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14 Impact Assistant Coaching Hires for the 2024-25 Season
InterMat Staff posted an article in College
All offseason we followed the various hirings and departures from a collegiate coaching standpoint. And there were lots of them. During this preseason, we’ve already written about the head coaches who are in year one at a new school. Now it’s time to talk about some of the big hires from an assistant coaching standpoint. Typically, in our sport hiring a wrestler with the longest list of credentials is considered a “great hire.” And that can end up being accurate. We’ve tried to not just focus on the hires with the best credentials, though they do apply for a handful of the new assistant coaches mentioned below. Dan Neff (Bucknell) He’s back for his second stint on the Bucknell staff! Dan Neff had spent the last six years as an assistant coach and Director of Operations at the Naval Academy. He probably has less name recognition than many on this list, but he was a very important cog in Navy’s recruiting efforts. During the last four seasons, Navy has hauled in a pair of top-25 recruiting classes. Neff also worked closely with EIWA champion Josh Koderhandt at 141 lbs. Considering his familiarity with Bison head coach Dan Wirnsbeger, I’d imagine Neff has fit in seamlessly with his new (old) team. Nathan Tomasello (California Baptist) Nathan Tomasello is back in the college coaching game. He previously served on the Duke staff during the 2020-21 season. He left Duke to train and coach with the Oklahoma RTC under Lou Rosselli - one of Tomasello’s coaches while at Ohio State. Since then, Tomasello has coached at the club and high school level in Ohio. Tomasello had a career at Ohio State that included four Big Ten titles and a NCAA team and individual championship. He’ll immediately help the CBU lightweights improve. Last season, saw the Lancers send their first two wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament (at the DI level) and they were the team’s 125 and 133 lbers. There should be some good prospects for Tomasello to help develop. Sebastian Rivera (Columbia) One of the worst-kept and longest-running secrets over the summer, during the spinning of the coaching carousel, was that Sebastian Rivera would join his Rutgers assistant coach, Donny Pritzlaff, as Pritzlaff took over the head coaching duties at Columbia. This was shortly after Rivera captured an Olympic bronze medal in spectacular fashion in Paris. The medal only enhanced Rivera’s visibility in New Jersey and the surrounding areas. His presence on staff will immediately make Columbia a destination for recruits from his home state and beyond. Getting Rivera’s personal coach Jeff Buxton to come aboard is an added bonus, as well. David McFadden (Cornell) David McFadden got his feet wet in the coaching game working with Drexel, while competing out of the Pennsylvania RTC. All one needs to do is listen to McFadden’s post-match interview after his win at the Last Chance Qualifier to understand how he valued his coaching staff and teammates at the Penn RTC. I would bet that McFadden tries to channel that passion for his coaches as he works with young student-athletes in the future. With McFadden’s addition, three of the four coaches on the Cornell staff are from New Jersey, which has been an important part of Big Red recruiting. AJ Schopp (Edinboro) One of the earlier moves in this coaching cycle was AJ Schopp leaving Purdue and the Big Ten to come home to his alma mater Edinboro. The Fighting Scots have gone through a few tough years, but the addition of Schopp is excellent and could represent a swing of the pendulum in the opposite direction. Known for his masterful work on top, Schopp has also coached a trio of lightweights that have continued dominating from his favorite position (Seth Gross, Devin Schroder, Matt Ramos). Schopp will get to work right away with an excellent prospect at 125 lbs in true freshman Chris Vargo and veteran Colton Camacho (133), who is looking to get over the hump and qualify for nationals for the first time. Schopp is also a link to the recent past of great Edinboro squads, he is planning on using that to help reinvigorate the Edinboro fan base and that could end up impacting the recruiting, as well. Jesse Dellavecchia (Hofstra) Those close to the Long Island program spoke very highly of Jesse Dellavecchia who was added to Long Island’s staff two years ago. He was viewed as a rising star in the coaching game. Last season, Long Island sent their first wrestler to the DI National Championships (Anthony D’Alesio - 184) and posted an 8-8 dual record. As head coach Joe Patrovich stepped down, Dellavecchia made the short trek to Hofstra to continue his coaching career. Dellavecchia will be on new head coach Jaime Franco’s first staff. That could help Hofstra on the mat in year one as they appear to be strongest between 149 and 165 lbs, which is right in the 2021 NCAA finalist’s range. Michael Kemerer (Minnesota) Here is another wrestler who is only at the beginning of his coaching journey but is highly respected amongst his peers. Michael Kemerer was on the Brown staff for a year and even had his name thrown around as a serious candidate in the Bloomsburg head coaching search. Once Trevor Brandvold stepped down from Minnesota’s staff, Kemerer was added by head coach Brandon Eggum. At a young age, Kemerer was seen as a leader. His commitment to the University of Iowa helped pave the way for Spencer Lee and others to make the trek from Western Pennsylvania to Iowa City. As a part of a very veteran coaching staff, Kemerer will have the opportunity to learn from some excellent mentors, while getting acquainted with coaching in the Big Ten. Barry Davis (Navy) Out of all of the coaching hires from this offseason, Barry Davis was the one that we probably didn’t see coming! In his interview with Austin Sommer last week, Navy head coach Cary Kolat describes his relationship with Davis and how he had been trying to lure him back into the coaching game for years now. Davis had served as Wisconsin’s head coach for a 25-year span that ended in 2018. Since then, he has not been officially coaching at the collegiate level in any capacity. Having a coach on staff with prior head coaching experience, is typically a very good thing to have at the collegiate level. Davis can help alleviate some of the unseen responsibilities that Kolat might deal with on a daily basis. Jimmy Kennedy (Oklahoma State) After the shock provided by the hiring of David Taylor by Oklahoma State University subsided, you knew Taylor would be able to put together an all-star staff and a stable of RTC coaches/wrestlers. That has proven to be the case. Initially, you might focus on the hiring of Thomas Gilman, as the impact assistant coaching hire for the Cowboys and I wouldn’t be mad at that notion. However, with the inexperience of Taylor and Gilman, from actually coaching at the collegiate level, having Jimmy Kennedy on staff will be invaluable. Taylor’s brother-in-law, Kennedy, has served on the coaching staff at Northwestern and Penn State, before heading to Stillwater. With his time in State College, you can assume that Taylor and Kennedy will be hand-in-hand in how to best run a collegiate program. Kennedy's previous experience will let him assist with the responsibilities that Taylor might incur that are outside of the wrestling room and are initially new concepts. Matt Valenti (Penn) Another hire we didn’t necessarily see coming, but maybe should have, was Matt Valenti returning to the Penn staff. Not only is Valenti returning as an assistant coach, but he was hired to take over as head coach after Roger Reina steps down following the 2024-25 season. Valenti is the most recent national champion for the Quakers (x2) and spent six years on the Penn staff before moving into an administrative position within the athletic department. As evidenced by his insightful post on Twitter (X) earlier this week, Valenti brings a different perspective to the coaching world, having spent so much time (nine years) in a different area of the athletic department. Valenti will have a year to learn everything he needs to know from Reina - in regards to running his own wrestling program. At the same time, with a coaching coach on the horizon and out in the open, there is less of a chance for the typical attrition on the recruiting trail that may occur during such a transition. Cody Brewer (Princeton) We didn’t realize it at the time, but I suppose it was inevitable that Cody Brewer and Joe Dubuque were going to coach together after they were in opposing corners during the Pat Glory/Sebastian Rivera clashes five years ago. That started a mutual respect between the two. Dubuque was named Princeton’s head coach very late in the game