InterMat's 2024-25 All-Freshman Team
Please take a break from transfers and the portal to talk about some actual results from the mat! Philadelphia was the site for one of the most exciting NCAA Tournaments in quite some time. One of the best storylines of each tournament is how the freshmen will do under the bright lights of the national stage.
In many cases, stars are born. In some other instances, they get a harsh learning experience. As always, there was a bit of both in Philly. One freshman came away with a national title, while another fell in the championship match. A total of 11 freshmen earned All-American honors after 49 qualified.
Determining an all-freshmen team can generally be a tough task; however, many of the performances in Philadelphia helped justify and solidify the selections.
They are listed below, by weight, along with a second team selection. As you might know from following wrestling for any length of time, all brackets are not created equally. There are some weights with multiple freshmen All-Americans and even one that only featured one freshman - in total.
125 lbs
Vince Robinson (NC State)
The only freshman to win a national title in 2025 was NC State’s 125 lber Vince Robinson. Outside of Wolfpack circles, Robinson wasn’t necessarily thought of as a preseason All-American or national title threat; however, he burst on the scene with wins over two returning qualifiers and an eventual All-American at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic. A medical forfeit in the championship half of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational brackets was technically his first loss; however, Robinson went until the final week of the regular season before suffering an actual defeat on the mat.
After a sudden victory loss to Virginia Tech’s Eddie Ventresca, in the ACC finals, Robinson was given the fourth seed at his first national tournament. Robinson’s title hopes were almost derailed in the Round of 16; however, he had a last-second takedown to comeback and defeat Princeton’s Marc-Anthony McGowan. He later pulled out close wins over Dean Peterson and Sheldon Seymour to earn a spot in the national finals. Robinson won his title after a tactical 2-1 win in tiebreakers over Oklahoma State’s Troy Spratley. Earlier in the season, Robinson defeated Spratley, 7-3.
Robinson became the first NC State freshman since Matt Reiss in 1980 to win a national championship. He is also the lightest Wolfpack wrestler to win it all - the first under 149 lbs. For the year, Robinson went 24-3.
2nd Team: Luke Lilledahl (Penn State)
133 lbs
Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin)
An incredible NCAA Tournament helps Zan Fugitt take the honors here at 133 lbs. Even though Philly was the scene of his breakout, Fugitt gave us hints along the way that he could be a podium threat in year one. In only his third dual of his redshirt freshman season, Fugitt knocked off a returning NCAA Round of 12 finisher Kurt Phipps of Bucknell. A day later, he upset Lock Haven’s two-time All-American Anthony Noto. In the middle of the Big Ten dual season, Fugitt majored eventual All-American Jacob Van Dee of Nebraska. The sheer depth of the Big Ten at 133 lbs accounted for a handful of dual losses by Fugitt and his ninth-place finish at the conference tournament.
Fugitt turned heads in the Round of 16 at his first NCAA Championships as he upset #3 Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) in sudden victory. Proving it was no fluke, Fugitt pinned #6 Connor McGonagle (Virginia Tech) in his next match to ensure a spot in the semifinals and his All-American status.
After a 6-1 semifinal loss to Drake Ayala (Iowa), Fugitt rebounded to defeat Braeden Davis (Penn State) 8-5 and wrestle for third place. He would eventually finish fourth which was the best finish for a Wisconsin freshman since Evan Wick was third in 2018.
2nd Team: Tyler Knox (Stanford)
141 lbs
AJ Rallo (Bellarmine)
The only freshman to qualify for the 2025 NCAA Championships at 141 lbs was Bellarmine’s AJ Rallo. Rallo, along with teammate Devan Hendricks, are the first Bellarmine wrestlers to qualify for the DI national tournament. Rallo finished third at the SoCon Championships, but was in a deep weight class that saw the two placers above him automatically qualify for nationals. A few days later, Rallo got an at-large berth himself.
Rallo was seeded 25th in Philly and was paired with Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) in the opening round. Rallo kept the match close, but fell 5-0 to the 2023 NCAA champion.
For the year, Rallo went 14-7, which was a great improvement over his 6-5 mark as a true freshman in 2023-24.
2nd Team: Danny Martinez (SIU Edwardsville)
149 lbs
Ethan Stiles (Oregon State)
Ethan Stiles had a promising redshirt campaign at Nebraska that saw him compile a 15-3 record while competing up at 157 lbs. After transferring to Oregon State, Stiles started the 2024-25 campaign at that weight and had some success with a 7-3 record heading into January. When the calendar turned to 2025, Stiles remerged at 149 lbs and won five of his six duals, three of which came against top-15 competition.
