Lineup Look: #5 Missouri Tigers

Lineup Look: #5 Missouri Tigers

Missouri's lineup starts the year with five guys ranked in the Top-8 of their weight classes.

Sep 26, 2017 by Wrestling Nomad
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Another day, another lineup look. Columbia, MO, is home to the No. 5 Missouri Tigers, and one of the most consistent teams in the country.

Brian Smith and his staff have grown Missouri into a program that doesn't rebuild -- it reloads. Despite losing three-time NCAA champ J'den Cox and three-time All-American Lavion Mayes, the Tigers are still a top five team.

Half the squad starts the year ranked, and all of those Tigers are ranked in the top eight. Mizzou should be able to qualify at least eight guys this year for the NCAA tournament in Cleveland. Of note, this squad may feature as many as four transfers in the starting lineup.

Missouri 2017-18 Lineup

125: Barlow McGhee/Aaron Assad
133: No. 8 John Erneste
141: No. 4 Jaydin Eierman
149: Grant Leeth
157: No. 2 Joey Lavallee
165: Connor Flynn
174: No. 5 Daniel Lewis
184: Dylan Wisman
197: No. 3 Willie Miklus
285: Austin Myers

There is one single roster battle, and the drama is heightened because both athletes are seniors. Barlow McGhee has been the starter at 125 pounds, but he battled injuries throughout all of last season and went 0-2 at NCAAs. Aaron Assad has been in Columbia for two years after transferring from Purdue. This one likely won't be settled until January again, as Assad's last dual start came against Oklahoma State on January 27.

John Erneste took over the starting 133 spot at the Southern Scuffle and did not relinquish it the rest of the year. It works out for the team, as Jaydin Eierman is now ranked fourth at 141 and Erneste jumps up to No. 8 at 133, with wins over the fifth- and sixth-ranked wrestlers.

Taking a look at the landscape of the Mid-American Conference at 133, Erneste should be the favorite to win the league crown and be able to hold his high ranking. The junior also impressed at University Nationals, rolling through Ben Thornton, Daniel DeShazer, Ian Parker (match below), and Taylor LaMont on his way to a title.



Eierman is one of the more fascinating wrestlers at 141 and presents a reasonable shot to knock off Oklahoma State's Dean Heil. He lost both matches to Heil last year, but they were 6-5 in the dual and 8-6 at NCAAs. An offseason of freestyle battles may have prepared Eierman for the meat grinder that is 141 this season, one in which the battles start early to repeat as an All-American.

Grant Leeth has yet to step on the mat for Mizzou after transferring from Duke. His last action was in the 2014-15 season, with his biggest win coming against Colin Heffernan of Central Michigan, which you can watch below.



Joey Lavallee was one of the breakout stars of NCAAs. After qualifying twice but not placing, he had two pins to electrify the crowd in St. Louis. Lavallee won't have the "hometown" advantage this year but will have something to prove starting the year No. 2 in his final season of eligibility.

Our own Christian Pyles went on record on FRL to say Connor Flynn would have a great year and even drafted him for his fantasy team. Flynn sat out after transferring from West Virginia but was fourth at the Big 12 championships back in 2015.

Few wrestlers in the country are as dangerous on top as Daniel Lewis. The two-time All-American is bumping up to 174 this year and likely won't miss a beat. He has 19 career pins, one of which you can see below, and it would not be shocking to see him cradle his way over 30 by the end of this season.



The chain reaction of Lewis bumping up follows with Dylan Wisman at 184 and Willie Miklus at 197. Wisman had an unremarkable 16-11 record, but if you dig into his wins, you'll notice he beat All-Americans Kyle Crutchmer and Brandon Womack as well as NCAA qualifier Matt Reed.

There don't seem to be many people expecting the two-time All-American Miklus to miss a beat after missing last season due to injury. He opens the year ranked third in a group with only four other returning AAs.

Missouri's Complete 2017-18 Schedule

Depending on how 125 shakes out, Austin Myers will be either the third or fourth transfer to start for Mizzou this season. Now a sophomore, the Kentucky native qualified for NCAAs and has the ability to creep into the top 20 rankings.

There's no question the Tigers can roll to a MAC title, especially now with Northern Iowa gone. But the test for Mizzou going forward is the NCAA tournament, with recent finishes of seventh in 2013, fourth in 2015, sixth in 2016, and fifth in 2017. Right now, the Tigers are on the outside looking in at Smith's third career team trophy.


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