Late Wednesday night, four-time NCAA Champion Carter Starocci put out a graphic on social media that indicated he’ll be back in a Penn State singlet for the 2024-25, using his final year of eligibility.
In the past, Starocci has made comments that lead you to believe he’d be done after the 2023-24 season. Personally, I was pretty confident we’d see Starocci using his final year of eligibility.
As we’ve learned from the past couple of offseasons, the “will he, won’t he” questions surrounding whether or not a wrestler will exercise that final year of eligibility gives them some leverage if NIL is what they’re looking for.
Whether or not that’s the case isn’t important. What matters is that one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the nation will be back for the 2024-25 season. Starocci is chasing history as he can become the first (and probably last) five-time NCAA wrestling champion…ever. He also will have to be considered a preseason favorite for the Hodge Trophy and strengthen an already imposing Penn State lineup, as they look to claim a fourth straight national title.
Starocci’s return does create some questions surrounding the Nittany Lions lineup for the 2024-25 season. While he has not directly mentioned what weight he intends on wrestling, early speculation has placed up moving up to weights to go 197 lbs. Whether or not that’s accurate remains to be seen.
Before we get a definitive answer, we’ll look at the three possible weights for Starocci:
If he goes 174:
This doesn’t seem likely as Starocci has stated he’ll move up and did alright at the Olympic Trials competing at 86 kg (189.6 lbs).
Were this to happen, Penn State would squeeze a talented upperclassman, without a redshirt available, out of the lineup. Most likely that would be Alex Facundo.
Freshman Josh Barr looks like the most likely candidate to man 184 lbs after going undefeated during his redshirt season and downing a pair of national qualifiers.
Should the Penn State staff choose to redshirt the Mirasola twins, Lucas Cochran looks like the best choice for a 197 lber. Cochran famously bumped up to heavyweight and upset eventual All-American Yaraslau Slavikouski during the Nittany Lions romp over Rutgers. At 197 lbs, Cochran’s only losses were to All-Americans and he generally put plenty of points on the board.
If he goes 184:
Having Starocci above 174 lbs opens the door for Alex Facundo. Assuming some combination of Levi Haines/Mitchell Mesenbrink handle 157 and 165 lbs, Facundo can move up and go 174. In 2022-23, Facundo went 19-6 with a seventh-place showing at the Big Ten Championships. He would finish his redshirt freshman season by going 0-2 at NCAA’s. Since then, Facundo has focused on freestyle and earned a spot at the Olympic Team Trials, where he battled the legendary Jordan Burroughs in a hard-fought loss.
With Starocci at 184 lbs, it pushes Barr up to 197 lbs. Either Cochran or a likely undersized Barr is left to handle 197 lbs. Additionally, Starocci probably has his toughest individual test in Parker Keckeisen, an undefeated national champion who earned bonus points in over 90% of his contests in 2023-24.
If he goes 197:
You probably have Facundo and Barr at their ideal weights. Starocci is probably undersized too at 197 lbs. At the Trials, he fell to Trent Hidlay, who doesn’t have the length of your typical 197 lber, but is extremely strong. The top three returners at the weight, Stephen Buchanan, Jacob Cardenas, and Rocky Elam, should all have a considerable reach advantage on Starocci.
That being said, would you pick any of the three over the four-time NCAA champion? Starocci stymied an impressive field at 174 lbs despite being hampered by a knee injury in late-February. Could any of those three beat Starocci? Sure, but until proven otherwise, I’ll take a slightly small-for-the-weight Starocci, someone who hasn’t been beaten by a collegiate opponent in a non-injury default matchup in over three years.
If continuing to break team scoring records is the goal, having Starocci at 197 lbs seems to put Penn State in the best position to do so.
