InterMat Staff

Capital

Wyoming Valley West

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Bixby

William Flemimg

Amherst County

Thompson

Auburndale

Norcross

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Freedom Christian Academy

Huntley

VOTING LINK: https://www.win-magazine.com/2025/03/25/fanvote-2/ The finalists have been announced for the 2025 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy, presented annually by ASICS Wrestling to the nation’s top NCAA Division I wrestler. The coveted trophy was created in 1994 by former WIN founder Mike Chapman and named after Dan Hodge, the late three-time NCAA champion (1955-57) from the University of Oklahoma. In addition to former Hodge Trophy winners, a retired coach from each region, a representative of each national wrestling organization and national media members, wrestling fans can once again be part of the voting as well. The week following the NCAAs, fans will be able to vote online at WIN-Magazine.com with the winner earning five first-place votes. Like the Heisman, the Hodge is a season-season award given to the wrestler who gets the most amount of first-place votes from the Hodge Trophy Voting Committee and Fan Vote based on these criteria: record, dominance/bonus-point percentage, quality of competition and sportsmanship. Wrestlers who have won multiple Hodge Trophies are given a vote for each year they won the award. The 2025 Hodge winner will be announced at 12 pm CST on Monday, March 31. Statistical Look at Notable 2025 Hodge Trophy Finalists The three finalists below are the only undefeated 2025 NCAA DI champions. The list includes how many pins (P), tech falls (TF), major decisions (MD) and Forfeits/Defaults (F/Def) each wrestler accumulated during the 2024-25 season. The final stat is their bonus-point percentage showing the percentage of their total matches in which they've scored bonus points. Name School Year W-L Pins TF MD F/Def Bonus % 165 pounds Mitchell Mesenbrink Penn State So. 27-0 0 18 3 3 88.9% 184 pounds Carter Starocci Penn State RSSr. 26-0 6 10 5 1 84.6% Heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson Oklahoma State Sr. 27-0 13 8 0 1 81.5% Source: wrestlestat.com Quality of Competition Statistics 165: Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) Results against 2025 NCAA qualifiers · Record: 13-0 Bonus Breakdown: · 0 falls · 6 tech falls · 3 majors · 1 injury default · 3 decisions 2024-25 wins against 2025 All-Americans: 5 · 3-0 vs. Michael Caliendo (Iowa) o W 8-2; W 4-1; W 19-4 (6:24) · 1-0 vs. Christopher Minto (Nebraska) o W 13-2 · 1-0 vs. Cameron Amine (Oklahoma State) o W 5-0 Bonus Breakdown: · 0 falls · 1 tech fall · 1 major · 0 injury defaults · 3 decisions 2024-2025 wins against former NCAA champs: 0 2024-2025 wins against former All-Americans: 4 · 3-0 vs. 3x AA Michael Caliendo (Iowa) o W 8-2; W 4-1; W TF 19-4 (6:24) · 1-0 vs. 4x AA Cameron Amine (Oklahoma State) o W 5-0 184: Carter Starocci (Penn State) Results against 2025 NCAA qualifiers · Record: 14-0 Bonus Breakdown: · 0 falls · 6 tech falls · 4 majors · 1 disqualification · 3 decisions 2024-25 wins against 2025 All-Americans: 8 · 3-0 vs. Jaxon Smith (Maryland) o W 20-3 (6:45); W 12-2; W 9-1 · 1-0 vs. Donnell Washington (Indiana) o W 18-1 (4:54) · 1-0 vs. Silas Allred (Nebraska) o W 11-2 · 1-0 vs. Max McEnelly (Minnesota) o W 8-5 SV-1 · 1-0 vs. Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) o W 9-3 · 1-0 vs. Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) o W 4-3 Bonus Breakdown: · 0 falls · 2 tech falls · 3 majors · 0 injury defaults · 3 decisions 2024-2025 wins against former NCAA champs: 1 · 1-0 vs. 5x AA and 1x champ Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) o W 4-3 2024-2025 wins against former All-Americans: 3 · 1-0 vs. 5x AA Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) o W 4-3 · 1-0 vs. 4x AA Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) o W 9-3 · 1-0 vs. 1x AA Edmond Ruth (Illinois) o W DQ (Stalling) 285: Wyatt Hendrickson (Oklahoma State) Results against 2025 NCAA Qualifiers · Record: 17-0 Bonus Breakdown: · 7 falls · 4 tech falls · 0 majors · 1 injury default · 5 decisions 2024-25 wins against 2025 All-Americans: 8 · 1-0 vs. Gable Steveson (Minnesota) o W 5-4 · 1-0 vs. Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) o W 8-2 · 3-0 vs. Isaac Trumble (NC State) o W Fall (2:15); W W 10-4; W Fall (2:35) · 2-0 vs. Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) o W 8-5; W 11-5 · 1-0 vs. Ben Kueter (Iowa) o W TF 18-3 (5:00) Bonus Breakdown: · 2 falls · 1 tech fall · 0 majors · 0 injury defaults · 5 decisions 2024-2025 wins against former NCAA champs: 2 · 1-0 vs. 4x AA and 2x champ Gable Steveson (Minnesota) o W 5-4 · 1-0 vs. 4x AA and 1x champ Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) o W 8-2 2024-2025 wins against former All-Americans: 5 · 1-0 vs. 4x AA and 2x Champ Gable Steveson (Minnesota) o W 5-4 · 1-0 vs. 4x AA and 1x Champ Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) o W 8-2 · 2-0 vs. 5x AA Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) o W 8-5; W 11-5 · 1-0 vs. 1x AA Nick Feldman (Ohio State) o W injury default All-Time Dan Hodge Trophy Winners Year Name School 2024 Aaron Brooks Penn State 2023 Mason Parris Michigan 2022 Gable Steveson Minnesota 2021 Spencer Lee Iowa & Gable Steveson Minnesota 2020 Spencer Lee Iowa 2019 Bo Nickal Penn State 2018 Zain Retherford Penn State 2017 Zain Retherford Penn State 2016 Alex Dieringer Oklahoma State 2015 Logan Stieber Ohio State 2014 David Taylor Penn State 2013 Kyle Dake Cornell U. 2012 David Taylor Penn State 2011 Jordan Burroughs Nebraska 2010 Jayson Ness Minnesota 2009 Jake Herbert Northwestern 2008 Brent Metcalf Iowa 2007 Ben Askren Missouri 2006 Ben Askren Missouri 2005 Steve Mocco Oklahoma State 2004 Emmett Willson Mont. State-Northern 2003 Eric Larkin Arizona State 2002 Cael Sanderson Iowa State 2001 Cael Sanderson Iowa State & Nick Ackerman Simpson College 2000 Cael Sanderson Iowa State 1999 Stephen Neal CSU Bakersfield 1998 Mark Ironside Iowa 1997 Kerry McCoy Penn State 1996 Les Gutches Oregon State 1995 T.J. Jaworsky North Carolina

