iowa State: Rocky Elam (197) - Missouri

Iowa State: Malton Powe (165) - Pratt CC

Little Rock: Brock Herman (157) - Ohio State

Little Rock: Draegen Orine (133) - NC State

Lock Haven: Sam Gatreau (165) - Maryland

Maryland: Chase Horne (285) - NC State

Michigan: Taye Ghadiali (285) - Campbell

Michigan: Lachlan McNeil (149) - North Carolina

Michigan: Diego Sotelo (125) - Harvard

Minnesota: Jore Volk (125) - Wyoming

Missouri: Maxx Mayfield (165) - Northwestern

Morgan State: Anthony Ferrari (157) - Long Island

NC State: Zach Redding (133/141) - Iowa State

Nebraska: Chance Lamer (149) - Cal Poly

North Carolina: AJ Ferrari (197/285) - CSU Bakersfield

North Carolina: Bryce Hepner (157/165) - Ohio State

North Carolina: Kysen Terukina (125) - Iowa State

Northern Colorado: Murphy Menke (174) - Oregon State

Northern Illinois: Ali Adel (184) - Harper College

Northern Iowa: Caleb Rathjen (149) - Iowa

Ohio State: Cody Chittum (157) - Iowa State

Ohio State: Dylan Fishback (184) - NC State

Ohio State: Ethan Stiles (149) - Oregon State

Oklahoma: Tyson Charmoli (133) - Wyoming

Oklahoma: Jack Gioffre (149) - Virginia

Oklahoma: Peyton Kellar (157) - Ohio

Oklahoma: Brian Soldano (184) - Rutgers

Oklahoma: Tyler Wells (133) - Minnesota

Oklahoma State: Alex Facundo (165) - Penn State

Oklahoma State: Richie Figueroa (125/133) - Arizona State

Oklahoma State: Zack Ryder (184) - Penn State

Oklahoma State: Gary Steen (133) - Penn State

Oklahoma State: Casey Swiderski (149) - Iowa State

Oregon State: Joel Adams (149) - Michigan/CKWC

Penn State: Rocco Welsh (184) - Ohio State

Purdue: Blake Boarman (133) - Chattanooga

Purdue: Gavin Brown (149) - Ohio State

Rider: Brendon Abdon (165) - Little Rock

Rider: Eli Griffin (141) - California Baptist

Rider: Dylan Layton (149) - Cleveland State

Rider: Hogan Swenski (285) - Ohio State

Rutgers: Hunter Catka (285) - Virginia Tech

Rutgers: Remy Cotton (197) - Michigan State

Rutgers: Lenny Pinto (174) - Nebraska

Sacred Heart: Anthony Clem (133) - West Virginia

Sacred Heart: Joey Clem (133) - West Virginia

Sacred Heart: John Hildebrandt (133) - Drexel

SIU Edwardsville: Kevin Zimmer (285) - Wyoming

Utah Valley: David Evans (149) - Penn State

Virginia: Colton Washleski (157) - Rider

Virginia Tech: Sergio DeSiante (174) - Chattanooga

Virginia Tech: Ethen Miller (157) - Maryland

West Virginia: Louie Gill (125) - NC State

West Virginia: Willie McDougald (149) - Oklahoma

Wyoming: Christian Carroll (197/285) - Iowa State

Wyoming: Sefton Douglass (125) - Western Wyoming

Wyoming: Cody Phelps (133) - Michigan State

Portal

Chris Cannon (133/141) - Northwestern

Lucas Daly (184) - Michigan State

Jordan Decatur (141) - Kent State

Kyle Dutton (149) - Little Rock

Rafael Hipolito (157 - Virginia Tech

Caden Horwath (125) - Michigan

Daschle Lamer (184) - Cal Poly

Tate Picklo (174) - Oklahoma

Isaiah Powe (141) - Chattanooga

Mike Slade (184/197) - Campbell

Sean Spidle (133) - Central Michigan

TJ Stewart (184) - Virginia Tech

Jesse Vasquez (149) - Arizona State

John Wiley (157) - Oklahoma

Welcome to The Quad Pod sponsored by Poseidon Strength! In the first episode, Holmes, Kevin, Robbie and Austin discuss the results from the World Team Trials, the Sr. level youth movement in men’s freestyle and what’s happening with Kyle Snyder and 97KG?

