The 2024 NCAA Wrestling Tournament is set to go down March 21-23 in Kansas City, Missouri, and will feature the best college wrestlers in America. Check out the below article for an in-depth breakdown of the teams that received the toughest draws at this year’s NCAA Tournament. 

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*You can scroll down to the bottom of this article to see the full brackets.

Iowa

The Hawkeyes have been ranked as the #2 team in the country behind Penn State for most of the year but are projected to finish 9th at the NCAA Tournament based on seeds. Iowa’s draws are a mixed bag but they’ll absolutely have to out-wrestle their seeds at a few weights to be in trophy contention. 

125: #3 Drake Ayala

I like Ayala’s chances of reaching the semifinals but he’ll be tested in round 2 against either Jett Strickenberger or Nico Provo. Both have had impressive wins this year but Ayala should be considered a heavy favorite in that match. Troy Spratley will likely be Ayala’s quarterfinal opponent and the two notably wrestled last month with Ayala winning in overtime. 

133: #15 Brody Teske

Teske is one of the wrestlers who will have to outwrestle his seed. Teske is the 15 seed and if he wins his first match, he’ll wrestle the 2 seed (and #1 ranked wrestler) Ryan Crookham in round 2. Crookham has been absolutely phenomenal this year and will be the favorite against Teske. That means the Hawkeye will have to do his work in the consolation bracket if he hopes to All-American. 

141: #3 Real Woods 

Despite earning the #3 seed, Real Woods will wrestle two-time All-American Clay Carlson in round one at the NCAA Tournament! While it was 3 years ago, Carlson defeated Woods 11-4 at the 2021 NCAA Tournament. 

149: #13 Caleb Rathjen

Rathjen drew Big 12 runner-up Jordan Williams in the first round. The two have never wrestled in college but I expect this match to be a coin flip. If Rathjen gets by Williams, he’ll have #4 seed Caleb Henson who is an NCAA title threat and should be considered a big favorite against Rathjen.

157: #10 Jared Franek

Jared Franek was the #2 ranked for most of the year but faltered slightly at the end of the season to earn the #10 seed. Franek will wrestle Purdue freshman Joey Blaze in round 1 who Franek has two, close wins over this year (5-2 and 2-1). Franek will then likely wrestle Peyten Kellar in the second round. Franek and Kellar have never wrestled but Kellar has a notable win this year over Ed Scott. If Franek wins his first two matches, he’ll most likely wrestle #2 seed Jacori Teemer in the quarter-finals.

165: #6 Michael Caliendo

I like Michael Caliendo’s draw to make the quarter-finals and even his potential quarters match against Julian Ramirez. The two have never wrestled in college but with Keegan O’Toole, David Carr, and Mitchell Mesenbrink at the weight, Ramirez is likely the best matchup for Caliendo to make the semis.

174: #12 Patrick Kennedy 

Similar to Caliendo, I think Patrick Kennedy has a good path to the quarter-finals out of the 12 seed. Kennedy will have Tyler Eischens in the first round and then a match against either #5 seed Phil Conigliaro or #28 seed Jared Simma. This is the best-case scenario for Kennedy and even though Kennedy is seeded lower, I would pick him to defeat either wrestler. If Kennedy does make the quarters, this would set up a potential match with Shane Griffith. Kennedy lost to Griffith close at Big Tens (4-3), but Griffith injury defaulted out of the finals and may not be healthy. If that’s still the case at NCAAs, Kennedy could make the semis and pick up big team points for Iowa.

197: #7 Zach Glazier

Glazier has put together a great season and will be a favorite in his first two matches. However, after that, it gets tough with a potential match against #2 Trent Hidlay. Hidlay will be a huge favorite in that match meaning Glazier will likely drop to the round of 12.

285: #25 Bradley Hill

Bradley Hill will be a big underdog from the start and is unlikely to score any significant points for the Hawkeyes.

Missouri

At one point in the season, Missouri was ranked #2 in the country but is now predicted to finish 12th based on the seeds. Only Keegan O’Toole and Zach Elam are seeded to finish on the podium at NCAAs and the Tigers will need several wrestlers to finish well beyond their seeds to challenge for a team trophy.

