What about your team are you most interested in seeing this season?

[BruceyB]

It's in the title: What about your favorite team has you most intrigued for this upcoming season?

I don't have a specific team that I root for, but I'll kick it off with a few things from a few teams that I support.

1. Do the Oklahoma State freshmen take another step? We've seen it many times with PSU wrestlers who are in competitive matches their first/second year before largely separating themselves from the field. I am really curious to see if the Freshmen from last year can do the same.

2. Can Missouri find some stability with their lineup and can Aoeden make some adjustments to separate himself from the other big 3 at 184? Missouri's lineup has been full of holes and lacking legitimate AA threats for a few years now. Can Brian Smith right the ship or is it going to be time to start looking for a change? Of the big 4 at 184, Aoeden seems like he is the most complete wrestler with the most diverse set of skills. If anyone can separate themselves and become a true frontrunner, I do think it's him. The other 3 seem happy to go to OT far too often.

3. Does the Virginia Tech All-In for the 2027 tournament bear fruit? The VT lineup has some relative question marks, but if their upper weights can compete closer to their ceiling than floor, they could very well finish in the top 3 this season. I am really curious to see if they combine their strong recruiting into strong results in March if they can become a legitimate perennial trophy contender, and possibly a more frequent landing spot than some of the more traditional schools in the B10 moving forward.

[Simpleman424]

1 hour ago, BruceyB said:

It's in the title: What about your favorite team has you most intrigued for this upcoming season?

I don't have a specific team that I root for, but I'll kick it off with a few things from a few teams that I support.

1. Do the Oklahoma State freshmen take another step? We've seen it many times with PSU wrestlers who are in competitive matches their first/second year before largely separating themselves from the field. I am really curious to see if the Freshmen from last year can do the same.

2. Can Missouri find some stability with their lineup and can Aoeden make some adjustments to separate himself from the other big 3 at 184? Missouri's lineup has been full of holes and lacking legitimate AA threats for a few years now. Can Brian Smith right the ship or is it going to be time to start looking for a change? Of the big 4 at 184, Aoeden seems like he is the most complete wrestler with the most diverse set of skills. If anyone can separate themselves and become a true frontrunner, I do think it's him. The other 3 seem happy to go to OT far too often.

3. Does the Virginia Tech All-In for the 2027 tournament bear fruit? The VT lineup has some relative question marks, but if their upper weights can compete closer to their ceiling than floor, they could very well finish in the top 3 this season. I am really curious to see if they combine their strong recruiting into strong results in March if they can become a legitimate perennial trophy contender, and possibly a more frequent landing spot than some of the more traditional schools in the B10 moving forward.

I’ll start with mine…I am most interested to see how far Karson Brown goes for Ohio State in his freshman season. I think he can All-American. For a guy I believe is not projected or ranked on any of the services preseason rankings that might be a little spice in the pepper…

Also interested to see what happens for us at 197. 
 

As for yours:

1. I think Jax is the only repeat champion of the freshman group. 
 

2. I picked Mac to win it all last year, I’m doing the same this year but I really really hope it’s Aoeden in the finals with him out of those 4.

3. I have VT finishing 3rd this year. I think it bears the fruit…

[SEKPoke]

Ok State 141#

[BruceyB]

4 hours ago, Simpleman424 said:

I’ll start with mine…I am most interested to see how far Karson Brown goes for Ohio State in his freshman season. I think he can All-American. For a guy I believe is not projected or ranked on any of the services preseason rankings that might be a little spice in the pepper…

Also interested to see what happens for us at 197. 
 

As for yours:

1. I think Jax is the only repeat champion of the freshman group. 
 

2. I picked Mac to win it all last year, I’m doing the same this year but I really really hope it’s Aoeden in the finals with him out of those 4.

3. I have VT finishing 3rd this year. I think it bears the fruit…

I'd love for some more intel on Karson Brown without doing any work myself. The only thing I know about Brown is that he was down like 13-1 to Jax in the (Beast?) finals and then stormed back to make the score competitive at like 13-10 or something. I'm pretty sure he won Ironman last year a few weeks prior? Obviously anyone who wins Ironman is a quality recruit, but I imagined he was more like a Maddox Shaw type of guy than a legitimate AA threat right out of the gate.

