A comprehensive look at all 10 of our individual weight class previews for the 2019-20 NCAA Division I season.

Summer has turned to fall, which means the leaves (and Flo’s logo) are changing from green to red. It also means folkstyle has returned, and college wrestling is back!

Preview szn will take into account many things, from weight class rankings to redshirt reports to the crystal ball rankings, to try to give you as clear a picture as possible of what’s in store for the 2019-20 season. The specter of Olympic Trials will hang over the year, impacting weight class changes and the depth of some brackets at NCAAs.

One of the best things about previews is reading them back at the end of the year to see how the lay of the land changed and how our perceptions of certain teams and athletes evolved. At 125, the two-time defending champ is back, and there is a clear tier at the top. Read on to see who else is in contention to place, who the dark horses are, and what new blood is ready to make an impact right away.

The Favorite: #1 Spencer Lee, Iowa

Entering this season, the Hawkeye has an opportunity to become just the second wrestler to win three NCAA titles at 125lbs, the first being Stephen Abas. Perhaps even more impressively, he is attempting to do so without ever having taken a redshirt. Speaking of which, it sounds like an Olympic Redshirt is off the table, though he may miss a few competitions for Iowa as he attempts to qualify for the Trials in April.

The junior was unquestionably the most oft-discussed wrestler last season, which happens when you lose even one match as the biggest star on a team with a national brand. However, he once again overcame a few regular-season losses and won the title from the three seed for the second straight year.

The questions seem obvious for the Pennsylvania legend. Since he’s not redshirting, how many freestyle events will he do? Will he focus more on his feet than in previous years to better prepare for freestyle? Can he go undefeated and win his first Big Ten crown? Is Sebastian Rivera the one guy who can beat him, or is Spencer just one of those rare guys who is unbeatable in March?

For more context, here is a portion of a paragraph I wrote in last year’s preview: For the rest of Spencer's career, there will be questions like, can he have a season with 100% bonus? Can he be a four-time champ? Will he break Cael Sanderson's career NCAA tournament points record?

No matter how his regular season goes, the fans in Iowa City are expecting Lee to lead the Black and Gold to their first team title in a decade.

Other Contenders

#2 Jack Mueller, Virginia

#3 Sebastian Rivera, Northwestern

#4 Nick Piccininni, Oklahoma State

#5 Pat Glory, Princeton

Ronnie Bresser was the only All-American to graduate, and Vito Arujua is taking an Olympic Redshirt. On paper right now, there is a very clear top five that I have a pretty hard time seeing anyone else crack into. One guy with eligibility left from last year's final ranking in Drew Mattin has moved up. There's a chance Nick Suriano wrestles in the second semester, possibly back down at 125.

Mueller’s only loss last year was to Spencer Lee in the NCAA finals. The UVA senior’s 8-2 win over Sebastian Rivera in the semis was one of the more impressive and dominating victories that weekend in Pittsburgh. After not placing as a sophomore up at 133, the former U23 world team member is staying down at his true weight for his final season in Charlottesville as he tries to become a three-time All-American. That would make him the third Cavalier to do so, after Chris Henrich and Nick Sulzer.

Rivera catapulted himself to stardom last season with his wins over Spencer Lee in the finals of Midlands and the Big Tens, not to mention when he bumped up to face then #1 Stevan Micic. He summed it up well in his interview after NCAAs, which is an absolute must-watch, by the way:

“I went from the guy that nobody knew to on the map. I’m known across the country now.”

But he also got into how he felt his banner year was a little incomplete without a national title. We'll get into this later in our key dates portion of the preview, but we might get a double dose of Mueller/Rivera this year at CKLV and Midlands.

Somehow Nick Piccininni has never faced either Mueller or Rivera, so I have a hard time knowing if he can make the NCAA finals going through one or both of those guys. Although his pin of Lee was an iconic moment from last season, he's 1-3 overall against Spencer in his career, including two not-so-close matches at the national tournament. With Daton Fix and Kaid Brock both out this year, and a number of freshmen starting, it will be on seniors Picc and Joe Smith to carry the load for the Cowboys.