125: #13 Noah Surtin

At the 13 seed, Surtin drew Stevo Poulin in round 1 and even though he’s seeded lower, Poulin is 1-0 in his career against Surtin - Poulin took out Surtin last year at Big 12s, 11-4. If Surtin defeats a tough Poulin, he’ll then face returning NCAA runner-up Matt Ramos in round 2. While 125 pounds has been chaotic all year, very few will be predicting Noah Surtin to reach the quarters.

133: #26 Kade Moore

Moore will wrestle #7 seed Nasir Bailey who’s been fantastic this year. Moore will be a big underdog in that match but if he does pull the upset, he’ll have a big challenge in returning All-American Aaron Nagao. It’s highly unlikely Moore will make it to the quarters. 

141: #21 Josh Edmond

Josh Edmond has MAC champ Wyatt Henson in the first round and although they’re separated by 9 seeds, I consider this a toss-up match. If Edmond does get by Henson, he’ll likely have Echemendia in the second round. Echemendia has been phenomenal this year and should be considered a big favorite against Edmond.

149: #28 Logan Gioffre

Logan Gioffre will have #5 seed true freshman Ty Watters in the first round. The two wrestled in January where Watters won, 6-1. With that result, Watters is the favorite here and Gioffre will have to do his work in the consolation rounds.

157: #17 Brock Mauller

While it may be surprising, three-time All-American Brock Mauller is the #17 seed. With that seed, Mauller has Teague Travis in the first round who defeated Mauller last month, 4-2. Mauller is obviously capable of winning that match but if he does, he’ll be met with Levi Haines in the second round. This is about the toughest draw Mauller could have received and isn’t conducive for him to make a run on the front side of the bracket.

165: #1  Keegan O’Toole 

Two-time national champion Keegan O’Toole is the favorite to reach the finals but he’ll be challenged along the way. O’Toole could wrestle West Virginia’s Peyton Hall in the quarterfinals before wrestling another match against David Car in the semis. Hall was notably defeating O’Toole in their match earlier this year before Keegan mounted a late comeback. The potential match in the semis between Carr and O’Toole will be their 5th meeting with each holding two wins in the rivalry. While Keegan has won the last two, I expect their match at NCAAs to be highly competitive and in the balance from start to finish.

174: #22 Peyton Mocco

Despite being a returning All-American, Peyton Mocco has struggled this year with his best win coming over #28 seed Jared Simma. Mocco will face SOCON champ Austin Murphy in round one and while they’re separated by 11 seeds, this is a match Mocco can win and I expect it to be close. If Mocco gets by Murphy, he’ll likely wrestle Ohio State freshman Rocco Welsh. Again, this is a winnable match for Mocco but Welsh has wrestled a better season this year.

184: #11 Colton Hawks

Colton Hawks will have a tough match from round one with returning All-American Gavin Kane in his first match. Coincidentally, Hawks defeated Kane last year in the first round 6-2 when Kane was the #11 seed and Hawks was the #22 seed. If Hawks wins, he’ll then face three-time All-American Bernie Truax in the second round. If Hawks wants to All-American, he’ll either have to make a run in the consolation bracket or pull off an upset against Truax.

197: #12 Rocky Elam 

Three-time All-American Rocky Elam only lost to #3 seed Tanner Sloan and #6 seed Jacob Cardenas this year but got seeded down at #12. Elam will be favored in round one against Stout but will then likely wrestle the aforementioned Cardenas in round 2. If Elam avenges the loss against Cardenas, he should then wrestle Lehigh’s Michael Beard who’s had an awesome year and will be a big challenge for Elam to reach the semis.

285: #6 Zach Elam

Zach Elam earned the #6 seed and should wrestle his way to the quarterfinals without much of a problem. However, in the quarters, he’ll likely face a tough Wyatt Hendrickson who majored Zach Elam at last year’s NCAA Tournament, 17-8. That means Elam will likely have to win a match in the blood round if he wants to make the podium again this year. 

Virginia Tech

The Hokies have been a top 10 team throughout the season and spent a lot of time in the rankings in the top 5. They have the high-end talent to score big points at NCAAs and have all 10 wrestlers competing at the NCAA Tournament. However, the seeds didn’t do them any favors, and if they’re projected to finish in 10th.

125: #11 Cooper Flynn 

ACC runner-up Cooper Flynn was hurt by his losses to Jakob Camacho at the end of the season. Otherwise, he likely would have been a top 5-6 seed at NCAAs. Now at the 11, Flynn will have to go through SOCON champ Brayden Palmer in round one and will likely have Big 12 runner-up Troy Spratley in round 2. These are winnable matches for Flynn but I consider them tossups and not the easiest draw Flynn could have hoped for.