Edit: Of the OKST freshmen, I think it's very difficult to pick Sergio, but that's because I think 149 has the most elite talent of any weight this year. I am picking Robideau to win this year, and I am picking him to win in dominant fashion. I think Kasak will be a good match, but I really think Robideau is a psychopath and he is going to want to bonus everyone that he wrestles. I think he said it in one of the Stilly Boys episodes that he wants to crush everyone he wrestles in front of their friends and family. I am also expecting Merrill to take a step forward and really cement himself as the #2 guy at this weight.

Edited October 15 by BruceyB

[ionel]

29 minutes ago, BruceyB said:

 I am picking Robideau to win this year, and I am picking him to win in dominant fashion. I think Kasak will be a good match, but I really think Robideau is a psychopath and he is going to want to bonus everyone that he wrestles. 

[Tyler Perry]

Iowa and Michigan are two teams that I think will have really tough Friday nights. I have Iowa with 3 AA’s and everyone else getting R12/R16, finishing 8th. 

I have Michigan with 4 AA’s and 4 guys with R12/R16 finishes and getting 11th.

Both I think are good teams with a lot of guys on the fringe.

With Michigan specifically, they are a very young team, in 2027/28, they would return all of their starters barring transfers except for Beau Mantanona. 125-141 projected starters are true freshman. Zepeda at 157 is a RSFR, Catrabone (AA) is a RSFR, and Nicholas Shahakian is a SO who was a top 20 recruit. 

[BruceyB]

8 minutes ago, Tyler Perry said:

Iowa and Michigan are two teams that I think will have really tough Friday nights. I have Iowa with 3 AA’s and everyone else getting R12/R16, finishing 8th. 

I have Michigan with 4 AA’s and 4 guys with R12/R16 finishes and getting 11th.

Both I think are good teams with a lot of guys on the fringe.

With Michigan specifically, they are a very young team, in 2027/28, they would return all of their starters barring transfers except for Beau Mantanona. 125-141 projected starters are true freshman. Zepeda at 157 is a RSFR, Catrabone (AA) is a RSFR, and Nicholas Shahakian is a SO who was a top 20 recruit. 

I am pretty much with you on Iowa except that I think they will end up with 4 AAs (if Crookham is healthy). I think one of their fringe guys will pull through and get on the podium based on probability if nothing else.

Beau Man will also be back for 27/28, correct? This is his third season in the line-up, 4th including his redshirt. Michigan might be the most interesting team to follow this year. They have a lot of fun young talent, but I'd expect some growing pains with such a young class.

[Nak21]

PSU. I expect another title in March, without much drama. Will they set another scoring record??  Probably the last one before DT and Okie St start making it a team race again in 2027-28.

125 - will LL repeat? Will he open it up more and score more on other top guys?

133 & 141 - who’s gonna go here? Blaze, Ono, Desmond, Davis (will he even be on the team). Will Blaze open it up more and find some way to score on the top 3 (Jax, Davino, Seidel)?? If Ono goes, do we just see utter obliteration in neutral and struggles on the mat if it gets that far? 2 out 3 periods likely in neutral, do we see domination and lots of TFs or does he not live up to the hype and struggles with folk style? Is there any there there with Davis’ “issues” and he is booted and takes his services elsewhere? Back to Michigan? How has Desmond filled out and where does he fit in the mix?

149 - how does SVN do in his last go around, with a 149 that suddenly appears to have gotten a lot better. Will he still be so sloppy, especially at the beginning of matches?

157 - thinking Kasak here. Does he make it thru the season or is there a lingering injury/head/concussion problem here. If it’s Sealy, how does he fare when given a chance at the spot?

165 - does PJ go 165?  does PJ bonus his way thru the whole season? 

174 - does MM go 174? Does MM bonus his way thru the whole season?

184 - does Rocco open it up and find some offense against what appears to be a very evenly matched top 3-4 guys?

197 - is Barr healthy? Does Barr bonus his way thru the whole season?

285 - which Mirasola do we get? Whichever one it is, have they put on a little size and ALOT of strength since last year? Will whoever goes crack the top 4-5 on the podium come March??

Edited October 15 by Nak21

[MoveCountermove]

6 hours ago, Tyler Perry said:

Iowa and Michigan are two teams that I think will have really tough Friday nights. I have Iowa with 3 AA’s and everyone else getting R12/R16, finishing 8th. 

I have Michigan with 4 AA’s and 4 guys with R12/R16 finishes and getting 11th.

Both I think are good teams with a lot of guys on the fringe.

With Michigan specifically, they are a very young team, in 2027/28, they would return all of their starters barring transfers except for Beau Mantanona. 125-141 projected starters are true freshman. Zepeda at 157 is a RSFR, Catrabone (AA) is a RSFR, and Nicholas Shahakian is a SO who was a top 20 recruit. 