last preseason (mid-September), so he didn’t have the ideal time needed to assemble his first coaching staff. RTC coach Reece Humphrey and RTC athlete Quincy Monday assisted for year one. Now, with a full offseason, Dubuque assembled an excellent team that includes Brewer, Anthony Ashnault, and Nate Jackson. Brewer is fresh off a stint on the Virginia Tech staff where the Hokies finished in the top ten for each of his final three seasons. He has the title of Head Assistant Coach and will be relied upon to fill multiple roles with the staff. Hayden Hidlay (Stanford) Another young star-in-the-making in the coaching ranks is Hayden Hidlay. After graduating from NC State, Hidlay spent a year working with the team before joining Obe Blanc’s first coaching staff at North Dakota State. During his year on staff, 174 lber Gaven Sax made the Big 12 finals and advanced to the NCAA Round of 12. When work came out of Fargo that Hidlay was leaving the NDSU staff, his name popped up as a potential hire and a handful of notable programs. Stanford and Chris Ayres were the ones to land Hidlay. At Stanford, he’ll find a program that has three-straight top-eight recruiting classes and has a boatload of young talent. It wouldn’t be that surprising if we were mentioning the Cardinal as an outside NCAA team trophy contender next season. Andrew Hochstrasser (Utah Valley) There’s lots of excitement surrounding the Utah Valley program as they get ready to kick off year one of the Adam Hall era. Hall’s first hire was his old Boise State teammate, NCAA finalist Andrew Hochstrasser. Hochstrasser is a Utah native who was coaching at the club level in-state. Having an assistant on staff that Hall has a relationship that spans back almost 20 years should be great for his first season as a head coach. Since Hochstrasser is plugged into the local club scene, he should be able to assist in recruiting in-state talent. That will prove to be important as Utah is on the rise in terms of middle and high school talent. Zach Tanelli (Virginia Tech) With Cody Brewer leaving for Princeton, Tony Robie had a big hole to fill on the Hokie coaching staff. He was able to get an excellent replacement in Zach Tanelli, who was formerly the head coach at Columbia. Tanelli was fresh off of back-to-back fourth-place finishes at the EIWA. In addition, the team had their first All-American since 2013 and multiple EIWA champions for the first time since 1935. Tanelli took over a rough situation in Columbia and made them into a nationally relevant team, despite working with strict Ivy League admissions. Tanelli comes to Blacksburg with a pre-existing relationship with assistant coach Jared Frayer (dating back to Tanelli’s days wrestling at Wisconsin) and provides an assistant with plenty of head coaching experience. If that’s not enough, Tanelli’s All-American, Lennox Wolak, has transferred to Virginia Tech and will start at 174 for the Hokies. -
Welcome all to the third anniversary of the Jagger mailbag which is two years and 11 months longer than I thought I’d last. So here’s to me for keeping you regular on Friday mornings. And here’s to you for keeping me on my toes in this little thing we call wrestling and for allowing me into your bathrooms every week, but not in a freaky way. It’s truly an honor. Let’s get to it! The hunt for the All-Jagger team starts next week! Are Taylor and JB examples of going out on top if they get gold? Or do you see them trying to run it back if they fall short? Also, are you attending the Jersey Jostle? I mean, Jagger Jostle? Nick Kosko It certainly is for David Taylor if he takes home gold and conquers Sadulaev to do it. I do believe the Magic Man has said “This is it” for him as he begins his college coaching career. I know it hasn’t been discussed much but he’s taken over the reins at Oklahoma State. And I know David has caught a small bit of heat in some pockets for coming back to compete right after getting the gig, but I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. The timing of all this works out where I’m sure he hasn’t been off the mat at all or taken some three-year layoff where he’s suddenly interrupting his whole schedule with some far-fetched dream of another medal. DT has arguably been the best in the world for the last five years and just ran into the buzzsaw that is Aaron Brooks at trials. He can win another one. I don't think this is it for Burroughs. Nor should it be unless a similar situation to DT arises and he takes a top college job. As the late, great Toby Keith once said, he ain’t as good as he once was, but he’s as good once, as he ever was. If that makes any sense. The bottom line is that JB may not be the old JB, but he was so good that even down a notch or two is still better than most guys. Now he can hang out at 79kg for a few years and take his chances in 2028 if he feels so inclined. Maybe he drops back down to 74kg or maybe he goes up to 86kg. I don’t know, I'm not trying to think of 2028 at all since I’ll be fifty years old by then. It pains me to even type that. I don’t know about the Jostle yet since that’s a long day when you factor in the three hours of driving and four hours of duals over the course of an entire Saturday. But I admit it's a fantastic use of alliteration. How did you make out in your fantasy wrestling draft last night? What are your expectations for this year’s squad? Dan Seifring You were there and saw who I drafted so you probably have a better idea of how I did than I do. The league is tricky because you can do nothing all year then have a good March and finish right out the top if you have the right horses. The MatScout himself pulled that off last year with a top-three finish after limping through the regular season. I’ll never rack up those regular season wins by playing matchups or taking advantage of random open tournaments like some of you do. But I do like my top five. Figs is the returning champ, Ragusin has high-placing potential, Orine was a nice piece to trade for to shore up my 141, Echemendia is a candidate to make another leap, and Shapiro might just win it at 157. Things get a little tricky until the end where Mr. Fast Twitch and Ben Kueter anchor the lineup. I also have preseason darling Troy Spratley and Bouzakis floating around and both have loads of potential. Hopefully, I can compete this year before tanking next year in the Tank for Bo campaign. Then I dominate the second half of the decade.
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The first round of medals was handed out today in the women’s freestyle portion of the U23 World Championships and the American contingent was featured prominently. Two American women have already won gold medals, while two others have clinched a spot in tomorrow’s gold medal finals. Sage Mortimer (50 kg) and Yelena Makoyed (76 kg) were the American women who captured gold medals on Thursday in Albania. Facing Russian Natalia Pudova, Mortimer immediately took the lead as Pudova was penalized for a hard club off the whistle. She added to her lead quickly thereafter with a takedown at the edge after pushing Pudova around the mat with an underhook. Later in the opening stanza, Mortimer added to her lead by exposing Pudova during a long scramble. Pudova was also cautioned during the sequence which pushed the American’s lead out to 6-0. In the second period, Pudova made her push with a takedown after a snap-and-spin situation. Pudova continued to chip into the lead and nearly put Mortimer in danger with a late throw; however, Mortimer bellied out and conceded the takedown. A few seconds later, the clock hit triple zeros and Mortimer was the victory - to the tune of 7-5. Makoyed dominated her way to the finals with an 11-0 tech followed by two falls. Her gold medal match was more of the same, as she was in control early and often. Within the first :30 seconds, Makoyed snapped Shuiyan Cheng (China) and dropped to a single leg for a takedown. That lead quickly doubled with a gut wrench. Back on their feet, Makoyed continued to bring the pressure and snagged a single leg for a second takedown. Though she wasn’t able to get a leg lace, Mayoked was able to turn Cheng. Cheng fought valiantly as Mayoked continued readjusting her position from the top and finally got the fall at 2:29. Also earning a medal on the day for the Americans was Amani Jones, who was a bronze medalist at 55 kg. Jones also was a bronze medalist at the U20 World Championships in 2023. New Iowa teammates Macey Kilty (62 kg) and Kylie Welker (72 kg) earned finals berths on Thursday, while Sofia Macaluso fell in the 57 kg semifinals and will wrestle for bronze. The American women already have made some history, as this is the first time that the women have crowned multiple U23 world champions in the same year - and they could add to that total on Friday.
