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  • Photo: Sam Janicki

    Photo: Sam Janicki

    Recruiting Analysis for the 2023 NCAA DI 197 lb Bracket

    2023 NCAA champion Nino Bonaccorsi (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com)

    Early last week, InterMat released its re-ranking for the high school Class of 2018. With recruiting on the mind, we decided to jump in and look at each individual weight class for the 2023 NCAA DI Championships.

    As is customary in wrestling we'll start with the lower weights and work our way up.

    This analysis will break down the 2023 NCAA qualifiers a weight class at a time, by their pre-collegiate ranking within their recruiting class, their year of high school graduation, transfers, home states, and, of course, rankings for the 2023 All-Americans.

    Moving along to the penultimate weight class in our recruiting countdown, 197 lbs. This is an unusual bracket from what we've been accustomed to seeing in our previous eight weight classes. When it was all said and done half of the top six finishers in Tulsa came into college unranked in their respective recruiting classes. That was a trend with the entire weight class as 13 of the 33 national qualifiers were not on their respective Big Board's.

    Another weird tidbit is that a third of this weight class came from either Illinois or Pennsylvania.

    Ok, on to our look at the 197 lb weight class.

    Past Weight Classes

    125 lbs

    133 lbs

    141 lbs

    149 lbs

    157 lbs

    165 lbs

    174 lbs

    184 lbs


    2023 NCAA Qualifiers (197 lbs) by Recruiting Rankings

    #1-#10


    #3 (2020) Braxton Amos (Wisconsin)

    #7 (2017) Jacob Warner (Iowa)

    #9 (2020) Rocky Elam (Missouri)

    #10 (2018) Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State)


    #11-#30

    #11 (2018) Michael Beard (Lehigh)

    #15 (2019) Jacob Cardenas (Cornell)

    #15 (2020) Sila Allred (Nebraska)

    #24 (2020) Luke Stout (Princeton)

    #29 (2020) Isaac Trumble (NC State)

    #30 (2017) Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)


    #31-#50

    #36 (2021) Jaxon Smith (Maryland)

    #43 (2020) Luke Surber (Oklahoma State)


    #51-#100

    #57 (2017) Andrew Davison (Northwestern)

    #73 (2019) Max Shaw (North Carolina)

    #74 (2016) Max Dean (Penn State)

    #80 (2019) Austin Cooley (West Virginia)

    #85 (2019) Cole Urbas (Penn)


    #101-#200

    #161 (2020) Nick Stemmet (Stanford)


    Not Ranked by Willie Saylor/MatScouts; Ranked by The Open Mat

    #93 (2018) Trey Rogers (Hofstra)


    Not Ranked

    Yonger Bastida (Iowa State)

    Michael Battista (Virginia) - 2017

    Evan Bockman (Utah Valley) - 2018

    Zac Braunagel (Illinois) - 2018

    Cam Caffey (Michigan State) - 2017

    Michial Foy (Minnesota) - 2017

    Tanner Harvey (Oregon State) - 2016

    Levi Hopkins (Campbell) - 2019

    Jake Koser (Navy) - 2018

    Ethan Laird (Rider) - 2017

    Owen Pentz (North Dakota State) - 2020

    Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) - 2018

    Andy Smith (Virginia Tech) - 2019

    Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) - 2018


    2023 NCAA Qualifiers (197 lbs) by Recruiting Class


    2016


    Max Dean (Penn State)

    Tanner Harvey (Oregon State)

    2017

    Michael Battista (Virginia)

    Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)

    Cam Caffey (Michigan State)

    Andrew Davison (Northwestern)

    Michial Foy (Minnesota)

    Ethan Laird (Rider)

    Jacob Warner (Iowa)


    2018

    Michael Beard (Lehigh)

    Evan Bockman (Utah Valley)

    Zac Braunagel (Illinois)

    Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State)

    Jake Koser (Navy)

    Trey Rogers (Hofstra)

    Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State)

    Bernie Truax (Cal Poly)


    2019

    Jacob Cardenas (Cornell)

    Austin Cooley (West Virginia)

    Levi Hopkins (Campbell)

    Max Shaw (North Carolina)

    Andy Smith (Virginia Tech)

    Cole Urbas (Penn)


    2020

    Silas Allred (Nebraska)

    Braxton Amos (Wisconsin)

    Rocky Elam (Missouri)

    Owen Pentz (North Dakota State)

    Nick Stemmet (Stanford)

    Luke Stout (Princeton)

    Luke Surber (Oklahoma State)

    Isaac Trumble (NC State)


    2021

    Jaxon Smith (Maryland)


    Home States for 2023 197 lb NCAA Qualifiers


    Alaska


    Evan Bockman (Utah Valley)

    Levi Hopkins (Campbell)

    California

    Bernie Truax (Cal Poly)


    Cuba

    Yonger Bastida (Iowa State)


    Georgia

    Jaxon Smith (Maryland)

    Illinois

    Zac Braunagel (Illinois)

    Cam Caffey (Michigan State)

    Michial Foy (Minnesota)

    Nick Stemmet (Stanford)

    Jacob Warner (Iowa)

    Indiana

    Silas Allred (Nebraska)

    Andrew Davison (Northwestern)

    Iowa

    Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State)


    Massachusetts

    Austin Cooley (West Virginia)


    Michigan

    Max Dean (Penn State)


    Minnesota

    Trey Rogers (Hofstra)


    Missouri

    Rocky Elam (Missouri)


    Nebraska

    Isaac Trumble (NC State)


    New Jersey

    Jacob Cardenas (Cornell)


    Oklahoma

    Luke Surber (Oklahoma State)


    Oregon

    Tanner Harvey (Oregon State)


    Pennsylvania

    Michael Beard (Lehigh)

    Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)

    Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State)

    Jake Koser (Navy)

    Ethan Laird (Rider)

    Max Shaw (North Carolina)

    Cole Urbas (Penn)


    Utah

    Owen Pentz (North Dakota State)


    Virginia

    Michael Battista (Virginia)

    Andy Smith (Virginia Tech)


    West Virginia

    Braxton Amos (Wisconsin)


    197 lb NCAA Qualifiers Signed by Another Program

    Michael Beard (Penn State)

    Evan Bockman (California Baptist)

    Austin Cooley (Pittsburgh)

    Andrew Davison (Michigan)

    Max Dean (Cornell)

    Michial Foy (Harper College)

    Tanner Harvey (SW Oregon CC)

    Owen Pentz (Fresno State)


    Recruiting Rankings for 2023 All-Americans

    1st: Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) #30 in 2017

    2nd: Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) NR in 2018

    3rd: Rocky Elam (Missouri) #9 in 2020

    4th: Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) NR in 2018

    5th: Jacob Warner (Iowa) #7 in 2017

    6th: Ethan Laird (Rider) NR in 2017

    7th: Max Dean (Penn State) #74 in 2016

    8th: Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) #15 in 2019

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