Best teams not ranked to podium

[Truzzcat]

Missouri

125: Mauger, Ceiling (r12) Floor (NQ 0-2)
133: Walker, Ceiling (7-8) Floor (NQ 1-2) He is going to have to beat guys like Andrick that he lost 2 close ones to last year to podium.
141: Fugitt, Ceiling (5) Floor (r16) Fugitt is a better wrestler than he showed last year a change of scenery and weight could be huge.
149: Mendoza, Ceiling (3) Floor (7-8) I think Mendoza AA's for sure, Do not think he gets into that Vega/Henson tier which is my T1 but I think he will be able to go with Valencia/SVN/Joy
157:Kollin Rath, Ceiling (r16) floor (NQ) As a PA guy it hurts me to only go r16 and I think he could be better than that but we have not really seen Rath, in action in 2 years so its hard to predict much better than that with how strong the weight is.
165: Heiser, Ceiling (r12) floor (NQ) Heiser wrestled 79kg this summer so 165 may not be an option but I think if its possible he is the guy for the job. He looked awesome at the open and trials outside of getting pinned being up 11-2.
174: Steed, Ceiling (3) floor (8)
184: Sinclair, Ceiling (1) floor (4)
197: Geog, Ceiling (3) floor (r12) 3 may be ambitious here but there is nobody outside of merill and Barr that I do not think a healthy geog cannot beat.
285: Stoner, Ceiling (r16) floor (NQ)

Michigan

125: Asliykan/Botero, Ceiling (NQ) Floor DNQ the story of this team is going to be upside and unkown and with that you could be very optimistic but with a lot of these guys it takes a decent amount of wrestling math to bake in a high floor. Botero was simply undersized for 133 last year and if you look at his record on paper you would probably not expect much here but he competed hard and I think he is definitely NQ caliber. Asliykan is an international style savant and I think he could be a bit behind in folk comparatively but is uber talented and it would not shock me if he was the guy and found a lot of success.
133: Mendoza, Ceiling (r12) Floor (NQ) this weight if it goes as projected right now with returning guys simply does not have a lot of room for guys work their way on the podium. It returns 1,2,3,4,6,7 and then adds Crookham who was 3rd at his only NCAA's. I am also very high on Gunner Andrick and Matty lopes and they would be my picks to sneak on the podium to fill the gaps. I think the world of Mendozas offensive abilites but I do not know if there has been a tougher weight to AA at in recent memory, perhaps ever.
141: Wolbert, Ceiling (7-8) Floor (1-2) I think Wolbert will be very good right away, and he wrestles with zero fear and a high pace which can take you a long way. I do not know that he will have the cleanest record going into nationals, but he feels like a guy with a style that does very well in March.
149: Lemley, Ceiling (6) Floor (r12) this weight is like 133 light there is just not a lot of room on that podium to me when you account for the 3 national champs, SVN, Mendoza, and Joy.
157: Zepeda, Ceiling (7-8) Floor (r16) I think he slots in to that Swisher/Gaj/Arrington/Millard/Rozinski tier and I would probably pick a lot of those guys over him purely based on what we saw last year. Baking in some development I think he can get on the podium but this weight has a lot of established guys.
165: Catrabone, Ceiling (3) Floor (r12) two things this weight is not deep again and I love Cam Catrabone dude is just fun to watch. He really figured it out second half of last year and I think his style only gets better the bigger he gets because I would definitely say speed is not an advantage for him but extending positions certainly is. Duke/Dee/Blaze/Ruiz would be the guys I would pick over him however I think if he knocked off anyone not named Duke I would not be surprised (I know he wrestled Duke super close I think thats probably the closest it gets though).
174: Beau Man, Ceiling (3) Floor (r12) Minto/Messenbrink are off limits but I think he can beat anyone else. The reason I have his floor at r12 is because I think guys like Burton/Singleton/Arnold/Norman could knock him off
184: Brock Man, Ceiling (5) floor (7)
197: Walters, Ceiling (NQ) Floor (DNQ)
285: Sahakian, Ceiling (r16) Floor (NQ 0-2) A ton of pedigree here and a great athlete. We have not seen him compete in over a year and that was against high school competition so there are a lot of question marks here at what I feel is a rather deep weight.

