InterMat Staff

Chaminade

Last night, new Utah Valley head coach Adam Hall announced a new addition to his coaching staff. He’s hired Timmy McCall as an assistant coach. Hall and McCall both were a part of Pat Popolizio’s staff at NC State. In 2015, McCall moved back to his home state to wrestle with the Wolfpack Wrestling Club. During his career on the freestyle circuit, McCall qualified for the 2018 and 2019 World Team Trials and captured a title at France’s Henri DeGlane Challenge. Prior to the 2019-20 season, McCall was named NC State’s volunteer assistant coach. Two years later, he was promoted to a full-time assistant. McCall was a member of the NC State staff as the Wolfpack finished as ACC champions in four-straight seasons - along with 15 All-Americans and 17 conference champions. McCall wrestled collegiately for the University of Wisconsin and he qualified for the NCAA Championships on two occasions. He was seventh in the B1G as a junior and earned the #12 seed as a senior. During his final NCAA Tournament, McCall was upset in the opening round but won three straight contests to advance to the NCAA Round of 12 - where he came up a match shy of All-American status. The addition of McCall brings a second assistant to Hall’s first staff at Utah Valley. In his interview with James Hackney last month, Hall stated he has brought in his former Boise State teammate, Andrew Hochstrasser, to handle an undefined role. Utah Valley is a squad that lost its only NCAA qualifier from 2024 (Evan Bockman) to the transfer portal and scored 22 points while taking 13th at the 2024 Big 12 Championships. The Wolverines went 2-7 in Greg Williams’ final season at the helm and had four placewinners at the Big 12 meet. Haiden Drury (141) and Bockman led the way in seventh place and Kase Mauger (133) and Chase Trussell (285) were eighth. Drury and Mauger are expected to return in 2024-25.

2024 NCAA champion Parker Keckeisen sits down with James Hackney to talk about the rise of Wisconsin high school wrestling and Askren Wrestling Academy. Parker discusses his feelings after winning his national title and how they were different from the previous season; however, in each instance he quickly moved on. The goal for 2024-25 is the Hodge Trophy, but Parker actually breaks out his chart of goals and explains them in depth. He also talks about mental preparation, his relationship with Lee Roper, wrestling for Doug Schwab, and much more!

May 24 Fury Pro Grappling 10* (UFC Fight Pass) Luke Fernandez (Elizabethtown) vs. Eryk Anders Pat Sabatini (Rider) vs. Andrew Kochel Andre Petroski (UNC/Bloomsburg/Kutztown) vs. Alex Myers Max Livingston (Drexel) vs. Nick Toscano Aidan Burke (Mercyhurst) vs. Nick Dingler Nieko Malone (Rider) vs. Nick DiGiacomo (Rowan) Nicholas Mancini (Millersville) vs. Cameron Scalio (Kutztown) Parker Kropman (Binghamton/Drexel) vs. Tyler Carroll *Grappling event May 24 Tuff-N-Uff 137 (UFC Fight Pass) Justin Jaynes (Olivet) vs. Tsogookhuu Amarsanaa May 25 Anthony Pettis FC 11 “Fight Fiesta” (UFC Fight Pass) Garrett Carlson (UW-LaCrosse) vs. Danny Morales Mason Lind (Lakeland) vs. Shane Jackman May 25 Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat 21 (UFC Fight Pass) Urijah Faber (UC Davis) vs. Jeff Glover* Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) vs. Jaleon Reid Martine Sandoval (Wartburg) vs. Chris Paez Nick Fishback (UW-Parkside) vs. Josh Dim Brian Benevidez (Northwest College) vs. Cyrus Povoor *Grappling match June 1 UFC 302 (ESPN Pay Per View) Alexander Romanov (World University bronze) vs. Jailton Almeida June 6 Fury FC 91 (UFC Fight Pass) Freddie Rodriguez (SIU-E) vs. Paris Moran* Austin O’Connor (North Carolina) Camden Fontenot June 7 LFA 185 (UFC Fight Pass) Richie Lewis (Rutgers) vs. Kagan Gennrich (Wisconsin) June 8 UFC Fight Night (ESPN+) Punahele Soriano (Wartburg) vs. Miguel Baeza Cody Stamann (Grand Valley State) vs. Taylor Lapilus Julian Marquez (Missouri Valley) vs. Zachary Reese John Castaneda (Minnesota State Mankato) vs. Daniel Marco June 13 PFL 4 2024 (ESPN+) Tyrell Fortune (Grand Canyon) vs. Daniel James June 15 UFC Fight Night (ESPN+) Alex Perez (West Hills) vs. Tatsuro Taira June 21 PFL 5 2024 (ESPN+) Josh Silveira (Arizona State) vs. Rob Wilkinson Alex Polizzi (Northwestern) vs. Antonio Carlos Junior June 22 UFC on ABC 6 (ABC/ESPN+) Khamzat Chimaev (Swedish national champion) vs. Robert Whittaker (Australian national champion) Kelvin Gastelum (North Idaho) vs. Daniel Rodriguez June 28 PFL 6 2024 (ESPN+) Logan Storley (Minnesota) vs. Laureano Staropoli Brennan Ward (Johnson & Wales) vs. Magomed Umalatov Bubba Jenkins (Penn State/Arizona State) vs. Gabriel Braga Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) vs. Isaiah Hokit (Drexel/Fresno State) June 29 UFC 303 (ESPN PPV) Michael Chandler (Missouri) vs. Conor McGregor