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

1:38 - Weighing in

9:14 - Women’s WTT

18:00 - Kyle Dake vs Carter Starocci recap

29:20 - PJ Duke, Bo Bassett and the Sr. level youth movement

46:09 - Men’s WTT

50:00 - Kyle Snyder & 97KG

1:04:42 - Kevin Ward/OK State

1:18:40 - Wrap up: Slippery mats and small venue for WTT

We like to say that young wrestlers today are more ready to compete as true freshmen than ever before and it’s a phrase that rings true with every passing year. That’s what makes the recruiting Class of 2024 so unusual. Despite being headlined by future stars, only one of the top-30 recruits wrestled in the collegiate postseason. All others were kept in redshirt. 

A likely reason for this is that these recruits signed with traditional power programs that didn’t necessarily “need” them in year one. Also, with the transfer portal used more than ever, it might be a good idea to get a veteran stopgap while your prized recruit gets a year of seasoning. 

Whatever the case, #1 Luke Lilledahl was the only top 30 recruit from the Class of 2024 to compete in the postseason. Of course, Lilledahl went on to take third at nationals, won the US Open, and is heading to Final X - so the Nittany Lion staff made the right class there. 

With the rest of these top recruits outside the spotlight, kept in redshirt, it seemed like a good time to check in on these heralded recruits and see how their redshirt year went - along with any freestyle results that have occurred in the interim. 

#2 Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State)

It was a successful redshirt season for Cody Merrill who racked up a 12-2 record and lost to the eventual national champion (Stephen Buchanan) 2-0 and 4-2 to a U20 world medalist (Justin Rademacher). Merrill didn’t “just” wrestle close matches against good competition, he managed to post some solid wins, as well. One was at the expense of All-American and Big Ten champion Isaiah Salazar. His collegiate debut featured him winning the Michigan State Open and defeating two eventual national qualifiers - he had four wins over qualifiers on the year. 

Merrill also made the finals of the U20 Open at 92 kg. 

#3 Aeoden Sinclair (Missouri)

With Mizzou reeling from injuries to returning 184 lb starter Colton Hawks and four-time 197 lb All-American, Rocky Elam, Aeoden Sinclair took one for the team and filled in as needed in between the two weights while maintaining his redshirt status. At the Soldier Salute, Sinclair also notched a win over the returning All-American Salazar. Up from his ideal 184 lbs, Sinclair won a 16-10 shootout with veteran Danny Braunagel a month into his tenure in Columbia. Overall, he was 8-4, but half of those losses came to wrestlers who have been NCAA finalists. 

At the Open, Sinclair showed his competitiveness and talent by making the finals of the U20 Open at 86 kg and the Senior Open at 92 kg. 

With Hawks back for Missouri, he is expected to move up to 197 lbs and Sinclair will be able to compete at 184 lbs. 

#4 Ben Davino (Ohio State)

We’ve written about Davino a couple of times just within the past few weeks because he was one of the more impressive young wrestlers at the US Open. Competing at the Senior level, Davino beat NCAA champion Nico Megaludis, world medalist Daton Fix, and multi-time All-American Austin DeSanto. During his redshirt season, Davino rolled to a 19-1 record and topped eight national qualifiers - one of which was his teammate and NCAA bloodround finisher Nic Bouzakis. 

Davino’s presence might mean that Bouzakis will drop to 125 lbs for the Buckeyes in 2025-26. 

#5 Connor Mirasola (Penn State)

At some point in the preseason, some thought that Connor Mirasola might be “the guy” for Penn State in 2024-25 at 197 lbs. An early season de-facto wrestle-off at the Black Knight Invitational showed that Josh Barr would be more than able to handle those duties, despite being ideally a 197 lber. Mirasola only competed once after the Black Knight Invite and it was when he captured a Southern Scuffle title. Mirasola racked up bonus points in four of his five bouts and took down two eventual national qualifiers. All told, Mirasola went 8-1 during his redshirt season. 

At the U20 Open, Mirasola claimed a title with a 5-1 win over Merrill. Before the finals, he also notched a dominating 11-0 win over Virginia Tech’s Sonny Sasso. 

With his success at 197 lbs in 2024-25, one would assume that Josh Barr stays at the weight which makes Mirasola’s immediate and long-term status as a starter unclear. 

#6 Zack Ryder (Penn State)

Another piece of Penn State’s top-ranked 2024 recruiting class was three-time age group world medalist Zack Ryder. Ryder lived up to his ranking with a perfect 8-0 record and titles at the Black Knight Invite and the Southern Scuffle. Half of Ryder’s eight wins came against wrestlers that either had or would go on to make the NCAA Tournament. 

