BAC

I was thinking of the reporting back in December that Welsh was unhappy he was forced to redshirt, and was looking to transfer. I assume that's what Randolph was referring to also. That said, when Welsh said back in Dec that he was staying, Ryan went on record in saying he gave Welsh the option to go 184. (See https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/13272402-tom-ryan-clears-the-air-on-rocco-welsh-transfer-speculation). If Ryan's comments are accurate, it's hard to see what Welsh was upset about.

I know you said don't talk to me but... why wouldn't Ryan let him wreste? I sort of get letting Kharchla finish out his career, but why not let him go 184? That's where Rocco competed this year as a redshirt anyway. Rogotzke wasn't exactly a world beater and he hasn't taken a redshirt either, so I don't see what the problem was.

If it's PSU, I have a hard time believing he was actively recruited. Because why? IMO it's a toss-up with him and Ryder. Welsh was a runner-up, but he made the finals with SV wins over Wolak and Ruth. Ryder's a U20 world medalist (making the world team by beating Arnold, Ruiz, Norman and others) and had an undefeated redshirt season (wins over Stewart, Parker, Cartagena, Soldano). If Welsh is an upgrade it's by the thinnest of margins. Ryder's also Duke's HS teammate, and I doubt they want to tick off Duke. Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt this is "recruiting over" so much as he wants to come to PSU, and it isn't the coaches place to say "no, you aren't welcome." Fact is, kids just want to go to PSU to get better and win stuff.

Yeah, I'm probably kidding myself if I think the new rules will result in more wrestling scholarships. Most of the literature to date is saying what you're saying -- namely, that Olympic sports will have their funding cut or be eliminated altogether to free up funding to the moneymaker, football. An article from a few months ago: Roster limits in college small sports put athletes on chopping block while coaches look for answers | AP News

I agree, but I think it could make a difference at the margins. If Facundo goes to Cael and says, "I don't mind if I'm not starting or don't get NIL bucks but I'm only getting a 1/3 scholarship and I really want to at least get my education paid for," I would expect Cael will now have the pull to get those extra scholarship dollars, whereas he was capped at 9.9 before. I suppose it could work the other way too. Some schools aren't in the business of pushing NIL deals, but they have huge endowments, and could grant extra scholarships without hurting their bottom line. Of the two scenarios, I suspect the Facundo example is the more likely way this plays out.

I keep hearing that. Yeah, it isn't "lifetime achievement," but we're not required to put blinders on, either. It isn't like NCAA seeding. WIN says "Criteria for the Hodge includes a wrestler’s record, dominance/bonus-point percentage, quality of competition and sportsmanship." (here) Those are guideline criteria to identify the best, most dominant guy, but we're allowed to look beyond the single-season stats and use our brains to figure out who that is. There's never been a single Hodge winner, including last season (here), where the writeup didn't include a discussion of the wrestler's history prior to that season, to help illustrate why he's the best in the current season. So in Carter's case, it isn't an award for getting 5 titles. But we're allowed to consider the fact that he's won 5 straight titles, and hasn't lost in over 4 years, to inform our understanding of exactly how good he is, when comparing him against other undefeated guys with similar bonus point percentages. Consider Gable, for example. If he had won, he'd be the Hodge favorite. But would he still have been the favorite if he were a new-on-the-scene freshman? I doubt it. Gable is on the top of everyone's P4P list since we know he's a 2x champ and an Olympic champion, and possibly the all-time HWT GOAT. Those facts inform our understanding of who is the "best" among a group of wrestlers who put up similar stats. In short, we are allowed to consider Carter's historical dominance to understand and contextualize his present-season dominance. We don't have to check our brains into the luggage compartment before casting our votes.