The University of Michigan’s already-impressive Class of 2025 got even better on Friday as California heavyweight prospect Nicholas Sahakian (St. John Bosco, CA) committed to the Wolverines. Sahakian is currently ranked #41 overall in the Class of 2025 and 10th in the nation at 285 lbs by MatScouts in the final rankings cycle that included graduating seniors. In the first set without the Class of 2024, Sahakian is ranked #1 in the nation. In July of 2023, Sahakian committed to Arizona State University, but was obviously too young to sign a National Letter of Intent, and has now flipped to Michigan. In three years of high school competition, Sahakian has placed three times in California’s single-class state tournament, each time at an upper weight. As a freshman, he was third at 220 lbs. He’d win that weight in 2023. This year, Sahakian moved up to 285 lbs and fell by a point in the state finals to Cody Merrill, the #2 overall prospect in the Class of 2024. Against national competition, Sahakian has placed six times at the UWW U17 World Team Trials. Last spring, he earned a spot on the Greco-Roman world team and was a finalist in freestyle competition. After making the Greco team, Sahakian went to the Pan-American U17 Championships and took gold in both styles. He would also compete at the U17 World Championships and was beaten in the bronze medal matchup. Before his junior year of high school, Sahakian won a championship belt at the Super 32. He had placed seventh the year before. In 2022, Sahakian won a 16U Greco title in Fargo, which marked the third career Fargo placement for him. It’s hard to argue with a heavyweight choosing Michigan as former Wolverines, Mason Parris and Adam Coon, are going to the Olympic Games in freestyle and Greco-Roman, respectively. We’ll have to wait and see how this recruiting class shakes out for Michigan. They already have commitments from #11 Jude Correa (a 285 lb prospect) and #20 De’Alcapone Veazy (a 197 lb prospect). The Wolverines certainly need help at both weights as it’s uncertain who will be the long-term starter at either weight. With all three potentially in the same class, there could be a high-level prospect who sees little mat time. With Sahakian’s commitment, Michigan now has verbals from five of the top-56 rising seniors in the nation - three of which fall in the top-20. To check out Michigan’s current Class of 2025