Cornell

125: I. Cortez, Ceiling (3) Floor (r12) I think he is going to be in every match and would not put it past him to beat anyone not named Luke Lilledahl. I would favor Spratley/V-rob/Eddie/Provo as of this moment but if he got a good draw and knocked off one of them I would not be surprised in the slightest
133: E. Cortez, Ceiling (6) Floor (r16) This is more of a product of the weight not that I think any less of Elijah there is just no room to crack the top 5 of this weight and even after that you have 2 2x AA's and guys like Andrick, Lopes, Davis, Baker.
141: Cornella, Ceiling (3) Floor (7-8) I think the world of Vince Cornella and I think Yianni is going to do everything in his power to make sure he finishes on the podium this year. This kid for my money is one of the best wrestlers ever to not AA and this weight is not deep this year. If I were to predict right now I would probably have him 4 behind Okst guy, Bassett, Stanich but If Okst rolls out one of the Raneys I certainly think that is a match he can win and I favor him over the rest of the field.
149: Joy, Ceiling (2) Floor (5) 2 may seem ambitious here but I think Joy can beat anyone at this weight. I do not however expect him to knock off for instance Vega into henson or SVN into Vega into Henson so I am hedging a bit here. I honestly would favor him over SVN and Valencia if they were to say wrestle 10 matches I would probably pick him to win more than he loses but that could be a faded take.
157: Benny Rogers, Ceiling (NQ) Floor (DNQ)
165: Perentin, Ceiling (r12) Floor (NQ 1-2) I think a lot of people may be overly bullish on Perentin because of the results against Jayden James. I do think he will have a fantastic year, but I am not sure I am ready as of now to put him on the podium when guys like Ryder Downey and Paddy gallagher are projected to finish just off of it.
174: Ruiz, Ceiling (2) Floor (6) For me he can beat anyone that is not MM. That could change depending on how Larkin looks at the weight or if Minto makes any jumps, as of now I would favor him over Larkin but not Minto however I would not say its impossible for him to beat Minto. 
184: Cerchio/Eli D/Mikey D, Ceiling (7-8) floor (1-2 NQ) At an extremely top heavy weight I think whoever earns the spot here should do very well. Dellegatta, was an NQ at 197 before missing last year for injury, Cerchio was probably cutting too much for 165 and too small for 184 and then Eli has the name pedigree and style intrigue for the weight but we have zero sample at this level.
197: Correa, Ceiling (5) floor (r16) I think he falls in that Sasso/Mcdaniel/Stout/Posada tier
285: Dellegatta, Ceiling (r16) Floor (NQ) I think Dellegatta will have a good year, the top 16 at heavy is very good this year though with that 8-16 range being occupied with the likes of Hopke, Mullen, Ziola, Pitzer, Taylor, Mirasola (based on rankings)

Stanford 

125: Provo, Ceiling (2) Floor (7)
133: Knox, Ceiling (6) Floor (r12)
141: Consiglio, Ceiling (7-9) Floor (r16)
149: Valencia, Ceiling (2) Floor (6) Could see him falling to Henson, Vega, SVN, Mendoza, Joy
157: Cardenas, Ceiling (4) Floor (r12)
165: Parco, Ceiling (7-8) Floor (r16)
174: Garvin, Ceiling (5) Floor (r12) Can go with anyone that is not Minto, MM, Ruiz, Larkin
184: Woj, Ceiling (NQ) Floor (DNQ)
197: Posada, Ceiling (2) Floor (r12) As of this moment I do not know why he could not beat everyone besides Barr.
285: Borelli, Ceiling (NQ) Floor (DNQ)

[ionel]

1 hour ago, Truzzcat said:

Missouri

125: Mauger, Ceiling (r12) Floor (NQ 0-2)
133: Walker, Ceiling (7-8) Floor (NQ 1-2) He is going to have to beat guys like Andrick that he lost 2 close ones to last year to podium.
141: Fugitt, Ceiling (5) Floor (r16) Fugitt is a better wrestler than he showed last year a change of scenery and weight could be huge.
149: Mendoza, Ceiling (3) Floor (7-8) I think Mendoza AA's for sure, Do not think he gets into that Vega/Henson tier which is my T1 but I think he will be able to go with Valencia/SVN/Joy
157:Kollin Rath, Ceiling (r16) floor (NQ) As a PA guy it hurts me to only go r16 and I think he could be better than that but we have not really seen Rath, in action in 2 years so its hard to predict much better than that with how strong the weight is.
165: Heiser, Ceiling (r12) floor (NQ) Heiser wrestled 79kg this summer so 165 may not be an option but I think if its possible he is the guy for the job. He looked awesome at the open and trials outside of getting pinned being up 11-2.
174: Steed, Ceiling (3) floor (8)
184: Sinclair, Ceiling (1) floor (4)
197: Geog, Ceiling (3) floor (r12) 3 may be ambitious here but there is nobody outside of merill and Barr that I do not think a healthy geog cannot beat.
285: Stoner, Ceiling (r16) floor (NQ)

Michigan

125: Asliykan/Botero, Ceiling (NQ) Floor DNQ the story of this team is going to be upside and unkown and with that you could be very optimistic but with a lot of these guys it takes a decent amount of wrestling math to bake in a high floor. Botero was simply undersized for 133 last year and if you look at his record on paper you would probably not expect much here but he competed hard and I think he is definitely NQ caliber. Asliykan is an international style savant and I think he could be a bit behind in folk comparatively but is uber talented and it would not shock me if he was the guy and found a lot of success.
133: Mendoza, Ceiling (r12) Floor (NQ) this weight if it goes as projected right now with returning guys simply does not have a lot of room for guys work their way on the podium. It returns 1,2,3,4,6,7 and then adds Crookham who was 3rd at his only NCAA's. I am also very high on Gunner Andrick and Matty lopes and they would be my picks to sneak on the podium to fill the gaps. I think the world of Mendozas offensive abilites but I do not know if there has been a tougher weight to AA at in recent memory, perhaps ever.
141: Wolbert, Ceiling (7-8) Floor (1-2) I think Wolbert will be very good right away, and he wrestles with zero fear and a high pace which can take you a long way. I do not know that he will have the cleanest record going into nationals, but he feels like a guy with a style that does very well in March.
149: Lemley, Ceiling (6) Floor (r12) this weight is like 133 light there is just not a lot of room on that podium to me when you account for the 3 national champs, SVN, Mendoza, and Joy.
157: Zepeda, Ceiling (7-8) Floor (r16) I think he slots in to that Swisher/Gaj/Arrington/Millard/Rozinski tier and I would probably pick a lot of those guys over him purely based on what we saw last year. Baking in some development I think he can get on the podium but this weight has a lot of established guys.
165: Catrabone, Ceiling (3) Floor (r12) two things this weight is not deep again and I love Cam Catrabone dude is just fun to watch. He really figured it out second half of last year and I think his style only gets better the bigger he gets because I would definitely say speed is not an advantage for him but extending positions certainly is. Duke/Dee/Blaze/Ruiz would be the guys I would pick over him however I think if he knocked off anyone not named Duke I would not be surprised (I know he wrestled Duke super close I think thats probably the closest it gets though).
174: Beau Man, Ceiling (3) Floor (r12) Minto/Messenbrink are off limits but I think he can beat anyone else. The reason I have his floor at r12 is because I think guys like Burton/Singleton/Arnold/Norman could knock him off
184: Brock Man, Ceiling (5) floor (7)
197: Walters, Ceiling (NQ) Floor (DNQ)
285: Sahakian, Ceiling (r16) Floor (NQ 0-2) A ton of pedigree here and a great athlete. We have not seen him compete in over a year and that was against high school competition so there are a lot of question marks here at what I feel is a rather deep weight.