After taking second at the Pac-12 Championships, Stiles was given the #12 seed at NCAA’s. The Round of 16 was where Stiles really made his impact felt. He posted an 8-0 major decision on the fifth seed, four-time All-American Kyle Parco of Iowa. Stiles fell in the quarterfinals, but left no doubt in the bloodround when he pinned Lehigh’s Malyke Hines in the first period to secure his spot on the podium. He would end up sixth after downing Sammy Alvarez and falling to Lachlan McNeil in the fifth-place bout.
Stiles went 19-8 for the year during his All-American run. In doing so, he became the first Oregon State wrestler since Babak Mohammadi in 1991 to make the NCAA podium as a freshman.
2nd Team: Kannon Webster (Illinois)
157 lbs
Brandon Cannon (Ohio State)
Wow! We didn’t see this coming at the beginning of the year! Ohio State started the year with Paddy Gallagher at 157 lbs and in mid-January Gallagher and Sammy Sasso swapped weights, with Sasso getting reps at 157 lbs. Ultimately, it was redshirt freshman Brandon Cannon who seized the starting role at the weight and never let go. While the other two were going back and forth for the Buckeyes in the starting lineup, Cannon was racking up wins on the open tournament circuit. Cannon opened eyes at his first event where he knocked off returning Big 12 runner-up Cody Chittum on the way to winning the Cleveland State Open.
In Cannon’s last dual appearance of the regular season, he notched a win over Penn State stud freshman Joseph Sealey, which was a win that set the tone for his postseason. At the Big Ten Championships, Cannon knocked off top-seeded Ethen Miller (Maryland), along with Tommy Askey (Minnesota) and Chase Saldate (Michigan) on his way to the finals. Askey was responsible for one of his two losses heading into the postseason.
The Big Ten finals berth and an excellent overall record helped Cannon to the fifth seed at nationals. In the Round of 16, Cannon was upset by #12 Caleb Fish (Oklahoma State) in a very unusual bout - filled with challenges and controversy. After that, he picked up two consolation wins, but was eliminated in the bloodround by Northern Colorado’s Vince Zerban.
Cannon finished the year with a sparkling 24-5 record.
2nd Team: Rafael Hipolito (Virginia Tech)
165 lbs
Christopher Minto (Nebraska)
For the first two months of the season, it was veteran Bubba Wilson who got the call as Nebraska’s starter at 165 lbs. Minto was inserted into the dual lineup in January and promptly won his first four conference duals - the first coming over top-ten-ranked Andrew Sparks (Minnesota). Minto had a strong conference dual season, but stumbled a bit at the B1G Tournament and settled for eighth place. That placement led to the #12 seed at NCAA’s.
Minto took care of business in the opening round in Philly, but really stunned fans with his 11-1 dismantling of veteran Julian Ramirez in the Round of 16. He didn’t stop there. Minto punched his ticket to the NCAA semifinals with an exciting 8-7 win over #4 Terrell Barraclough. Minto would end up taking fourth in the country - just over two months after he established himself as Nebraska’s starter.
Minto finished the year 24-7 and was an integral part of a Nebraska team that broke a handful of program records with their point total and second-place finish in Philly.
2nd Team: Beau Mantanona (Michigan)
174 lbs
Simon Ruiz (Cornell)
Cornell is a team that typically produces high-performing freshmen; however, Simon Ruiz seemed to fly under the radar a bit during the regular season. He probably shouldn’t have, as he was fourth at the CKLV Invitational and a champion at Cornell’s Big Red Invitational. Throughout the regular season, Ruiz earned two wins over wrestlers who eventually made the podium and three over Round of 12 finishers.
An Ivy League title helped Ruiz earn the fifth seed at NCAA’s. Ruiz advanced to the quarterfinals, before losing a one-point bout to returning All-American Cade DeVos (South Dakota State). To earn his place amongst the top-eight, Ruiz had to grind out a 2-1 win over Nebraska’s Lenny Pinto in the bloodround. It was his second win of the year over Pinto. Ruiz ended up getting a measure of revenge on DeVos, by edging him for fifth place.
Ruiz finished his initial campaign in Ithaca with a 27-7 record and could start the 2025-26 season as the third-highest returning placer at 174 lbs.