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We are deep into the collegiate preseason - the first set of preseason rankings have been released. An updated set is on the way for next week and one thing you may have noticed is plenty of wrestlers who have shifted weights between the end of the 2023-24 season and now. Wrestling is unique compared to other collegiate sports because of the weight-cutting/weighing-in aspect. In football, a team can have multiple wide receivers on the field. In basketball, maybe you sub for a backup point guard. Baseball has a handful of starting pitchers and relievers. Once the wrestling postseason starts, you can only have one wrestler per weight class, so coaches and wrestlers need to plan ahead - to field the best possible postseason lineup. That aspect makes getting a potential starting lineup from a wrestling coach much more valuable than in any other sport. Is the team redshirting a good starter in hopes of building him up to a higher-weight class the following year? Did someone wrestle a higher-weight class last season because they couldn’t beat out the starter or for the good of the team? Those are the questions that get answered when you see a potential lineup. Now that we’ve received intel from many of the DI schools, we’re able to figure how who may be moving up and down. We’ve compiled a list of those wrestlers, sorted by weight class, and with some descriptors for you to follow who may be wrestling at a new weight in 2024-25. This isn’t every single wrestler who has changed weights - we’ve tried to limit it to wrestlers who were under strong consideration for the preseason rankings. 125 lbs #19 Ramazan Attasauov (Illinois) - 2022 NCAA Qualifier, Big 12 3rd Place (from 133) #31 Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) - 12-12 in 2023-24 at 133 lbs NR Kale Peterson (Iowa) - (from 133) NR Keyveon Roller (Virginia) - 6-4 in 2023-24 at 133 lbs 133 lbs #7 Drake Ayala (Iowa) - 2024 NCAA Runner-Up, Big Ten 3rd Place, 2x NCAA Qualifier (from 125) #2 (125) Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) - 2x NCAA All-American (3,4), 3x MAC Champion, 3x NCAA Qualifier (from 125) #16 (125) Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) - 3x NCAA Qualifier, Big 12 4th Place (from 125) #17 Cleveland Belton (Oklahoma) - 2x NCAA Qualifier, 2024 NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2023 Pac-12 champion (from 141) #22 Brett Ungar (Cornell) - 2x NCAA Qualifier, 2023 NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2x EIWA Runner-Up (from 125) #31 Ethan Berginc (Army West Point) - 2x NCAA Qualifier, EIWA 3rd Place (from 125) NR Jack Maida (American) - 2023 NCAA Qualifier (from 125) NR Tristan Lujan (Michigan State) - 2024 NCAA Qualifier (from 125) NR Markel Baker (Northern Illinois) - 2023 MAC 4th Place (from 125) NR Colton Camacho (Edinboro) - 2024 ACC 4th Place (from 125) NR Sean Spidle (Central Michigan) (from 125) 141 lbs #8 (133) Kai Orine (NC State) - 2x NCAA All-American (8,8), 2x ACC Champion, 3x NCAA Qualifier (from 133) #9 (133) Chris Cannon (Northwestern) - 2x NCAA All-American (7,7), 2x Big Ten 4th Place, 3x NCAA Qualifier (from 133) #16 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) - 2x NCAA All-American (7,6), 4x NCAA Qualifier, 2021 ACC Champion (from 133) #22 Braden Basile (Army West Point) - 2024 NCAA Qualifier, EIWA 3rd Place, 2-2 at NCAA’s (from 133) #29 Kellyn March (North Dakota State) - 2023 NCAA Qualifier, Big 12 4th Place, 1-2 at NCAA’s (from 149) NR Nash Singleton (Oregon State) - 2023 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational 6th Place (from 149) NR Eli Griffin (California Baptist) - 2024 NCAA Qualifier, 1-2 at NCAA’s (from 125) NR Jayden Scott (North Carolina) (from 149) 149 lbs #6 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) - 2x NCAA All-American (6,4), 2x ACC 3rd Place (from 141) #7 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) - 2024 NCAA 5th Place, 2024 Big 12 Champion (from 141) #26 (157) Kal Miller (Maryland) - 2x NCAA Qualifier (from 141) NR Koy Buesgens (NC State) - redshirted at 141 lbs 157 lbs #4 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) - 2024 NCAA 8th Place, 2024 Big Ten 5th Place (from 165) #5 Tyler Kasak (Penn State) - 2024 NCAA 3rd Place, 2024 Big Ten 3rd Place (from 149) #17 (149) Ethen Miller (Maryland) - 2x NCAA Qualifier, 2024 Big Ten 4th Place, 1-2 at NCAA’s (from 149) #28 Kaleb Larkin (Arizona State) - redshirt freshman (from 149) #29 Noah Castillo (Chattanooga) - 2023 SoCon Runner-Up (from 149) NR Carter Schubert (Oklahoma) (from 165) NR Dakota Morris (Army West Point) (from 165) 165 lbs #9 Matthew Olguin (Oregon State) - 2x NCAA Qualifier, 2023 Pac-12 Champion (from 174) #10 Andrew Sparks (Minnesota) - 3x NCAA Qualifier, Big Ten 6th Place (from 174) #10 (174) MJ Gaitan (Iowa State) - 2024 NCAA Round of 12 finisher, Big 12 4th Place (from 174) #19 Bubba Wilson (Nebraska) - 2x NCAA Qualifier, 2x Big Ten 6th Place, 2-2 at NCAA’s (from 174) #25 Cesar Alvan (Columbia) - 2023 NCAA Qualifier, Olympie RS to compete for Brazil (from 157) #29 Tate Picklo (Oklahoma) - 2023 NCAA Qualifier, Big 12 5th Place (from 174) NR Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) - Slated to compete in 2023-24 at 157 lbs NR Jay Nivison (Michigan State) - 2022 NCAA Qualifier (from 174) NR Jared Keslar (Pittsburgh) - 13-16 in 2023-24 at 157 lbs 174 lbs #1 Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) - 2x NCAA Champion, 4x NCAA All-American (3,1,1,3), 3x Big 12 Champion (from 165) #2 Levi Haines (Penn State) - 2024 NCAA Champion, 2x NCAA All-American (1,2), 2x Big Ten Champion (from 157) #6 Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State) - 2x NCAA All-American (6,6), 2023 Big Ten Champion, 2x Big Ten finalist (from 165) #8 (184) Lenny Pinto (Nebraska) - 2x NCAA Qualifier, 2024 NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2024 Big Ten 3rd Place (from 184) #12 Josh Ogunsanya (North Carolina) - 2x NCAA Qualifier, 2022 EIWA Runner-Up (from 165) #15 Clayton Whiting (Minnesota) (from 184) #16 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) - 3x NCAA Qualifier, 2024 EIWA 3rd Place, 2-2 at NCAA’s, (from 165) NR Dom Baker (Campbell) - 2024 NCAA Qualifier, 2024 SoCon Runner-Up, 1-2 at NCAA’s (from 165) NR Tate Naaktgeboren/Aiden Riggins (Iowa State) (from 184) NR Rylan Rogers (Lehigh) - 4-3 at 184 lbs in 2023-24 NR Dalton Harkins (Army West Point) - 23-8 in 2023-24 between 165/184 184 lbs #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) - 4x NCAA Champion, 2x Big Ten Champion (from 174) #7 Edmond Ruth (Illinois) - 2024 NCAA 7th Place, 2023 NCAA Round of 12 Finisher, 2024 Big Ten Champion (from 174), 2x NCAA Qualifier #9 (197) Silas Allred (Nebraska) - 2x NCAA Round of 12 Finisher, 2023 Big Ten Champion (from 197) #9 Jaxon Smith (Maryland) - 2x NCAA Qualifier, 2023 NCAA Round of 12 Finisher, 2023 Big Ten 3rd Place (from 197) #16 Evan Bockman (Iowa State) - 3x NCAA Qualifier (from 197) NR Billy Janzer (The Citadel) - 2x NCAA Qualifier (from 197) NR Jared McGill (Edinboro) - 16-4 in 2022-23 at 174 lbs 197 lbs #5 (184) Trey Munoz (Oregon State) - 2x NCAA All-American (3,6), 3x Pac-12 Champion (from 184) #7 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) - 2024 NCAA 6th Place, Big Ten Champion, 3x NCAA Qualifier (from 184) #21 Mickey O’Malley (Drexel) - 4x NCAA Qualifier, 2022 EIWA Champion, 2022 NCAA Round of 12 finisher (from 174) #22 Josh Barr (Penn State) - 15-0 redshirting at 184 lbs #23 Bradley Hill (Oklahoma) - 2024 NCAA Qualifier, Big Ten 5th Place (from 285) #33 Christian Carroll (Iowa State) - redshirted at 285 lbs NR Cade Lautt (North Carolina) (from 285) 285 lbs #25 Sam Mitchell (Wyoming) - 2024 NCAA Qualifier, MAC Runner-Up NR Adam Ortega (The Citadel) - 15-16 in 2023-24 at 184 lbs