Things got complicated this offseason when 2024 NCAA finalist Rocco Welsh transferred into Penn State and was tabbed to go 184 lbs. Shortly after Welsh’s arrival, Ryder went into the transfer portal and reunited with David Taylor at Oklahoma State. Ryder is expected to start for the Cowboys at 184 lbs, though he’ll get a challenge from incumbents Brayden Thompson and Jersey Robb. 

#7 Angelo Ferrari (Iowa)

While Angelo Ferrari got a handful of matches in open tournaments, the bulk of his experience during the 2024-25 campaign came from the pressure cooker that was Iowa’s three biggest duals. Ferrari kept his redshirt status but suited up against Iowa State, Oklahoma State, and Penn State. While five-time NCAA champion Carter Starocci was responsible for Ferrari’s only loss in the Penn State dual, the veteran wasn’t able to do much against the rookie in a 3-1 win. Ferrari’s sudden victory win over 2024 NCAA runner-up Dustin Plott was one of the most exciting individual matches of the year and was a deciding factor in Iowa’s win over the Cowboys. 

With Ferrari, Ryder, and Sinclair - along with Welsh, Max McEnelly, and others, 184 lbs is set to be very fun for the next three years as all these young contenders are redshirt freshmen or sophomores. 

#8 Joseph Sealey (Penn State)

We didn’t see much of Joseph Sealey during the 2024-25 regular season. He appeared in two dual meets for the Nittany Lions and suffered losses in both. One was against the eventual Big Ten runner-up, Brandon Cannon, and the other was against non-qualifier Jason Kraisser. 

If there was any cause for concern, those may have been alleviated by Sealey’s recent showing at the U20 Open. He ran roughshod over his half of the bracket with five techs on his way to the finals. There he met Oklahoma State signee Ladarion Lockett and dropped a 5-2 bout. 

At first glance, there doesn’t appear to be a 2025-26 spot for Sealey in the Nittany Lion lineup; however, they could redshirt Tyler Kasak and give Sealey a chance at 157 lbs. 

#9 Koy Hopke (Minnesota)

If we didn’t see “much” of Joseph Sealey in 2024-25, we didn’t see anything from Koy Hopke as he did not take the mat during the collegiate season. He did make an appearance at the U20 Open and gave Gopher fans a hint of what to expect from their heavyweight of the future. 

In Vegas, Hopke had a pair of dominating wins before a 9-0 loss to Coby Merrill. Hopke regrouped and had a furious rush to third place that included four straight wins. In the process, he beat Iowa recruit Michael Mocco before pinning Cornell recruit Rocco Dellagatta for third. 

Minnesota still has veteran Bennett Tabor on their roster; however, you’d expect Hopke to be in close competition with him for the starting role in 2025-26. 

#10 Brock Mantanona (Michigan)

In the preseason, word spread that Beau Mantanona suffered a severe knee injury and was likely to miss the season. Replacing him at 165 lbs was his younger brother, Brock. The younger Mantanona got off to a good start with wins over national qualifiers in his first two duals and a seventh-place showing at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. As luck would have it, Beau’s injury was not as serious as the Michigan staff once thought and Brock was kept in redshirt while Beau resumed his duties as the starter. 

Also in Vegas, at the U20 Open, Brock made the 79 kg finals after five straight tech falls. In the championship match, he suffered a 12-8 loss to Penn State recruit Will Henckel. 

Competing at 79 kg might signal that Brock intends on going 174 lbs for the Wolverines in 2025-26. If so, that would fill a huge need for Michigan. 

#11 Aden Valencia (Stanford)

At a glance, Aden Valencia’s 3-3 record in 2024-25 might raise some concerns, but looking into the matches themselves tells a different story. Valencia went on the road in his collegiate debut and won back-to-back matches against Iowa/Iowa State. He was Stanford’s entry at 141 lbs at the CKLV but went 0-2. That 0-2 was more a function of upsets in the bracket rather than a bad showing from Valencia. One of those losses came in sudden victory to an eventual All-American (Cael Happel) and the other was 2-0 to an eventual Round of 12 finisher (Sergio Lemley). 

In Valencia’s two other dual appearances, he knocked off Ivy League runner-up Eligh Rivera and moved up two weight classes to meet NC State All-American Ed Scott at 157 lbs. 