St. John Bosco

Last night, a ruling came down that essentially means colleges can now fully pay their athletes. Sure, we can go through all the same tropes associated with it. Good for the athletes gotta get that bag. Or, college sports are no longer college sports. We’ve heard it all. Either way, you look at it, the game has changed. And I’m not sure it will be beneficial for wrestling. But it’s the first holiday weekend of Summer, so let’s not worry about that now. What is a match-up you'd like to see at a Beat the Streets-type event? Jeremy Eusterwiemann I tell ya, and it won’t happen any time soon because of logical reasons, But Spencer Lee against Vito Arujau is kind of the next big supermatch that would put butts in seats. It likely will never happen as Vito may be done with 57 kg and you don’t exactly see Spencer showing up at all-star events. We will get to see Andrew Alirez and Jesse Mendez mix it up at the next Beat the Streets and that is excellent booking. Who is interviewing for the Columbia job? Push Wrestling Your guess is as good as mine. We really haven’t heard a thing on the Columbia or Hofstra front as far as hiring a coach. I mean, I’ll take either job if nobody else wants to do it. I’m sure we will hear some rumblings soon. But it is a bit worrisome when a head coach leaves to be an assistant. Like they know something we don’t know. Is it true that Flo offered you a 250k NIL deal to perform Jaggerblasts exclusively for Flo? Rhino Oh, it’s true, it’s damn true. And let me state for the record that it's absolutely not true. I don’t want to get slapped with a libel suit over here. Biggest beef: 1) The inner dialogue of "anyone but Iowa, go LensCrafters!" fans watching Spencer Lee vs rooting for US gold at 57 2) Vecchiomania vs The World 3) PSU fans who were present for the creation of the sport of wrestling in 2011 vs Traitor David Taylor. Thicccolas I honestly have no idea what most of this means. It certainly will be weird for a few fanbases if Spencer faces a Micic or a Roman Bravo-Young. Personally, I'm thrilled about it. Not that I dislike him in any way, but some of Spencer’s biggest college rivals are Rivera, Glory, and Suriano and I’m usually on the side of the Jersey guy. Now I get to just go full fanboy on the biggest stage. Can you let the Virginia people know that they can only claim either Devin Carter or TJ Stewart, not both? Carter was in NJ until HS , Stewart in Virginia until HS then wrestled 4 yrs in NJ , yet these 6 state championships having Jabronis claim both. Also, who does Jagger pick? Jimmy McNulty’s Bar Tab I don’t know, it kind of seems like they can claim both as neither wrestled in the NJSIAA. I’ll take Stewart since he was smart enough to get as far away from Earl Smith as possible and come north. Any chance Levi Haines takes a RS and follows Taylor? The Inside Trip Nah. I think he just knocks out his last two years with no redshirt before gearing up for a run at 74 kg in 2028 where he might be the favorite. In fact, I don’t see any of the current guys leaving Penn State for Stillwater. At least not their top stars. Nobody wants to be the first to make that bold move. Speaking of movements, yours is probably done. Enjoy the holiday weekend, everyone. Be safe as always.

The biggest name in the transfer portal made his future intentions known today as three-time All-American Cam Amine indicated he’s committed to transferring to Oklahoma State University. It’s the second time within the last week that the Cowboys have picked up a multi-time All-American from the portal. On Sunday afternoon, two-time NCAA third-place finisher Wyatt Hendrickson announced he’d use his final year of eligibility to compete for Oklahoma State. During his four years competing for the University of Michigan, Amine made the NCAA podium on three occasions (4,4,7) and finished in the top-four at the Big Ten in every season. His runner-up finish in 2022 helped spark the Wolverines to the first Big Ten team title since 1973. Amine’s career record is 64-25. He’s coming off a 2023-24 season that was his toughest, to date, as he suffered five regular season losses and came up a match shy of the NCAA podium. Amine’s mere presence in the portal was a bit shocking considering his family history at Michigan. His father Sam and brother Jordan both wrestled for the Maize and Blue, as did his uncle Mike and cousins, Myles and Malik. The addition of Amine presents some interesting lineup dilemmas for Oklahoma State in year one under David Taylor. Before Amine’s commitment, Caleb Fish and Dean Hamiti both transferred in. All three competed at 165 lbs last season. Without Amine, it was assumed that Fish would take the reins at 165 and Hamiti would move up to 174. There is some speculation that Fish might be able to make 157 lbs and challenge incumbent Teague Travis. Taylor has some flexibility as both Fish and Hamiti have redshirts available. It also should be noted that both Fish and Hamiti committed to Oklahoma State before Taylor’s arrival.

A few weeks ago, we posted an interview with Princeton’s second year head coach Joe Dubuque. Coach Dubuque was excited to talk about his new coaching staff, but unable to specifically mention two new members because the hires weren’t official through the Princeton athletic department. That changed today as the team announced they’ve hired Anthony Ashnault as an assistant coach. He'll join Cody Brewer on the Tigers staff for the 2024-25 season. Ashnault needs no introduction to fans of New Jersey wrestling. The undefeated, four-time state champion stayed in-state for college and went to Rutgers, where he captured three Big Ten titles and earned All-American honors in all four seasons competing with the Scarlet Knights. As a senior, Ashnault went a perfect 32-0 to claim a national title at 149 lbs and led Rutgers to a ninth-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships. Ashnault spent the 2021-22 season on the Rutgers staff but stepped down after a year to focus on his freestyle career. In Austin Sommer’s interview with Dubuque, he stressed the importance of having a specific coach to work with the lightweights, middleweights, and heavyweights. With Brewer already aboard and presumably working with the smaller guys, it works out well as Ashnault can handle the middleweights. We’ll be ready when Dubuque and the Princeton athletic department announce their final hire.

