Fantasy College Wrestling - 2024 Season Top-20 (165 lbs)

The data has been processed, the charts have been reviewed, and the evaluations are complete. The 2024 breakdown of the Top Fantasy Wrestlers of the 2024 season is here to help you start your 2025 season research.  

Just like in the past few years, some names are going to be expected, while a lot more may not be. That's the beauty of Fantasy Wrestling, where any wrestler can be the star of the weekend and win the dual for you.

To compile these lists, we used standard WrestleStat Fantasy College Wrestling Data & Scoring. Just a reminder of how points were tallied in WrestleStat leagues:

1) The scoring used was standard team scoring across all competitions (+3 for a win by decision, -4 for a loss by major, etc)

2) Scoring only counted against D1 competition

3) Wins via forfeits (FFT) would count as +6 towards a wrestler's point total

4) Wins or losses by medical forfeit (MFF) did not count as + or - towards a wrestler's point total

5) Points were only accumulated during the regular season

165 Top-20

Notes:

This is the second time that Dean Hamiti has been the #1 Fantasy Wrestler at 165. His first stint was in 2022 where he scored 93 Fpts in 21 matches and a PPM of 4.4. He was able to best that in 2024 by scoring 115 Fpts in 25 matches and a PPM of 4.6. He was one of five wrestlers to pass the 100-point mark in 2024.

Meanwhile, Mitchell Mesenbrink came in 2nd with 88 Fpts, outlasting eventual NCAA champ (who beat Mesenbrink) David Carr by two Fpts. Mesenbrink only wrestled 19 matches compared to Hamiti’s 25, but had the same PPM. If Mesenbrink had wrestled 25 matches, using the same PPM, he would have tied Hamiti with 115 Fpts.

A few D2 matches and an unforeseen loss by pin lands Peyton Hall at the number 4 spot. Had he won that match against WrestleStat ranked #150 Gaetano Console (DUKE) instead of getting pinned, he would have been #2 in the Top-20.  

Keegan O’Toole had the highest PPM of any wrestler in the 165 Top-20 at 4.8, but only wrestled 16 matches. That tied for the lowest in the Top-20 with Bryce Hepner. The Mizzou Tiger just barely beat out the Ohio Bobcat Garrett Thompson who wrestled almost double the matches as O’Toole and finished one point behind.

In his last season with Northern Illinois (2023), Izzak Olejnik finished as the #2 Fantasy Wrestler at 165. In 2024 as an Oklahoma State Cowboy, he still made the Top-20, but ten spots lower. Partly because of fewer matches than in 2023, but the quality of competition was raised, which led to slightly fewer bonus wins. The difference between 12th place and 9th… three Fpts. To 8th place, eight Fpts. Razor-thin margins for error.

Only two true freshmen make the list, with Noah Mulvaney finishing at #8 and Gunner Filipowicz six spots lower. Both wrestled 29 matches, and despite Mulvaney having three of his four losses on the season by bonus, it was Flipowicz’s seven losses that added up to be too much to overcome.

The Little Rock team as a whole made headlines in 2024, and one of the original band members made a big jump personally and reached his first Top-20 ranking. Joseph Bianchi finished with 49 Fpts and a 1.8 PPM by winning 24 D1 matches, whereas in his past four seasons, he amassed 27 D1 wins total. 

For the second year in a row, Cody Walsh locks up the #20 spot. To compare, his 2023 stat line was 51 Pts, in 32 matches, with a 1.7 PPM. Pretty consistent.

Who Missed The Cut:

Two All-Americans missed the top 20 in Antrell Taylor (NEB) and Hunter Garvin (STAN).

Antrell Taylor (NEB) was three Fpts behind Cody Walsh with five losses. Three are understandable, against Michael Caliendo, Dean Hamiti, and Mitch Mesenbrink, but two losses to unranked competitors at CKLV ended up being the fault. One win, or flip a loss, and he’s in the Top-20. 

Hunter Garvin ended the 2024 season with 31 Fpts. Garvin wrestled his first matches of the season at CKLV, going 5-3, but of those three losses, two were by tech and one by pin (which accounted for -16 Fpts). He would go on to lose five more times, with one loss by pin, one by tech, and one by major. As of January 10th, Garvin was sitting at only three (yes… THREE) Fpts with seven matches left in the regular season. It’s amazing he even reached the 30s.

Terrell Barraclough (PSU) who this coming season will take his talents to Utah Valley, was two points behind Antrell Taylor with only 14 matches wrestled. He started three duals and competed in three tournaments, with two losses coming from Shane Griffith (MICH, at 174) and teammate Mitch Mesenbrink, both by decision.

The highest performing redshirt was Rider’s Liam Scrivanich with 41 Fpts.