This season we’ve watched some pretty outstanding performances from the freshmen class.

Now, we’ve reached the pinnacle of the season where we see if they can put it all together and claim All-America status. Some have a few of these guys making it to the big stage on Saturday night and even coming away with the ultimate prize. While there are guys like Anthony Ashnault or Bo Nickal who are looking to finish their careers off with history making performances, there are guys listed below looking to add their names to this list of the freshman national champs that have come before them.

NCAA Brackets on FloArena | Full NCAA Coverage

125: Pat Glory, Princeton

Seed: 7

Ranking: 8 

Summary: This true freshman really hit the ground running when he got to Princeton. He became an immediate guy to watch and had people wondering what he’s fully capable of after watch how he battled returning champ Spencer Lee at Midlands. He comes in as the #8 seed, but I see him impressing upon that seed. To make finals he will have a tough path that could include both Lee and #2 seed Nick Piccininni after starting off fellow true freshman Malik Heinselman (Ohio State). The wild card bout for him will probably come in the second round when he will most likely hit Brent Fleetwood of NDSU.

Other freshmen to watch: Vito Arujau, Cornell; Carmen Ferrante, Penn; Malik Heinselman, tOSU

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133: Daton Fix, Oklahoma State

Seed: 1

Ranking: 2

Summary: Fix is the highest seeded freshman in the tournament as he earns the top seed over returning runner-up Stevan Micic. Coming into this season many expected Fix to have the season that he’s put together and now most, including myself, have him coming away with the title. He’s had one loss on the season which came against Micky Phillippi of Pitt who he could run into in the semifinals if the seeds hold. The match to lookout for on Fix’s path to a title is his potential quater where he could hit Chas Tucker who is as stingy as they come.  

In addition to Fix lighting things up here at 133, I see all these freshman making the podium. 

Other freshmen to watch: Roman Bravo-Young, PSU; Austin Gomez, Iowa State; Micky Phillippi, Pitt

141: Dom Demas, Oklahoma

Seed: 9

Ranking: 9

Summary: How dangerous is this guy?! Seriously, Demas makes you feel like you’re wrestling multiple guys at the same time. He has the ability to chain wrestle through positions that most wrestlers will go to out of desperation. He lives in the high flying zone and has no problem tossing someone on their dome. His first match is going to be a good one in my opinion. He will face Virginia Tech true freshman Mitch Moore. 

Other freshmen to watch: Max Murin, Iowa; Mitch Moore, VT

149: Brock Mauller, Missouri 

Seed: 4

Ranking: 5

Summary: If you saw Brock Mauller battle at last year’s Junior World Team Trials, you could see that he was definitely someone to keep an eye on. He’s got two losses on the season and they both came against Iowa State’s Jarret Degen, who he beat to start off the year. But he showed that he’s a force this season with wins over Josh Maruca, Max Thomsen and fellow freshman Kaden Gfeller, who had a pretty noteworthy year as well. A Mauller match to keep an eye on will be on Thursday night when he could hit Anthony Artalona, another freshman to watch in this bracket.

Other freshmen to watch: Kaden Gfeller, OK. State; Austin O’Connor, UNC; Brady Berge, PSU; Anthony Artalona, Penn

157: Josh Humphreys, Lehigh

Seed: 8

Ranking: 13

Summary: One of just two wrestlers in the entire tournament from the state of West Virginia, the other being fellow freshman Noah Adams. Humphreys just dominated his way to an EIWA title where he beat Bucknell’s Zach Hartman, another freshman to keep an eye on at this weight. I consider him a bit of a diamond in the rough at this weight. He can surprise some people, but his patch is pretty hard from the start. He has freshman Justin Ruffin of SIUE in the first round and we’ve seen Coach Jeremy Spates’ guys shock some people before.

Other freshmen to watch: Zach Hartman, Bucknell; Justin Ruffin, SIUE; Jarrett Jacques, Missouri  

165: Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech

Seed: 8

Ranking: 9

Summary: Lewis could be a bracket buster. He came into the season with a lot of attention after winning a Junior World title last summer. En route to making the Junior World Team he defeated top-seeded Alex Marinelli in a big time battle at Junior World Team Trials. Those two could meet in the quarters on Friday morning. His path starts out with Cam Coy who defeated him in the 2015 Powerade finals.

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174: Mikey Labriola, Nebraska

Seed: 10

Ranking: 10

Summary: There were high expectations for Mikey Labs coming into the year. Has he lived up to them? I guess we will see. At this point I think most thought that he’d have a little higher seed, but you know that you have to wrestle the full 7-minutes when you’re across from him. A match to keep an eye on for him early on could come in the second round against Jacobe Smith should they get by Drew Hughes and Daniel Bullard. But in case you forgot, Labriola defeated Smith while in redshirt last year.

Other freshmen to watch: Brit Wilson, N. Illinois; Ethan Smith, Ohio State; Hayden Hastings, Wyoming

184: Louie Deprez, Binghamton 

Seed: 11

Ranking: 12

Summary: Absolute hammer on top. Coming into the season we knew that Deprez was going to be someone to keep an eye on. And while he’s not the highest ranked freshman in the bracket - that belongs to Nino Bonaccorsi - he is the highest seeded after placing third at EIWAs. 

Other freshmen to watch: Nino Bonaccorsi, Pitt; Jackson Hemauer, Fresno State

197: Jacob Warner, Iowa

Seed: 5

Ranking: 5

Summary: To me, Warner is in the same realm that Labriola is in at 174. He’s really talented and can compete with anyone. He’ll have a chance to avenge one of his four losses in the second round where he could run into Rocco Caywood who beat him 5-3 at Midlands. Warner certainly has AA potential, and I see him on the podium on Saturday night, but it’s not going to be easy. He is on the same side as Patrick Brucki who he could see in the quarters. The winner of that bout will see Bo Nickal in the semis.

Other freshmen to watch: Jake Woodley, Oklahoma; Noah Adams, West Virginia

285: Gable Steveson, Minnesota

Seed: 3

Ranking: 2

Summary: Until taking a loss to Anthony Cassar in the Big Ten finals, he looked invincible this season. He was certainly the most talked about guy of the year with many asking if he was going to be the next undefeated four-timer. Well that’s out the window, but four-timer part is yet to be determined. He has a tough path which will most-likely include Amar Dhesi and Cassar in the quarters and semis. No matter what, he’s got a good chance to add his name to the list of true freshman NCAA Champs.

Other freshmen to watch: Trent Hillger, Wisconsin; Mason Parris, Michigan; Chase Singletary, tOSU

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