SplitTheG

Good analysis, my preseason rankings have them at 6th. 125: Ceiling seems a bit low, I can see him 5th. 133: Seems right, and with a loaded 133, this can go bad quick. 141: Spot on. 149: I think 5th is harder but still possible this year for Block. 157: Ceiling could be higher, I'm thinking 4th. 165: Spot on 174: Spot on 184: I think he drops out of championship caliber. Ceiling 3rd, Floor 6th 197: Spot on 285: I just don't think he's a national title caliber wrestler. Ceiling 3rd, Floor 8th.

Just jumping back to this after today's result.

Yeah, my bad, was just checking match history without diving deeper. Point being, it has been a while and Snyder is one of the few that has gotten a win against him, and this sport has shown thousands of times that anything can happen. Snyder over Sadulaev is not in the realm of minute possibility as is being discussed. Sadulaev is favorite, but I would not put this as 10-1 odds Snyder wins.

Someone mentioned 65 above, I have no further comment on that. As for Snyder, he'll have a preview at RAF in July. And I believe their last match was for Bronze in 2023, which Snyder won.

57 - Spencer Lee - Gold 61 - Marcus Blaze - DNP 65 - Bo Bassett (imo) - Bronze 70 - Zain Retherford - Bronze 74 - James Green - Bronze 79 - Levi Haines - Gold 86 - Kyle Dake - Silver 92 - Trent Hidlay - Bronze 97 - Kyle Snyder - Gold 125 - Wyatt Hendrickson - Silver

125: Spratley 133: Jax 141: Jamison 149: Vega 157: Robideau 165: Lockett 174: Norman 184: Berge 197: Merill 285: Ross

57kg - Lee over Lilledahl in 2 61kg - Forrest over Blaze in 2 65kg - Bassett over Woods in 2 70kg - Zain over Ridge in 3 74kg - Carr over Green in 2 79kg - Levi over Chance in 3 86kg - Dake over Zahid in 3 92kg - Hidlay over Macc in 2 97kg - Snyder over Buchanan in 2 125kg - Wyatt over Parris in 2

Still have them in 3rd. v Penn State LL over VRob by dec - 0 - 3 Blaze over Van Dee by maj - 0 - 7 Desmond over Hockaday by dec - 0 - 10 Van Ness over Echemendia by dec - 0 - 13 Taylor over Kasak by dec - 3 - 13 MM over Araujo by tech - 3 - 18 Minto over Henckel by dec - 6 - 18 Rocco over Cochran by maj - 6 - 22 Barr over McDanel by maj - 6 - 26 Mirasola over Ziola by dec - 6 - 29 v OK State VRob over Spratley by dec - 3 - 0 Jax over Van Dee by tech - 3 - 5 Jamison over Hockaday by dec - 3 - 8 Vega over Echemendia by dec - 3 - 11 Robideau over Taylor by dec - 3 - 14 Lockett over Araujo by dec - 3 - 17 Minto over Norman by dec - 6 - 17 Berge over Cochran by dec - 6 - 20 Merrill over McDanel by dec - 6 - 23 Ziola over Ross by dec - 9 - 23

Predictions (obviously depends how the brackets are setup): 57kg -> Spencer Lee over Anthony Knox 61kg -> Jax Forrest over Ben Davino 70kg -> Zain Retherford over Alec Pantaleo 74kg -> PJ Duke over Jayden James 125kg -> Mason Parris over Greg Kerkvliet

2016 wins it, best matchup @ 165 125: Luke by dec 133: Jax by dec 141: Tight one, I'm going Heil in SV 149: Zain by maj/tech 157: IMar by dec 165: Another tight one, edge Dieringer for me by dec, but would be an awesome match. 174: Levi by dec 184: Dean by dec 197: Cox by dec 285: Snyder by maj

