Teams with the Best Depth at Each Weight

While only ten wrestlers can officially start for any team, having depth on the roster is increasingly important. With the redshirt rules, a combination of resting starters and giving young wrestlers opportunities provide even more occasions for teams to flex their depth at various weights. This list will take a look at what schools have some of the best depth at each weight. While most of these have the potential to be solved by redshirts or weight changes, there are surely going to be some quality wrestlers on the bench this season. 

125: Virginia Tech

In 2022, Virginia Tech had a blue-chip recruit in Cooper Flynn and a slightly, lesser-ranked recruit Eddie Ventresca. The two went back and forth while redshirting in 2022, and it continued for the starting spot in 2023. Ventresca ended up winning the spot and made a surprising run at NCAA’s for his first All-American finish. Cooper Flynn would likely be a ranked starter as well with wins over NCAA qualifiers Ryan Miller and Jack Wagner. With both having three years of eligibility, this could continue to be a battle going forward. 

Honorable Mention: Oklahoma State

The Cowboys have impressive depth at 125 themselves, with a big boost from the transfer portal this year. Last year, Trevor Mastrogiovanni seemed to be a contender for All-American status, but late in the season, Reece Witcraft got an opportunity and ran with it. He made an impressive run to a third-place finish at Big 12’s while unseeded. Adding to their depth, is recent transfer Troy Spratley along with a former blue-chip recruit, Zach Blankenship. If Daton Fix comes back and decides to go 125 for the Olympic year, that would likely push them to the top spot for depth at this weight. 

133: Penn 

Penn seems to be a team on the rise, and that’s shown at 133 where the Quakers have an established starter plus some youth coming in. Michael Colaiocco is a two-time EIWA finalist and three-time qualifier heading into his senior year. Behind him is sophomore Evan Mougalian, who went 20-6 as a true freshman with wins over multiple qualifiers. Add in #40 recruit Max Gallagher, and Penn is in a strong spot at 133 both now and in the future. 

Honorable Mention: Lehigh

Another strong EIWA team, Lehigh similarly has a proven veteran with a young rising back-up. They likely have two-time qualifier Conor McGonagle returning for 2024 who had an impressive 10-2 record before an injury at EIWA’s. There’s also Ryan Crookham, who had wins over NCAA qualifiers Kurt Phipps and Joe Heilmann while redshirting. 

141: Oklahoma State

While the Cowboys have impressive depth at a few weights, 141 is certainly one of their strongest. The current group is likely to have some weight shifts, but as it stands right now, the lineup is very deep. Last year’s starter Carter Young is a two-time qualifier who is expected to redshirt after knee surgery. Sammy Alvarez was a mid-season transfer from Rutgers and will be looking to get back on track and make his first NCAA’s since 2020. Throw in veteran backup Teague Travis and recent transfer Tagen Jamison, and this is a weight to watch for who emerges. 

Honorable Mention: Rutgers

Ironically, despite losing Sammy Alvarez to the transfer portal, Rutgers reloaded while also redshirting last year’s starter. Four-time qualifier Mitch Moore comes from the portal from Oklahoma and is expecting to head back down to 141 for his final season. That should give Joey Olivieri a chance to redshirt and potentially adjust to the weight. The junior went 22-11 and qualified as a true freshman at 133 but missed out on the tournament his first year at 141. 

149: Oklahoma

While many schools end up losing wrestlers with a new head coach, the Sooners managed to keep two potential high-impact wrestlers at this weight. While last year’s starter Mitch Moore hit the portal, former round of 16 wrestler Willie McDougald is returning from redshirt. After winning the spot in 2022, McDougald impressed and made the Big 12 finals. Adding to their depth is John Wiley, a blue-chip recruit coming off a redshirt year that included a win over Paniro Johnson. With seemingly established starters at 141 and 157, the battle at 149 is one to keep an eye on. 

Honorable Mention: Iowa

This weight is more of a projection since adding All-American Jared Franek at 157. The expectation is that Cobe Siebrecht will be headed to 149, which would give the Hawkeyes two NCAA qualifiers at the weight. They also added Victor Voinovich from OK State in the offseason who made the round of 16 as a redshirt freshman. Whoever comes out on top there could be looking to make the podium in their second year as a starter.  

157: Stanford

Coming into the 2023 season, Stanford seemed to have an established starter in Charlie Darracott, who went 18-12 in his first year as a starter and just missed out on qualifying for NCAA’s. However, Daniel Cardenas came in and was an instant impact wrestler, starting the year off at 18-1 and placing third at the Scuffle. While he went 2-2 at NCAA’s, he was the 6 seed and finished with a 24-3 record. Darracott didn’t sit idly by; however, as he also recorded wins over Kaden Gfeller and Chase Saldate. 

Honorable Mention: NC State

The Wolfpack is returning All-American Ed Scott, who is coming off his best season as a third-year starter. He finished in 5th place and as an ACC finalist. The team is also returning junior AJ Kovacs, who is coming off an injury that kept him out all season. While Kovacs hasn’t firmly established himself, he does have wins over teammate Ed Scott and NCAA qualifier Dazjon Casto in 2022. 

