Leaderboard

Michigan State - Go Green! Go White! The Spartans have a huge variance as far as what they can be this season. On one hand, they have some strong veterans in their lineup, and a lot of leadership that they can lean on to develop their youth. On the other hand, they’ll have some weights with guys without much experience jumping into the lineup and expected to produce. In my mind, that’s a good thing and I trust the culture on the team to help these guys assimilate into full-time starters and contributors. They have adjusted their approach from a coaching standpoint to really focus on being ready to produce at the right times of the year, and I expect this team to be rounded into form come March. For more recent insight directly from Head Coach Roger Chandler, check out this interview I did with him from 9/25. TOP RETURNERS Chase Saldate had a breakout season last year. His regular season was particularly strong, earning him the fourth seed at the B1G tournament. He ended up dropping his first match at NCAAs, but battled all the way back to the bloodround before finishing up just shy of the podium when he was pinned by Bryce Andonian of Virginia Tech. Saldate tends to wrestle close matches, but when he gets his offense going he’s extremely tough to beat. His top game is as good as almost anyone in college wrestling, and he’s stingy defensively. If he can add a little bit more on his feet, he’ll get on that podium this time around. Caleb Fish needed an at-large bid to make the NCAA tournament last year, but made the most of it by making it to the quarterfinals of a loaded 165 pound weight class. He’s consistently gotten better with each season in the lineup and is referenced regularly as one of the guys who does everything you expect from an athlete. You can expect him to be where he needs to be as a student-athlete, is generally regarded as the toughest guy on the team (reference the interview above), and is going to be as prepared as anyone coming into the year. I expect him to be a consistent presence at 165. Don’t be surprised when he gets a couple “upset” wins in the conference. Layne Malczewski is entering his final year with the Spartans. He was my pick for breakout candidate at 184 last season, and I stand by it! He has battled injuries throughout his career, but he’s been brought up to me by other coaches, which is a good sign that they think about how they are going to approach matches with him. He has a lot of different attacks, is ready to use them all, and is really tall for the weight. In my conversation with him over the summer, he was adding size and is as healthy as he’s ever been. Let’s hope he can stay healthy and really see what he can do. Last Dance Layne! KEY DEPARTURES Rayvon Foley was in the Spartan lineup since his true freshman year. As a sophomore, he was an All-American and was consistently ranked in the top-ten and an All-American threat throughout his career. He didn’t finish his career as strongly as it started, but his contributions to the lineup and leadership will be missed. He reigns as Ann Arbor Pioneer High School’s most successful college wrestler. Peyton Omania, a Greco Senior World Team member in 2021, and another long-term contributor to the team. There is a solid contingent of Greco wrestlers on this team, and Omania’s presence and approach certainly contributed to that interest. He had shown flashes of greatness and was always a dangerous wrestler. Cam Caffey, a fan favorite over the years, held court for the upperweights for his entire career. Starting at 184, he was a B1G finalist in the 2020 season, which had the NCAA tournament canceled. After that year he bumped up to 197. He had huge wins at times, notably beating the eventual NCAA Champion in Max Dean during their dual with Penn State. His career ended at NCAAs last year when he tried to compete with a bad shoulder, an injury he suffered at B1Gs. He intends to continue to compete in freestyle and Greco, but he does leave a big gap at 197 that the Spartans will have to fill. NEWCOMERS Braden Stauffenberg, speaking of Greco, just represented the United States at the U20 Greco World Championships. He was 10-6 in his redshirt season, and will likely be representing the Spartans at 149 pounds this season. Anytime you can get youth and world-level experience into the lineup is a good thing, and I’m excited to see how he steps into this spot. WRESTLER TO WATCH Ceasar Garza stepped into the lineup last season right away. He won the MSU Open Freshman and Sophomore division last season, and became the starter a couple weeks into the season after their planned starter, DJ Shannon (transfer from Illinois), got hurt. He showed some growing pains early, but he also showed growth and improvement as the season went on. This last offseason he went 2-2 in his first major freestyle tournament, and a couple weeks later was an All-American at U23s. He’ll be someone to watch closely. Jordan Hamden another Grego World Team member for the Spartans, as he will represent the United States at U23 Greco Worlds next week. He’s been in the lineup for a while, and showed some flashes, but like I mentioned with Braden above, World Team members don’t happen by accident and I believe that experience and the confidence that comes with it will contribute to a successful season for Jordan. Tristan Lujan had a strong start to the season last year winning the Navy Open and was undefeated up until the finals of the Reno Tournament of Champions where he dropped a 5-2 match to Trevor Mastrogiovanni of Oklahoma State. As the season went on, Lujan lost some steam and had a tough B1G season. However, I believe in Lujan and feel like he’ll be more consistent this season and will end up wrestling in Kansas City at the end of the year. TOP OUT-OF-CONFERENCE DUAL Central Michigan University travels to East Lansing on Friday, February 23rd. This is an in-state rivalry where both teams show up ready to impose their dominance. This dual has implications year in and year out for recruits, NCAA seeding implications, and bragging rights. These duals have been close over the last couple of years with the Spartans coming out on top the last couple of seasons. Both squads have a lot of depth and should match up very well this year making for an exciting out-of-conference battle.

Not only does Northwestern head coach Matt Storniolo sit down with Ryan Holmes to preview the season, but new assistant coach BJ Futrell has also joined the discussion. Each gives their perspective on why a move to Evanston made sense for Futrell and the team. The Wildcat coaches talk about a Northwestern team that has plenty of new faces for 2023-24, along with some veterans in new roles. The two also give their opinion on how the new takedown rules may impact competition this season. For the full interview: Click Here