There's much commentary about how the transfer portal and NIL are reducing parity. But will the two big NCAA rule changes next year cut the other way? I'm talking about (1) a 30-man roster limit, and (2) scholarship cap increases from 9.9 to up to 30. I'm not sure. I think it could increase parity, but depends on how the roster limits are implemented, and how much scholarships increase -- and by who. I'm curious to see how the latest portal activity plays out. It may even reduce parity. What do you think? Here's my half-baked thoughts. First the 30-man roster caps. In theory, some of those athletes in the portal could be guys who think they might not make the roster cut where they are, so they want to go to a program where they will. That increases parity, as in theory they're going to a less competitive program. On the other hand, I recall the "roster caps" of the Title IX days, where the coach would just create a separate "club team" and put the excess wrestlers on there, even though they all continue to practice together and no one knows the difference. Is that going to be what happens here? If so, then I doubt the roster caps will actually translate into roster cuts. It doesn't hurt parity, but won't help it either. Second, the increase in scholarship limit. In theory, some of those athletes on the portal could be guys who will easily make the roster cut, but don't have a full scholarship (and aren't making much/anything in NIL). I could see them going to a less competitive school which may not have the donor bucks for NIL, but does have the newfound ability to grant a full scholarship. If so, that helps parity. But is that really how this plays out? I think that may be wishful thinking on my part. Truth is, some of the less competitive D1 schools don't offer 9.9 scholarships as it is, so they sure won't be able to increase beyond that. The schools most likely to be able to increase their scholarship offerings are probably the ones who are already the big dogs with NIL money. That means it'll actually hurt parity, as it'll make it easier for them to hoard wrestlers, including non-starters. For example, if the big-dog schools suddenly grant full rides to all or almost all 30 guys who fall within the roster cap, then just like that, those non-starters with new scholarships will have no incentive to transfer for a better scholarship. Take a guy like Joe Sealey, who (presumably) isn't getting a full ride and isn't apt to start next year, but could likely get a full ride (or close to it) elsewhere. Before the rule change, he might choose to get a full ride (NIL considerations aside), but now he may end up sticking around, since now PSU can offer him a full ride despite not starting. Overall? I dunno. My hunch is net harm to parity as I'm guessing colleges can circumvent the roster caps, and that it will be only the bigger schools with already-strong teams that can meaningfully increase their scholarship offerings.

LOL they should! The whole point of a OW award is to reward the guy with the best tournament -- and my Hodge opinion aside, Wyatt wrestled as monster a NCAA tournament as anyone's ever wrestled. I'm guessing many coaches cast their vote before the HWT match. Wouldn't be the first time.

IMO, Wyatt's deserving of MOW for NCAAs, but Carter has the better case for the Hodge. Sadly, we're going to get that backwards. For MOW, you're supposed to give it to the guy who had the best tournament, regardless of who's the best wrestler overall. Carter beat a defending champ, but at this specific tournament, Wyatt was the man, knocking off the defending champ in the semis AND upsetting the 2x champ and Olympic champ in the finals. No one had a better tournament run than Wyatt. Yet Carter got MOW. But for the Hodge, you're supposed to give it to the best overall wrestler. The stated criteria vary, but they're guidelines all getting at the same thing: the best guy. No question that's Carter. Wyatt had a great year too, but his amazing Saturday night aside, I don't think Wyatt's even the best heavyweight, let alone the best wrestler. If they wrestled best of 3, most people (including me) would pick Gable, despite Wyatt winning that first one, after seeing how Wyatt got big-brothered for 9/10ths of the match until he hero'd out a TD at the end. It was just his night. As for Carter, his bonus rate is higher than Wyatt, but that's not the best argument. More to the point, he's the total package, and just straight-up unbeatable. He hasn't lost since 2021. Yeah, he's gone to OT, but who cares? Since his first college match, he's 20-0 in matches decided by 2 points or less, 7-0 in OT matches. He's dominant even when he *isn't* winning by bonus points: That is, even when the margin of victory is small, it's seldom in question. I doubt the losing wrestler in a close loss ever feels like he "almost beat" Carter. Carter's defense, intelligence, mental strength, ability to escape and ability to ride are all just too much for anyone to beat, even when Carter struggles to score himself. I get why casual fans are voting for Wyatt. He's a HWT, and Hodge voters *love* heavyweight... just like in boxing and WWE, the lower weights are always secondary to HWT. Moreover... he beat Gable! Plus he's a military guy, AND he came running out with a "Jesus" shirt, AND he came running out with an American flag! He's an American Hero! He pointed at the Pres when he won, who pointed back! Captain America! Woooo! Okay fine, give him MOW, he earned it. But for a thinking wrestling fan, for someone who understands and appreciates what Carter's doing out there, I really don't see how there's any serious question that Carter is the superior wrestler overall and the right choice for Hodge.

For me it's Bryan Snyder and the Hidlay brothers.