165: Iowa

With how active they were in the transfer portal, it’s no shock that Iowa is on the list multiple times. While they had former blue-chip recruit Patrick Kennedy, they also brought in All-American Michael Caliendo from NDSU. Kennedy made the Big 10 finals and was the sixth seed at NCAA’s, but a rough draw saw him fall in the round of 16. Meanwhile, Caliendo finished in seventh place before hitting the transfer portal after Roger Kish left NDSU. With how it’s looking right now, a high-level wrestler could end up on the bench for a year. 

Honorable Mention: Penn State

Similar to Iowa, a transfer added depth, but that also leads to questions on where everyone would fit. Penn State had another blue-chip recruit in Alex Facundo, but did not have the results expected with an 0-2 NCAA’s. In the offseason, they added in U20 world silver medalist Mitchell Mesenbrink from Cal Baptist. There’s a chance he could also go 157, but they have returning national finalist Levi Haines as well. Redshirts can make it work for one year, but there’s plenty of eligibility for everyone here to make this a longer-lasting conversation. 

174: Iowa State

The Cyclones have four potential starters here, with two veterans and two freshmen coming off redshirt. Joel Devine is the only one to have qualified before, but Julien Broderson beat him in 2023 for the 174 spot. Then there are MJ Gaitan and Manuel Rojas coming off redshirt years and both had quality wins. There could be a spot at 184 for one if transfer Will Feldkamp bumps up, but whoever gets the spot should find their way into the rankings. 

Honorable Mention: Michigan

Another team that’s been active in the transfer portal, Michigan is likely to have 2021 NCAA champ Shane Griffith bump up for his final year. His credentials are well known as a three-time All-American for Stanford, but Michigan has stacked quality behind him as well. Joseph Walker hasn’t found consistent success yet with a 5-5 record, but beat three NCAA qualifiers last season. 

184: Missouri

At the start of the 2023 season, Mizzou seemed to have three potential starters in Colton Hawks, Sean Harman, and Clayton Whiting. Hawks had shown potential in close matches with ranked opponents, but hadn’t found a signature win yet. Harman had found success at 174, beating multiple ranked opponents while filling in for Peyton Mocco. Whiting was a highly-ranked recruit, and even had a win over Iowa’s Abe Assad while a senior in high school. Now with Whiting off redshirt, this battle is likely to continue throughout the year. 

Honorable Mention: Oklahoma

Another weight where the Sooners have good depth, they’ve got two NCAA qualifiers at 184 from the transfer portal. Giuseppe Hoose from Buffalo is coming in after a career year where he qualified for his first NCAA’s with a 21-9 record. Deanthony Parker transferred to OU from NDSU, following coach Roger Kish. He also qualified for his first NCAA’s with an 18-11 record after going 22-14 as a true freshman. It’s looking like Parker will redshirt, which could mean that Grayden Penner could see some time as well. He’s struggled with injuries in his career, but was a top recruit coming out of high school. 

197: NC State

Three-time All-American Trent Hidlay is planning on bumping up for his final year, similar to his brother. With that, Isaac Trumble is likely to be using his available redshirt after qualifying his first two years in the lineup. He hasn’t made the podium yet, but he was the sixth seed at this year’s NCAA’s. Hidlay is looking for his first title, but will have to get through both new opponents at 197 and former foe at 184 Aaron Brooks who is also coming up. While this is not your typical depth with an older wrestler redshirting, having someone like Trumble available in case of injury can be vital for a trophy-seeking team like NC State. 

Honorable Mention: Virginia Tech

While Tech doesn’t have anyone who’s made the podium here yet, they have strong established depth. Andy Smith and Dakota Howard have both qualified at 197 previously, with Smith in the spot in 2023. Another intriguing name is TJ Stewart. The #8 overall recruit in 2022 went 17-5 while redshirting. He doesn’t have a signature win yet, but could be a breakout wrestler if he can break into the lineup this year. 

285: Nebraska

Nebraska appeared to be set at heavyweight with Harley Andrews coming off a 22-2 redshirt season. The #17 overall recruit in 2022, the young heavyweight had an impressive 70% bonus rate. The Huskers added a surprising piece of depth however with former NDSU wrestler Owen Pentz. The three-time qualifier is known to be long and dangerous at 197, but is planning on making the move to heavyweight. He has a redshirt year if needed, but with two years of eligibility, this roster battle is likely to continue past just this year. 

Honorable Mention: Pittsburgh 

Throughout the season Pitt had a rare true freshman heavyweight making waves with Dayton Pitzer. The #41 recruit in high school, Pitzer showed impressive skills on top with wins over wrestlers like Cohlton Schultz, Trent Hillger, and more while redshirting. As tempting as it was, Coach Keith Gavin didn’t pull his redshirt so Jacob Slinger continued to start. While his 9-9 record didn’t qualify him for NCAA’s, he has career wins over qualifiers Dorian Crosby and Quinn Miller. He’s shown that he can start and find success when needed.