Valencia has never been shy about seeking older competition. That was the case at the US Open as he wrestled in the Senior division. Valencia ended up in third and posted two wins over 2023 NCAA runner-up Real Woods. He also pushed the eventual champion Joey McKenna to the brink before falling, 9-6. Valencia is registered to compete at the Senior level at the forthcoming World Team Trials.

The entry date (May 2nd) has come and gone for the transfer portal. Now, any additional entries will be tied to a coaching change or perhaps from a graduate student. 

One of the more interesting twists and turns from the portal this offseason came this weekend as the presence of 2025 All-American Sammy Alvarez was noted. All of my trusted contacts (and I) are unsure how Alvarez would have another year of eligibility and if he’s been granted one. I’m sure his 2025 WrestleStat page has received a bunch of hits with people trying to make sense of his eligibility (or lack thereof).

We’re about a month and a half removed from the eligibility saga of 2025 Pac-12 champion Tyler Brennan of Little Rock - so I’m sure coaches are very hesitant to approach the Alvarez situation unless their compliance and conference are 100% confident he’ll be eligible in 2025-26. 

The precedent I’ve referred to in this situation is Lehigh All-American Josh Humphreys. Humphreys was said to be out of eligibility, but entered the portal. Apparently the coaches/conferences/compliance officers agreed, as well, and Humphreys was unable to compete in 2023-24 (and beyond). 

Maybe that’s the case here - or maybe it’s a completely different situation and Alvarez will be deemed eligible to compete in 2025-26. 

It’s just another twist and turn in this new portal-era of college athletics. 

While entry into the portal may have stopped (for the most part) due to the May 2nd deadline, there still have been plenty of commitments from wrestlers already in the portal. Some notables include Dylan Fishback to Ohio State and 2025 SoCon champion Sergio Desiante to Virginia Tech. 

We’ve already written about Fishback individually and his addition to the Buckeye lineup. Desiante brings a seasoned veteran into a Hokie lineup that needed a replacement for 2024 All-American Lennox Wolak. 

The first list of wrestlers we’ve listed have already publicly committed to a new transfer destination. That new school is listed first, along with their projected weight, followed by their former school. 

Below them are notable wrestlers that have gone into the transfer portal. It is not a comprehensive list. 