2nd: Lorenzo Norman (Stanford)
184 lbs
Max McEnelly (Minnesota)
NCAA placement aside, perhaps the most impressive freshman all year was Minnesota’s Max McEnelly. He finished the year with a 25-2 record and both losses came to returning national champions in sudden victory. He stunned the crowd at Northwestern with an early takedown against Carter Starocci (Penn State) in the Big Ten finals. He was on the wrong side of a scramble against Parker Keckeisen in the NCAA semifinals, that was one of the best sequences of the entire tournament and easily could have gone his way.
McEnelly started the year with tech falls in his first six matches - a streak interrupted by a win in tiebreakers over returning All-American Bennett Berge (South Dakota State). To make the conference final, opposite Starocci, he majored 2024 Big Ten champion Edmond Ruth (Illinois), 11-3.
After his NCAA semifinal loss to Keckeisen, McEnelly downed Maryland’s Jaxon Smith and then got by returning NCAA runner-up Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State), 6-5 to take third place. McEnelly will be looked at as the favorite in this weight class for the 2025-26 season.
2nd Team: Gabe Arnold (Iowa)
197 lbs
Josh Barr (Penn State)
Talent-wise, it’s not a surprise that Josh Barr is on this list. He was one of the top recruits in the nation in the high school Class of 2023. At the beginning of the season, we weren’t really sure what to expect from Barr at 197 lbs. Barr seemed like an ideal fit at 184 lbs, but had to move up with the presence of then-four-time NCAA champion Carter Starocci. It only took about a month to see that Barr could be a contender at this weight. That’s when he knocked off returning All-American Michael Beard (Lehigh). Not only did Barr get the win, but he also did it via major decision. Barr went through the regular season with only a loss to top-ranked Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) on his resume. He would have to default out of the Big Ten Championships following a loss to Jacob Cardenas (Michigan) and an injury in the consolation bout that followed.
Barr’s status was unknown heading into Philly, but he demonstrated he could be a title contender after a win over All-American Trey Munoz (Oregon State) in the Round of 16 and another major over Beard in the quarters. Barr locked up a spot in the NCAA finals after avenging his loss to Cardenas, the Big Ten champion and top seed. His luck would run out in the finals and Barr suffered his second loss of the season to Buchanan.
Barr finished his season with a 22-4 record and is the top finisher returning in 2025-26. With another year to grow into the weight, Barr should be even better - which is a scary proposition for the rest of the 197 lbers.
2nd Team: Camden McDanel (Nebraska)
285 lbs
Ben Kueter (Iowa)
The 2024-25 season was the first time that Ben Kueter focused solely on wrestling and the proof was in the pudding, as Kueter got better as the year progressed. He entered the postseason with a 13-5 record that was a bit misleading, as the 285 lb weight class was as talented as it has ever been and most of the contenders were fifth and sixth-year seniors.
Even with a loaded Big Ten bracket, Kueter managed to finish third at the conference tournament. His key win was over returning All-American Nick Feldman (Ohio State), which ended up being one of three wins on the year over Feldman.
Kueter’s Big Ten exploits were good enough for a fifth seed at the NCAA Tournament. He would make the quarterfinals after his final win over Feldman. Kueter ultimately was stopped in the quarterfinals by Lehigh’s Owen Trephan, but he regrouped to get by ACC champion Dayton Pitzer (Pittsburgh) to clinch a place in the top-eight. Kueter would settle in with an eighth-place finish.
Kueter was the first freshman heavyweight to earn All-American honors for the Hawkeyes since his coach, Bobby Telford, was fifth in 2012.
2nd Team: Brady Colbert (Army West Point)
Past All-Freshman Team’s
125
2024: Luke Stanich (Lehigh)
2023: Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech)
133
2024: Ryan Crookham (Lehigh)
2023: Aaron Nagao (Minnesota)
141
2024: Sergio Lemley (Michigan)
2023: Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina)
149
2024: Tyler Kasak (Penn State)
2023: Shayne Van Ness (Penn State)
157
2024: Meyer Shapiro (Cornell)
2023: Levi Haines (Penn State)
165
2024: Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State)
2023: Michael Caliendo (North Dakota State)
174
2024: Rocco Welsh (Ohio State)
2023: Tate Picklo (Oklahoma)
184
2024: Bennett Berge (South Dakota State)
2023: Lenny Pinto (Nebraska)
197
2024: Stephen Little (Little Rock)
2023: Jaxon Smith (Maryland)
285
2024: Nick Feldman (Ohio State)
2023: Nathan Taylor (Lehigh)