Similar feelings regarding Michigan. I think Beau has one more season (27/28) tho, which is great for us. Catrabone also a RS So I believe. 27/28 is the season for this squad. There is a lot of interesting development in this club for this season with how young they are.

Beyond the freshman and the returning AA, my eyes will be heavily trained on Sahakian and Walters at the heavy weights. Sahakian hasn't wrestled in years and was coming off HS injury I believe, which is reminiscent of Walters who has been a massive disappointment when compared with his recruiting profile. His summer freestyle season has given me some hope that he may have knocked off the rust and be ready to scrap. 3ish years of starting and stopping training and rehabbing, I think if he's mostly healthy he may be in a position where having wrestled for 2 straight years now or so has allowed him to find himself again. 

I have a fear that the worst case scenario is both of them being impossibly mediocre, leading us to run another season with roughly 1.5 holes in the lineup.

Months back, I predicted 4 AA. 3 repeats and then room for one more to surprise more or less. I'll stand behind that. 10 qualify, hopefully. November is coming up quick!

[ScottishSteel]

Will Freestyle Rademacher show up in folkstyle?

[BigRedFan]

Will Cornell have six freshman starters?

125 Isaiah Cortez (over prior starter Milani)

133 Elijah Cortez (over prior starter Ferrara)

165 Alessio Perentin

184:  Big Little D (Elijah Diakomihalis) (over prior starter Cerchio and returning Mikey Dellagatta)

197:  Jude Correa

285:  Rocco "Bigger D" Dellagatta (over prior starter Ashton Davis)

[BruceyB]

11 hours ago, ScottishSteel said:

Will Freestyle Rademacher show up in folkstyle?

I'd be curious to know your thoughts on what is happening currently with Oregon State wrestling. They had that amazing tournament in 2022 and just haven't been anywhere close since. (If you didn't know) I'm a Washington native, so obviously I am a big supporter of the Beavs. I have my own feelings about what's going on, but I'm sure you are more acutely where of the happenings than I.

[ionel]

12 minutes ago, BruceyB said:

 I am a big supporter of the Beavs

... the dam beavs? 

[MPhillips]

3 hours ago, BruceyB said:

I am a big supporter of the Beavs.

I mean...who isn't?

[BruceyB]

5 hours ago, ionel said:

... the dam beavs? 

Some say it is the real OSU. However, there is only one the OSU. 

[ScottishSteel]

10 hours ago, BruceyB said:

I'd be curious to know your thoughts on what is happening currently with Oregon State wrestling. They had that amazing tournament in 2022 and just haven't been anywhere close since. (If you didn't know) I'm a Washington native, so obviously I am a big supporter of the Beavs. I have my own feelings about what's going on, but I'm sure you are more acutely where of the happenings than I.

You are right; that 2022 was an awesome tourney - I had high hopes that Pendleton was gonna be nails at getting guys to peak at the right time.  I was still totally on board up through this past tourney - that was a disappointment in so many facets; especially Renteria and JRad not even coming close to the podium.  This past March is the first I've really started to question things . . . 

There's been a little bad luck (2 years in a row Beavs 197 beat someone who would go on to AA in their opening match and then not podium - Munoz in particular had a tough draw), Wittlake's accident, Olguin's injuries (Olguin was absolutely good enough to podium).  I really liked their staff when it was Engel and Rhoden but both of them moved out of college coaching to spend more time w/ family (can't really fault them - I also left working in college athletics to spend more time w/ family).  I heard a lot of smoke that they tried to land Mark Hall as assistant coach this summer but landed w/ Traub after Hall got a nice raise to stay in Oklahoma.  Maybe Traub is a good coach, I don't know but it feels anticlimatic.  I've head the new Oregon St AD (started this summer) is giving the wrestling program more resources so maybe brighter days are ahead.  The coping in me tells me that not having a true conference the past 2 years has hurt them particularly w/ recruiting and they'll be better prepared this year and moving forward but that could be orange colored glasses.

There is a handful of guys who I don't know if they are at the right weight class.  I firmly believe JRad should be a heavyweight.  Be 230ish lbs and athletic for college and drop to 213 for your freestyle career feels like the best path to success for him; he really fell off at the end of last season and I think it was the cut getting to him.  CJ Hamblin trying to go 149 likely cost him an NCAA berth.