Cornell

125: I. Cortez, Ceiling (3) Floor (r12) I think he is going to be in every match and would not put it past him to beat anyone not named Luke Lilledahl. I would favor Spratley/V-rob/Eddie/Provo as of this moment but if he got a good draw and knocked off one of them I would not be surprised in the slightest
133: E. Cortez, Ceiling (6) Floor (r16) This is more of a product of the weight not that I think any less of Elijah there is just no room to crack the top 5 of this weight and even after that you have 2 2x AA's and guys like Andrick, Lopes, Davis, Baker.
141: Cornella, Ceiling (3) Floor (7-8) I think the world of Vince Cornella and I think Yianni is going to do everything in his power to make sure he finishes on the podium this year. This kid for my money is one of the best wrestlers ever to not AA and this weight is not deep this year. If I were to predict right now I would probably have him 4 behind Okst guy, Bassett, Stanich but If Okst rolls out one of the Raneys I certainly think that is a match he can win and I favor him over the rest of the field.
149: Joy, Ceiling (2) Floor (5) 2 may seem ambitious here but I think Joy can beat anyone at this weight. I do not however expect him to knock off for instance Vega into henson or SVN into Vega into Henson so I am hedging a bit here. I honestly would favor him over SVN and Valencia if they were to say wrestle 10 matches I would probably pick him to win more than he loses but that could be a faded take.
157: Benny Rogers, Ceiling (NQ) Floor (DNQ)
165: Perentin, Ceiling (r12) Floor (NQ 1-2) I think a lot of people may be overly bullish on Perentin because of the results against Jayden James. I do think he will have a fantastic year, but I am not sure I am ready as of now to put him on the podium when guys like Ryder Downey and Paddy gallagher are projected to finish just off of it.
174: Ruiz, Ceiling (2) Floor (6) For me he can beat anyone that is not MM. That could change depending on how Larkin looks at the weight or if Minto makes any jumps, as of now I would favor him over Larkin but not Minto however I would not say its impossible for him to beat Minto. 
184: Cerchio/Eli D/Mikey D, Ceiling (7-8) floor (1-2 NQ) At an extremely top heavy weight I think whoever earns the spot here should do very well. Dellegatta, was an NQ at 197 before missing last year for injury, Cerchio was probably cutting too much for 165 and too small for 184 and then Eli has the name pedigree and style intrigue for the weight but we have zero sample at this level.
197: Correa, Ceiling (5) floor (r16) I think he falls in that Sasso/Mcdaniel/Stout/Posada tier
285: Dellegatta, Ceiling (r16) Floor (NQ) I think Dellegatta will have a good year, the top 16 at heavy is very good this year though with that 8-16 range being occupied with the likes of Hopke, Mullen, Ziola, Pitzer, Taylor, Mirasola (based on rankings)

Stanford 

125: Provo, Ceiling (2) Floor (7)
133: Knox, Ceiling (6) Floor (r12)
141: Consiglio, Ceiling (7-9) Floor (r16)
149: Valencia, Ceiling (2) Floor (6) Could see him falling to Henson, Vega, SVN, Mendoza, Joy
157: Cardenas, Ceiling (4) Floor (r12)
165: Parco, Ceiling (7-8) Floor (r16)
174: Garvin, Ceiling (5) Floor (r12) Can go with anyone that is not Minto, MM, Ruiz, Larkin
184: Woj, Ceiling (NQ) Floor (DNQ)
197: Posada, Ceiling (2) Floor (r12) As of this moment I do not know why he could not beat everyone besides Barr.
285: Borelli, Ceiling (NQ) Floor (DNQ)

Only a dummy in the back  would leave the buck-nuts off this list ... its simple man!  

[Truzzcat]

1 hour ago, ionel said:

Only a dummy in the back  would leave the buck-nuts off this list ... its simple man!  

Are they not projected for podium?? Just looked and Iowa is projected 22.5 more points than them that is absolutely disgusting. I will add them in.