I'm not saying it's a good idea, I'm saying it may be the only idea. Who does Iowa have at 197 who'd beat out Arnold? If you're Arnold, and you know you can't beat Ferrari or Kennedy, do you ride the pine at 165/174 or taking the starting gig at 197? If you're Brands, do you manage 174/184/197 among Kennedy/Ferrari/Arnold in a way that you've got someone at each weight, or do you just leave a big gaping hole at 197 while one of your best guys sits? (Assuming he doesn't poach someone or get a portal guy, which I'm sure he's trying to do and is the most likely scenario here.) If I'm Brands, I keep Kennedy at 174 and nudge Angelo to go 197 for the team. AJ claims the only one who can take him down is Angelo, so I'm sure Angelo would do fine, especially if he has a year to bulk up. Worked out fine for Barr, who was 184 until he found out just before the season was starting that Carter was going to be there, so he bought himself a big slab of Kasak beef and, presto, NCAA finalist at 197. But if Brands lets them wrestle off, I see 197 as the most likely landing spot for Arnold unless he likes riding the pine.

I'm no Iowa insider, but I'd think Kennedy goes 174 again while either Ferrari or Arnold bumps up to 197, which is pretty much vacant. My guess is Arnold goes up as I doubt he beats Ferrari, but I'd far prefer to see Ferrari go 197, as he has a better frame for it (Arnold's 5'7") and, selfishly, I'd love to see him wrestle AJ at NCAAs. It'll take some time to beef up though. If Iowa's smart, they're pushing these guys to figure it out with each other this offseason, or the loser of the 184lb wrestleoff next year will be undersized all season at 197. Although knowing Iowa, they'll probably just call up Nichols to pay some $$ to bring in a ringer at 197, and run Arnold out of Iowa City.

So Facundo, Garcia and Steen are in the portal. Is anyone else apt to follow suit? Some possibilities: 1. Sealey. There's no clear place for him next year unless Kasak redshirts, and I'm not hearing any rumbling that it's a possibility. Even then I doubt he can beat Duke. Even if Duke redshirts and ends up as Haines' successor at 174 in '26, Kasak and Mesenbrink each have 2 more years at 157-165. I could see Sealey being willing to ride the pine for one year, but ... two? 2. Nagao. If he's healthy, he could slot in at 133 if Davis redshirts, or 141 if Blaze redshirts, but (a) I haven't heard anything about either redshirting, and (b) Ono is apt to be at one of those weights... if he gets his visa. Having AA'd once and having only 2 years of eligibility left, I'm skeptical that he'd be willing to sit. 3. Connor Mirasola. Unless Connor can beat Barr (highly doubtful), he's stuck behind him for three years. Or unless Barr goes down, but that seems unlikely since Barr really beefed up and most have Ryder penciled in at 184. It's hard to believe someone as talented as Connor would ride the pine for 3 years, but with brother as the heir to HWT next year, it's hard to see one leaving without the other.

Maybe, but I wouldn't be too quick to say it reflects negatively on Koll. Both put it 4 years at UNC so I'm guessing both of these guys got their degrees. UNC is a good school academically, and both Moore and McNeil made the All-ACC Academic Team. If I had to guess, I'd say both guys are prioritizing their graduate studies and are looking for a full ride at the school whose program best matches their career goals, sort of like Cardenas. I doubt this is driven by a desire to get in a better wrestling room.

I know the thrust of your comment was against baseless accusations, but you also seemed to be saying the accusations against Kasak and Taylor cleared the bar, despite the thinnest of evidence. If that's not what you meant, then I'm glad. I don't think I misrepresented what you said, though, considering I quoted you directly -- and you sort of did it again just now with Taylor. I don't mean to get on my high horse as I'm all for smack-talk, but to me, PED accusations are sort of like calling someone a racist. "Low confidence" or not, journalist or not, they pack an unusual sting and have a way of following athletes around.

Agree. It was cool to see Keckeisen applauding McEnelly after narrowly beating him, then applauding Starocci after losing to him. I think he also might be the only top opponent that Starocci never disparages and is so quick to compliment. Regarding Gable, I was a little worried when he didn't show up on the award stand at first. They were halfway thru the awards when Gable comes jogging out just in time for his runner-up award and gave props to Wyatt. Respect.

Well said.

My criticism of tOSU's talent development is largely the same as I have of Iowa: (1) it's only hiring it's own alumni as coaches, and (2) it's allowed its RTC to lag. Regarding the first point, you have either Tom Ryan, or guys who've gotten their college wrestling education from Tom Ryan (e.g. Jaggers, Stieber, Jordan). I'm sure they're good coaches individually, but taken together, it's too much overlap, resulting in a one-size-fits-all approach that works for some but won't work for others. Way too many high-end recruits have been stuck in neutral for this not to be true. Regarding the second point, the Ohio RTC consists of 4 guys, all 92kg or more (including 3 HWTs), and Moore is the only guy with a realistic shot at a U.S. world team. I think one of the biggest keys to success is getting beat up on by guys better than you, forcing you to reach their level to compete. The RTC isn't really helping with that. That said, I think you're underselling Davino, Shaw and Waters. Davino is already capable of AA'ing. Waters is hilariously underrated as a recruit, and absolutely has the potential to be a 4x AA and multi-time champ. Shaw has been good a long time but jumped a level the past year. I hope they get the coaching and practice partners they need at tOSU.

Echoing this, I think this is a bigger development for the NWLC than the PSU college team, but either way it's super cool. In freestyle, you have two legit world team prospects in Lilledahl and Blaze at 57kg and 61kg, but they're a bit thin on practice partners. McHenry graduates, Nagao has been hurt, and Davis doesn't seem to do much freestyle. Nick Lee is probably their best bet, but he's a bit big for them. Adding Ono to that round-robin will improve them immensely. In folk, as good as Ono is, I'm not convinced he can beat out Nagao, Davis or Blaze, at least near term. Maybe, but I'm not sure he's much of an upgrade, given his weakness on top/bottom. Maybe he can give Davis/Blaze a chance to redshirt, but I doubt the result is much better. One thing that helps Ono, though, is the 3 point takedown. With that, a single takedown is enough to win a match if he can avoid getting turned, even if he gives up the escape and a riding time point. Some of these other freestyle-only guys, like Gelogaev and Abdurakhmonov, struggled against the top folkstylers, but they were more likely to need 2 TDs to assure themselves a win.

So if a kid "grew" and "has acne", calling him a steroid user is a "fair accusation"? If the bar's really that low to get your name viciously dragged through the mud on social media, these D1 wrestlers who go up a weight class better take their Preparation H. So if a kid "grew" and "failed for long enough making the team", calling him a steroid user is a "good accusation"? I guess these international wrestlers who bump up a weight class better hope they never make the team, or they too will get brutally defamed on social media and it will be "good." Here's a crazy thought. What if we just let the drug testers do their job and respect the results?

I've yet to hear a decent explanation as to why the free COVID year was 2021 and not 2020. What on earth was the reasoning behind giving 3 years of eligibility to the class that had their national championship cancelled, but 5 years to the class whose championship wasn't cancelled?

The baseless accusations on this thread are pretty despicable. The NCAA regularly tests for PEDs. Current policy here: https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/ssi/substance/SSI_DrugTestingManual.pdf

The thought has crossed my mind. Wouldn't be the first time Iowa ruined a kid by throwing him out there when they should've let him heal up. I'm just not if the facts bear that out here. Parco legit hurt his knee last match. I don't think we can pin that on Iowa. Teemer... not sure. Sounds like he's had hamstring and shoulder issues all year. Iowa sat him some, but would he have performed better yesterday if given more time to heal? Did Brands wrestle him too much, too eager to get bang for their NIL buck, so the donors aren't crabby? Maybe. I'll confess to this: I'm happy to see two guys that Iowa ran out of town -- Chittum (excited due to Ferrari transfer) and Siebricht (exited due to Parco/Teemer transfer) -- still alive at 157, scoring points, while Iowa had none. Nothing against Teemer, who I like, but I always like to see schools punished when they run a loyal homegrown recruit out of town -- and I like to see the aggrieved make good. Will be cheering for Glazier for the same reason, and also Beard/Barraclaugh (though those were less egregious).

Usually I'm happy to dance on Iowa's grave but I can't quite bring myself to do it. I just feel for Teemer and Parco. I have no idea what the full story is but they just seem so physically beat up right now. Definitely not themselves, and I can't find anything to dislike about either guy. Take away those two guys, and Iowa's performing about as it's seeded.

It's hard to argue against this, though he was before my time. Probably the best counter is Smith himself, who really revolutionized leg attacks his low single and how he integrated it with his hi-c. Other guys who come to mind when I think of wrestlers who excelled mostly by virtue of technique, as opposed to athleticism (though everyone we're talking about here excelled in both), are Taylor and Cael. Zeke is also a popular answer to this question (won FILA's "most technical" award one year).