Earlier this week, we took a deep dive into the 2024 version of MatScouts Big Board. Today, we’ll look at some of the recent history associated with the Big Board, as a one year snap-shot can only provide limited data. Having a five-year sample will give a better understanding of how team’s have acted signing recruits of a certain status and which states have consistently produced top-end talent. Our first category is the top-ten recruits by college. This is strictly for wrestlers that signed with that college initially out of high school. As you would expect, Penn State easily leads the rest of the field by a decent margin. That being said, they aren’t the leaders in top-50 or top-100 recruits signed over the last five years. Part of that is a testament to the fact that Penn State has a good “hit rate” on their top, top recruits. Those tend to be your most significant NCAA point scorers, as well. Top 10 recruits by School 10: Penn State 7: Oklahoma State 6: Ohio State 4: Iowa 3: Michigan, Missouri 2. Cornell, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin 1: Arizona State, Illinois, Iowa State, Minnesota, Nebraska, NC State, Oklahoma, Purdue, Rutgers Top 50 recruits by School 18: Oklahoma State 14: Ohio State, Penn State 13: Iowa, NC State, Virginia Tech 10: Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Rutgers, Stanford 8: Cornell, Iowa State, Oklahoma 7: Arizona State, Missouri, West Virginia 6: Wisconsin 5: Illinois, Pittsburgh 4: Maryland, Northwestern, Purdue 3: Cal Poly, Little Rock, Princeton 2: Lock Haven, Michigan State, Navy, Northern Iowa, Penn, Rider, South Dakota State, Virginia 1: Air Force, Army West Point, Bucknell, California Baptist, Drexel, Indiana, Kent State, Lehigh, Northern Colorado, Oregon State, Wyoming Top 100 recruits by School 20: NC State 19: Cornell, Oklahoma State, Penn State 18: Iowa State, Nebraska, Virginia Tech 17: Iowa, North Carolina 16: Michigan, Rutgers 15: Missouri, Ohio State 14: Minnesota, Stanford 12: Wyoming 11: Arizona State, Lehigh 10: Oklahoma, Penn, North Dakota State, Wisconsin 9: Princeton, South Dakota State 8: Illinois, Northwestern, Purdue, Virginia, West Virginia 7: Maryland, Northern Iowa, Pittsburgh 6: Navy, Oregon State 5: Air Force, Campbell, Columbia, Indiana, Little Rock 4: Army West Point, Bucknell, Cal Poly, Michigan State, Northern Colorado 3: Chattanooga, Drexel, Edinboro, Harvard, Northern Illinois 2: California Baptist, Lock Haven, Rider, 1: Binghamton, Brown, Clarion, Kent State, Ohio, SIU Edwardsville, Utah Valley Top 100 recruits by State 79: Pennsylvania 54: California 38: New Jersey 36: Ohio 27: Illinois 25: Minnesota, Oklahoma 18: Florida, Iowa 17: Georgia, Missouri 16: Michigan 15: Wisconsin 13: New York 10: Texas 9: Colorado 8: Arizona, Nebraska 7: Indiana, Oregon 6: Tennessee 5: Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, West Virginia 4: Connecticut 3: North Carolina, Virginia 2: Alabama, Massachusetts, South Dakota, Utah, Washington 1: Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island