Pat Glory had a great entrance to college wrestling, finishing in sixth place with 30 wins on the year. The #17 prospect on the 2018 Big Board, a third of Glory's wins came over NCAA qualifiers. But, like most freshmen, his biggest issues came on bottom, getting pinned twice and giving up back points in his other five losses. Aside from all that though, Princeton went all in this year with their #BurnTheShips motif.

Today is the 1st day of the 2019-20 season. No going back, #BurnTheShips. Do your thing internet, lets go viral!
Get your season tickets here https://t.co/9JFrGBucnD @FloWrestling @ncaawrestling pic.twitter.com/FIqp32nS2b

— Princeton Wrestling (@tigerwrestling) October 15, 2019

Best of the Rest

#6 RayVon Foley, Michigan State

#7 Korbin Myers, Virginia Tech

#8 Michael McGee, Old Dominion

#9 Drew Hildebrandt, Central Michigan

#10 Jacob Schwarm, Northern Iowa

#11 Travis Piotrowski, Illinois

Crowded field here fighting for the last few All-American spots. Foley is the clear-cut best guy of this group right now, having placed last year and drastically increasing his bonus rate from his freshman year. A former Fargo champ in Greco, he came back from an injury at Big Tens to place seventh in Pittsburgh, which was still lingering into May at the Junior Trials.

Korbin Myers is a fascinating addition to the weight, though we might not see him for a while due to injury. He's dropping down from 133 where he has been a three-time qualifier, once for the Hokies and twice for Edinboro before that. If he can manage the cut, he'll be a top-10 guy from start to finish and a guy VT will need to do well since Mekhi Lewis is taking an Olympic Redshirt.

Another stud wrestling out of the Commonwealth is Michael McGee, who was in the round of 12 last year. He took some losses in the first half of the year (Shakur Laney, Brandon Cray, Kyle Biscoglia), but then went on a tear in the second semester to finish 27-6 against D1 competition. He had an excellent overtime battle with Foley at the Reno TOC.

McGee is 5-0 lifetime against Drew Hildebrandt, the brother of women's world silver medalist Sarah Hildebrandt. The Central Michigan lightweight went from a .500 wrestler who didn't qualify for NCAAs as a freshman to starting the year ranked ninth as a junior.

Jacob Schwarm is one of the most unorthodox 125s in the country and has an excellent top game. Between being a senior and being pushed by redshirt freshman Kyle Biscoglia it may be enough to jump him up into AA contention for the Panther Train. Whether it's this year or next though, Biscoglia will eventually be making an impact for the Schwab Mob.

Piotrowski split with Schwarm last season and was top 10 in the early part of the year. A three-time qualifier for the Illini, this would be a great season to set a high standard for future lightweights Justin Cardani and Lucas Byrd to chase after.

Sleepers and Landmines

#12 Devin Schroder, Purdue

#13 Alex Mackall, Iowa State

#14 Cole Verner, Wyoming

Austin Assad, Michigan

Yes, I know the first three are just going in order of the rankings. However, that's in some way what those guys still are. All of the terms associated are guaranteed to inspire insult, whether it is "sleeper" or "darkhorse" or "landmine" or even the new one from Willie, "sneaker." But the reason you have to use those terms is that their current results do not currently suggest a pattern that allows you to pick them to do things like be an All-American, even though you recognize they may have the talent to do so.

For example, Schroder did not start his first two years and even then had 13 losses last season. Mackall was a transfer who helped the Cyclones overperform at NCAAs with a pin on the backside. Verner started off his career in the junior college system and yo-yoed in and out of the rankings. All of these guys are very good wrestlers with strong attributes — they just need to put it together on the mat. And we're here to tell you, they can; they just may have not done it yet.

Drew Mattin has moved up to 133 (or possibly even 141), leaving fifth-year senior Austin Assad in the 125 role for the Wolverines. Including his redshirt year, Assad has just 46 matches under his belt collegiately, but if he can stay healthy for a full season he's probably the most likely of anyone in this group to jump onto the podium.

New Blood

#20 Jakob Camacho, NC State

#22 Joey Melendez, North Carolina

#24 Patrick McKee, Minnesota

Alex Thomsen, Nebraska

Brody Teske, Penn State

Michael Colaiocco, Penn

Eric Barnett, Wisconsin

A ton of good freshmen coming into this weight. The highest-ranked is Camacho, who will be taking over for Sean Fausz in Raleigh. He came into the Wolfpack with a strong pedigree, ending up #23 on the 2018 Big Board after winning both Super 32 and FloNationals to go along with a third-place finish at Fargo. He went 21-2 against D1 competition last year, winning three opens and getting third at the Southern Scuffle.

