The 2025 Big Ten Wrestling Championships will take place on March 8-9 in Evanston, Illinois. This event will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus and the Big Ten Network and will feature many of the nation's top college wrestlers. Check out the article below for a full preview with predictions for the first 5 weights at this year's Big Ten Tournament.

125 Pounds - 9 Allocations

The 125-Pound Field

#1 Matt Ramos, Purdue (bye)

#6 Caleb Smith, Nebraska (bye)

#8 Luke Lilledahl, Penn State

#11 Dean Peterson, Rutgers

#14 Joey Cruz, Iowa

#15 Brendan McCrone, Ohio State

#16 Cooper Flynn, Minnesota

#17 Jacob Moran, Indiana

#19 Nicolar Rivera, Wisconsin

#32 Dedrick Navarro, Northwestern

Caleb Weiand, Michigan State

Christian Tanefeu, Michigan

Caelan Riley, Illinois

Tyler Garvin, Maryland

Favorites

• #1 Matt Ramos, Purdue

Matt Ramos will enter the Big Ten Tournament with a 23-0 record including a 6-0 record against wrestlers in the field this season. Ramos has been incredibly dominant this season with 18 of his wins coming by bonus points - 1 pin, 13 techs, and 4 majors. With the perfect record and dominance, Ramos has established himself as the #1 ranked wrestler in the country with notable wins over #5 Troy Spratley and #3 Eddie Ventresca. 

It’s worth noting that Ramos didn’t wrestle Caleb Smith, Dean Peterson, or Luke Lilledahl this year. Ramos is 1-1 in his college career against Smith, 2-1 against Peterson, and has never wrestled Lilledahl. Because of these high-level challengers at the weight, Ramos will be tested and definitely isn’t a lock to win a Big Ten title at 125 pounds. 

Ramos' win in the finals of the 2024 CKLV over Eddie Ventresca:

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Contenders

• #6 Caleb Smith, Nebraska
• #8 Luke Lilledahl, Penn State
• #11 Dean Peterson, Rutgers

The above three wrestlers are all the next highest ranked and present the biggest challenges to Matt Ramos. As mentioned above, Caleb Smith and Dean Peterson have wins over Ramos in their college careers. While Lilledahl hasn’t wrestled Ramos yet, the Penn State freshman is currently 16-2 on the year with notable wins over Caleb Smith, Sheldon Seymour, Joey Cruz, and Charlie Farmer. Any one of Smith, Peterson, or Lilledahl can knock off Matt Ramos and to win Big Tens.

Lilledahl's win over Smith:

Peterson's win over Lilledahl:

Sleepers & Landmines

#15 Brendan McCrone, Ohio State

#19 Nicolar Rivera, Wisconsin

The 125-pound field has some great depth with wrestlers like Joey Cruz, Jacob Moran, and Cooper Flynn in the field. However, Brendan McCrone and Nicolar Rivera fit perfectly in the “Sleepers & Landmine” category. McCrone has losses on the year to Joey Cruz and Jacob Moran but McCrone has also defeated Luke Lilledahl, Max Renteria, and Cooper Flynn. McCrone is probably not going to win this weight class but no one should be surprised if he pulls off an upset or two this weekend. 

McCrone's win over Lilledahl:

Similarly to McCrone, no one is likely to pick Nicolar Rivera to win this bracket but he has the potential to make some noise. He has losses to Joey Cruz, Cooper Flynn, and Matt Ramos but a significant win over Dean Peterson. Rivera is currently 17-3 on the year and beyond the Peterson wins, Rivera has defeated #23 Trever Anderson, #32 Dedrick Navarro, #21 Anthony Molton, and #26 Blake West. 

