Jump to content



  • Photo: Sam Janicki

    Photo: Sam Janicki

    FCW's Week 9 Fantasy Outlook (12/29-1/2)

    Michigan State's Chase Saldate (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com)


    We Fantasy Team Managers have hit a season milestone this week: The Halfway Point.

    Remember back in middle school when you had progress reports? In my day (yeah, I'm using that old-man phrase), back in 2002, before Study Island or teachers corresponded regularly with your parents via the inter-web, we had actual sheets of paper with each subject listed. Each teacher would fill out your current scholastic subject status within their class and, by the end of the week, had to return the progress report signed by a parent or guardian.

    Now, I was neither steady enough to freehand my parent's signature nor have the necessary tracing paper available to overlay and copy their signature as they were both products of the 60s catholic school system and were proficient in cursive, which meant a full spelled-out signature. Not just a wispy couple strokes of the pen.

    My usual go-to move was to wake my dad up at 6am (hours before I needed to actually leave for school) and get him to sign the random piece of paper I put in front of his one open bloodshot eye. Bingo-bango, no questions asked.

    This one time, however, I had a 62% in math. That number alone would stand out even to the sleepiest of fathers, and to boot, was written in blood-red ink. The only teacher to use red ink, in fact. Had she used a black pen, even possibly a darker blue shade, I could have finagled a pencil overlay to make it look like an 82%. But again, red ink.

    I rummaged through the several junk drawers, in the kitchen, the several bags of freebies doctors used to get back in the day from drug reps (like pens, pencils, golf balls, music CDs, etc.), until the miracle moment. While sneaking into my dad's office and going through his desk drawer for the literal hail mary search, I found a small rectangular case with graphite to fill into a reusable pencil. And what do ya know, it was RED graphite.

    I lightly traced an “8” over the “6” in 62%, woke dad up at 6am who gave the paper a once-over, signed it, lightly erased the red graphite (gently so not to take off the coloring of the paper the progress report was printed on, and no one was the wiser.

    That's a long and random story to set up this midway progress report in #FantasyCollegeWrestling.


    At the beginning of the season, you most likely saw wrestlers like Spencer Lee, Gable Steveson, Roman Bravo-Young, and Yianni Diakomihalis going in the first couple of rounds. Surprise Surprise, though they are still ranked atop their respective weight rankings, they are not at the top of the list for Best Fantasy Wrestlers.

    The current top 13 Fantasy Wrestlers across all weights (stats provided by WrestleStat):

    #1. Matt Finesilver (Duke) 72 fantasy points/17 matches/4.20 PPM
    #2. Ed Scott (NC State) 60 fantasy points/16 matches/3.80 PPM
    #3. Chase Saldate (Michigan State) 56 fantasy points/14 matches/4.00 PPM
    #4. Josh Finesilver (Duke) 56 fantasy points/17 matches/3.30 PPM
    #5. Logan Messer (George Mason) 53 fantasy points/23 matches/2.30 PPM
    #6. Joey Milano (NC State) 52 fantasy points/20 matches/2.60 PPM
    #7. Donnell Washington (Indiana) 51 fantasy points/9 matches/5.70 PPM
    #8. Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) 50 fantasy points/15 matches/3.30 PPM
    #9. Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) 49 fantasy points/12 matches/4.10 PPM
    #10 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) 48 fantasy points/18 matches/2.70 PPM
    #11 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) 47 fantasy points/9 matches/5.20 PPM
    #12 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) 47 fantasy points/11 matches/4.30 PPM
    #13 Seth Koleno (Clarion) 47 fantasy points/24 matches/2.00 PPM




    So, how many of these wrestlers are on your team? How has your season been going thus far? Has your roster been exceeding your expectations or underperforming? Is your team at the top of the standings or sinking quicker than the hips of a bad leg-rider? Have your Transfer Portal add/drops been working out or have they been more of a distraction in the locker room?


    On to Week 9…

    We find ourselves with a few last major tournaments of the 2022 season in the Matmen Open (also known as the “New Midlands”), Hawkeye Open, and Southern Scuffle before hitting the “back nine” and regular-season stretch to wrap up the regular season.