Besides beating two NCAA qualifiers, one other of Camacho's wins came over his ACC rival in Joey Melendez right down Tobacco Road in Chapel Hill. The Illinois native won two Opens, beat a couple of qualifiers, and gained valuable experience by nearly placing at Midlands.

McKee is finally back on a team with his brother Mitch. He had an abbreviated season, with just 12 matches against other Division I wrestlers and only one win over a qualifier. He always had better results in freestyle, so it will be fun to see his folkstyle development as he takes over the starting spot for the Gophers. His rivalry with Alex Thomsen should continue from high school, as they might meet a half dozen times over the next few years.

Speaking of freestyle results, the two best true freshmen finished second and third respectively in the challenge tournament at JR Trials. Michael Colaiocco sometimes looks like an absolute buzzsaw, and has a ton of high-level experience coming from the nation's #1 high school program in Blair Academy. I have him placing right away for the Quakers.

Barnett beat Foley 10-9 at JR Trials, but six of those points came off gut wrenches. Similarly, he took out Teske in the bloodround of the Open 6-4 off two crotch locks and his takedown came off the threat of a crotch lock. Nonetheless, if he starts right away for the Badgers as I expect, he's going to be a real threat in the murderous Big Ten.

Teske is the favorite to take over at 125 for the four-time defending champs. It's very difficult to gauge where he's at, only competing in the Southern Scuffle and then having a couple matches at 133 in the final open of the year, plus not placing in Vegas, though he did beat Camacho there.

Key Dates

Nov. 2: Michigan State Open

Dec. 6: Princeton at Oklahoma State

Dec. 6-7: CKLV

Dec. 8: Iowa at Princeton

Dec. 29-30: Midlands

Feb. 15: Penn at Princeton

Feb. 23: Oklahoma State at Iowa

Starting off the first weekend of the year, we could potentially see #6 Foley vs Colaiocco at the MSU Open. Otherwise though it could be a slow first month for the top ranked guys.

The first weekend in December is going to be bananas. You've got Princeton's weekend from Hell, with Glory having to face #4 Piccininni and #1 Lee in that order on Friday and Saturday. Meanwhile in Vegas, we could get our first of two potential rematches from last year's semis between #2 Mueller and #3 Rivera.

The second could come at Midlands, with the winner probably getting Spencer Lee. Also there will be EIWA studs in Glory and Colaiocco, the latter of whom should be ranked by then. We're going to have a pretty exact picture of the NCAA seeds by the new year.

January is not without ranked matchups, but few in the top 10. It all depends on how Virginia Duals gets paired up. Getting into February, we'll see Glory vs Colaiocco in a dual meet, and finish off the year with Lee vs Picc round five.

Nomad’s Predictions

1. Spencer Lee, Iowa
2. Jack Mueller, Virginia
3. Sebastian Rivera, Northwestern
4. Nick Piccininni, Oklahoma State
5. Pat Glory, Princeton
6. Michael Colaiocco, Penn
7. RayVon Foley, Michigan State
8. Michael McGee, Old Dominion

Here's the thing about any content we write in the preseason: All we have to go off of is the matches, most of which are from last season. We don't know who put in the right work in the offseason, who changed their personal relationships that may push them forward or hold them back, and whose mental game took a leap forward. That's why it's so good to do the tiers for each weight heading into the year, because it allows us to see the changes in perception that come with talking about how the weight looks on paper in the fall vs seeing how it plays out in real life in March.

I say all that because we've never seen Piccininni wrestle Mueller or Rivera, and I'm having a hard time deciding if Rivera can ever beat Mueller. If Rivera doesn't take that shot right away, does Mueller get an immediate takedown and then ride him for 2 minutes and 54 seconds? That part may be changed, but Mueller did get another takedown off his own leg attack. Even if Rivera corrects those positions on his feet, it's impossible to ignore five and a half minutes of riding time.