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125 The lightest weight gives the ACC a solid base to start; it is a deep weight with significant experience across the board. Off the top, 2023 All-American Eddie Ventresca (7th) will be returning to the Hokie lineup after taking a redshirt year last season. Add into the mix a couple multiple-time NCAA qualifiers. Jakob Camacho (NCST) is a four-time qualifier (NQ, R12, R16, R16) who is looking to break through to the podium; Nico Provo (Stanford) has made the trip twice, falling in the round of 16 last year. Nick Babin comes to Pittsburgh from Columbia where he finished in the round of 16 in 2023. Spencer Moore (UNC) has been on the bubble of qualifying in both of his seasons as a starter and I expect a strong season from him as he continues to mature into the weight. Ethan Grimminger (Duke) is looking for a more competitive season for the Blue Devils in his second year in the starting spot. Virginia has a couple options they are deciding between; Kyle Montaperto held the starting spot last year and is being challenged by Keyveon Roller who is dropping down from 133. Preseason Rankings: #8 Jakob Camacho #11 Nico Provo #22 Eddie Ventresca #29 Spencer Moore #30 Nick Babin 133 This is one of the more wide-open weights in the conference. There is a lot of untested youth at this weight, with the most experienced wrestlers transferring into the conference this season. Ethan Oakley (UNC) was a two-time NCAA qualifier (NQ, R16) at Appalachian State and will be looking to make an immediate impact for the Tar Heels. The Hokies also have a talented transfer who is looking for a fresh start after a successful stint at Lehigh. Connor McGonagle was a two-time qualifier at 141 for the Mountain Hawks; he had his best season at 133 in 2022, but it was cut short by an injury in the EIWA tournament. Marlon Yarbrough (UVA) put himself on the national radar with multiple ranked wins last season in his first year as a starter for the Hoos and qualified for the NCAA tournament. Raymond Adams (Duke) enters his second season as a starter, as does a very dangerous Vinny Santaniello (Pittsburgh), while Tyler Knox (Stanford) will see the lineup for the first time after his redshirt season. The biggest change at the weight comes for the Wolfpack. It appears that two-time All-American Kai Orine will be making the move up a weight class to 141, leaving the 133 slot for a couple of talented young wrestlers to battle over. Vincent Robinson was 11-2 in his redshirt year while Jacob Cox was 11-3; both picked up dual wins for the Pack and will be solid options at the weight. Preseason Rankings: #8 Kai Orine* #10 Connor McGonagle #18 Marlon Yarbrough #19 Ethan Oakley #25 Tyler Knox 141 The strength of 133 is moving up to 141 and makes for a very top-heavy weight class with a lot of youth filling out the weight. Sam Latona (VT) is a two-time All-American and four-time qualifier (6, R12, 7, R16); he has always been huge for his weight both at 125 and 133, and will be at a more comfortable weight for his final season. Recently, it was revealed that Kai Orine (NCST) will also be making the move to 141. He is also a two-time All-American and three-time qualifier (R16, 8, 8). Ryan Jack, who was an All-American last season, will take a redshirt year for the Pack. Jason Miranda (Stanford) is another experienced starter who will be looking to make his first NCAA tournament. Anthony Santaniello will make his debut in the starting lineup for the Panthers after going 3-1 in his redshirt season. Christian Colman (Duke) and Jayden Scott (UNC) will both step into their second season in the starting role and are looking to make it to the big show for the first time. The Cavaliers have another weight they are still sorting out, with several options on the table. Jack Gioffre was 13-7 as the starter last season and could potentially get the nod this year, but also may go up to 149. Kyren Butler is another option, as is Dylan Cedeno who started at 157 last season--they are considering him at 141 and 149. I would expect to see several different lineup looks for the Hoos while they sort out their starters at the middleweights. Preseason Rankings: #5 Ryan Jack* #16 Sam Latona #30 Jason Miranda #33 Jack Gioffre 149 The Champ Is Here and will face stiff competition in what is likely the deepest weight in the conference. Reigning NCAA Champion Caleb Henson makes his return for the Hokies after an incredible run to the title last season. Henson is a two-time All-American, placing fifth as a true freshman prior to his NCAA title last year. Also in the mix is another two-time All-American; Lachlan McNeil will be making the move up to 149 after two very successful seasons at 141 where he placed fourth and sixth at the NCAA tournament. The addition of Stanford to the conference adds another All-American to the weight. Jaden Abas is a four-time NCAA qualifier (7, NQ, NQ, R12) who earned All-American honors in his first trip and fell in a tough match in the bloodround last year. Finn Solomon (Pittsburgh) will look to build on an up-and-down season last year that finished with a trip to the NCAA tournament. It looks like redshirt freshman Sean O’Donnell will get the nod for the Blue Devils. Just like 141 for the Hoos, 149 is a weight class in limbo. Michael Gioffre was the starter last season and ended the year with a 9-9 record. He is a potential option for the Hoos; as previously mentioned his twin brother Jack and Dylan Cedeno are also in the mix. Erik Roggie is also a wildcard at this weight. The move of Kai Orine to 141 reverberates up to 149 as well. Jackson Arrington, two-time NCAA qualifier (R12, R12) will take a redshirt year and the weight will likely be filled by redshirt freshman Koy Buesgens who had a stellar redshirt year last year, finishing at 12-2 overall with a 2-2 record in dual appearances. Preseason Rankings: #1 Caleb Henson #6 Lachlan McNeil #8 Jackson Arrington* #13 Jaden Abas #31 Finn Solomon 157 This is an incredibly young weight within the conference that is highlighted by the experience of Ed Scott (NCST), Sonny Santiago (UNC) and Logan Ferrero (Duke) as the only multi-year starters. Scott is an All-American and three-time NCAA qualifier (R12, 5, R12) who is looking to get back on the podium. Santiago made big strides last year and put himself on the national map with a dual win over Ed Scott on his way to his first NCAA appearance. Ferrero will enter his third year as a starter for the Blue Devils and is looking to make the postseason for the first time. Nick Sanko (UVA) will be the likely starter for the Hoos after being a late addition to the ACC tournament last season after an injury to Dylan Cedeno. Sanko has a lot of potential and has consistently improved in his time in Charlottesville. Zach Hanson will make his debut for Stanford after a 7-2 record in his redshirt year; Dylan Evans (Pittsburgh) is the presumptive starter for the Panthers after putting up a 15-11 record his freshman season. The biggest wildcard at the weight is Rafael Hipolito for Virginia Tech. The Hokies replace the unorthodox and dangerous Bryce Andonian with another equally dangerous redshirt freshman in Hipolito. I’m clearly biased as the ACC guy, but I have Hipolito high on the list of people to keep an eye on throughout the country. Preseason Rankings: #6 Ed Scott #22 Sonny Santiago #29 Rafael Hipolito
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2024 MatScouts Dynasty Fantasy Wrestling Pre-Draft Preview
InterMat Staff posted an article in Fantasy Wrestling
The beginning of the 2025 Season is upon which means it’s another year of the MatScouts Dynasty Fantasy League. Since 2020, a full fledged Fantasy Wrestling Dynasty League, with some of the most favorite wrestling media members, has drafted and competed head-to-head in regular season duals, then competed for the ultimate prize… The Championship Trophy. The format is simple: 30 man rosters, one starter per weight plus two flex each week. Head-to-Head and Total Points competitions during the regular season where each team can earn NCAA Championship team bonus points towards their final NCAA Team Point total. Standard Fantasy Wrestling Scoring (+3 for a win by decision, -5 for a loss by tech, etc) in Dual Meets, and Modified Tournament Scoring for all Tournaments. In addition to this, we have a Ranked Incentive Bonus Scoring system, where wins against ranked wrestlers earn more points and losses against ranked opponents yields less negative points. The Final Standings depend on that team’s score based on standard NCAA tournament scoring. Past Final Standings: 2021 Season: 1st- Tony DiMarco (me!) 146.5 pts ; 2nd- Eric Knopsnyder 128 pts ; 3rd- Jeff Upson 117.5 pts ; 4th- John Foster 117 pts 2022 Season: 1st- Tony DiMarco (me!) 170.5 pts ; 2nd- Todd Szewczyk 138 pts ; 3rd- Brian Miller 127 pts ; 4th- Dan Seifring 124 pts 2023 Season: 1st- Tony DiMarco (me!) 173 pts ; 2nd- Dan Seifring 157 pts ; 3rd- Brian Miller 134.5 pts ; 4th- Dysen Gould 125.5 pts 2024 Season: 1st- Tony DiMarco (me!) 201.5 pts ; 2nd- Willie Saylor 146.5 pts ; 3rd- Dan Seifring 137.5 pts ; 4th- @Jagger712 136 pts The MatScoutsDynasty League Draft is scheduled for Wednesday Oct 23 at 8:30pm (ET). Here is the draft order for the first round of the draft: 1st Overall Pick: Jeff Upson Team: Team Power 2024 NCAA Pts: 46 Quick Notes: A good mix of upperclassmen with some Sophomores and Freshmen sprinkled throughout, though the scale definitely tilts towards the older side. Immediate needs include depth at 125, 133 & 285 and starter caliber additions for 141 & 157 2nd Overall Pick: Brian Miller Team: One More 2024 NCAA Pts: 67 Quick Notes: The most Seniors on any of the League Rosters (12), coupled with nine Juniors makes this season either a “One More Ride” or a “Tear It Down & Rebuild” kind of vibe. Immediate needs include… depth at every weight that will be there two or three years from now (aka, youth). 