Transfers

Appalachian State: Joe Fongaro (149) - Rutgers

Arizona State: Gavin Bauder (133) - Clackamas CC

Arizona State: David Szuba (285) - Rider

Arizona State: Leo Tukhlynovych (174) - Rochester CTC

Arizona State: Ane’e Vigil (125) - Clackamas CC

Army West Point: Jake Crapps (133) - Missouri

Bloomsburg: Eric Alderfer (157) - Lock Haven

Buffalo: Kelin Laffey (165) - Pittsburgh

Cal Poly: Luke Gayer (165) - Rutgers

Cal Poly: Andre Gonzales (141) - Ohio State

Campbell: Ethan Ducca (184) - Wyoming

Chattanooga: Hunter Mason (141) - Virginia Tech

Chattanooga: Billy Meiszner (149) - Kent State

Chattanooga: Carter Neves (285) - Ohio State

Clarion: Brandon Bauer (141) - Little Rock

Clarion: Connor Eck (157) - Lock Haven

Clarion: Ky Szewczyk (133) - Ohio

Edinboro: Brycen Arbogast (133) - West Virginia

Edinboro: Tate Geiser (165/174) - Cleveland State

Illinois: Ryan Boersma (285) - Triton College

Illinois: Michael Gioffre (157) - Virginia

Illinois: Spencer Moore (125) - North Carolina

Indiana: Orlando Cruz (174) - Purdue

Iowa: Nasir Bailey (133/141) - Little Rock

Iowa: Massoma Endene (197) - Wartburg

Iowa: Dean Peterson (125) - Rutgers

Iowa: Jordan Williams (149) - Little Rock

Iowa State: Isaac Dean (184) - Rider

Iowa State: Rocky Elam (197) - Missouri

Iowa State: Malton Powe (165) - Pratt CC

Little Rock: Brock Herman (157) - Ohio State

Little Rock: Draegen Orine (133) - NC State

Lock Haven: Sam Gatreau (165) - Maryland

Maryland: Chase Horne (285) - NC State

Michigan: Taye Ghadiali (285) - Campbell

Michigan: Lachlan McNeil (149) - North Carolina

Michigan: Diego Sotelo (125) - Harvard

Minnesota: Jore Volk (125) - Wyoming

Missouri: Maxx Mayfield (165) - Northwestern

Morgan State: Anthony Ferrari (157) - Long Island

NC State: Zach Redding (133/141) - Iowa State

Nebraska: Chance Lamer (149) - Cal Poly

North Carolina: AJ Ferrari (197/285) - CSU Bakersfield

North Carolina: Bryce Hepner (157/165) - Ohio State

North Carolina: Kysen Terukina (125) - Iowa State

Northern Illinois: Ali Adel (184) - Harper College

Northern Iowa: Caleb Rathjen (149) - Iowa

Ohio State: Cody Chittum (157) - Iowa State

Ohio State: Dylan Fishback (184) - NC State

Ohio State: Ethan Stiles (149) - Oregon State

Oklahoma: Tyson Charmoli (133) - Wyoming

Oklahoma: Jack Gioffre (149) - Virginia

Oklahoma: Peyton Kellar (157) - Ohio

Oklahoma: Brian Soldano (184) - Rutgers

Oklahoma: Tyler Wells (133) - Minnesota

Oklahoma State: Alex Facundo (165) - Penn State

Oklahoma State: Richie Figueroa (125/133) - Arizona State

Oklahoma State: Zack Ryder (184) - Penn State

Oklahoma State: Gary Steen (133) - Penn State

Oklahoma State: Casey Swiderski (149) - Iowa State

Oregon State: Joel Adams (149) - Michigan/CKWC

Penn State: Rocco Welsh (184) - Ohio State

Purdue: Blake Boarman (133) - Chattanooga

Purdue: Gavin Brown (149) - Ohio State

Rider: Brendon Abdon (165) - Little Rock

Rider: Eli Griffin (141) - California Baptist

Rider: Dylan Layton (149) - Cleveland State

Rider: Hogan Swenski (285) - Ohio State

Rutgers: Hunter Catka (285) - Virginia Tech

Rutgers: Remy Cotton (197) - Michigan State

Rutgers: Lenny Pinto (174) - Nebraska

Sacred Heart: Anthony Clem (133) - West Virginia

Sacred Heart: Joey Clem (133) - West Virginia

Sacred Heart: John Hildebrandt (133) - Drexel

SIU Edwardsville: Kevin Zimmer (285) - Wyoming

Utah Valley: David Evans (149) - Penn State

Virginia: Colton Washleski (157) - Rider

Virginia Tech: Sergio DeSiante (174) - Chattanooga

Virginia Tech: Ethen Miller (157) - Maryland

West Virginia: Louie Gill (125) - NC State

West Virginia: Willie McDougald (149) - Oklahoma

Wyoming: Christian Carroll (197/285) - Iowa State

Wyoming: Sefton Douglass (125) - Western Wyoming

Wyoming: Cody Phelps (133) - Michigan State

Portal

Sammy Alvarez (149) - Rider

Chris Cannon (133/141) - Northwestern

Lucas Daly (184) - Michigan State

Jordan Decatur (141) - Kent State

Kyle Dutton (149) - Little Rock

Rafael Hipolito (157 - Virginia Tech

Caden Horwath (125) - Michigan

Daschle Lamer (184) - Cal Poly

Cade Lautt (197) - North Carolina

Tate Picklo (174) - Oklahoma

Isaiah Powe (141) - Chattanooga

Nate Schon (197) - Iowa State

Mike Slade (184/197) - Campbell

Sean Spidle (133) - Central Michigan

TJ Stewart (184) - Virginia Tech

Jesse Vasquez (149) - Arizona State

John Wiley (157) - Oklahoma

We are now more than one month past the final whistle of the 2025 NCAA Championships, which I think has been enough time to recover from the festivities and digest the events and experiences Philadelphia had to offer. 

So, in this quick article, I’ll give my thoughts and critiques of this year’s host city based on a few usual criteria:

Hotels

Even though you might spend a couple hours awake in one, you still need somewhere to put your bags. With the amount of people coming into the host city, hotels (and ones within a reasonable budget) can disappear fast.

Air Fare/Travel - To and From

Being that the tourney was happening on my home mat, I didn't have to fly out of the beautiful PHL. Still had to get into the city though….

Food and Drink

The fuel to keep you going all day and night. 

Walkability

Getting around to and from the venue as well as getting to restaurants, attractions, and stores when not watching wrestling.

Wrestling Venue

Seats, Food, and WiFi signal. The holy trinity of a venue.