[ionel]

4 minutes ago, Truzzcat said:

Are they not projected for podium?? Just looked and Iowa is projected 22.5 more points than them that is absolutely disgusting. I will add them in.

I'm sure MP & SM will give you kudos.  

[BruceyB]

2 hours ago, Truzzcat said:

Stanford 

Got a little lazy with the Stanford breakdown.

Only joking. Awesome breakdown, brother. I especially appreciate the insight to newcomers on the scene. A lot of times I only see guys compete before college if they make the U20 Open finals or WTT Finals, so it's hard to know what to expect from guys like Asliykan, Mendoza, or the Cortez brothers because I haven't actually watched any of them wrestle more than a match or two against other young guys. I know they're a very good recruit, but I don't have any of my own opinions on where they could possibly fit into the current college landscape.

Maybe you do it in a separate thread, but I would love to hear your breakdown of the 26'-27' Hawkeyes. Floor and Ceiling for each weight and a definitive prediction on how each guy finishes the year. FWIW I'll hop in there and give my predictions as well. I think Iowa is really interesting this year because boy, oh boy, it seems like their floor and ceiling as a team has to have the biggest range of any team in college wrestling this season.

[BruceyB]

5 minutes ago, ionel said:

I'm sure MP & SM will give you kudos.  

Can they handle the truth? 

[ionel]

6 minutes ago, BruceyB said:

Can they handle the truth? 

[Truzzcat]

12 minutes ago, BruceyB said:

Got a little lazy with the Stanford breakdown.

Only joking. Awesome breakdown, brother. I especially appreciate the insight to newcomers on the scene. A lot of times I only see guys compete before college if they make the U20 Open finals or WTT Finals, so it's hard to know what to expect from guys like Asliykan, Mendoza, or the Cortez brothers because I haven't actually watched any of them wrestle more than a match or two against other young guys. I know they're a very good recruit, but I don't have any of my own opinions on where they could possibly fit into the current college landscape.

Maybe you do it in a separate thread, but I would love to hear your breakdown of the 26'-27' Hawkeyes. Floor and Ceiling for each weight and a definitive prediction on how each guy finishes the year. FWIW I'll hop in there and give my predictions as well. I think Iowa is really interesting this year because boy, oh boy, it seems like their floor and ceiling as a team has to have the biggest range of any team in college wrestling this season.

Kenny has a big one against Sidun at WNO maybe I will do it after that, the Bachmann brothers by their standards have had a bad summer. I will have to dig into the weeds on what borge has been up to and Amato decommited. I think they need to over perform this year and I do not know that it means they have to be a top 3 team I do not think that's realistic but I think they need to show some upward trajectory because they are getting lapped currently.

[BruceyB]

5 hours ago, Truzzcat said:

Kenny has a big one against Sidun at WNO maybe I will do it after that, the Bachmann brothers by their standards have had a bad summer. I will have to dig into the weeds on what borge has been up to and Amato decommited. I think they need to over perform this year and I do not know that it means they have to be a top 3 team I do not think that's realistic but I think they need to show some upward trajectory because they are getting lapped currently.

I know it's crazy, but 26'-27' is this season Truzz haha. I'm curious to see your thoughts on their current roster, each guys floor and their ceiling, but what you actually are predicting. I haven't actually dug in to see to how I think they fair, but I do think it will be a very interesting year for the Hawkeyes, especially coming off of their (relative) rough regular season followed by balling out at the big dance.

[Simpleman424]

On 9/5/2026 at 5:51 PM, BruceyB said:

Can they handle the truth? 

 

On 9/5/2026 at 5:58 PM, ionel said:

I can’t speak for MP but I am but tis true…I keep it simple. The facts would support a top 6-8 team at absolute best…

[MPhillips]

58 minutes ago, Simpleman424 said:

I can’t speak for MP but I am

I wouldn't disagree Brother.

