2016 Lineup Look: Arizona State Sun Devils

2016 Lineup Look: Arizona State Sun Devils

The rubber will meet the road in 2016 for Zeke Jones’ Arizona State Sun Devils. The No. 1 recruiting class of 2015 has had a year of seasoning in Tempe, Ari

Jun 26, 2016 by Christian Pyles
2016 Lineup Look: Arizona State Sun Devils
The rubber will meet the road in 2016 for Zeke Jones’ Arizona State Sun Devils. The No. 1 recruiting class of 2015 has had a year of seasoning in Tempe, Arizona, and are ready to make a splash out west and nationally as well.

Expectations for this young crop should be slightly tempered, despite their high billing coming out of high school, every year we see that athletes aren’t necessarily ready to step in and content for titles or all american finishes right away. Elite Freshman like Jason Nolf, Myles Martin and J'den Cox and others spoil us and create unreasonable expectations for what success is for a young talent. One thing that can’t be argued is that ASU is both on the rise, and will be full of talent for years to come.

Like many of the other teams we've featured, with it being so early it is very difficult to know who will end up at which weight. One shift can make this lineup prediction completely incorrect. This is my best guess based on where I view these guys as being the most effective both individually and as a team.

Previous 2016 Lineup Looks
Iowa
Oklahoma State
Ohio State
Missouri
Penn State


125 - Joshua Kramer - Redshirt Freshman
The two-time Arizona State champion will be among the least proven starters for Arizona State. Kramer had a nice showing at the Nittany Lion Open. He fell to only Nico Megaludis, Aaron Assad and Freddy Rodriguez. He didn’t notch a win that would instill confidence that he could be much more than an NCAA qualifier. Kramer will be challenged by Ted Rico. Rico, another two-time Arizona state champ, didn’t wrestle a match last year.

133 - Ali Naser - Redshirt Sophomore
I believe Naser will be a challenged very strongly by last years starter, Dalton Brady. Naser is still not on the ASU roster at this point. I believe he will be there at some point soon. Brady was an NCAA qualifier last year for ASU, he went 1-2 falling to George DiCamillo and Ryan Taylor. His lone win came against Dom Malone. Naser has made a substantial amount of noise on the Freestyle scene having knocked off Coleman Scott, Nathan Tomasello, Obe Blanc, Sam Hazewinkel, Dan Mitcheff and Jon Morrison. Not a bad slate of w’s. Naser has great positioning and uses his speed very well in the ties. He can attack both sides. He prefers a high crotch to his opponents right leg, but he has a slick duck to his opponents left side as well. I don’t know what he brings on the mat in folkstyle, but if he’s simply average there, he’ll have a great shot at placing next year.

Naser downs NCAA Champion Nathan Tomasello

141 - Robbie Mathers - Junior
This weight will be another spot that will be hotly contested. ASU has done a nice job of creating depth in weights where they are not elite. Mathers was a solid NCAA qualifier a year ago, going 0-2 losing to Bryce Meredith and Danny Sabatello. Hot on Mathers’ heels will be three-time California state champion Nikko Villarreal. Villarreal will be a redshirt freshman next year. A year ago, Villarreal spent the majority of his time at 149 pounds. It remains to be seen at this point if he can be effective down at 141. His results at 149 had some nice moments including a win over Maryland’s Shyheim Brown. Mathers, on the other hand, boasted several good wins at 141 over Logan Everett, Kevin Devoy and Ian Nickell. The upside and talent may lie with Villarreal, but the safe and proven commodity right now is Mathers.

149 - Christian Pagdilao - Redshirt Junior
Pagdilao came into last year with a very solid ranking, but was unable to claim the starting job from Matt Kraus. With Kraus having graduated, Pagdilao is set up to start once more for ASU. However, it won’t be handed out. PA hammer Josh Maruca will likely be in the mix as well. I’m not sure the Franklin Regional grad will be ready to unseat Pagdilao. Recall Christian downed All-Americans Depalma, Clagon and Oliver. He also has a number of other ranked wins. Once again, not everything is set for ASU, but they’ll have a solution one way or the other at 149.