On to the evaluation:

Hotels:

Maybe because it’s Pennsylvania, but once the calendar opened up to start booking it seemed like every hotel jumped up their prices per night by 75%.As will be talked about in another part of this evaluation, Philly is set up differently than most other sports cities. The sports complexes sit way south with really nowhere to stay except for the oddest-looking Holiday Inn you could ever imagine. Live! Casino is also a short walk away from the stadiums, but those prices jumped to ridiculous rates (something like $750+/night for a standard room) as well.

I was lucky to find the Cambria Hotel near City Hall for about $200/night on average (a Choice Hotel property). Good hotel with, a nice bed and pillows, a very nice stay. 

“B+.” The room itself was better than the one I had in Kansas City a year prior. Lots of hotels to choose from, but unless you got in early they weren't necessarily budget-friendly.

Airfare/Travel

For me, I live about 40 min outside the city (30 depending on traffic and if no cops are on Rt 95). I got a ride into Philly and got a ride out from Philly. Very low cost for me.

I am interested to hear from others and their experience flying to one of America's top airports (annually rated as one of the worst airports in America)

For me, Travel was an “A+”, but I'm going to assume for others it was more of a “C”.

Food and Drink

If you attended NCAAs in 2011, the last time Philadelphia hosted, you might remember there being basically nothing outside the stadium for food and refreshments.. Well, now there's Xfinity Live! and Live! Casino…. And a Chickie’s and Pete’s if you’re ok with walking 15 minutes. But other than that, still basically nothing. 

If you were willing to brave the packed bars in Xfinity or at the Casino, good on you. For others looking to savor all the culinary treats Philly had to offer, there were plenty of options for any palate. Even though it was a 10-15 min rideshare or subway ride back to center city, it was close enough to find a place, sit and eat, and get back in time for the next session. 

From the Reading Terminal Market, the tourist traps that are Geno’s and Pat’s, or for the real ones who knew better and went to Angelo’s and/or John’s Roast Pork, to those who hit up one of the many bars splattered around the city. No one should have gone hungry this year.

On top of the number of options, unlike in the Midwest, things stayed open until at least 2am… like a normal functioning city does. We don't operate like Detroit where bars close at 10pm on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

Put me down for an “A-”. Philadelphia had a cuisine and budget for everyone, but the (-) hit comes with location. A city gets a big bump from me when there's food and drink readily available outside the venue, whereas in Philly it requires a short trip from the stadiums (costing money with rideshare or subway) to get to the wide array that was available.  

Walkability

Going hand-in-hand with the Food review above, you could basically copy-paste it. Even with the Hotel section comes into play.

It wasn’t terrible, and if your goal was to drink and get something to fill your belly (like a $20 Super Pretzel), then Xfinity Live was your place and you could walk there quicker than saying “I can’t believe Gable Steveson lost that match.” But if you wanted to hit the best bars, restaurants, and other notable food/attractions spots (which would probably be most of you), then at least four times a day you had to get some sort of transportation.

The subway was a close walk to the arena, rideshares were easy to get, and if you had in-and-out privileges with your hotel’s valet or garage, you could also get free parking at the Casino (a slightly longer walk, but still not bad).

I can't speak for the coaches and athletes, but I would assume they may not have liked the accessibility. 

I’ll give walkability a “B” even with needing to take some sort of costly transportation.

Wrestling Venue

This is always a little difficult to judge. There were seats in an arena that pointed to the floor where eight mats were rolled out. We as fans are very simple creatures when it comes to the wants and needs of a wrestling venue.

That said, Wells Fargo Center seemed to provide a very good experience when it came to entering through security checks and exiting from the end of a session. Even on Saturday night with the President in attendance, security checks seemed to go quickly and smoothly.

As for the food and drink selection, it was varied… and expensive ($20ish for a domestic pounder). Pizza, shack burger, cheesesteaks, ice cream, and all the other usual suspects marked up 2-3X normal pricing.

WiFi signal is also an important feature to have for the fans, and unlike last year where phones checking Trackwrestling or Twitter were lagging hard, the Wells Fargo Center had very little if any issues with connectivity.

As previously noted, Philly has its sports stadiums away from the heart of the city, which was one downside. Overall though, it did the job.

Venue I will give an “A.” No complaints from me.

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Maybe it's hometown bias, but I thought Philly was a great host city. Aside from the location of the arena to hotels, there were bars, restaurants, and entertainment available throughout the whole day and nights when you were not occupied by watching wrestling. Hopefully, it doesn't take another 15ish years before Philly hosts again.