[H82Lose]

On 9/5/2026 at 2:02 PM, Truzzcat said:

Missouri

125: Mauger, Ceiling (r12) Floor (NQ 0-2)
133: Walker, Ceiling (7-8) Floor (NQ 1-2) He is going to have to beat guys like Andrick that he lost 2 close ones to last year to podium.
141: Fugitt, Ceiling (5) Floor (r16) Fugitt is a better wrestler than he showed last year a change of scenery and weight could be huge.
149: Mendoza, Ceiling (3) Floor (7-8) I think Mendoza AA's for sure, Do not think he gets into that Vega/Henson tier which is my T1 but I think he will be able to go with Valencia/SVN/Joy
157:Kollin Rath, Ceiling (r16) floor (NQ) As a PA guy it hurts me to only go r16 and I think he could be better than that but we have not really seen Rath, in action in 2 years so its hard to predict much better than that with how strong the weight is.
165: Heiser, Ceiling (r12) floor (NQ) Heiser wrestled 79kg this summer so 165 may not be an option but I think if its possible he is the guy for the job. He looked awesome at the open and trials outside of getting pinned being up 11-2.
174: Steed, Ceiling (3) floor (8)
184: Sinclair, Ceiling (1) floor (4)
197: Geog, Ceiling (3) floor (r12) 3 may be ambitious here but there is nobody outside of merill and Barr that I do not think a healthy geog cannot beat.
285: Stoner, Ceiling (r16) floor (NQ)

Michigan

125: Asliykan/Botero, Ceiling (NQ) Floor DNQ the story of this team is going to be upside and unkown and with that you could be very optimistic but with a lot of these guys it takes a decent amount of wrestling math to bake in a high floor. Botero was simply undersized for 133 last year and if you look at his record on paper you would probably not expect much here but he competed hard and I think he is definitely NQ caliber. Asliykan is an international style savant and I think he could be a bit behind in folk comparatively but is uber talented and it would not shock me if he was the guy and found a lot of success.
133: Mendoza, Ceiling (r12) Floor (NQ) this weight if it goes as projected right now with returning guys simply does not have a lot of room for guys work their way on the podium. It returns 1,2,3,4,6,7 and then adds Crookham who was 3rd at his only NCAA's. I am also very high on Gunner Andrick and Matty lopes and they would be my picks to sneak on the podium to fill the gaps. I think the world of Mendozas offensive abilites but I do not know if there has been a tougher weight to AA at in recent memory, perhaps ever.
141: Wolbert, Ceiling (7-8) Floor (1-2) I think Wolbert will be very good right away, and he wrestles with zero fear and a high pace which can take you a long way. I do not know that he will have the cleanest record going into nationals, but he feels like a guy with a style that does very well in March.
149: Lemley, Ceiling (6) Floor (r12) this weight is like 133 light there is just not a lot of room on that podium to me when you account for the 3 national champs, SVN, Mendoza, and Joy.
157: Zepeda, Ceiling (7-8) Floor (r16) I think he slots in to that Swisher/Gaj/Arrington/Millard/Rozinski tier and I would probably pick a lot of those guys over him purely based on what we saw last year. Baking in some development I think he can get on the podium but this weight has a lot of established guys.
165: Catrabone, Ceiling (3) Floor (r12) two things this weight is not deep again and I love Cam Catrabone dude is just fun to watch. He really figured it out second half of last year and I think his style only gets better the bigger he gets because I would definitely say speed is not an advantage for him but extending positions certainly is. Duke/Dee/Blaze/Ruiz would be the guys I would pick over him however I think if he knocked off anyone not named Duke I would not be surprised (I know he wrestled Duke super close I think thats probably the closest it gets though).
174: Beau Man, Ceiling (3) Floor (r12) Minto/Messenbrink are off limits but I think he can beat anyone else. The reason I have his floor at r12 is because I think guys like Burton/Singleton/Arnold/Norman could knock him off
184: Brock Man, Ceiling (5) floor (7)
197: Walters, Ceiling (NQ) Floor (DNQ)
285: Sahakian, Ceiling (r16) Floor (NQ 0-2) A ton of pedigree here and a great athlete. We have not seen him compete in over a year and that was against high school competition so there are a lot of question marks here at what I feel is a rather deep weight.

Cornell

125: I. Cortez, Ceiling (3) Floor (r12) I think he is going to be in every match and would not put it past him to beat anyone not named Luke Lilledahl. I would favor Spratley/V-rob/Eddie/Provo as of this moment but if he got a good draw and knocked off one of them I would not be surprised in the slightest
133: E. Cortez, Ceiling (6) Floor (r16) This is more of a product of the weight not that I think any less of Elijah there is just no room to crack the top 5 of this weight and even after that you have 2 2x AA's and guys like Andrick, Lopes, Davis, Baker.
141: Cornella, Ceiling (3) Floor (7-8) I think the world of Vince Cornella and I think Yianni is going to do everything in his power to make sure he finishes on the podium this year. This kid for my money is one of the best wrestlers ever to not AA and this weight is not deep this year. If I were to predict right now I would probably have him 4 behind Okst guy, Bassett, Stanich but If Okst rolls out one of the Raneys I certainly think that is a match he can win and I favor him over the rest of the field.
149: Joy, Ceiling (2) Floor (5) 2 may seem ambitious here but I think Joy can beat anyone at this weight. I do not however expect him to knock off for instance Vega into henson or SVN into Vega into Henson so I am hedging a bit here. I honestly would favor him over SVN and Valencia if they were to say wrestle 10 matches I would probably pick him to win more than he loses but that could be a faded take.
157: Benny Rogers, Ceiling (NQ) Floor (DNQ)
165: Perentin, Ceiling (r12) Floor (NQ 1-2) I think a lot of people may be overly bullish on Perentin because of the results against Jayden James. I do think he will have a fantastic year, but I am not sure I am ready as of now to put him on the podium when guys like Ryder Downey and Paddy gallagher are projected to finish just off of it.
174: Ruiz, Ceiling (2) Floor (6) For me he can beat anyone that is not MM. That could change depending on how Larkin looks at the weight or if Minto makes any jumps, as of now I would favor him over Larkin but not Minto however I would not say its impossible for him to beat Minto. 
184: Cerchio/Eli D/Mikey D, Ceiling (7-8) floor (1-2 NQ) At an extremely top heavy weight I think whoever earns the spot here should do very well. Dellegatta, was an NQ at 197 before missing last year for injury, Cerchio was probably cutting too much for 165 and too small for 184 and then Eli has the name pedigree and style intrigue for the weight but we have zero sample at this level.
197: Correa, Ceiling (5) floor (r16) I think he falls in that Sasso/Mcdaniel/Stout/Posada tier
285: Dellegatta, Ceiling (r16) Floor (NQ) I think Dellegatta will have a good year, the top 16 at heavy is very good this year though with that 8-16 range being occupied with the likes of Hopke, Mullen, Ziola, Pitzer, Taylor, Mirasola (based on rankings)

Stanford 

125: Provo, Ceiling (2) Floor (7)
133: Knox, Ceiling (6) Floor (r12)
141: Consiglio, Ceiling (7-9) Floor (r16)
149: Valencia, Ceiling (2) Floor (6) Could see him falling to Henson, Vega, SVN, Mendoza, Joy
157: Cardenas, Ceiling (4) Floor (r12)
165: Parco, Ceiling (7-8) Floor (r16)
174: Garvin, Ceiling (5) Floor (r12) Can go with anyone that is not Minto, MM, Ruiz, Larkin
184: Woj, Ceiling (NQ) Floor (DNQ)
197: Posada, Ceiling (2) Floor (r12) As of this moment I do not know why he could not beat everyone besides Barr.
285: Borelli, Ceiling (NQ) Floor (DNQ)

I 100% agree on Seth Mendoza, I called him AA with some buddies, and they say no way.  That kid is a gamer. 