I understand that. I will highlight that maybe it's not the leaving itself, but the fact that a good amount left with animosity (namely Metcalf, Gilman, I also forgot to add Ramos to that list). Then you have recent graduates who are excelling in coaching roles that were not retained, who could still be helping both the college program and the RTC. The fact Minnesota is helping develop Kemerer into a top coach (he was considered extremely influential in McEnelly's development), or Ramos is becoming Koll's right hand man, or even that Cassioppi is developing as a coach at Wisconsin while still competing at freestyle events emphasizes this. You are right, it is not a fair judgment for any school. But we are talking about Iowa, whose goal is to be the best in the country. That is their program's objective, so that is why I am judging it that way. So, when comparing them to Penn State and now a rapidly rising OK State program (which further demonstrates where Iowa is lacking), I see this as a glaring issue. That said, if you are comparing Iowa to most of the nation, they are still a premier program, and a lot of the backlash is from fans solely comparing them to Penn State and OK State. At this point in time, it's a bleak comparison, but keeping an even keel, Iowa has been the clear 2nd best program over the 15 years Cael has been in charge. Does a change need to be made? Perhaps, but no need to fire T&T, they have earned the right to call it quits when they desire. 4 Titles is nothing to scoff at, and while OK State is making giant strides, they still need to clear that hurdle. Fair criticism is that for Iowa's goals, they are floundering and they need to adjust by looking themselves in the mirror, seeing what their competitors are doing that works, and making the appropriate changes.

Think just Buchanan. That's not to say others didn't have varying degrees of success/jumped levels - i.e. Caliendo, Eierman, Woods. Overall though, yeah, they have made a lot of moves that has diluted and weakened the program. It outweighs some of the good signings they've had. Looking at headline transfers from COVID on: Great Transfers (wrestlers fit in, and they jumped levels) -Stephen Buchanan II - NCAA Champion after being an AA with Oklahoma and a 2x AA with Wyoming. Now enjoying success at the RTC -Michael Caliendo - 3x NCAA All-American (2x Runner-Up, 4th Place) after finishing 7th with ND State, fits in with the high intensity of the Iowa room. Now joining the RTC. -Austin DeSanto - 4x NCAA AA after wrestling at Drexel. Now in the RTC, fits in with the culture nicely. Good Transfers (wrestlers either fit in with the culture OR jump levels, not both) -Dean Peterson - fits into the culture -Real Woods - Jumped levels with 2 AA (one runner-up) finishes at Iowa after a single AA finish in his final year at Stanford. What prevents this from being a great transfer - his move to CKTC after college, indicating his fit was not quite right in the Iowa room. Meh Transfers (wrestlers maintained their previous form whilst not fitting in with the program) -Jaydin Eierman - 2nd Place AA Finish after 3x AA finishes at Missouri, last of which was 3rd Place. Also, did not retain him after college. -Jared Franek - 8th place AA finish after a higher AA finish at ND State Bad Transfers (wrestlers regressed, did not fit into the culture) -Massoma Endene - He looked amazing at the start of the season, but cutting him from the roster in January indicates things were not right. -Kyle Parco - After being a 4x AA at Arizona State, could not keep healthy in that room/with the Big 10 schedule. Regressed. -Jacori Teemer - After being a 3x AA at Arizona State, regressed tremendously at Iowa. -Jordan Williams - not included for postseason, entered the Portal Withholding Judgment (have not exhausted their eligibility) -Nasir Bailey (so far, between a meh and a bad transfer) -Ryan Crookham (just joined) -Carter Schubert (just joined) What I think needs more notice is how they are not retaining guys, and how those guys are improving (in wrestling or coaching) at other places. -Drake Ayala -> Iowa State -Anthony Cassioppi -> Wisconsin -Thomas Gilman -> Penn State -Seth Gross (hard one, he did get in trouble) -> SD State/Wisconsin -Wyatt Henson -> Lock Haven -Michael Kemerer -> Minnesota -Brent Metcalf -> Iowa State -Caleb Rathjen -> Northern Iowa -Derek St. John -> Iowa State -Real Woods -> Michigan

Lee is a KD guy

You mentioned Melvin and Kikiniou, two big names. Other HS Juniors to watch (Class of 2027) - Jimmy Mastny (from Illinois I believe, committed to Iowa State), and Michael Boyle (from Ohio, committed to Ohio State). They both won U20 US Open, at 92 and 97kg respectively.