3rd Overall Pick: Earl Smith Team: The Ninnie’s Propaganda 2024 NCAA Pts: 93 Quick Notes: Opposite of Team One More, Earl’s roster has the least amount of Seniors coming into the season.Immediate needs include starter caliber wrestlers for 149, 165, & 285, and depth with best available on the board. 4th Overall Pick: Joe Caprino Team: Hoagie Squad 2024 NCAA Pts: 122.5 Quick Notes: Another older team with the majority of starters being Seniors, though half of the weights on his roster have Freshmen ready to take the reigns. Immediate needs include depth at 125, 184, & 197 as well as future plans for 285. 5th Overall Pick: Todd Szewczyk Team: Meeseeks & Destroy 2024 NCAA Pts: 123.5 Quick Notes: Luckily for Todd, O’Toole is moving out to separate and cover more ground with Mesenbrink this season. The middle of the roster is top-heavy with Seniors but some questions on what the roster will look like after 2025. Immediate needs include depth across the board, but more so at 141, 157. And 285 (where Catka will be in a roster battle). 6th Overall Pick: John Foster Team: The Incredible Bulks 2024 NCAA Pts: 126 Quick Notes: A few Senior redshirts coming this season will be throwing him a curveball when it comes to NCAAs, but a contingent of Sophomores ready to step in forms a solid foundation. Immediate needs are 149 (obviously), depth at 133, 165, and 197 for the future. 7th Overall Pick: Jagger712 Team: Jagoffs 2024 NCAA Pts: 136 Quick Notes: Pretty even distribution and depth with a lot of Sophomore and Freshman starters. A huge bonus is the return of AJ Ferrari, who up until now was just a wasted roster spot. Immediate needs include 141, future planning for 149, and depth at 157 through 184. 8th Overall Pick: Dan Seifring Team: Danny B’ Mobbin 2024 NCAA Pts: 137.5 Quick Notes: Juniors and Sophomore abound, Dan is pretty set for the next couple of years, though only one Freshman on the roster does not provide long-term stability. Immediate needs include future plans for 285, depth at the upper weights, and to look for best available on the board at any weight. 9th Overall Pick: Willie Saylor Team: Brain Power 2024 NCAA Pts: 146.5 Quick Notes: The league’s namesake, Willie’s “Trust The Process” movement since 2021 has started to bear fruit. Even distribution of Freshmen and Sophomores look to have a steady foundation with NCAA champion contenders with the seasoned vets. Immediate Needs include depth at 125, 184, & 285, along with future depth at 149 & 165. 10th Overall Pick: Tony DiMarco Team: Cael Chips 2024 NCAA Pts: 201.5 Quick Notes: This might be the season that the reigning 4-time champ doesn’t go home with the trophy. The team is getting older, with the second highest number of Seniors along with a lot of Juniors to boot. Immediate needs include starter caliber wrestlers for 125 and 165, along with future depth needs for 174 through 197. Some youth in the lower weights wouldn't hurt either. -
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The Impact of Three-Point Takedowns at the NCAA Tournament
InterMat Staff posted an article in College
Prior to the 2023-2024 college wrestling season, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved making takedowns in wrestling worth three points. Obviously there were, and still are, a variety of strong opinions on the change. For example, some fans find the change to be unnecessarily arbitrary, while others believe that takedowns should be worth more due to their relative difficulty and fundamental importance in all styles of wrestling. Regardless of how anyone feels about the change, the NCAA clearly stated its purpose when the rule changes were announced: “Members of the Wrestling Rules Committee, which proposed the change, agreed that increasing the scoring for takedowns by an additional point will enhance the sport by rewarding offensive actions and risk-taking. The committee also agreed there was a need to create a more appropriate point differential between takedowns and escapes and incentivize offense when competitors are in the neutral position.” Clearly, they were able to establish “a more appropriate point differential between takedowns and escapes” since three minus one is more than two minus one. However, in terms of incentivizing offense and risk, was the rule change successful? The use of the word “incentivize” is interesting since incentives were a kind of pop-economic phenomenon in the mid 2000s thanks to the book Freakonomics. In the book, authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner define an incentive as “a bullet, a key: an often tiny object with astonishing power to change a situation.” The book looks at multiple situations where people are incentivized to act in certain ways. For example, sumo stables in Japan are driven to collude and fix matches in order to help their members advance in rank, or teachers who have a financial interest in standardized test scores are motivated to cheat for their students. After one season, the question remains, did the three-point takedown lead to more offense and risk-taking? At this point, it seems like the answer is likely: to be determined. The following looks at the match statistics from the 2023 and 2024 NCAA tournaments. Obviously, there will be more data to compare going forward. However, it is striking how similar most of the data are despite the rule change. Match Points The one place that saw a significant increase overall was the number of match points. In the 2023 NCAA tournaments, there were 5,620 match points scored. This past year, scoring at the final tournament bounced up to 7,070. The point value for a takedown increased by 50% ((3 - 2) / 2) and this resulted in a 25% increase in the number of points being scored. There were 8.89 points scored per match in 2023 and 11.15 per match in 2024. Takedowns At the 2023 NCAA tournament, there were 1340 takedowns scored across all 10 weight classes. The number ticked up to 1407 after the rule change. The 67 more takedowns in 2024 represent a 5% increase in the number of takedowns overall. However, if you look at it on a per-match basis, the change is quite minimal. There were 2.12 takedowns per match scored in 2023 compared to only 2.22 in 2024. On average there were only 0.10 more takedowns per match in this past tournament. Despite the increase in the rate of takedowns per match, the number of matches without a takedown ticked up ever so slightly. At the 2023 NCAA tournament, there were 49 matches without a single takedown, and that number rose to 53 the following year. The count of matches by the number of combined takedowns scored at each tournament. One might have expected that the amount of matches with high numbers of takedowns would have decreased since it takes fewer to reach a technical fall these days. The number of matches with five or more combined takedowns actually increased by 18. The biggest change was the decline in the number of matches with two takedowns. This of course could be the result of randomness, but it could also be a sign that the three-point incentive is working. It is possible that it is a sign of increased risk-taking, or wrestlers could simply be pushing for more major decisions as they are seen as more attainable. The biggest increase in takedowns from the 2023 tournament to 2024 was the second period. The increase was mostly uniform across periods, but the 25 more second-period takedowns represented an 8.39% increase. While it is not a huge change, one could argue that perhaps riding was disincentivized by the three-point takedown but it is also possible that the change is negligible. Near Fall Points Outside of the three-point takedown, the other big addition for last season was the three-point near fall. Prior to the change, a two count in predicament was worth two points and a four count was worth four points. The change brought about a three-point near fall, which, you guessed it, comes after a three-count. Per the NCAA, “the rationale for the rule change includes giving wrestlers a chance to be more creative in attempting to earn points.” There was actually a slight decrease in the number of near falls called. In 2023 there were 181 sets of near-fall points awarded and 164 in 2024. However, on a per-match basis, the number seems to be relatively consistent. Interestingly enough, it looks like the biggest decline was in terms of four-point near falls. In 2023, there were 71 two-point near falls and 110 four-point near falls. After the addition of the three-point near fall, there were only 85 four-point near falls. As previously stated, this is likely too small of a sample to make any definitive statements about the impact of the rule changes. Perhaps after another few seasons of NCAA tournament data, the wrestling community can revisit if the changes are having the intended effect. -