The NCAA Tournament has come and gone, so one of the primary focuses of the offseason is recruiting. Before we totally get into recruiting, let's find a compromise between the 2025 NCAA Tournament and everyone’s favorite topic! With that being said, here are the recruiting rankings for all 80 All-Americans from the 2025 NCAA Championships. As always, courtesy of Willie Saylor/MatScouts. Which weight featured the most dark horses and which weight contained the biggest prospects? 125 lbs Champion: Vince Robinson (NC State) - #50 Class of 2023 Runner-Up: Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) - #15 Class of 2022 Third Place: Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) - #1 Class of 2024 Fourth Place: Matt Ramos (Purdue) - HM Class of 2019 Fifth Place: Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) - #65 Class of 2020 Sixth Place: Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) - #108 Class of 2020 Seventh Place: Caleb Smith (Nebraska) - NR Class of 2019 Eighth Place: Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado) - #30 Class of 2021 133 lbs Champion: Lucas Byrd (Illinois) - #18 Class of 2019 Runner-Up: Drake Ayala (Iowa) - #4 Class of 2021 Third Place: Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) - #99 Class of 2022 Fourth Place: Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) - #31 Class of 2023 Fifth Place: Braeden Davis (Penn State) - #46 Class of 2023 Sixth Place: Connor McGonagle (Virginia Tech) - #51 Class of 2019 Seventh Place: Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) - #84 Class of 2021 Eighth Place: Tyler Knox (Stanford) - #37 Class of 2023 141 lbs Champion: Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) - #4 Class of 2022 Runner-Up: Brock Hardy (Nebraska) - #9 Class of 2018 Third Place: Beau Bartlett (Penn State) - #7 Class of 2020 Fourth Place: CJ Composto (Penn) - NR Class of 2020 Fifth Place: Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) - #22 Class of 2020 Sixth Place: Josh Koderhandt (Navy) - #106 Class of 2021 Seventh Place: Jacob Frost (Iowa State) - #224 Class of 2022 Eighth Place: Vance Vombaur (Minnesota) - #92 Class of 2021 149 lbs Champion: Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) - #16 Class of 2019 Runner-Up: Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) - #16 Class of 2022 Third Place: Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) - #5 Class of 2021 Fourth Place: Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State) - #32 Class of 2019 Fifth Place: Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) - #11 Class of 2020 Sixth Place: Ethan Stiles (Oregon State) - #41 Class of 2023 Seventh Place: Sammy Alvarez (Rider) - #34 Class of 2019 Eighth Place: Gavin Drexler (North Dakota State) - #126 Class of 2022 157 lbs Champion: Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) - #25 Class of 2022 Runner-Up: Joey Blaze (Purdue) - #17 Class of 2022 Third Place: Tyler Kasak (Penn State) - #9 Class of 2023 Fourth Place: Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern) - #74 Class of 2019 Fifth Place: Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) - #1 Class of 2023 Sixth Place: Vince Zerban (Northern Colorado) - #105 Class of 2021 Seventh Place: Matt Bianchi (Little Rock) - #48 Class of 2021 Eighth Place: Caleb Fish (Oklahoma State) - #137 Class of 2020 165 lbs Champion: Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) - #59 Class of 2022 Runner-Up: Michael Caliendo (Iowa) - #73 Class of 2021 Third Place: Peyton Hall (West Virginia) - #45 Class of 2020 Fourth Place: Christopher Minto (Nebraska) - #93 Class of 2023 Fifth Place: Terrell Barraclough (Utah Valley) - NR Class of 2019 Sixth Place: Hunter Garvin (Stanford) - #9 Class of 2022 Seventh Place: Cam Steed (Missouri) - #107 Class of 2022 Eighth Place: Cam Amine (Oklahoma State) - #17 Class of 2019 174 lbs Champion: Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State) - #6 Class of 2021 Runner-Up: Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) - #5 Class of 2020 Third Place: Levi Haines (Penn State) - #7 Class of 2022 Fourth Place: Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) - #4 Class of 2020 Fifth Place: Simon Ruiz (Cornell) - #28 Class of 2023 Sixth Place: Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) - #76 Class of 2019 Seventh Place: Matthew Singleton (NC State) - #13 Class of 2022 Eighth Place: Danny Wask (Navy) - #18 Class of 2022 184 lbs Champion: Carter Starocci (Penn State) - #9 Class of 2019 Runner-Up: Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) - #14 Class of 2019 Third Place: Max McEnelly (Minnesota) - #15 Class of 2023 Fourth Place: Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) - #2 Class of 2020 Fifth Place: Chris Foca (Cornell) - #21 Class of 2019 Sixth Place: Jaxon Smith (Maryland) - #36 Class of 2021 Seventh Place: Silas Allred (Nebraska) - #15 Class of 2020 Eighth Place: DJ Washington (Indiana) - NR Class of 2019 197 lbs Champion: Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) - NR Class of 2020 Runner-Up: Josh Barr (Penn State) - #4 Class of 2023 Third Place: AJ Ferrari (CSU Bakersfield) - #1 Class of 2020 Fourth Place: Jacob Cardenas (Michigan) - #15 Class of 2019 Fifth Place: Joey Novak (Wyoming) - #55 Class of 2023 Sixth Place: Stephen Little (Little Rock) - #161 Class of 2022 Seventh Place: Mac Stout (Pittsburgh) - #34 Class of 2022 Eighth Place: Camden McDanel (Nebraska) - #44 Class of 2023 285 lbs Champion: Wyatt Hendrickson (Oklahoma State) - #40 Class of 2019 Runner-Up: Gable Steveson (Minnesota) - #1 Class of 2018 Third Place: Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) - #2 Class of 2019 Fourth Place: Isaac Trumble (NC State) - #29 Class of 2020 Fifth Place: Owen Trephan (Lehigh) - #72 Class of 2019 Sixth Place: Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) - #1 Class of 2019 Seventh Place: Josh Heindselman (Michigan) - NR Class of 2019 Eighth Place: Ben Kueter (Iowa) - #6 Class of 2023

