The NCAA tournament is the pinnacle of the collegiate wrestling season, where a grueling season culminates with the crowning of 10 individual champions.

But the flip side to glory is the bitter disappointment of unrealized dreams. All weekend long, the arena tunnels and lockers rooms are strewn with the shattered minds and bodies of defeated wrestlers.

The record books will always be a prominent place for champions, but here we'll carve out a special section for the best who never become champs. This is a place for the greats who never quite made it to the top of the NCAA podium, yet remain some of the most dominant and dynamic competitors of their era.

Previous Entries: 125 Pounds | 133 Pounds | 141 Pounds | 149 Pounds | 157 Pounds | 165 Pounds | 174 Pounds | 184 Pounds | 197 Pounds | 285 Pounds

To limit the size of our lists, and to lower the burden of research to a relatively sane amount, we very arbitrarily narrowed our time frame to the last 10 years. Due to creative redshirting, this rule proved difficulty to adhere to, but a general rule of thumb is anyone who used up his eligibility by 2009 was not included. Hence the absence of Mike Poeta, an incredible 157-pound wrestler for Illinois who thrice placed in the top three of NCAA.

For our final list, we're counting down the top ten of the last 10 years (or thereabouts) from all 10 weight classes. And to keep things as objective as possible, we just added up the total hypothetical NCAA placement and advancement points based on career finishes. There are many other factors you can consider that would change the order and composition of this list, and all of them are valid to varying degrees. They are just not being used for this particular list. 

Next to each wrestlers name and school will be their theoretical career team point career, as well as their placements at the NCAA tournament.

TOP 10 TO NEVER WIN AN NCAA TITLE IN THE LAST 10 YEARS

1. Mike McMullan, Northwestern -- 56.5 (3, 2, 3, 3)

2. Tyler Caldwell, Oklahoma/OK State -- 55.5 (5, 2, 3, 2)

3. Dylan Ness, Minnesota -- 53.5 (2, 4, 2, 6)

4. Tyler Graff, Wisconsin -- 49.5 (5, 5, 3, 2)

5. Mitchell Port, Edinboro -- 47.5 (R12, 2, 3, 2)

6. Craig Brester, Nebraska -- 46.5 (R12, 4, 2, 2)

7. Logan Storley, Minnesota -- 47.5 (6, 4, 3, 4)

8. Nick Amuchastegui, Stanford -- 45 (R24, 4, 2, 2)

9. Robert Hamlin, Lehigh -- 44.5 (R32, 2, 4, 2)

10. Montell Marion, Iowa -- 44.5 (DNQ, 2, 4, 2)

It's also worth pointing out that there are two wrestlers going into their senior year this season that could end up on the list. However, we don't want to jinx their chances of getting that elusive championship, so they will remain unnamed. If you want to know who they are, you'll have to figure it out on your own. By next year though, if these two competitors end up again in second place, they will have completed their careers with enough theoretical team points to place them in the top 3 of the best to never win of the last ten years. 

Disagree with the list? Let us know in the comments and thanks for reading!

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