Tonight, the Cowboy RTC announced the addition of their latest resident athlete Zahid Valencia. Valencia comes to Stillwater after spending his collegiate career at Arizona State (2016-20) and since his graduation, he has continued to train out of Tempe with the Sunkist Kids. Valencia won a pair of NCAA titles competing for the Sun Devils at 174 lbs. Overall, he earned All-American honors three times (3,1,1) and was a three-time Pac-12 champion. Valencia also claimed the Pac-12 Championship on three occasions. Twice Valencia received the number one seed at the NCAA Championships and in 2018 he finished the year as an undefeated NCAA champion (32-0). Since college, Valencia has been active on the Senior level. In 2023, Valencia made the world team at 92 kg and proceeded to claim a bronze medal at the World Championships. He also has a Junior World silver medal from back in 2017. Valencia also has a long (and recent) history with Oklahoma State head coach David Taylor. The two recently met in the best-of-three finals at the 2024 World Team Trials and Taylor swept Valencia in two straight matches to make the world team. Also, in 2022, Taylor defeated Valencia in Final X NYC, 4-2 and 10-0. Valencia joins Daton Fix and Roman Bravo-Young as Senior-level members of the Cowboy RTC.
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With just over ten days until the regular season, we have schedules for just about every DI program, which means we can break out the calendar (or the app on your phone) and circle some of the important dates for great dual meets. Here at InterMat, we’re always looking to help and today we’ve pointed out 23 must-watch duals for the first month of the collegiate season. With each dual, we’ve highlighted one bout, in particular; however, there may be multiple great ones on tap or some other reason that makes one deem it an important dual. The duals have been listed in order from closest to farthest away. October 31st - Campbell vs. #25 Wyoming Top Potential Match: 125 lbs - #25 Anthony Molton (Campbell) vs. #3 Jore Volk (Wyoming) Technically, this one is in October but it’s a fun one to start the year off with. We saw these two teams clash in 2023-24 in the barn on Deerwood Ranch. Both teams are great at promotion and will undoubtedly have something up their sleeve for this dual. Last year, these two lightweights met twice early in the season with Volk getting the win both times. Their dual meeting was 12-5, while Molton closed the cap a bit in Vegas during a 5-0 loss. With the recent news regarding Campbell’s funding situation, I hope the wrestling community shows even more interest in this dual than they originally planned. November 2nd - #2 Iowa at #24 Oregon State Top Potential Match: 197 lbs - #2 Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) vs. #4 (184) Trey Munoz (Oregon State) Last year, Oregon State had Operation “Fill Gill” for a home dual against top-ranked Penn State. This year, they’ll host another one of college wrestling’s blue bloods and hope for a huge crowd. Trey Munoz will get his first match at 197 lbs against the top returning placer from the 2024 tournament, Stephen Buchanan. We could have a bout with NCAA seeding implications the first weekend of the year! In addition, there are a lot of uncertainties about the Iowa lineup. A pair of redshirt freshmen (Kale Peterson - 125 and Ryder Block - 141) are down a weight lower than initially expected. Both have solid matchups against good opponents #27 Maximo Renteria for Peterson and Nash Singleton for Block. In addition, Matthew Olguin is expected back at 165 lbs. This is where he’s been best and he’ll have one of the best in the country with #2 Michael Caliendo. The heavyweight showdown could feature a pair of U20 world medalists going at it with Ben Kueter and Aden Attao. November 2nd - Bucknell at #27 Maryland Top Potential Match: 133 lbs - #12 Kurt Phipps (Bucknell) vs. #16 Braxton Brown (Maryland) This should be a fun dual with Maryland being ranked and Bucknell unranked - but featuring a lineup that includes four returning national qualifiers. The best mix between the two comes at 133 lbs with two wrestlers who are currently ranked in the top-16. This is the type of match we could see at the NCAA Round of 12, a place where both of these wrestlers have advanced to once in their careers. Another quality matchup comes at 141 lbs with two-time EIWA runner-up Dylan Chappell and redshirt freshman Dario Lemus. Lemus has a solid redshirt season and could be on the cusp of a national ranking. A win over #24 Chappell would help his chances. November 2nd - Navy at Pittsburgh Top Potential Match: 174 lbs - #22 Danny Wask (Navy) vs. #19 Luca Augustine (Pittsburgh) I had the pleasure of attending this dual last season and it was one of the best of the year. Navy stunned the Panthers with three straight upsets (125-141) and that carried them to a 21-12 victory. Now, Pittsburgh gets to host. The only matchup between returning national qualifiers comes at 174 lbs, where Wask and Augustine will renew acquaintances. The two have split a pair of matches during their collegiate careers - with Augustine getting the 9-7 win in last season’s dual. Another individual match of note comes at 141 lbs, with EIWA champion Josh Koderhandt and redshirt freshman Anthony Santaniello. Santaniello was a huge recruit for the Panthers who was injured in the first event of the year in 2023-24. Also, Santaniello’s older brother Vince attended the Navy Prep school for a year, so I’m sure he’d like to reverse the result from his dual loss to Navy’s Brendan Ferretti. November 3rd - #30 Indiana at Cal Poly Top Potential Match: 285 lbs - #16 Jacob Bullock (Indiana) vs. #22 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) This is a dual between the last team in our preseason rankings (Indiana) and one of the first teams excluded from the ranking (Cal Poly). Obviously, a win for the Mustangs could have these teams flipping positions in the rankings. Looking at potential lineups, this could be a dead heat! It likely will come down to the big guys and that happens to be the best matchup of the day (rankings-wise). Both Bullock and Tinker have NCAA experience and are looking to move closer to the podium. Another toss-up match comes at 133 lbs with Cal Poly’s #22 Zeth Romney and #26 Angelo Rini (Indiana). Romney had a breakout 2023-24 campaign and was a top-12 seed at nationals. Rini has been ranked in the top-15, himself; however, he suffered through an injury-plagued 2023-24 season before graduating from Columbia and transferring to Indiana. November 8th - #15 Stanford at #8 Iowa State Top Potential Match: 149 lbs - #13 Jaden Abas (Stanford) vs. #7 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) This will be the first leg of an Iowa/Iowa State back-to-back weekend for the Cardinal. Stanford has a talented, young team and they’ll get pushed with both duals. This will likely be the first opportunity for Anthony Echmendia to compete at his new weight class and he has a high-quality opponent in Jaden Abas. Also moving down could be NCAA Round of 12 finisher MJ Gaitan. How does he fare at 165 lb against returning All-American (and Iowa native) Hunter Garvin? Redshirt freshman Christian Carroll, one