    As I often say, it really depends on how the seeds shake out and the bracket is set to determine who is going to have a great day and who is going to have a not so good day, so since it's mainly tournament driven, I'm going to break each weight into two sections: Probably Taken (meaning that there is a high probability that this wrestler is already rostered within your league) and Most Likely Available (meaning the wrestler will probably be available in the Transfer Portal).

    Unfortunately, at the time of this article, little detail has been sent out about the Hawkeye Open. I'm expecting some more info to come in shortly, so keep the notifications “ON” to @FantasyD1Wrestl.

    We do have a few duals this week, including the (confusingly awkward scheduling of) Northwestern HOSTING (yeah…) SIU-Edwardsville and Virginia on Dec 29 and Oregon State @ Utah Valley on 1/2.



    Wrestlers I Like This Week

    Wrestler (School)- competition for the week [Proj Score]

    *organized by tournament name first, then by school name*



    125:

    Probably Taken:

    Justin Cardani (Illinois)- Matmen Open

    Noah Surtin (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle

    Pat McKee (Minnesota)- Southern Scuffle




    Most Likely Available:

    Dylan Shawver (Rutgers)- Matmen Open

    Jacob Moran (Indiana)- Matmen Open

    Reece Witcraft (Oklahoma State)- Southern Scuffle

    Joe Manchio (Columbia)- Southern Scuffle

    Killian Cardinale (West Virginia)- Southern Scuffle

    Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga)- Southern Scuffle

    Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech)- Southern Scuffle


    Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern)- Vs SIU-Edwardsville, Vs Virginia [+7]

    Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley)- Vs Oregon State [+4]



    133:

    Probably Taken:

    Lucas Byrd (illinois)- Matmen Open

    Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh)- Matmen Open

    Sammy Alverez (Rutgers)- Matmen Open

    Rayvon Foley (Michigan State)- Southern Scuffle


    Chris Cannon (Northwestern)- Vs SIU-Edwardsville, Vs Virginia [+8]




    Most Likely Available:

    Michael Colaiocco (U Penn)- Matmen Open

    Drew Mattin (Michigan)- Matmen Open

    Brock Hudkins (Indiana)- Matmen Open

    Matt Ramos (Purdue)- Matmen Open

    Chance Rich (CSU Bakersfield)- Southern Scuffle

    Angelo Rini (Columbia)- Southern Scuffle

    Kai Orine (NC State)- Southern Scuffle

    Connor Brown (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle

    Kellyn March (North Dakota State)- Southern Scuffle

    Derek Spann (Buffalo)- Southern Scuffle

    Jake Gliva (Minnesota)- Southern Scuffle




    141:

    Probably Taken:

    Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers)- Matmen Open

    Clay Carlson (South Dakota State)- Southern Scuffle

    Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado State)- Southern Scuffle

    Kizahn Clarke (North Carolina)- Southern Scuffle

    Real Woods (Stanford)- Southern Scuffle

    Allan Hart (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle

    Grant Willits (Oregon State)- @ Utah Valley [+4]




    Most Likely Available:

    Wil Gil (Franklin & Marshall)- Matmen Open

    Parker Filius (Purdue)- Matmen Open

    Joey Zargo (Wisconsin)- Matmen Open

    Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina)- Southern Scuffle

    Quinn Kinner (Rider)- Southern Scuffle

    Dusty Hone (Oklahoma State)- Southern Scuffle


    149:

    Probably Taken:

    Austin Gomez (Wisconsin)- Matmen Open

    Josh Heil (Campbell)- Matmen Open

    Josh Edmond (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle

    Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State)- Southern Scuffle

    Josh Finesilver (Duke)- Southern Scuffle

    Zach Sherman (North Carolina)- Southern Scuffle

    Yahya Thomas (Northwestern)- Vs SIU-Edwardsville, Vs Virginia [+7]



    Most Likely Available:

    Anthony White (Rutgers)- Matmen Open

    Anthony Artalona (U Penn)- Matmen Open

    Chance Lamer (Michigan)- Matmen Open

    Max Brignola (Lehigh)- Matmen Open

    Victor Voinovich (Oklahoma State)- Southern Scuffle

    Alex Madrigal (George Mason)- Southern Scuffle



    157:

    Probably Taken:

    Kendall Coleman (Purdue)- Matmen Open

    Doug Zapf (U Penn)- Matmen Open

    Austin O'Connor (North Carolina)- Southern Scuffle

    Brayton Lee (Minnesota)- Southern Scuffle

    Chase Saldate (Michigan State)- Southern Scuffle

    Jared Franek (North Dakota State)- Southern Scuffle

    Jarrett Jacques (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle


    Ryan Deakin (Northwestern)- Vs SIU-Edwardsville, Vs Virginia [+10]



    Most Likely Available:

    Brock Mauller (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle

    Colton Yapoujian (Cornell)- Southern Scuffle



    165:

    Probably Taken:

    Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh)- Matmen Open

    Zach Hartman (Bucknell)- Matmen Open

    Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois)- Matmen Open

    Julian Ramirez (Cornell)- Southern Scuffle

    Shane Griffith (Stanford)- Southern Scuffle

    Keegan O'Toole (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle

    Peyton Hall (West Virginia)- Southern Scuffle




    Most Likely Available:

    Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin)- Matmen Open

    Phil Conigliaro (Harvard)- Matmen Open

    Luke Weber (North Dakota State)- Southern Scuffle

    Alex Facundo (Penn State)- Southern Scuffle

    PJ Ogunsanya (Columbia)- Southern Scuffle




    174:

    Probably Taken:

    Matt Finesilver (Duke)- Southern Scuffle

    Chris Foca (Cornell)- Southern Scuffle

    Peyton Mocco (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle

    Michael O'Malley (Drexel)- Southern Scuffle




    Most Likely Available:

    Josh Kim (Harvard)- Matmen Open

    Jackson Turley (Rutgers)- Matmen Open

    Cade DeVos (South Dakota State)- Southern Scuffle

    Tyler Eischens (Stanford)- Southern Scuffle

    Bailey O'Reilly (Minnesota)- Southern Scuffle




    184:

    Probably Taken:

    Myles Amine (Michigan)- Matmen Open

    John Poznanski (Rutgers)- Matmen Open

    Bernie Truax (Cal Poly)- Matmen Open

    Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois)- Matmen Open

    Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech)- Southern Scuffle

    Jeremiah Kent (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle




    Most Likely Available:

    Donnell Washington (Indiana)- Matmen Open

    Trey Munoz (Oregon State)- Matmen Open

    Chris Weiler (Wisconsin)- Matmen Open

    Jonathan Loew (Cornell)- Southern Scuffle

    Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota)- Southern Scuffle

    Layne Malczewski (Michigan State)- Southern Scuffle

    Gavin Kane (North Carolina)- Southern Scuffle



    197:

    Probably Taken:

    Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)- Matmen Open

    Braxton Amos (Wisconsin)- Matmen Open

    Rocky Elam (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle

    Jacob Cardenas (Cornell)- Southern Scuffle

    Cam Caffey (Michigan State)- Southern Scuffle

    Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State)- Southern Scuffle




    Most Likely Available:

    Greg Bulsak (Rutgers)- Matmen Open

    Michael Beard (Penn State)- Southern Scuffle

    Jaron Smith (Maryland)- Southern Scuffle

    Owen Pentz (North Dakota State)- Southern Scuffle


    Andrew Davison (Northwestern)- Vs SIU-Edwardsville, Vs Virginia [+7]



    285:

    Probably Taken:

    Trent Hillger (Wisconsin)- Matmen Open

    Zach Elam (Missouri)- Southern Scuffle

    Lewis Fernandes (Cornell)- Southern Scuffle




    Most Likely Available:

    Ethan Laird (Rider)- Matmen Open

    Boone McDermott (Rutgers)- Matmen Open

    Luke Luffman (Illinois)- Matmen Open

    Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia)- Southern Scuffle

    Hunter Catka (Virginia Tech)- Southern Scuffle

    Owen Trephan (NC State)- Southern Scuffle

    Austin Harris (Oklahoma State)- Southern Scuffle

    Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State)- Southern Scuffle


    Gary Traub (Oregon State)- @ Utah Valley [+4]


    Think I missed someone? Disagree with someone on the list or their projection? Want to know our thoughts on a matchup? Let me know!

    Win the week!

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    There are no comments to display.



    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...