133: #12 Sam Latona 

Two-time All-American Latona has had an up-and-down year and received the 12 seed accordingly. With that, Latona will wrestle SOCON champ Ethan Oakley in round one and Big 10 runner-up Dylan Ragusin in round 2. Latona defeated Oakley this year by major but lost to Ragusin last year at the CKLV. Latona is capable of defeating Ragusin but he’ll have to wrestle his best if he wants to make the quarters.

141: #20 Tom Crook 

Tom Crook has a win over #6 seed Lachlan McNeil this year but got stuck at the #20 and has a tough draw because of that. Crook will face Jordan Titus first who notably defeated Crook in December, 9-6. If Crook gets revenge over Titus, he’ll then have another familiar opponent Ryan Jack in round 2. Jack is 4-0 in his career against Crook and likely not the opponent Crook wanted to see on the front side if he hoped to make a deep run at NCAAs.

149: #4 Caleb Henson

I fully expect Caleb Henson to make the semis where he’ll likely wrestle Ridge Lovett. Henson lost to Lovett in the finals of the CKLV in a very close match. Henson is absolutely capable of defeating Lovett this time around but Henson would have probably preferred to be on the bottom side of the bracket. While he did lose to #3 seed Arrington at NCAAs, Henson also defeated Arrington in the dual. On top of that, Henson defeated #2 seed Kyle Parco at the CKLV. Because of that, I think Henson should have still gotten the #3 seed but there’s nothing I (or Henson) can do about that now.

157: #12 Bryce Andonian

If Bryce Andonian is close to healthy, I think he can make a run to the quarters. Andonian should be considered a big favorite in his first match against Lucas Revano and then will have Big 12 champ Ryder Downey in round 2. Downey could be a tough matchup for Andonian but I don’t think he possesses the athleticism to compete with Andonian when he’s firing on all cylinders. If Andonian does make a run to the quarters, he’s likely to wrestle NC State rival Ed Scott. This isn’t a great matchup for Andonian considering Scott has majored Andonian twice this year.

165: #18 Connor Brady

Connor Brady has Brevin Cassella in the first round who Brady defeated at last year’s NCAA tournament, 5-0. However, if Brady repeats that win, he’ll be rewarded with a match against #2 seed Mitchell Mesenbrink. No one is picking Brady to win that match so if Brady’s going to score any significant points for the Hokies, it will have to be in the consolation rounds.

174: #1 Mekhi Lewis 

Mekhi Lewis earned the #1 seed at NCAAs and what does that earn him? A potential match with three-time NCAA Champion (and #9 seed) Carter Starocci in the QUARTER FINALS. That’s right, Lewis and Starocci wrestled in the 2022 NCAA Finals and now they could wrestle in the quarters. Now, if Starocci isn’t healthy, Lewis can absolutely win this match. However, we saw what Starocci was able to do to Lewis at this year’s All-Star Classic when he earned a dominant major decision win. 

It’s also worth noting that another NCAA Champion, Shane Griffith, could await Mekhi Lewis in the semifinals. That means there are 3 NCAA champions in the top half of the 174-pound bracket and only 1 All-American (Peyton Mocco) in the bottom half of the bracket.

184: #7 TJ Stewart

TJ Stewart has been on fire over the last month and I think he’s a sleeper to make the NCAA finals out of the #7 seed. This could be a place where the Hokies out-wrestle their seed and pick up big points. Stewart will have Maximus Hale in the first round and then a potential match against Dylan Fishback in the second round. Stewart is 2-0 against Fishback this year and the matches haven’t been all that close. In the quarters, Stewart will likely wrestle Isaiah Salazar and while Salazar has been solid all year, he showed his vulnerability when he lost to Colton Hawks in December, 11-5. This is a match Stewart can win and I expect it to be highly competitive.

197: #26 Andy Smith

Smith will wrestle Big Ten runner-up Zach Glazier in round 1 and should be considered a significant underdog. Glazier has been rock solid all year and I don’t see him losing to Smith in this match.