of the top recruits in the Class of 2023, could make his Cyclone debut against a top-20 opponent in Nick Stemmet. We also might have the opportunity to see how Cuban Osmany Diversent fares against a high-quality 125 lber in Nico Provo. Random note. Both teams are led by two of the best program-builders in the nation. Chris Ayres and Kevin Dresser were both hired for their first collegiate head coaching jobs in 2005 - Ayres proceeded to make Princeton a spot for blue-chip recruits to thrive, while Dresser built Virginia Tech into an NCAA trophy-winning team. November 9th - #22 Arizona State vs #12 Illinois (WrangleMania) Top Potential Match: 285 lbs - #4 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) vs. #13 Luke Luffman (Illinois) I’m very excited to see the Illinois squad for the 2024-25 campaign. The Fighting Illini have ranked wrestlers at nine of the ten weights and featured a totally different lineup than the one they fielded last season. A dual against a strong Arizona State team on the second weekend of the season will be a good barometer for exactly where Illinois stands. The heavyweight battle between Schultz and Luffman features a pair of seniors who have never met on the collegiate scene. Luffman had a solid first half of the 2023-24 season, but missed the remainder of the year due to injury. Schultz has consistently been in the top-five for almost his entire career. Another match to watch features the lightweights, the 125 lbs. Returning NCAA champion Richie Figueroa against Iowa State transfer Ramazan Attasaouv. The Illinois staff is extremely excited about Attasaouv’s prospects this year and Figueroa is about as tough of a test as you could ask for. November 9th - Campbell vs NC State (WrangleMania) Top Potential Match: 285 lbs - #7 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) vs. #10 Isaac Trumble (NC State) These two North Carolina teams will travel up to Bethlehem to do battle at WrangleMania. We’re not sure how the heavyweight class plays out for the Wolfpack, but whoever emerges between Trumble and Owen Trephan will be a podium contender. Perhaps, at this point of the season, the coaching staff will still be sorting out who the starter is. If all things are equal, I think Trumble probably gets the shot at WrangleMania. Ghadiali posted a pair of wins over Trephan last year - one in Vegas and the other at NCAA’s - so the NC State staff might want to give the Camel All-American a new look. With movement in the NC State lineup, we’ll likely get a chance to see freshman Vince Robinson take on SoCon champion Dom Zaccone at 133 lbs and two-time All-American Kai Orine match-up with two-time national qualifier Shannon Hanna at 141 lbs. 174 lbs should present NCAA qualifier Dom Baker of Campbell against Matthew Singleton, a U20 World bronze medalist. In Singleton’s only official NCAA season, he moved down to 165 lbs to help the team out and missed the tournament. Don’t be deceived by his current ranking of #24. November 9th - #15 Stanford at #2 Iowa Top Potential Match: 165 lbs - #3 Hunter Garvin (Stanford) vs. #2 Mikey Caliendo (Iowa) What a homecoming for Iowa native Hunter Garvin. First a potential match with NCAA Round of 12 finisher MJ Gaitan (Iowa State) and then #2 Mikey Caliendo a day later. At 149 lbs it’s another chapter in the old West Coast rivalry between Kyle Parco and Jaden Abas. The two have met four times over the years and Parco has come out on top in each instance. 174 lbs could present a glimpse of the future with Gabe Arnold and Lorenzo Norman. Arnold earned wins over two All-Americans (up a weight) during his redshirt year and Norman was seventh at CKLV with a win over NCAA champion Shane Griffith. November 15th - #13 Missouri at #6 Virginia Tech Top Potential Match: 174 lbs - #1 Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) vs. #5 Lennox Wolak (Virginia Tech) Missouri/Virginia Tech is just one of those duals that always delivers. Both teams tend to be in or around the top ten and have plenty of All-American contenders each year - and this year is no different. The dual always seems to come down to the final match or two and fireworks ensue. Two-time national champion Keegan O’Toole moves up to 174 lbs for his final go ‘round and will get an early test from 2024 NCAA All-American and EIWA champion Lennox Wolak. With significant time in the Virginia Tech room, after a transfer from Columbia, expect to see an even better version of Wolak. Despite these teams wrestling regularly, not too many of these potential matches have already happened. One exception is at 197 lbs, where Rocky Elam has dominated the series with Andy Smith. In this instance, you may see redshirt freshman Sonny Sasso get a chance with the four-time All-American. November 15th - #3 Nebraska at #23 North Carolina Top Potential Match: 149 lbs - #5 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) vs. #6 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) A pair of two-time All-Americans potentially meeting for the first time. Lachlan McNeil got on the medal stand twice for UNC at 141 lbs, but is now going up to 149. The Huskers have the Big Ten champion and the #1 seed for the 2024 NCAA Championships, Ridge Lovett - a 2022 NCAA runner-up. Matches with Joshua Ogunsanya (174) and Gavin Kane (184) could give us the first significant test for Lenny Pinto and Silas Allred at the new, lower weights. November 17th - #4 NC State vs #18 Rutgers (Jersey Jostle) Top Potential Match: 125 lbs - #8 Jakob Camacho (NC State) vs. #12 Dean Peterson (Rutgers) Perhaps my favorite event name of the year; the Jersey Jostle! This dual takes place in Toms River, New Jersey, and also features Princeton and Long Island, but we’re focusing on this meeting between the Scarlet Knights and NC State. The 125 lb weight class was bonkers last year. Upsets were common and maybe only upsets by the numbers. At one point, Camacho was ranked #1 in the country and Peterson was #2. Neither had the postseason success they would have imagined; however, both should be considered high podium threats. This matchup should boost one of them toward that status. As is typically the case when Brian Soldano takes the mat - 184 lbs will be must-watch. Soldano throws the kitchen sink at you every time he takes the match and Dylan Fishback can let it fly himself. I might be disappointed if this isn’t a match where both wrestlers are in double digits. The heavyweight matchup also features one of NC State’s talented tandem against returning All-American Yaraslau Slavikouski. Slavikouski owns a pair of wins over Trephan from the 2022-23 season, so again, we might see how Trephan fares against the veteran. November 17th - #5 Oklahoma State at #24 Oregon State Top Potential Match: 165 lbs - #6 Cam Amine (Oklahoma State) vs. #9 Matthew Olguin (Oregon State) Oregon State has quite the November home schedule - leading off with Iowa and then taking on Oklahoma State two weeks later. The one individual matchup that really sticks out here comes at 165 lbs. Amine and Olguin are two veterans who have someone never met each other despite being All-American contenders. In Vegas last season, Amine took fourth, while Olguin was seventh. November 21st - #13 Missouri at #12 Illinois Top Potential Match: 197 lbs - #4 Rocky Elam (Missouri) vs. #10 Zac Braunagel (Illinois) A pair of teams that sit right next to each other in the preseason rankings makes for a fun dual. Of course, by the time November 21st rolls around, each might be in a different position. They each could have a loss as both will be tested before this. The best individual matchup from this dual takes place at 197 lbs. A top-ten affair between Elam and Braunagel. Since Braunagel spent part of his career at 184 lbs, the two haven’t squared off yet. With the styles between these two, I think we can expect a very close, physical match by both combatants. November 22nd - #18 Rutgers at #6 Virginia Tech Top Potential Match: 133 lbs: #6 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) vs. #10 Connor McGonagle (Virginia Tech) This is a dual with some great potential matchups. We’ve focused on 133 lbs with All-American and Big Ten champion Dylan Shawver facing Lehigh transfer Connor McGonagle. McGonagle lost out on the Lehigh starting position last year with a sudden victory loss to super-freshman Ryan Crookham, so he can go with anyone in the country. The 125 lb match is a rematch from last year where Dean Peterson shutout