[Truzzcat]

10 minutes ago, H82Lose said:

I 100% agree on Seth Mendoza, I called him AA with some buddies, and they say no way.  That kid is a gamer. 

only losses at 149 last year were to ski in two matches he absolutely could have won. He got crackdown cradled by Williams in the third period and lost to Webster 5-3, he also beat Catrabone  at what I would consider a small 149 at the time wrestling up at 157. I really think the sky is the limit for him after a year in the room and actually letting his body grow I know his intention was 141 at the beginning of last year so he was probably holding his weight down most of the fall. 

[Simpleman424]

21 minutes ago, MPhillips said:

I wouldn't disagree Brother.

#DEVELOPEDHERE

[H82Lose]

17 minutes ago, Truzzcat said:

only losses at 149 last year were to ski in two matches he absolutely could have won. He got crackdown cradled by Williams in the third period and lost to Webster 5-3, he also beat Catrabone  at what I would consider a small 149 at the time wrestling up at 157. I really think the sky is the limit for him after a year in the room and actually letting his body grow I know his intention was 141 at the beginning of last year so he was probably holding his weight down most of the fall. 

My kid was on several dual teams with him, he has been good a long time. I am not a huge fan of his dad, but Seth is a gamer. He seldom gets rattled, and he puts pressure on you. For what it is worth, I agree on your Fugitt take, he was not getting developed at Wisconsin, and when Reader left, I know Zan was gonna go. I honestly thought he would end up at OHIO ST, but Mizzu makes sense for him to go back home. 

[BruceyB]

23 minutes ago, Truzzcat said:

only losses at 149 last year were to ski in two matches he absolutely could have won. He got crackdown cradled by Williams in the third period and lost to Webster 5-3, he also beat Catrabone  at what I would consider a small 149 at the time wrestling up at 157. I really think the sky is the limit for him after a year in the room and actually letting his body grow I know his intention was 141 at the beginning of last year so he was probably holding his weight down most of the fall. 

I think Mendoza is an NCAA finalist in his career. From the matches I saw him wrestle in high school, he still looked very raw to me. He still looked like someone who got by a lot on feel and just getting into wrestling positions and winning the battle from there. He wrestles like someone who absolutely loves the sport, wants to continually improve, and will do just that in a college room with guys like Maple and O'Toole coaching him.

I agree 100% on the sky being the limit for Seth. I'd probably pick somewhere in the 5th-8th range this season, but I like him to have a Houdashelt-esque career. 

Edit: Bold above

Edited September 7 by BruceyB

[Ragu]

Very excited for this upcoming season for my Cornell Big Red

[BuckyBadger]

As far as Stanford and Valencia go, why is his ceiling at 2 when he already has reached 1? Minor nitpick in an otherwise great overview.

[Gene Mills Fan]

On 9/5/2026 at 5:38 PM, Truzzcat said:

Are they not projected for podium?? Just looked and Iowa is projected 22.5 more points than them that is absolutely disgusting. I will add them in.

You can add Iowa; Ionel said there gonna finish 7th

[ionel]

19 minutes ago, Gene Mills Fan said:

You can add Iowa; Ionel said there gonna finish 7th

Maybe 6th.  

[Tyler Perry]

15 hours ago, H82Lose said:

I 100% agree on Seth Mendoza, I called him AA with some buddies, and they say no way.  That kid is a gamer. 

Mendoza will finish higher than SVN  

[MoveCountermove]

13 hours ago, BuckyBadger said:

As far as Stanford and Valencia go, why is his ceiling at 2 when he already has reached 1? Minor nitpick in an otherwise great overview.

I don’t think he ever gets to 1 again, so I don’t see an issue. I understand your point, though. He’s already achieved higher than 2, so how can 2 be his limit? But this is projecting forward, not looking backwards. He’s not being viewed as as much of a title threat as you might otherwise consider for a returning champ, and I honestly wouldn’t bet any money on him to repeat

[MoveCountermove]

4 hours ago, Tyler Perry said:

Mendoza will finish higher than SVN  

Hawt take

[TW8]

Mendoza will finish on the podium higher that predicted. 

[flyingcement]

Kollin Rath should be a force too