I think they catch Stanford if they get those recruits, not OK State...

Barring any more transfers (for Michigan or other schools), I currently have Michigan as 5th in my predicted team standings for next year, knocking on the door for a podium spot.

Yeah, posted before it was confirmed Garvin was staying

Right now: Iowa. Prediction: Nebraska/Michigan (if Nebraska adds Shapiro along with VRob, and Michigan add Zepeda and Garvin).

Senior Top 3 57kg: Spencer Lee, Luke Lilledahl, Anthony Knox 61kg: Jax Forrest, Ben Davino, Austin DeSanto 65kg: Vito Arujau, Joey McKenna, Jesse Mendez 70kg: Alec Pantaleo, Tyler Kasak, Caleb Henson 74kg: David Carr, Quincy Monday, Bryce Andonian 79kg: Keegan O'Toole, Evan Wick, Dean Hamiti 86kg: Kyle Dake, Parker Keckeisen, Max McEnelly 92kg: Aeoden Sinclair, Josh Barr, Jacob Cardenas 97kg: Stephen Buchanan, Justin Rademacher, Connor Mirasola 125kg: Mason Parris, Wyatt Hendrickson, Greg Kerkvliet

Honestly waiting for Michigan to make a splash, I think they are an under-the-radar team that could make a push for the podium with the right moves. Zepeda would be a phenomenal pickup. Everyone is saying Garvin to Iowa, but if he leaves, I think his style suits Michigan better. I think he'd partner up really well with Beau Mantanona in the room. Watching his match with Caliendo from '24, he's unafraid to go from that shot to an upper body lock (bear hug or inside trip), which reminds me a bit of Austin Gomez. That said, all conjecture. Just looking at potential lineups, if they bring in Zepeda and Garvin I can see them making a run.

Feel like OU and UNC are doing some good things -- my favorite fit right now is McCrone to UNC. If Nebraska brings in VRob and Shapiro though, game over.

Lots of layout issues in my opinion, but number one that needs to be addressed is FloArena. Honestly inconvenient to find an event you are looking for, be it upcoming or in results. They need to organize that a whole lot better. Other Functions -Subscribe to a favorite college team/RTC. That way you get personalized articles rather than the bombardment that people have mentioned. -List where events may be streamed with links even if it's not on Flo. -Change their schedule page so you can search by competition level, rather than show every event upcoming (also, FRL should NOT be posted on their schedule page). -Also limit the number of articles on the homepage being displayed. Otherwise we are all doom scrolling looking for something new.

This is one that makes sense to me. Maybe Jordan Williams would work at 149 too (crazy take, I know)??

Berge to OK State

Should Transfer (some already in the portal): 125 - Nicolar Rivera (WISC), Ayden Smith (RUT), McCrone (OHST) 133 - Braeden Davis (PSU) 141 - Jamison (OKST), Manville (ASU), Clark (PUR) 149 - Eligh Rivera (PRIN), Jordan Williams (IOWA), Paniro Johnson (ISU) 157 - Harrington (HARV), Sealey (PSU) 165 - Downey (UNI), Mulvaney (BUCK), Birden (OHST), Scoles (ILL), Snipes (CIT) 174 - Fine (COL), Takats (BUCK), Brayden Thompson (OKST) 184 - N/A 197 - Endene (IOWA), Rademacher (ORST), Ferrari (NEB), Mac Stout (PITT), Sollars (IND), Bechtold (BUCK) 285 - Mullen (VT), Feldman (OHST), Monchery (APP) Shouldn't Transfer (guys in the portal that shouldn't be): 125 - VRob (NCST), Provo (STAN) 133 - Fugitt (WISC), Knox (STAN) 141 - N/A 149 - N/A 157 - N/A 165 - Garvin (STAN), Schubert (OKLA) 174 - Norman (STAN) 184 - Ruth (ILL) 197 - Berge (SDST) 285 - N/A