The 2025 NCAA Tournament is set to go down March 20-22 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 157-pound bracket features two, clear favorites in Penn State's Tyler Kasak and Cornell's Meyer Shapiro. These wrestlers will be battling to win their first national title but will be challenged by a host of worthy contenders. Check out the below article for a full preview with predictions for this incredible bracket.

NCAA Rankings

Championship Team Scores Based on Seeds

Individual weight class previews: 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 184 | 197 | 285

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2025 157-Pound NCAA Bracket

2025 Top Eight Seeds (Name, School, Season Record)

1. Tyler Kasak, Penn State, 17-1

2. Meyer Shapiro, Cornell, 11-1

3. Antrell Taylor, Nebraska, 22-4

4. Rafael Hipolito, Virginia Tech, 17-3

5. Brandon Cannon, Ohio State, 20-3

6. Ryder Downey, Northern Iowa, 25-4

7. Vinny Zerban, N. Colorado, 18-4

8. Joey Blaze, Purdue, 20-5

2025 Place Winners

1. Levi Haines, Penn State

2. Jacori Teemer, Arizona State

3. Meyer Shapiro, Cornell

4. Daniel Cardenas, Stanford

5. Peyten Kellar, Ohio

6. Bryce Andonian, Virginia Tech

7. Peyton Robb, Nebraska

8. Jared Franek, Iowa

Last 10 157-pound NCAA champions

2024: Levi Haines, Penn State

2023: Austin O'Connor, North Carolina

2022: Ryan Deakin, Northwestern

2021: David Carr, Iowa State

2020: Canceled

2019: Jason Nolf, Penn State

2018: Jason Nolf, Penn State

2017: Jason Nolf, Penn State

2016: Isaiah Martinez, Illinois

2015: Isaiah Martinez, Illinois

2014: Alex Dieringer, OK State

The Favorites

• #1/1 Tyler Kasak, Penn State
• #2/2 Meyer Shapiro, Cornell

Tyler Kasak and Meyer Shapiro are the runaway favorites at 157 pounds heading into the NCAA Tournament. Kasak has been impressive all season long with notable head-to-head wins over Antrell Taylor (X2), Brandon Cannon, Jacori Teemer, Trevor Chumbley, Matt Bianchi, and several other ranked wrestlers. Outside of an injury default loss to Ethen Miller, Kasak has been perfect all year and hasn’t even given up a takedown in the 18 matches he’s wrestled. Kasak looks to be wrestling as good as ever and as the #1 seed, it looks like he has a clear path to the finals.
Tyler Kasak's win over Antrell Taylor at the Big Ten Tournament:

Cornell’s Meyer Shapiro has wrestled an odd year. After suffering an apparent concussion early in the season, Shapiro missed 6 weeks and has only wrestled 11 matches this year. In those matches, Shapiro’s best wins are over Ed Scott and Jude Swisher. So why is Shapiro still considered a favorite with the lack of results and significant wins? Simply put, Shapiro might have the best neutral offense of any wrestler in the country regardless of weight class. When Shapiro’s offense is clicking, he’s capable of scoring on anyone with a variety of high-level attacks. Shapiro finished third last year at the NCAA Tournament and if he’s wrestling his best in Philly, he can end this year with an NCAA Title. 

Meyer Shapiro's win in the IVY League finals over Jude Swisher:

The Contenders

• #3/5 Brandon Cannon, Ohio State
• #4/3 Antrell Taylor, Nebraska
• #5/8 Joey Blaze, Purdue
• #6/9 Tommy Askey, Minnesota
• #7/10 Ethen Miller, Maryland
• #8/18 Jacori Teemer, Iowa
• #9/7 Vinny Zerban, N. Colorado
• #10/6 Ryder Downey, UNI
• #11/4 Rafael Hipolito, Virginia Tech

The parity and depth at 157 pounds is highlighted by the above group of nine wrestlers. All of the above wrestlers are all ranked in the top 11 heading into the NCAA Tournament with only Jacori Teemer being seeded outside the top 10. Beyond that, they have all traded wins and losses with one another, and other competitors, throughout the season. With so many legitimate All-American contenders in this weight, it wouldn’t be that surprising to see one catch fire at NCAAs and make a run to the finals. Check out the table below that highlights the parity in this group.

Brandon Cannon's win over Tommy Askey at Big Tens:

Antrell Taylor's win over Ryder Downey at the 2024 CKLV:

Ryder Downey's win over Antrell Taylor:

Sleepers & Landmines

• #13/19 Cobe Siebrecht, SD State
• #14/13 Jared Hill, Wyoming
• #16/12 Caleb Fish, OK State
• #25/30 James Conway, Missouri

The above group of wrestlers are lower-seed but have recorded high-level wins throughout the year and will be dangerous draws at the NCAA Tournament. Cobe Siebrecht is fresh off his runner-up finish at the Big 12 tournament where he recorded notable wins over Cody Chittum and Jared Hill while only losing to Vinny Zerban. Siebrecht will have a tough draw out of the #19 seed with a battle in the first round against Jude Swisher followed by a potential match against Antrell Taylor in the second round. Despite that, Siebrecht proved at Big 12’s he’s a threat and could surprise a lot of people in Philadelphia. 

Wyoming’s Jared Hill is 23-10 on the year and has notable ranked wins over Tommy Askey, Vinny Zerban, and Cody Chittum. Out of the #13 seed, Hill will have a tough match in the first round against Trevor Chumbley and then likely #4 seed Rafael Hipolito in the second round. While Hill will be the underdog, Hipolito hasn’t been flawless this year and it wouldn’t be that shocking to see Hill make the quarters.

Caleb Fish might not be a “true" sleeper but his #12 seed and 4th place finish at Big 12’s might put him off of some people’s radar considering the rest of the talent at 157 pounds. Fish has recorded several ranked wins this year with the most notable coming over Ryder Downey, Paniro Johnson, and Ed Scott. Fish’s potential second-round match is against Brandon Cannon who is carrying momentum with him coming off of Big Ten’s. However, I expect that to be a competitive bout and if Fish can win that match, he has a great shot at reaching the semifinals. 

Caleb Fish's win over Ryder Downey:

Missouri’s James Conway might be the best representation of a landmine in the 157-pound bracket. Despite his #30 seed, Conway has recorded wins this year over #9 Vinny Zerban and #15 Cody Chittum. Conway will obviously be a big underdog in his opening-round match against Antrell Taylor but if you’re looking for someone to blow up a bracket, Conway might be the man for the job.

157-Pound Predictions

I’d be surprised to see anyone other than Tyler Kasak and Meyer Shapiro in the 157-pound NCAA Finals on Saturday night. They are the two best wrestlers in the bracket and their finals match might be one of the most anticipated bouts of the entire tournament. I’ve gone back-and-forth on this one but I’m picking Shapiro to come out on top over Kasak. For me, Shapiro’s offense is the difference here and I think Shapiro is one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the country when he’s wrestling his best. I think we’ll see that best version of Shapiro in Philadelphia this weekend, and because of that, I'm rolling with Shapiro to win the 2025 157-pound NCAA title.

1. Meyer Shapiro, Cornell

2. Tyler Kasak, Penn State

3. Ryder Downey, UNI

4. Antrell Taylor, Nebraska

5. Jacori Teemer, Iowa

6. Caleb Fish, OK State

7. Brandon Cannon, Ohio State

8. Joey Blaze, Purdue

Rd of 12 - Rafael Hipolito, Virginia Tech

Rd of 12 - Cobe Siebrecht, SD State

Rd of 12 - Ethen Miller, Maryland

Rd of 12 - Cody Chittum, Iowa State