Central Michigan recruit Gavin Craner (in blue) As coaching staffs across the country wind down and finalize their recruiting Class of 2024, there’s still plenty of action for those wrestlers who will soon be considered high school seniors. A handful of quality wrestlers from the high school Class of 2025 have made recent commitments and could make a significant impact at the next level. Central Michigan got the first commitment of the Ben Bennett-era as #142 Gavin Craner (Whitehall, Michigan) gave the Chippewas a verbal. Last summer, Craner was a 16U All-American in both styles in Fargo (fifth in freestyle; fourth in Greco). He recently broke into the top eight in both styles in Vegas at UWW Cadets (eighth in freestyle; fourth in Greco). Craner was an unbeaten Michigan D3 state champion at 175 lbs for Whitehall HS. In the previous season, Craner made the state finals competing for Belding HS. He projects at 184 lbs for the Chippewas. California Baptist is quietly assembling a very strong Class of 2025. A commitment from #87 Anthony Rinehart (Crown Point, IN) gives Derek Moore’s team a pair of Big Boarders, plus another who has appeared in the top-150 in the past, among their four verbals. Rinehart is a two-time Indiana state placewinner, taking fourth in 2024 and seventh as a freshman. At the beginning of his sophomore season, Rinehart was sixth at the Walsh Ironman. He’ll project at 174 lbs for the Lancers. California Baptist had its first DI national qualifiers in 2024 and with classes like this one (and the 2024 group), there should be many more in the pipeline. Sticking with an Indiana theme as Rinehart’s teammate also made his college commitment known. Angel Escobedo’s Hoosiers will keep one of his state’s best from the Class of 2025 in-state with a verbal from Gavin Jendreas (Crown Point, IN). Jendreas is a three-time Indiana state placewinner (3,5,2), who most recently took third at the one-class state tournament at 120 lbs. While Jendreas doesn’t have any national rankings at this time, he’s the fourth rising senior to commit to Indiana. The other three are currently among the top-100 and should give the Hoosier an infusion of talent. Indiana should also expect to be mentioned in the forthcoming InterMat recruiting rankings for the Class of 2024. West Virginia’s 2024 class will definitely earn a spot in InterMat’s recruiting rankings. The Class of 2025 is off to a good start as the Mountaineers got their second verbal from the class with Luke Satriano (Valley Center, NY). Satriano became a two-time state champion this school year after knocking off a two-time champion in the finals, Pittsburgh signee Matt Marlow. In the semifinals, he defeated future West Virginia teammate Anthony Clem via major decision. He’ll have the opportunity to become Valley Center’s first three-time champion since Hofstra All-American Lou Ruggirello in 2006. Outside of New York, last spring Satriano was fourth at NHSCA Juniors. About a year ago, Satriano held a spot (#135) on MatScouts Big Board. Yesterday we talked Navy wrestling because Cary Kolat made a surprising addition to the coaching staff, today we’ll mention an under-the-radar prospect they’ve picked up. Two-time National Prep placewinner, Evan Boblits (St. Mary’s Ryken, MD) will stay in-state and wrestle for the Midshipmen. Boblits was fifth at 144 lbs at National Prep’s this year. As a freshman, he was fourth at 113 lbs. Boblits is one of four wrestlers who have committed to Navy from the Class of 2025.