Post NCAA recruiting in the Class of 2026 got off to a huge start today as one of the top juniors in the nation flipped his previous commitment. Jayden James (Delbarton, NJ) announced via social media that he has committed to wrestle at Penn State. He was one of the first members of the Class of 2026 to commit and had given a verbal to Virginia Tech. James is a three-time New Jersey state placewinner who was third as a freshman, a state runner-up as a sophomore, and a state champion earlier this year. Outside of New Jersey, James earned his second 16U freestyle national championship in Fargo this summer. He was also third in the UWW U17 World Team Trials in freestyle. During the 2023-24 school year, James claimed a title at the Beast of the East. Prior to his freshman year at Delbarton, James was fourth at the Super 32. James’ state title came at 150 lbs and he could project to wrestle around 174 lbs for the Nittany Lions. James comes in at #4 overall in the Class of 2026 and he’s currently ranked second in the nation at 150 lbs in MatScouts most recent update. In addition to his previous commitment to Virginia Tech, James also visited Michigan last fall. James joins Sam Herring in the Nittany Lions Class of 2026. For all of Penn State Class of 2025 and 2026 information, check out InterMat’s college commitment page.

Delbarton

Tosu Technical

Northampton

Olentangy

Olentangy

Shepherd

Manistee

William Cullen Bryant

Conroe

Jacksonville