285: #26 Hunter Catka 

Hunter Catka has SOCON champ Taye Ghadiali in round one and notably lost to Ghadiali twice in the 2021-2022 season. While those matches were close, Ghadiali has made significant jumps since then and should be considered a big favorite in this match. If Catka does pull off the upset, he should wrestle two-time All-American Lucas Davison in round 2. Again, Davison would be the big favorite here and I’d be very surprised to see Catka make a run to the semis.

Michigan

Michigan has been ranked as high as #4 in our team rankings this year but is projected to finish 11th if they wrestle to their seeds. On top of that, they have tough paths to the quarter-finals at 125, 133, 141, 157, 165, 184, and 285. Check out a brief description of their draws below.

125: #18 Michael DeAugustino

DeAugustino has a challenging path to the quarters with Caleb Smith in the first-round opponent who defeated DeAugustion, 8-5. If he gets by Smith, he’ll then face #2 seed Luke Stanich in the second round who has been really tough this year with wins over Eric Barnett, Cooper Flynn, and Brett Ungar. 

133: #5 Dylan Ragusin

Ragusin earned the #5 seed but drew Penn’s Michael Colaiocco in the first round who was ranked as high as #7 this year. If Ragusin gets by him, he’ll likely wrestle All-American Sam Latona in round 2 who was ranked as high as #4 this year. Ragusin would then have a quarter-final against Rutgers Dylan Shawver who notably just teched Ragusin in the Big Ten finals. 

141: #8 Sergio Lemley

True freshman Lemley is seeded to All-American but will have a tough Danny Pucino round 1 followed by a likely rubber match against Brock Hardy in round 2. Lemley needed a last-second takedown to defeat Hardy at Big Tens but Hardy defeated Lemley in the dual, 13-9. If Lemley wins his first 2 matches, he’ll then likely wrestle #1 seed Jesse Mendez in the quarters. Obviously, the top 3 at 141 are tough but a match against the #1 seed isn’t ideal with a semis berth on the line.

149: #6 Austin Gomez

I actually think Gomez has a clear path to the quarters and should dominate in his first two matches. In the quarter-finals, Gomez will likely wrestle NC State’s Jackson Arrington to make the semis. The two have never wrestled in their college careers and I think this is a toss-up match. Overall, I think Gomez got the best draw of anyone on Michigan’s team.

157: #9 Will Lewan

Lewan was the Big Ten runner-up but doesn’t have an easy path to the quarters. Lewan will wrestle Chase Saldate in the first round. Lewan and Saldate have wrestled 5 times in their careers with Lewan holding a 4-1 record in the rivalry. The two wrestled twice last year and split matches with both bouts decided in overtime! Then, Lewan will likely have Peyton Robb in the second round and Robb notably defeated Lewan this year twice - 2-1 and 8-2. Then in the quarters, Lewan should wrestle top-seeded Levi Haines who is 3-0 in his career against Lewan.

165: #10 Cam Amine

Three-Time All-American Cam Amine drew the 10 seed and will have NC State’s Derek Feilds round one. I expect him to get by Fields to meet Olejnik in the second round. This is a tough matchup for Amine considering Olejnik defeated Amine with a last-second takedown at the CKLV. However, if Amine gets revenge, he’ll face #2 seed Mesenbrink in the quarters who defeated Amine 11-1 when they met two months ago. Considering all of this, it’s highly unlikely Amine reaches the semis.

174: #4 Shane Griffith

National champion Shane Griffith is on the same side of the bracket as two other national champions - #1 seed Mekhi Lewis and #9 seed Carter Starocci. Despite this, Griffith has a favorable draw to the semi-finals and should be considered a favorite to reach the semis as long as he’s healthy.

184: #12 Jaden Bullock

Bullock drew Brian Soldano in round one and should be considered a favorite in that match with two major-decision wins on the season over Soldano. However, then Bullock should have Pinto in the second round who defeated Bullock twice this season.

285: #10 Lucas Davison

Despite taking third at Big 10s, Davison drew the #10 seed but should win round 1 to face Campbell’s Taye Ghadiali in round 2. On paper, Davison is a favorite in this match considering Davison defeated Ghadiali at the CKLV. If Davison wins against Ghadiali, he should wrestle #2 seed Yonger Bastida in the quarters. Bastida holds a win over Davison from the CKLV finals and it’d be a fairly big upset if Davison takes out Bastida.

2024 NCAA Wrestling Championship Brackets

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