It's been a big summer already for wrestlers entering the portal. Here is a quick update of some notable moves into the portal and commitments as well. Commitments Emily Mendez - Transfer to William Jewell from Adrian Mendez announced she was transferring after this year’s NCWWCs. She was a 3X qualifier for the Bulldogs, and had a sixth Place All-American finish in 2021. She broke into the top 10 in the 109 lb weight class late last season. She ran into tough opponents early in this tournament dropping a match to Ava Bayless in the second round and Jenavi Alejandro after winning two other matches by tech fall on the back side. Mendez made a big splash at the King Tornado Open this past season defeating 3x AA Samantha Miller (also in this article) to win the top spot. The Cardinals did not have a qualifier at 109lbs this past season, so Mendez will be a real boost to that spot (now 110 lbs) in the lineup. Samantha Miller - Transfer to McKendree from Mount Olive Miller announced she will be spending her last season at McKendree after starting her career at Presbyterian and transferring to Mount Olive last season. Miller has been an All-American every year she’s wrestled in college finishing sixth, fifth, and fifth at 101 lbs for Presbyterian from 2021-2023 and finishing in 3rd last season at 109 lbs for Mount Olive. Miller has stated in interviews that she liked being up at 109 lbs, and will likely stay there (now 110 lbs) to compete for the Bearcats as she tries to finally get to the top of the podium at NCWWCs. Katja Osteen - Transfer to Iowa from Simon Fraser Osteen is a 2x All-American from Simon Fraser in 2022 and 2023 at the 191 lb weight class. She took last season off to train at the US Olympic Trainer Center in their Elite Accelerator Program. The new college weight classes will make things interesting with a 180 lb category as well as 207 lbs. The Hawkeyes have no shortage of talent at their upper weights with Jaycee Foeller coming in with her final year of eligibility after her runner-up finish last year and Alivia White, who just finished up her redshirt freshman year with a 19-5 record, including 14 pins and top 3 finishes at the Warrior Open, Soldier Salute and Missouri Valley Open. Add Osteen to the list of talented wrestlers contributing to the insane depth for Iowa this upcoming season. Jennifer Soto - Transferring to King from McKendree Soto made the announcement of her transfer in a strongly worded Instagram post, announcing her excitement to join King’s program and Coach Moorman. Soto has been a top 5 ranked wrestler throughout her last season with the Bearcats, finishing fourth at regionals after a loss to teammate and 4x champ Cam Gueron. While Soto qualified for nationals, she went 1-2. In 2023, Soto had her first All-American finish when she came in fourth at 123 lbs her freshman season. King currently has some real talent at both of Soto’s previous weight classes, with NCWWC finalist Virginia Foard and third-place finisher Montana DeLawder at 123 lbs and finalist and top-ranked Victoria Baez-Dilone at 130l bs. With the possibility of redshirts, multiple qualifiers, and shifting weight classes, I think there is certainly a path for Soto to make her way into the lineup, and I am curious to see how she competes with top talent in the room. Faith Cole - Transferring to Missouri Baptist from McKendree Cole was one of the many talented wrestlers looking for a new home after Iowa Wesleyan closed down. Cole committed to Iowa Wesleyan after becoming the very first girl to become a 4x undefeated state champ in Missouri. Cole was an All-American during her time at Wesleyan, finishing 6th at 109 lbs, and then transferred to McKendree. Faith was a Cadet Pan-Am champ in 2021 and a Fargo champ in addition to her other accolades. While MoBap has some talent at lighter weights, they did not have any All-Americans at 109 lbs last season, and that is certainly the possibility Cole brings to the table. With Missouri Baptist’s move into the stacked Heart of America Conference with teams like Grand View, Central Methodist, Missouri Valley, and William Penn, The Spartans should look to utilize Cole and their other returning talent to make a big splash their first year. Bella Ngo - Transfer to Texas Wesleyan from Iowa While this announcement came back in February, I still think it is notable for the instant impact Ngo could have on the Texas Wesleyan lineup. Ngo committed to Iowa out of high school and had a 10-5 record with the Hawkeyes her freshman year, even taking second place at the Soldier Salute. Prior to college competition, Ngo finished fourth at USA Wrestling's Folkstyle Nationals in 2021 and had a third-place finish at the California State Championships her senior season in 2022. The Rams are returning Sooner Athletic Conference Champs, and are certainly hopeful that Ngo’s addition to the lineup helps them pull away even more from their NAIA competition. Salyna Shotwell - Transfer to Life from McKendree This is a homecoming for Shotwell as she originally committed to Life out of high school. After finishing as the NAIA runner-up in 2022 at 116 lbs she transferred to McKendree. During this past season, Shotwell was ranked in the top 10, placed fifth at Midlands, and 2nd at the MoVal Open. Shotwell will certainly be looking to improve upon her last run in the NAIA National tournament to claim a championship title, and while Life is stacked with talent at all weights including 2024 All-American Ariana Martinez at 116 lbs, I have a feeling Shotwell should be able to fight for a spot in the lineup given her talent. There are a lot of additional transfer commitments already made and many more to come. Here are also a few notable wrestlers currently in the portal waiting to make a decision to transfer or stay with their original school: Kaelani Shufeldt - Lock Haven (2024 NCWWC Runner Up, 109lbs) Esther Han - Iowa (ranked in the top 5 last season at 136 lbs, MoVal Open Champ, ended season early due to injury) Payton Stroud - McKendree (3x All-American, 116 lbs) Claire Agostini - Adrian (Ranked in top-10 at 143 lbs last season) Kendall Bostelman- North Central (2023 All-American at 143 lbs)

In an offseason full of surprising coaching moves, the US Naval Academy threw their hat into the ring as they shocked the wrestling world by bringing back the legendary Barry Davis as an assistant coach. Davis spent 25 years as the head coach at the University of Wisconsin - a tenure that ended in 2018. Since then, Davis has not had a position coaching at the collegiate level. While at Wisconsin, Davis amassed a 227-167-11 dual record and oversaw a squad that captured an NCAA team trophy in 2010, finishing fourth in the nation. That placement tied the highest in school history. Individually, Davis coached three national champions, 26 All-Americans, and eight Big Ten champions. The title won by Andrew Howe in 2010 (165 lbs) remains the most recent by a Badger wrestler. As a competitor, Davis was a three-time NCAA champion, four-time All-American, and four-time Big Ten champion. His career mark, wrestling for the University of Iowa, was 162-9-1. In the middle of his college career, Davis took an Olympic redshirt to prep for the 1984 Summer Olympics, He ended up coming away with a silver medal at 57 kg. Davis also medaled at the two World Championships that followed, claiming a bronze in 1985 and a silver in 1986. The Naval Academy produced the first All-American of the Cary Kolat-era in March as David Key finished eighth in the 184 lb weight class. The Navy team finished sixth in the EIWA with 79.5 points and is expected to return three starters with past NCAA experience for the 2024-25 season.

Valley Central

St. Mary's Ryken

Crown Point

Edmond North

Whitehall

Cambria

Hillsboro

Southern Regional

The Cowboys have been making waves all offseason, including the new coaching staff. New head coach David Taylor has made his first addition with two-time All-American Wyatt Hendrickson from the transfer portal. OSU has been busy in the transfer portal the past two offseasons and are looking to come into next year with a lineup made up of strong transfers, blue-chip recruits, and established returning starters. Last preseason I had them as a sleeper trophy team and while they ended up finishing 10th at NCAA’s, they quickly rose into the top-five rankings through the year. Now with a handful of new faces, and potential rumors for more, it seems like a great time for an early look at what the team may look like next season. 125lbs: Troy Spratley (RS Soph.) A transfer from Minnesota last season, Spratley started his first season in one of the wildest weight classes college wrestling had seen. He began his season with an impressive five tech falls in a row and had a regular season that included wins over Luke Stanich, Jakob Camacho, Noah Surtin, and eventual champ Richie Figueroa. As a freshman, he was a Big 12 runner-up and made the bloodround at NCAA’s. With most wrestlers making leaps after their first year and a major decision win over the weight’s returning national champ, Spratley is a sneaky title contender next season. 133lbs: Cael Hughes (RS Fresh.) It’s never easy replacing someone with a legacy career like Daton Fix, but the Cowboys are in a good spot with #8 overall 2023 recruit Cael Hughes. He was 140-0 in high school with four OK state titles plus a 2022 Ironman title. He has also been in the best-of-three finals for U20 Team Trials the past two years and will be looking to make the team in September this year. He redshirted this past season with a 12-1 record, with his only loss in overtime coming to teammate Sammy Alvarez in rideouts. He started in the dual against Wyoming, with a major decision over Stockton O’Brien. While Hughes hasn't seen too much college competition yet, expectations are sky-high for the young Cowboy. 141lbs: Tagen Jamison (RS Soph.) Jamison was also a transfer last season, joining Troy Spratley from Minnesota to Stillwater. He broke out early in the year at CKLV where he had wins over Sergio Lemley, Vince Cornella, and Brock Hardy. An elbow injury at Bedlam kept him out of the lineup for some duals, but he came back and got back on track with ranked wins. Sporting top-notch defense, Jamison never lost a match by more than a takedown against top-ranked opponents during the regular season. He finished fourth at Big 12’s but had a surprising 0-2 NCAA’s. After a 9-8 upset to Danny Fongaro in round one he had the unfortunate luck of running into Cael Happel in his first consolation match. Jamison is someone who feels primed for a breakout next season. 149lbs: Jordan Williams (RS Soph.) A top ten recruit in the class of 2022, Williams turned around an inconsistent redshirt year in 2023 to a very solid round of 16 finish at NCAA’s in 2024. He won the spot in impressive fashion at the Lindenwood Open, beating teammates Teague Travis and Carter Young. He had a rough CKLV going 1-2, but got his first ranked win against Gabe Willochell in their dual. Williams beat OSU’s previous starter Victor Voinovich against Iowa then really showed out at Big 12’s. In one of the craziest matches of the tournament, he upset Casey Swiderski but suffered an injury that led to a default out of the finals. Despite the injury, Williams was looking solid at NCAA’s with a last-second comeback win over Caleb Rathjen before falling to Caleb Henson in the second round and Quinn Kinner in rideouts in the consolations. If Williams can build on his consistency and gel with the new coaching staff, his slick style could get him high into the rankings sooner rather than later. 157lbs: Teague Travis (RS Junior) Going into last season I was on record saying that Travis should be in the mix at 157 lbs after having solid results at 141 lbs the past two seasons. He started the year at 149 lbs but after a loss to Jordan Williams, he made the move up and immediately got a ranked win over Max Brignola. Travis then went on to win his first seven matches at the new weight, including a win over All-American Ed Scott. Travis continued his impressive season with wins over Brock Mauller, Cael Swensen, and Jared Hill. At a stacked Big 12’s bracket he finished fourth to qualify for the first time. There he went 2-2, losing to Levi Haines and Johnny Lovett. I’m always high on guys who can have solid results while being clearly undersized and Travis has shown an ability to continuously improve and develop. 157 doesn’t get easier in the Big 12, but Travis is a potential conference finalist. 