125 Predictions

1. Matt Ramos, Purdue

2. Caleb Smith, Nebraska

3. Luke Lilledahl, Penn State

4. Brendan McCrone, Ohio State

133 Pounds - 10 Allocations

The 133-Pound Field

#1 Drake Ayala, Iowa

#2 Lucas Byrd, Illinois

#4 Braeden Davis, Penn State

#8 Braxton Brown, Maryland

#9 Dylan Shawver, Rutgers

#12 Tyler Wells, Minnesota

#13 Nic Bouzakis, Ohio State

#15 Jacob Van Dee, Nebraska

#18 Zan Fugitt, Wisconsin

#25 Angelo Rini, Indiana

Dustin Norris, Purdue

Massey Odiotti, Northwestern

Nolan Wertanen, Michigan

Tristan Lujan, Michigan State

Favorites

• #1 Drake Ayala, Iowa

Iowa’s Drake Ayala has established himself as the #1 ranked wrestler in the country at 133 pounds with a 15-1 record and is currently riding a 14 match win streak. In that span, Ayala has defeated #2 Lucas Byrd (4-2), #4 Braeden Davis (4-2), #15 Jacob Van Dee (4-2), #12 Tyler Wells (9-5), and #3 Evan Frost (11-7). Even with that tough competition, Ayala is putting together his best season of bonus with a 56% bonus rate with 6 techs and 3 majors. If Ayala comes out of Big Tens as the champion, he’ll likely be the favorite to win NCAAs at 133 pounds. 

Contenders

• #2 Lucas Byrd, Illinois
• #4 Braeden Davis, Penn State
• #8 Braxton Brown, Maryland
• #9 Dylan Shawver, Rutgers

The above group of 4 wrestlers shows just how deep the Big Ten is at 133. Two-time All-American Lucas Byrd leads this group and will likely be the #2 seed behind Ayala. Byrd has a 15-1 record with his only loss coming against Ayala while recording wins over Braeden Davis (7-1), Dylan Shawver (6-5), Braxton Brown (7-3), and Nic Bouzaks (8-5). 

Byrd and Davis have notably not wrestled this year but both have wins over Dylan Shawver. Though Shawver hasn’t defeated any of the top 4 at the weight, his post season run last year is enough to keep him in this contender category. Last season, Shawver won the Big Ten Tournament as the #2 seed and then finished 7th at NCAAs. If Shawver catches fire again this year, he has the potential to beat anyone in the weight at 133.

Sleepers & Landmines

• #12 Tyler Wells, Minnesota
• #13 Nic Bouzakis, Ohio State
• #15 Jacob Van Dee, Nebraska

Similar to the contenders category, this group of three shows the depth of the weight class. Tyler Wells has a win over #10 Connor McGonagle this year and finished in the round of 12 at last year’s NCAA Tournament. Nic Bouzakis has notable ranked wins over #5 Tyler Knox, #19 Anthony Noto, and #17 Reece Witcraft. Beyond that, Bouzakis has big-move potential that presents a danger to anyone in the weight class. 

Then there’s Jacob Van Dee who has head-to-head wins over Braeden Davis, Tyler Wells, and Dylan Ragusin this season. These three landmines in the weight will be incredible challenges to any of the higher ranked wrestlers in this bracket. Of any weight at the Big Tens, 133 pounds has the biggest potential for a low-seeded wrestler to come away with the title. 

133 Predictions

1. Drake Ayala, Iowa

2. Lucas Byrd, Illinois

3. Braeden Davis, Penn State

4. Braxton Brown, Maryland

141 Pounds - 7 Allocations

The 141-Pound Field

#1 Beau Bartlett, Penn State

#2 Jesse Mendez, Ohio State

#4 Brock Hardy, Nebraska

#8 Vance Vombaur, Minnesota

#11 Sergio Lemley, Michigan

#15 Joey Olivieri, Rutgers

#16 Danny Pucino, Illinois

#31 Henry Porter, Indiana

Greyson Clark, Purdue

Chris Cannon, Northwestern

Cullan Schriever, Iowa

Dario Lemus, Maryland

Brock Bobzien, Wisconsin

Jaden Crumpler, Michigan State

Favorites

• #1 Beau Bartlett, Penn State
• #2 Jesse Mendez, Ohio State

Mendez and Bartlett have built a great rivalry over the past two seasons wrestling 5 times with Mendez holding a 3-2 match lead. This season, the two have wrestled twice with Mendez winning 4-1 at the NWCA All-Star Classic and Bartlett getting revenge at the dual meet in February winning 4-2. Every one of their matches has been decided by one takedown with 4 of their 5 matches ending in a 4-1 decision. I expect Mendez and Bartlett to meet in the finals again in another coin-flip match.

Mendez's win over Bartlett at the 2024 NWCA All-Star Classic:

Bartlett's win over Mendez from the 2025 dual meet:

Contenders

• #4 Brock Hardy, Nebraska
• #8 Vance Vombaur, Minnesota

Brock Hardy and Vance Vombaur are both past All-Americans and two of the best contenders of any weight at Big Tens. Hardy was leading Beau Bartlett 7-6 late in their match before Bartlett earned a reversal and rideout to win 8-7. Aside from the close loss, Hardy has notable wins this year over #8 Vance Vombaur, #7 Josh Koderhandt, #10 Sam Latona, #11 Sergio Lemley, and several other ranked wrestlers. 

Similar to Hardy, Vombaur has put together a solid year with wins over Joey Olivieri, Sergio Lemley, Josh Edmond, Julian Tagg, and several other ranked wrestlers. Aside from the wins, Vombaur opened everyone’s eyes in his double overtime loss against Jesse Mendez. In that match, Vombaur secured the first takedown and was in on Mendez’s legs numerous times in the overtime period but fell just short of pulling off the upset. Along with the close loss to Mendez, Vombaur lost a razor thin match to Beau Bartlett last year at NCAAs. Vombaur is capable of pulling off an upset to make the finals and if he’s wrestling his best, he’s a threat to win the title.

Bartlett's close win over Vombaur from last year's NCAA Tournament:

Other Wrestlers To Watch Out For

• #11 Sergio Lemley, Michigan
• #15 Joey Olivieri, Rutgers
• Chris Cannon, Northwestern

Because of the high-level, top-end talent at 141 pounds, there aren’t any wrestlers that fit the “Sleepers & Landmines” category. However, the above three wrestlers are worthy to be mentioned in this preview because of their past results/accolades. Lemley has been solid all season but hasn’t recorded the same level of wins as he did last year in his true freshman campaign. Last season Lemley notched victories over Real Woods and Brock Hardy. If Lemley can reach that level again, we could see him break into the top 4 at Big Tens this year.

Joey Olivieri has been solid all year with ranked wins over #23 Todd Carter, #27 Dylan Chappell, and #16 Danny Pucino. Olivieri suffered losses to Vance Vombaur (12-5) and Beau Bartlett (7-3) but hasn’t wrestled Lemley, Hardy, or Mendez. Olivieri might not be a guy who will place in the top 3, but he’ll be a tough out for anyone and is a wrestler who could pull-off an upset or two in this bracket. 

Then there’s two-time All-American Chris Cannon who has had an uncharacteristic year going 5-7 and dropping out of the rankings. Cannon hasn’t been the same guy he was in 2021 and 2022 when he reached the podium at NCAAs. However, if Cannon can get anywhere near that form, he’ll be an interesting darkhorse to watch at 141 pounds. 

141 Predictions

1. Jesse Mendez, Ohio State

2. Beau Bartlett, Penn State

3. Vance Vombaur, Minnesota

4. Brock Hardy, Nebraska

149 Pounds - 8 Allocations

149-Pound Field

#4 Ridge Lovett, Nebraska

#2 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State

#3 Kyle Parco, Iowa

#7 Dylan D'Emilio, Ohio State

#17 Kannon Webster, Illinois

#21 Andrew Clark, Rutgers

#22 Sam Cartella, Northwestern

#23 Drew Roberts, Minnesota

#27 Dylan Gilcher, Michigan

#30 Kal Miller, Maryland

Isaac Ruble, Purdue

Joey Buttler, Indiana

Clayton Jones, Michigan State

Royce Nilo, Wisconsin

Favorites

• #2 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State
• #3 Kyle Parco, Iowa
• #4 Ridge Lovett, Nebraska

149 pounds is incredibly top-heavy with the above three wrestlers all levels above the rest of the competitors in the field. Van Ness, Parco, and Lovett have all traded wins and losses this year with Van Ness defeating Parco (17-6), Lovett defeating Van Ness (10-2), and Parco defeating Lovett (3-2). Whoever gets the one seed will have a clear advantage over the other two wrestlers in this tier and will have a clear path to the finals. It’s also worth noting that whoever wins this bracket will almost certainly earn the #2 seed at the NCAA Tournament behind 2024 NCAA Champion Caleb Henson. 

Lovett's win over Van Ness:

Van Ness' win over Parco:

Parco's win over Lovett:

The Next Tier

• #7 Dylan D’Emilio
• #17 Kannon Webster, Illinois
• #21 Andrew Clark
• #22 Sam Cartella, Northwestern
• #23 Drew Roberts, Minnesota
• #27 Dylan Gilcher, Michigan
• #30 Kal Miller, Maryland

All-American Dylan D’Emilio is the class of the next tier with wins over Drew Roberts, Andrew Clark, Kannon Webster, and Dylan Gilcher. D’Emilio didn’t wrestle Lovett this year but he did suffer losses to both Kyle Parco and Shayne Van Ness. If any wrestler of this group were to enter the top three, D’Emilio is the most likely. 

After D’Emilio, the next 6 wrestlers are all capable of finishing in the top 5 of this bracket and display the quality of depth in the Big 10 at 149 pounds. Many of this group have traded wins and losses over the past year as shown below:

• Kannon Webster - defeated Andrew Clark and Kal Miller
• Andrew Clark - defeated Drew Roberts and Sam Cartella
• Sam Cartella - defeated Kannon Webster and Drew Roberts
• Kal Miller - defeated Dylan Gilcher
• Dylan Gilcher - defeated Drew Roberts and Sam Cartella

149 Predictions

1. Shayne Van Ness, Penn State

2. Ridge Lovett, Nebraska

3. Kyle Parco, Iowa

4. Dylan D’Emilio, Ohio State

157 Pounds - 8 Allocations

The 157-Pound Field

#1 Tyler Kasak, Penn State

#2 Antrell Taylor, Nebraska

#4 Jacori Teemer, Iowa

#5 Ethen Miller, Maryland

#7 Joey Blaze, Purdue

#8 Tommy Askey, Minnesota

#9 Brandon Cannon, Ohio State

#11 Trevor Chumbley, Northwestern

#15 Chase Saldate, Michigan

#27 Conner Harer, Rutgers

#28 Jason Kraisser, Illinois

Luke Mechler, Wisconsin

Ryan Garvick, Indiana

Braden Stauffenberg, Michigan State

Favorites

• #1 Tyler Kasak, Penn State
• #2 Jacori Teemer, Iowa

Tyler Kasak has earned the #1 ranking in the country at 157 pounds with significant wins over #2 Jacori Teemer (5-2) and #4 Antrell Taylor (9-3). Kasak did suffer a head injury forcing him to default in a match against #5 Ethen Miller. That means Kasak will likely not be the top seeded wrestler at Big Tens. However, that will not make much of a difference and I expect Kasak to make his way to the finals unchallenged. 

Kasak's win over Jacori Teemer:

Jacori Teemer has had a very unique season entering the Big Ten tournament with a 5-2 record. Teemer was injured in November and didn’t wrestle again until the last week of January. Despite the limited matches, Teemer’s only loss on the season after the injury default was to Tyler Kasak. Beyond that, he has ranked wins over #13 Caleb Fish, #8 Tommy Askey, Sammy Sasso, and #24 Grigor Cholakyan. Teemer was notably only back for one week when he lost to Kasak. That means he may not have been wrestling at 100% in that match. Teemer and Kasak are big favorites to reach the finals in what would be a highly anticipated rematch.

Contenders

• #4 Antrell Taylor, Nebraska
• #5 Ethen Miller, Maryland
• #7 Joey Blaze, Purdue
• #8 Tommy Askey, Minnesota

Ethen Miller will likely be the #1 seed in this deep bracket. Miller is 20-0 on the year with wins over Tyler Kasak (inj dft), Chase Saldate (4-2), Joey Blaze (11-9), and several other ranked wrestlers. Miller hasn’t wrestled Teemer or Taylor and will likely have to defeat one of those wrestlers to make the finals. Miller has been wrestling fantastic all season and although many won’t pick him to make the finals, he has the potential to challenge both Teemer and Kasak.

Antrell Taylor’s only conference loss this year was to Tyler Kasak in a match where he got down big early and had trouble fighting back into the match. Aside from the Kasak loss, Taylor has only lost to Ryder Downey this season but has significant victories over Joey Blaze (4-1), Chase Saldate (pin), Tommy Askey (4-1, OT), Ryder Downey (4-3), and several other ranked wrestlers. Taylor is one of the few wrestlers who I could see beating Teemer’s incredible defense and if Taylor wrestles Kasak again, I expect a much closer match. Because of that, Taylor is a good dark horse pick to win this bracket.

Joey Blaze and Tommy Askey add amazing depth to this field. Blaze is 15-4 on the year with his only losses coming against Antrell Taylor (4-1), Ryder Downey (5-2), and Ethen Miller (11-9). Beyond the losses, Blaze has notable victories over Peyten Kellar, Ethan Stiles, Jason Kraisser, and Sammy Sasso. Blaze isn’t a guy who I’m picking to win, but if he wrestles his best, he’s capable of pulling off an upset and finishing in the top 3.

Similar to Blaze, Askey has been solid this year with a 20-3 record only suffering losses to Jared Hill (3-2, TB-3), Antrell Taylor (4-1, OT), and Jacori Teemer (4-1). He has ranked wins over Brandon Cannon (11-2), Conner Harer (1-0), Trevor Chumbley (3-2), and James Conway (13-4). Askey will be right in the mix with all of the top wrestlers at this weight, giving him a great chance to upset a highly ranked competitor. 

Sleepers & Landmines

• #9 Brandon Cannon, Ohio State
• #15 Chase Saldate, Michigan

157 is deep in the Big Ten but Brandon Cannon and Chase Saldate best fit the Sleepers & Landmine category. Cannon is highly ranked because of his win this season over #10 Cody Chittum. However, Cannon will likely be seeded low because he’s only wrestled two competitors in the Big Ten field - he defeated Ryan Garvick but lost to Tommy Askey. That means Cannon will likely catch one of the top wrestlers in this bracket early. That will place Cannon in a perfect position to pull off an upset and if he does that, he could be poised to make a deep run as a dark horse finalist.

Michigan’s Chase Saldate has had an odd year with a 9-6 record with only 1 ranked win on the season - a pin over Cobe Siebrecht. Despite the lack of quality results, Saldate’s college history shows that when he’s wrestling 100%, he’s capable of defeating some of the country’s best wrestlers. Saldate won’t be seeded in the top 7 so that means he’s a great pick to pull off an early upset in the 157 pound bracket. 

157 Predictions

1. Tyler Kasak, Penn State

2. Jacori Teemer, Iowa

3. Antrell Taylor, Nebraska

4. Ethen Miller, Maryland