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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.