165lbs: Caleb Fish (Senior) After getting Izzak Olejnik last season OSU reloaded with another transfer, this time in senior Caleb Fish from Michigan State. He and Dean Hamiti were both at 165 last season, but it sounds like Hamiti is likely to move up although both have a redshirt available. While at MSU, Fish has been a three-time qualifier, making the bloodround in 2023 and the round of 16 in 2024. His ranked wins in the last two seasons include wrestlers like Bryce Hepner, Cam Amine, Garrett Thompson, Julian Ramirez, Holden Heller, and more. Mixed in with those are some losses to lower-ranked wrestlers or even ones he has beaten before. Last season the previous coaching staff got Olejnik to improve his place on the podium and beat a number of wrestlers he had lost to before. If this coaching staff lives up to the hype as I think they will, look for Fish to do the same. 174lbs: Dean Hamiti (Senior) Like Fish, Hamiti actually committed to the previous staff but are both sticking around for Coach Taylor and company. After ironically losing to Olejnik in the bloodround last season Hamiti decided to join them with one year of eligibility left. He finished 6th in 2022 and 2023 at 165, but looks to be moving up to 174 this season. Last year, OSU had blue-chip true freshman Brayden Thompson who went 0-2 at NCAA’s. Hamiti has a redshirt to use, but starting him while redshirting Thompson makes sense on paper. Of his 14 career losses, they have all come to multiple-time All-Americans (and Mitchell Mesenbrink). Hamiti provides both a great training partner for the redshirting Thompson and could be a top three contender at his new weight class. With his career bonus rate of 85%, he could also be a cornerstone in a trophy race for OSU. 184lbs: Dustin Plott (Senior) A four-year starter heading into his final year with OSU, Plott had a career season last year in his first year at a new weight. After finishing sixth twice at 174 lbs he moved up to 184 and not only finished as a runner-up, but improved his bonus rate by nearly 50%. His only non-Parker Keckeisen loss was to Lenny Pinto, which he later avenged. Of the eight All-Americans in 2024, Plott had wins over four of them. He is a three-time Big 12 champ and two-time finalist. Looking at Coach Taylor’s potential impact for Plott goes beyond college as well, as Plott was the U23 rep at 79 kg and is a potential future 86 kg contender. The Keckeisen match is a tough one as he was majored in their last two matches, but could be even closer next season. 197lbs: Luke Surber (Senior) OR Christian Carroll (RS Fresh.) While many weights in OSU’s lineup seem established, this is one that could get interesting. On one side you have Luke Surber, a wrestler who’s been a qualifier at both heavyweight and 197 for the past three seasons. After a Round of 16 performance in 2023, Surber was a sleeper podium pick at 197 in 2024. A pec/shoulder injury at CKLV followed by a knee injury in his return affected him as he only wrestled in seven duals. Clearly banged up, Surber was sixth at Big 12’s and went 0-2 at NCAA’s. However, he was in big matches late against opponents like Zach Glazier, Stephen Buchanan, and Jaxon Smith. On the other side is blue chip and #2 overall recruit of 2023, Christian Carroll. A heavyweight in high school, he only wrestled in three matches while redshirting. He pinned two non-D1 opponents before a loss to Missouri’s Seth Nitzel where he injury defaulted afterwards. He has been making the descent to 197 but not before some impressive freestyle results. He has been a U20 world team member in both freestyle and Greco, and won the Last Chance Open this season to qualify for the Olympic Trials at 97 kg. There he beat Tony Cassioppi and had a 1-1 criteria loss to J’Den Cox. Carroll is the favorite to start at 197 with his credentials, but Surber is a crafty veteran who could make things interesting in a lineup battle. 285lbs: Wyatt Hendrickson (Senior) One of the biggest names in the portal this season was Wyatt Hendrickson. A four-time qualifier, he has finished 3rd at NCAA’s the past two years along with three Big 12 titles. On top of that, he has been the most dominant wrestler in Division I for the past two seasons. An insane 19 falls just last season shows his dominance and impact in scoring. Hendrickson’s only losses were to Yonger Bastida and Lucas Davison. A U23 world champ last season, he could bring a major impact to OSU’s growing RTC as well. The Cowboys had two-time qualifier Konner Doucet here who had flirted with the top ten last season, but Hendrickson is a massive impact. Their depth at heavyweight doesn’t end there, however, as #2 recruit in the Class of 2024 Cody Merrill is coming in and expected to redshirt at heavyweight as well. With Hendrickson and Carroll as partners, the Cowboys could quickly have one of the strongest 1-2 punches for years to come at the upperweights.

Clinton

Utica Eisenhower