Millard North
Hereford
Late Wednesday night, four-time NCAA Champion Carter Starocci put out a graphic on social media that indicated he’ll be back in a Penn State singlet for the 2024-25, using his final year of eligibility. In the past, Starocci has made comments that lead you to believe he’d be done after the 2023-24 season. Personally, I was pretty confident we’d see Starocci using his final year of eligibility. As we’ve learned from the past couple of offseasons, the “will he, won’t he” questions surrounding whether or not a wrestler will exercise that final year of eligibility gives them some leverage if NIL is what they’re looking for. Whether or not that’s the case isn’t important. What matters is that one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the nation will be back for the 2024-25 season. Starocci is chasing history as he can become the first (and probably last) five-time NCAA wrestling champion…ever. He also will have to be considered a preseason favorite for the Hodge Trophy and strengthen an already imposing Penn State lineup, as they look to claim a fourth straight national title. Starocci’s return does create some questions surrounding the Nittany Lions lineup for the 2024-25 season. While he has not directly mentioned what weight he intends on wrestling, early speculation has placed up moving up to weights to go 197 lbs. Whether or not that’s accurate remains to be seen. Before we get a definitive answer, we’ll look at the three possible weights for Starocci: If he goes 174: This doesn’t seem likely as Starocci has stated he’ll move up and did alright at the Olympic Trials competing at 86 kg (189.6 lbs). Were this to happen, Penn State would squeeze a talented upperclassman, without a redshirt available, out of the lineup. Most likely that would be Alex Facundo. Freshman Josh Barr looks like the most likely candidate to man 184 lbs after going undefeated during his redshirt season and downing a pair of national qualifiers. Should the Penn State staff choose to redshirt the Mirasola twins, Lucas Cochran looks like the best choice for a 197 lber. Cochran famously bumped up to heavyweight and upset eventual All-American Yaraslau Slavikouski during the Nittany Lions romp over Rutgers. At 197 lbs, Cochran’s only losses were to All-Americans and he generally put plenty of points on the board. If he goes 184: Having Starocci above 174 lbs opens the door for Alex Facundo. Assuming some combination of Levi Haines/Mitchell Mesenbrink handle 157 and 165 lbs, Facundo can move up and go 174. In 2022-23, Facundo went 19-6 with a seventh-place showing at the Big Ten Championships. He would finish his redshirt freshman season by going 0-2 at NCAA’s. Since then, Facundo has focused on freestyle and earned a spot at the Olympic Team Trials, where he battled the legendary Jordan Burroughs in a hard-fought loss. With Starocci at 184 lbs, it pushes Barr up to 197 lbs. Either Cochran or a likely undersized Barr is left to handle 197 lbs. Additionally, Starocci probably has his toughest individual test in Parker Keckeisen, an undefeated national champion who earned bonus points in over 90% of his contests in 2023-24. If he goes 197: You probably have Facundo and Barr at their ideal weights. Starocci is probably undersized too at 197 lbs. At the Trials, he fell to Trent Hidlay, who doesn’t have the length of your typical 197 lber, but is extremely strong. The top three returners at the weight, Stephen Buchanan, Jacob Cardenas, and Rocky Elam, should all have a considerable reach advantage on Starocci. That being said, would you pick any of the three over the four-time NCAA champion? Starocci stymied an impressive field at 174 lbs despite being hampered by a knee injury in late-February. Could any of those three beat Starocci? Sure, but until proven otherwise, I’ll take a slightly small-for-the-weight Starocci, someone who hasn’t been beaten by a collegiate opponent in a non-injury default matchup in over three years. If continuing to break team scoring records is the goal, having Starocci at 197 lbs seems to put Penn State in the best position to do so.
News continues to break on the coaching front as a new vacancy emerged in New York as Hofstra head coach Dennis Papadatos stepped down to pursue an opportunity within the Hofstra athletic department. Papadatos had led Hofstra, his alma mater, for the prior ten seasons. During his tenure, Papadatos oversaw 18 wrestlers qualifying for the national tournament and tallied 63 dual victories. One of his wrestlers, Michael Hughes, got onto the NCAA podium with a sixth-place finish in 2018. Three years later, Holden Heller captured the only EIWA crown during that span, as well. Heller and Hughes were the two EIWA finalists for Papadatos. In 2023-24, Hofstra went 8-6 and sent 285 lber Keaton Kluever to the NCAA Tournament. Hofstra finished 16th in the 2024 EIWA Championships with a pair of placewinners. Prior to coming back to Long Island, Papadatos was an assistant at North Carolina, Binghamton, and Northern Illinois. As a student-athlete, Papadatos qualified for two NCAA titles while wrestling for Tom Ryan at Hofstra. We will continue to monitor the Hofstra head coaching position along with others that have arisen during this offseason.
Parkersburg South via Mount Olive
Cartersville
Union County
Evergreen
Springfield
Olentangy Berlin
Mount Vernon
Clovis
Gilroy via McKendree
Othello via Adrian
Billings Senior
Bemidji
Klein
Ramsey
Poway
Uintah
Lewis Central
New Princeton head assistant coach Cody Brewer stops by to talk about his new position. He and second-year head coach Joe Dubuque developed a mutual respect when their lightweights (Pat Glory/Sebastian Rivera) clashed in 2019. That led to a friendship and Dubuque claiming Brewer would be his "first call" if Dubuque ever got a head coaching position. A few years later, they are teaming up to lead a young Princeton squad that is looking to bring the program up to new heights. Brewer also talks about his experiences on the coaching bench and his own career - how it has helped him relate to wrestlers he's coached and how he's at peace with his career ending, from a freestyle standpoint. On a lighter note, we also discuss his hometown, Kansas City, as an NCAA host city, his love for New Jersey dining options, a fantasy bracket between him and other Oklahoma lightweight greats, and the possibility of ending up in a Reece Humphrey dance video. All that and more:
Rio Grande City
Francis Howell Central
Sullivan