Eddie Ventresca. The match helped elevate Peterson, while it further pushed Ventresca down a slope that led to a season-ending injury. Once again, 184 lbs and Brian Soldano. TJ Stewart should be happy to oblige in a potentially wild affair with Soldano. In a dual that could come down to the final match, do we see New Jersey high school legend Jimmy Mullen get the call at heavyweight versus Slavikouski? November 22nd - #20 West Virginia at Appalachian State Top Potential Match: 165 lbs: #4 Peyton Hall (West Virginia) vs. #14 Will Miller (Appalachian State) A fight for the nickname Mountaineers! The loser gets to go without a name for the rest of the year! That’s not accurate, just my personal stipulation. Appalachian State has proven to be a program that can find diamonds in the rough and turn them into excellent collegiate wrestlers, time and time again. Their highest-ranked wrestler in the preseason is 165 lbs Will Miller - an Alabama native. He captured his first SoCon title in 2024 and won a pair of matches in Kansas City. Hall got on the podium for a second time and has the opportunity to become WVU’s first three-time All-American in two decades. The only time these two have met in college was in the 2022 Southern Scuffle and Hall prevailed with a major decision. Miller has improved greatly since then and should make this a much more competitive match. November 23rd - #8 Iowa State at #2 Iowa Top Potential Match: 149 lbs: #7 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) vs. #4 Kyle Parco (Iowa) The Cy-Hawk Dual is always one of the biggest duals of the season and I’m sure will discuss this in greater detail as it approaches. That’s good because there are plenty of moving parts on both sides of this dual. Iowa State is having some lineup shuffling and Iowa could have some freshmen that we’re unable to truly evaluate right now. Should Anthony Echemendia remain at 149 lbs, he could face four-time All-American Kyle Parco who is on the short list of title contenders in this bracket. While it doesn’t have the rankings cache of 149 lbs, I might be more excited to see how 285 lbs works out. This is a weight we’re fairly certain that both wrestlers should be here, barring injury. Yonger Bastida looked like a potential NCAA champion for most of last season, but suffered an injury at the wrong time of the year and missed the podium. Ben Kueter is focusing solely on wrestling for this season and the sky is the limit for the multi-sport star. Both are offensive-minded big men, so there could be some fireworks in a bout that might decide the dual. November 24th - #22 Arizona State at #5 Oklahoma State Top Potential Match: 125 lbs: #1 Richie Figueroa (Arizona State) vs. #7 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) With Arizona State moving into the Big 12 this is now a conference match. Despite how the two 125 lbers finished their season, with Figueroa on top of the medal stand and Spratley eliminated in the Round of 12, it was Spratley who majored Figueroa in their February dual. That loss was near the end of a late-season funk for Figueroa, one he obviously emerged from in great shape. Looking elsewhere through the projected matches, at 157 lbs we could get the first top-ten test for #27 Kaleb Larkin. Expectations are high for the redshirt freshman and #9 Teague Travis is a great measuring stick of just where Larkin falls in this weight. The dual closes with a matchup between multiple-time All-American heavyweights Cohlton Schultz and Wyatt Hendrickson. Even though both have been staples of the weight class and podium finishers, they have never met. November 24th - #21 Lehigh at Pittsburgh Top Potential Match: 285 lbs: #8 Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) vs. #12 Dylan Pitzer (Pittsburgh) It’s sort of unusual these days to see that Pittsburgh name without a ranking beside it. Last year’s team was full of veterans, so maybe by late November, this year’s team will have the opportunity to establish themselves a bit and they’ll hold a ranking. The back half of this dual is currently where to look for the potential best matches. At 197 lbs, you have #6 Michael Beard and #14 Mac Stout. Despite the two being close in the rankings, Beard won via tech in last year’s iteration of this dual. Keep an eye out for the heavyweight match. Dylan Pitzer owns a pair of wins (one by major decision) over the 2024 EIWA champion, Taylor. Pitzer ended up wrestling through an injury at the end of last year and probably wasn’t himself. He starts the year with a respectable ranking, but could be higher. November 24th - #17 South Dakota State at #10 Northern Iowa Top Potential Match: 184 lbs: #4 Bennett Berge (South Dakota State) vs. #2 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) It’s an early season Big 12 conference match between a pair of tough teams. The two finished next to each other at the 2024 NCAA Championships, with South Dakota State in 13th place with 48.5 points and Northern Iowa right behind with 39.5 points. Three of SDSU’s four All-Americans return, while UNI has their undefeated national champion Parker Keckeisen back. That means there will be a matchup between a pair of top-four finishers as Berge was fourth as a redshirt freshman for the Jackrabbits. Even though the two were in the same Big 12 weight class in 2024 and ended up on the podium, they never met. Right after that is another potentially fun matchup. Iowa transfer and Big Ten runner-up #9 Zach Glazier takes over for two-time All-American Tanner Sloan. He and #15 Wyatt Voelker should make for a good one! November 24th - #14 Michigan at Virginia Top Potential Match: 165 lbs: #12 Beau Mantanona (Michigan) vs. #11 Nick Hamilton (Virginia) Michigan goes on an early-season road trip that takes them to North Carolina for a dual with Duke, followed by Virginia, the home state of their 184 lber Jaden Bullock. Both teams have a few weights they need to sort out and plenty of potential lineup permutations. One weight that looks stable for both teams is 165 lbs. Nick Hamilton had high expectations last season, but dealt with an injury that disrupted most of his regular season. He returned and shocked the league by winning a conference title and punching his ticket to nationals. Hamilton showed he was no fluke, by capturing two wins in Kansas City. He’ll have his hands full with the Wolverines tough redshirt freshman Beau Mantanona. Mantanona was 15-6 last season, while redshirting, and showed he could score points in bunches and might be an All-American threat in year one. November 25th - #12 Illinois at #23 North Carolina Top Potential Match: 149 lbs: #11 Kannon Webster (Illinois) vs. #6 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) The return of Austin O’Connor to Chapel Hill has the Illinois assistant coach seeing one of his prized pupils taking on a former teammate at 149 lbs. Kannon Webster had an excellent redshirt season (20-1) and was ranked in the top ten at one point in the season. The Illinois staff chose to keep him in redshirt and unleash upon the college wrestling world this season. There are some other potentially fun matches in this dual like the one at 133 lbs with two-time All-American Lucas Byrd and Appalachian State transfer Ethan Oakley. Will the bigger program with a deeper room help Oakley move to All-American contention? 184 lbs has a match between a pair of All-Americans with Edmond Ruth and Gavin Kane. Ruth was the 2024 Big Ten champion at 174 lbs, but is slated to move up this season. Kane made the podium in 2023, but wasn’t able to generate that type of momentum last season. November 26th - #13 Missouri vs #10 Northern Iowa at Hartland, Wisconsin Top Potential Match: 141 lbs: #12 Josh Edmond (Missouri) vs. #7 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) This is a dual that is set up to be a homecoming for stars on both teams. It will be held at Keegan O’Toole’s alma mater, Arrowhead High School; however, Parker Keckeisen is also from Wisconsin. Despite the rankings for both teams, this is the random dual where the stars from each team don’t necessarily match up well with each other. Perhaps the most intriguing individual matchup could be the 141 lb clash with Edmond and Happel. Both are veterans who are looking to earn All-American honors for the first time. The two met once in dual action last season and another time at the Big 12 Championships. Edmond won in the dual and Happel returned the favor in the postseason.