157 - Joshua Shields - Redshirt Freshman
Another weight, another spot with numerous contenders. Shields spent time last year at 157 and 165. While his results were superior at 165, I think his hand will be forced and we’ll see him down at 157. Oliver Pierce has been the man for ASU the last two years but was unable to qualify for NCAA’s last year. I think Pierce has been established as a solid D1 starter, but unlikely to provide the upside needed to help make a team push next year. This is why I think we’ll see Shields man the post. Shields fell to Longo, Martino and Scheidel last year at 157. He was able to knock out Shakur Rasheed and Dillon Artigliere at 165. Shields works well off of a collar tie, looking for an ankle pick with his left hand. He also has an outstanding misdirect swing single. He may not be a world beater right away, but he could become dangerous if he continues to develop. Between his pedigree and training situation, there’s little to suggest this won’t be a reality.

165 - Anthony Valencia - Freshman
The former #1 pound for pound wrestler in the country took last year to wrestle freestyle as he took an Olympic Redshirt. Now he’ll likely come right into the mix for ASU where he’ll join his outstanding brother, Zahid. Anthony is known for a few amazing techniques: His blast double is unreal, he has a fantastic misdirect single and is good for about one slide-by a match. He’s got a fire within him that can help him tech fall the likes of Isaiah Martinez. In a weight that will feature Martinez, Isaac Jordan, Bo Jordan, Vincenzo Joseph, Daniel Lewis and more, I’m not sure where he will stack up. I know he has the goods on his feet offensively. Where I think the questions could lie are with his head hands defense as well as bottom. This weight is especially tough on top. Every single one of the guys I mentioned as 165 contenders are downright diabolical on top. Valencia has the goods on top himself, but not necessarily to the degree of these other guys. You can’t help but be excited by the prospects of someone as talented as Anthony in the mix at this weight. I think this weight is the best fit for both him, and the team as well.

Anthony tech falls two-time NCAA Finalist Tyler Caldwell

174 - Zahid Valencia - Redshirt Freshman
Though he spent time at 184 last year while he redshirted, I think we’ll see Zahid make the cut down to 174. For one, he’s not especially large for 184, I don’t believe he cut much, if any weight for 184 this year. Secondly, 174 will pit him against competition he has proven he can defeat. He shut down both Myles Martin and Bo Nickal this Spring in freestyle competition. While you can’t overreact to freestyle, there were still some neutral takeaways that will be present next year in folkstyle. Zahid’s club sweep is as fast and precise as any leg attack we’ll see in division 1 wrestling this year. What makes it so effective is his angle is so outstanding there’s really no opportunity to sprawl or whizzer to prevent the finish. Between that attack and Zahid’s unreal defense, I don’t think there is anyone he can’t beat next year at 174. Am I making him the favorite at 174? Not going that far, but I certainly would lump him in as a title contender.

Zahid takes out NCAA Champion Myles Martin this Spring

Also, NCAA Finalist Bo Nickal

184 - Wesley Moore - Redshirt Senior
If Zahid goes 174, this weight could be problematic for ASU. Moore didn’t wrestle a match last year as he was recovering from an injury, so it’s hard to figure where he’ll fit in. Based on his previous years showings where he posted records of 8-7 and 7-8, it would appear Moore is going to likely just play a stopgap role for next year for Coach Jones until Zahid inevitably moves up to 184.

197 - Lance Benick - Redshirt Freshman
The Fargo champ from Minnesota looks to be a near lock to start at 197. Though he was #1 coming out of high school, fans will need patience for Benick. He hasn’t reached a point where he’ll attack consistently throughout the course of a match. When he attacks, his shots are quick and crisp. That said, he is still picking his spots a bit too much instead of letting it fly and letting his athleticism take him the rest of the way. He’ll need to get into elite shape as well, if he can do that he’ll trust his offense more and become a threat at this weight. It could take some time, but Lance will definitely get there.

285 - Tanner Hall - Sophomore
Considering the several year layoff Hall had, seeing him put together the season he did last year was very impressive. He took some losses early on, but wound up taking out Amar Dhesi, Nick Tavanello, Billy Miller, Ross Larson and several other talented heavyweights. This spring in freestyle, Hall avenged a loss to Ty Walz who beat him twice in folkstyle last year. Hall will likely be a top 12 guy next year for ASU to start the year. By the years end, don’t be surprised if he’s rounded his way to a top 8 finish. He’s got a great high single and is outstanding at controlling ties and using underhooks. He’s put on real size as well since getting back into the wrestling game. A little more time and focus he could develop into a full sized 285 next year.

Hall gets his revenge against Ty Walz at University Trials: