No weight class has been as chaotic as 125 pounds over the past few years in college wrestling. This weight has had it all - incredible upsets, new #1's every week, a freshman NCAA Champion, and outstanding parity. With six All-Americans returning from last year and a host of other contenders, there's no end to the chaos in sight. Check out the article below as we take a deep dive into the 125-pound weight class before the start of the 2025-26 college season!

Returning 2025 All-Americans

• #1 Vincent Robinson, NC State - 1st
• #2 Troy Spratley, OK State - 2nd
• #3 Luke Lilledahl, Penn State - 3rd
• #4 Eddie Ventresca, Virginia Tech - 5th
• #5 Sheldon Seymour, Lehigh - 6th
• #7 Stevo Poulin, Iowa State - 8th

Past All-Americans

• #8 Jore Volk, Minnesota - 7th in 2024 for Wyoming

The Favorites

• #1 Vincent Robinson, NC State
• #2 Troy Spratley, OK State
• #3 Luke Lilledahl, Penn State

The 125-pound weight class has been filled with parity the past few years, and this year should be no exception. Because of that, there isn’t a clear favorite entering this season, but I’ve listed the top 3 finishers at last year’s NCAA Tournament as the favorites to finish on top of the podium in 2026. Vincent Robinson leads this pick as the returning NCAA champion and will be looking to become the first repeat champ at 125 since Spencer Lee in 2019-2021. Robinson put together a phenomenal freshman campaign with a 24-3 record with notable victories over Troy Spratley (twice), Sheldon Seymour (twice), Dean Peterson, and a host of other ranked wrestlers. Beyond the successes, Robinson’s only losses came against Eddie Ventresca (twice) and Matt Ramos (an injury default). Robinson will be the man to beat this year, but will be tested early at the National Duals Invitational with an opening round match against Northern Iowa’s #12 Trever Anderson and then a potential NCAA finals rematch against #2 Troy Spratley in the second round. Will the chaos continue at 125 this year, or will Robinson separate himself from the pack?

Hear from Vincent Robinson before the start of the 2025-26 NCAA season:

Last season, Troy Spratley fell just short of winning an NCAA title, losing in tiebreakers to Vincent Robinson, 2-1. Despite that loss, Spratley was incredibly consistent from start to finish with a 24-5 record and victories over All-Americans Eddie Ventresca (twice), Matt Ramos, Stevo Poulin, Tanner Jordan, Caleb Smith, and Jore Volk. That amazing hit list proves Spratley jumped a level from the 2023-24 season when he fell short of All-American honors by losing in the round of 12. If Spratley can make even minor improvements from last season, he’s capable of finishing on top of the podium this year in March.

Luke Lilledahl is the final wrestler that should be considered a favorite at 125 pounds heading into the season. Lilledahl finished third at the 2025 NCAA Tournament with a 26-3 record in his true freshman campaign. He was the Big Ten Champion and recorded victories over All-Americans Matt Ramos (twice), Eddie Ventresca, Stevo Poulin, Caleb Smith (twice), and Sheldon Seymour. Even with his losses to Dean Peterson, Brendan McCrone, and Sheldon Seymour, Lilledahl was incredibly consistent for a true freshman, and I expect to see him jump levels in his ability to secure bonus points this year. On top of the folkstyle success, Lilledahl is an incredible freestyler and is currently ranked #12 in the world at 57 kg. Lilledahl is a world-class wrestler and has all the skills to win an NCAA title this year. 

Lilledahl's win for third place over Matt Ramos:

The Contenders

• #4 Eddie Ventresca, Virginia Tech
• #5 Sheldon Seymour, Lehigh
• #6 Jett Strickenberger, West Virginia
• #7 Stevo Poulin, Iowa State
• #8 Jore Volk, Minnesota

The above group of 5 wrestlers shows just how much parity exists at the 125-pound weight class. Ventresca is the highest returning placer of this bunch and has a case to be considered a favorite due to his 2-0 record against NCAA Champ Robinson last year. He also only suffered overtime losses at the NCAA Tournament last year, losing to Troy Spratley in the semifinals (6-4, TB) and Luke Lilledahl in the consi-semis. Despite his wins over Robinson, Ventresca’s style of wrestling kept me from putting him as a favorite. He often struggles to generate offense and will keep matches closer than they need to be. In fact, Ventresca wrestled in 6 overtime matches last season, going 4-2 in those matches. To move into title contention, Ventresca needs to find a way to score more points against the best wrestlers in the country.

Hear from Eddie Ventresca before the start of the 2025-26 NCAA season:

#5 Sheldon Seymour is similar to Ventresca in that he has a win over a favorite and often wrestles in close, low-scoring matches. Last year, Sheldon Seymour upset Luke Lilledahl in overtime (3-2, TB-3) to make the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. However, the only other All-American Seymour defeated last year was Caleb Smith (7-3 at the NCAA Tournament). As already mentioned, Seymour frequently wrestles in close matches and has had 10 of his 30 matches decided by 3 points or less. Even still, Seymour’s only losses last year were to All-Americans, and he’s one of the smartest wrestlers in the weight class. He’s not the most dynamic wrestler, but he’s capable of winning every match he wrestles this year. 

Unlike Ventresca and Seymour, #6 Jett Strickenberger is a gun slinger (sometimes literally). Strickenberger seldom wrestles in low-scoring matches and is one of the most dangerous wrestlers at 125 pounds. Last year, Strickenberger defeated Troy Spratley twice and also had victories over All-Americans Stevo Poulin and Zan Fugitt. Even with that success, Strickenberger fell just short of All-American honors and lost two matches at the NCAA Tournament in overtime - 4-1 to Eddie Ventresca (in the quarters) and 12-9 to Caleb Smith (in the round of 12). Despite falling short of the podium last year, Strickenberger is an All-American favorite this year and has all the potential to go on a deep run at the NCAA Tournament.

Strickenberger's pin over Spratley:

After falling short two years in a row, #7 Stevo Poulin finally achieved All-American honors last year, finishing in 8th place. Poulin didn’t record any wins over any of the wrestlers in the favorites category, but he was incredibly consistent from the beginning of the season through March. I expect that type of consistency again this year, but it might be tougher now that he’s at Iowa State. Not counting individual tournaments, Poulin will have big-time potential matches against Dean Peterson, Sheldon Seymour, Brendan McCrone/Nic Bouzakis, Nico Provo, Troy Spratley, Jett Strickenberger, and Trever Anderson. We’ll learn a lot about Poulin throughout the season and whether or not he’s ready to climb the podium in his final year of college.

Jore Volk is the final wrestler I consider a contender and, like Poulin, is wrestling at a new institution this year. Volk spent the first three years of his collegiate career at Wyoming, but he has two years of eligibility left and will be competing for Minnesota this year. Along with the new singlet, it will be especially interesting watching Volk compete this year after missing almost all of last season with an injury. However, two years ago Volk finished 7th at the 2024 NCAA Tournament and recorded wins that year over Tanner Jordan (twice), Braeden Davis, Nico Provo, Brandon Kaylor, Troy Spratley (twice), Caleb Smith (twice), and Richard Figueroa. If Volk is back to 100%, I expect him to challenge for a title this year. 

Wrestlers With Wins Over All-Americans

The parity at 125 pounds is absolutely insane, and the above group of contenders could have been twice as big. However, for the sake of time, I’m limiting that group to five, but would still like to highlight wrestlers who have recorded wins over All-Americans in their college careers. Below, you’ll see all of the wrestlers in the 125-pound field who have victories over All-Americans and the AA they defeated. I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of the following wrestlers on the podium in March.

• #9 Nicolar Rivera, Wisconsin - Zan Fugitt
• #10 Dean Peterson, Iowa - Luke Lilledahl, Richard Figueroa, Matt Ramos, Patrick McKee
• #11 Nico Provo, Stanford - Richard Figueroa, Jore Volk, Matt Ramos, Stevo Poulin
• #12 Trever Anderson, UNI - Richard Figueroa, Caleb Smith
• #13 Spencer Moore, Illinois - Eddie Ventresca
• #15 Blake West, Northern Illinois - Michael DeAugustino
• #16 Maximo Renteria, Oregon State - Richard Figueroa, Tanner Jordan
• #17 Cooper Flynn, Chattanooga - Stevo Poulin
• #19 Brendan McCrone, Ohio State - Luke Lilledahl, Eddie Ventresca, Sheldon Seymour
• Nic Bouzakis, Ohio State - Kai Orine, Dylan Shawver, Zan Fugitt, Anthony Noto, Tyler Knox, Aaron Nagao, Zeth Romney
• #20 Diego Sotelo, Michigan - Jore Volk, Anthony Noto
• #21 Kysen Terukina, North Carolina - Eric Barnett, Tanner Jordan, Stevo Poulin, Killian Cardinale

Sleepers & Landmines

• Nic Bouzakis, Ohio State
• Marc-Anthony McGowan, Princeton
• Kael Lauridsen, Nebraska
• Beric Jordan, Oklahoma
• Diego Sotelo, Michigan

The above group of five is all wrestlers that I could see inserting themselves into All-American contention this year. Nic Bouzakis leads this group and could be the most dangerous of them all, coming down from 133 pounds. As shown above, Bouzakis has victories over a remarkable seven past All-Americans. Bouzakis finished in the round of 16 at the 2024 NCAA Tournament and was one win shy of reaching the podium last year. If Bouzakis can make the weight effectively, he could be a force for the Buckeyes and challenge for an NCAA title.

Marc-Anthony McGowan was the #21 overall-ranked recruit out of the class of 2023 and put together a solid season during his freshman campaign last year. McGowan accumulated a 16-4 record on the year and ultimately went 1-2 at the NCAA Tournament. Though it didn’t turn out in his favor, McGowan’s most notable result of the year was in his loss to Vincent Robinson at NCAAs. In that match, McGowan was leading late before Robinson secured a takedown with less than 3 seconds left. McGowan’s only other losses on the year were to Cooper Flynn (2-1), Dean Peterson (7-1), and Jacob Moran (8-5, OT). We often see wrestlers make a jump in their second year starting, and if that’s the case with McGowan, I expect him to be right there with the contenders this year.

Kael Lauridsen and Beric Jordan are two similar prospects heading into their first year starting for the respective programs. Lauridsen was 6-3 last year in his redshirt year with losses only to Nicolar Rivera, Kysen Terukina, and Brady Roark. Lauridsen’s best win was over national qualifier Antonio Lorenzo. Jordan wrestled a more robust schedule and was 14-3 last year. Jordan defeated only one national qualifier (Koda Holeman) but also only lost to national qualifiers - Keyveon Roller, Spencer Moore, and Blake Boarman. I expect both Lauridsen and Jordan to notch some big wins and climb the rankings as the season unfolds.

Diego Sotelo is the final wrestler in this group and will finish his college career at Michigan after graduating from Harvard. Sotelo is a two-time NCAA Qualifier but failed to reach the NCAA Tournament last year after losing to Marcello Milani and Max Gallagher at the IVY League Championships. Still, Sotelo’s past wins over Jore Volk and Anthony Noto prove he has a high ceiling, and with an improved training situation, I expect Sotelo to make some noise this year at 125.

125-Pound NCAA Predictions

Trying to predict the NCAA Champ at 125 this year feels a bit like pulling a name out of a hat. Vince Robinson had an outstanding 2025 NCAA Tournament, but his overtime and come-from-behind wins aren’t necessarily a recipe for success that’s repeatable. Couple that with the deep field at 125, and I have a hard time picking Robinson to win again in 2026. With that in mind, I’m picking Luke Lilledahl to win the NCAA Title this year. I think Lilledahl is the best neutral wrestler in the country at the weight, and I expect his mat wrestling and folkstyle tactics to improve this year. I don’t feel incredibly confident, but I believe Luke Lilledahl is the best wrestler in the country at 125 pounds.

Full 125 Pounds All-American Predictions

1. Luke Lilledahl, Penn State
2. Vincent Robinson, NC State
3. Nic Bouzakis, Ohio State
4. Eddie Ventresca, Virginia Tech
5. Troy Spratley, OK State
6. Jore Volk, Minnesota
7. Dean Peterson, Iowa
8. Nico Provo, Stanford