There's still been developmental success, Stiles was an AA out of nowhere, Munoz was 3rd recently but they've really struggled to replicate that 2022 run.  Nash Singleton I think has gotten better every year.  I worry Pendleton and crew have had to do so much off the mat stuff that they haven't been able to actually coach like they want and that's been the issue.  

Just some jumbled collection of thoughts in some semblance of an order; curious what anyone else thinks outside looking in that might not have as biased a view

[BruceyB]

1 hour ago, ScottishSteel said:

Just some jumbled collection of thoughts in some semblance of an order; curious what anyone else thinks outside looking in that might not have as biased a view

I appreciate the thoughtful and detailed response. My biggest feeling is that the lack of linear progression going back to Zalesky is that the location has as much to do with it as just about anything else. Washington, Idaho, and Oregon just don't produce very many AAs and when a legitimate blue-chip recruit does come along, they almost always go elsewhere. 

As far as I can recall Michael Mangrum was the biggest recruit that stayed close to home and went to Oregon State. Otherwise, it's mostly somewhat middling D1 prospects that end up there.. Ronnie Bresser, Joey Palmer, Taylor Meeks, Roger Pena, to name a few. They are solid gets, but not exactly pick-ups that really move the needle. From the Tri-State area, Derek Garcia went to tOSU, Jordan and Chandler Rogers went to OKST, Berger went to Nebraska, Zac Brunson went to Illinois, Ryan Christianson went to Wisconsin, Ridge Lovett went to Nebraska, etc.

I can't imagine how hard it is to convince kids from the Midwest or East coast to come to (let's be honest) a middling D1 program that is as far away from home as you can get in D1 wrestling. Everyone knows about the rain and the dark winters. Obviously more travel is involved when you're lodged up in the far corner of the US. Corvallis not to mention Oregon as a whole is probably relatively unknown to these kids. Oregon in terms of conference and geography feels like it's just completely isolated from the rest of the college wrestling landscape. The Pac-10 was once a legitimate conference, but now is just a few school that have never been in power-5 conferences and Oregon State. I just don't know how you realistically sell that to recruits that don't have ties and feel a sense of pride to represent the lone program in the PNW.

[Simpleman424]

On 10/14/2026 at 6:37 PM, Simpleman424 said:

I’ll start with mine…I am most interested to see how far Karson Brown goes for Ohio State in his freshman season. I think he can All-American. For a guy I believe is not projected or ranked on any of the services preseason rankings that might be a little spice in the pepper…

Also interested to see what happens for us at 197. 
 

As for yours:

1. I think Jax is the only repeat champion of the freshman group. 
 

2. I picked Mac to win it all last year, I’m doing the same this year but I really really hope it’s Aoeden in the finals with him out of those 4.

3. I have VT finishing 3rd this year. I think it bears the fruit…

Semi relevant note on seeing where Brown is…if he beats Sandu in his first match today he gets Bassett (Fresh off a Bye) after…I don’t expect he’ll win that much but I’m extremely interested to see how much of a fight he puts up.  @MPhillips

[MPhillips]

6 minutes ago, Simpleman424 said:

Semi relevant note on seeing where Brown is

Good looking out Brother. OSU is going to need the Browns to be relevant this season and I'm excited to see them wrestle the next couple days.

 

[ionel]

11 minutes ago, MPhillips said:

Good looking out Brother. tOSU is going to need the Browns to be relevant this season ...

[Gene Mills Fan]

1 hour ago, MPhillips said:

Good looking out Brother. OSU is going to need the Browns to be relevant this season and I'm excited to see them wrestle the next couple days.

 

[RawDog]

On 10/14/2026 at 9:47 PM, BruceyB said:

I am picking Robideau to win this year, and I am picking him to win in dominant fashion. I think Kasak will be a good match, but I really think Robideau is a psychopath and he is going to want to bonus everyone that he wrestles. I think he said it in one of the Stilly Boys episodes that he wants to crush everyone he wrestles in front of their friends and family. I am also expecting Merrill to take a step forward and really cement himself as the #2 guy at this weight.

I agree with this.  Robideau is a psychopath and all his teammates seem to think this. He seems like he just lives to wrestle and nothing else matters to him.  He is gonna end up being the best one of the freshman champs.

[Simpleman424]

49 minutes ago, Gene Mills Fan said:

Wrong Browns…gross

[ionel]

3 hours ago, Simpleman424 said:

Wrong Browns…gross

[Gene Mills Fan]

3 hours ago, Simpleman424 said:

Wrong Browns…gross

I thought you guys were from ohio