As I've said above, it's so difficult to know how Picc can do against Rivera and Mueller, but his prior years suggest fourth is where he is in the pecking order. Meanwhile Glory got multiple matches against Picc and Rivera, and showed that he can win them, just never got over the hump. He no doubt has the ability to, I just am not pulling the trigger on it right now in the preseason.

If you've seen the best version of Colaiocco, you know he is the kind of guy that can put together a tournament in March. While he did lose kind of big to that top tier last year, it's hard not to see a fully healthy Foley placing again. Old Dominion isn't really a stranger to the podium, and McGee seems right on the precipice of breaking through.

133 Pounds

Preview szn will take into account many things, from weight class rankings to redshirt reports to the crystal ball rankings, to try to give you as clear a picture as possible of what’s in store for the 2019-20 season. The specter of Olympic Trials will hang over the year, impacting weight class changes and the depth of some brackets at NCAAs.

One of the best things about previews is reading them back at the end of the year to see how the lay of the land changed and how our perceptions of certain teams and athletes evolved. At 133, there was a pretty big exodus of talent, for this season at least, and the return of a national champ. Read on to see who else is in contention to place, who the dark horses are, and what new blood is ready to make an impact right away.

The Favorite: #1 Seth Gross, Wisconsin

One of the biggest transfers of the last decade, 2018 NCAA champ Gross reunited with his former coaches at South Dakota State in Chris Bono and Jon Reader to finish off his college career in Madison. It was a huge get for the Badgers, especially in a year where team trophies look more wide open than ever due to Olympic Redshirts.

We will see Gross doing some freestyle, however, and Wisconsin designed their schedule a specific way for that reason. He’s going to be at 57kg for the Bill Farrell in November, and if he wins there he won’t have to go to the Senior Nationals/Olympic Trials qualifier in December in Fort Worth.

Spoiler alert, but Gross is going to be the preseason favorite when we do our Hodge rankings in the next few days. His last two full seasons, he’s 63-3 overall with first- and second-place finishes at NCAAs. Throwing out him bumping up to face Bryce Meredith and excluding non-D1 guys, he’s 61-2 with an 82.5-percent bonus rate and 4.6 dominance score since November of 2016.

Other Contenders

#2 Austin DeSanto, Iowa

#3 Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State

#4 Micky Phillippi, Pittsburgh

#5 Austin Gomez, Iowa State

Before we start it should be noted that Nick Suriano, Daton Fix, and Stevan Micic will all be taking Olympic Redshirts, Luke Pletcher and Tariq Wilson have moved up to 141, and there is still a small chance Iowa goes with Gavin Teasdale and bumps DeSanto up.

DeSanto only had one loss last year to a guy who returns at the weight, the 14-9 defeat to Austin Gomez in the dual with the Cyclones. He beat RBY twice, a guy he’ll likely have to beat twice more again this season, but he walks in as the favorite to be in the finals opposite Gross. One of the few guys in the country who can take down anyone, including even Fix and Suriano, the Hawkeye junior is once again going to have to win matches on his feet.

In his second year in Happy Valley, I’m curious to see what jumps Bravo-Young has made. His bonus rate was 37.5 percent last year, can he get that up closer to 50? Four of his seven losses are gone, so will he be able to keep his loss total under two and get a much better seed this March? I believe most of that will need to come from an improved top game. To give some context, he earned riding time in 13 matches but only picked up nearfall in six of his 31 bouts.

Phillippi made it through the gauntlet coming into NCAAs, beating Pletcher, Fix, Wilson, and Ethan Lizak during the season, along with avenging a loss to Korbin Myers. All of that rightfully earned him the four seed at the national tournament, and even then he made the quarters with a win over Gomez. But a late first-period takedown by Pletcher and takedown at the end of the second against Bravo-Young sealed Micky’s fate, heartbreaking losses that kept him from placing not just in the city where he goes to school, but in his hometown as well.

Austin Gomez had a tumultuous offseason after his redshirt year, losing a coach in Mike Zadick that he loved wrestling for and had a lot of trust in. But now he’s got Joey Palmer and Jesse Delgado in the room to train with. Palmer had two wins over world teamer Tyler Graff at the Open and Delgado is a two-time NCAA champ. Gomez split with DeSanto last year and beat RBY, and his nemesis Fix won’t be in the mix, so Gomez very well could have a real shot to make the finals.

Best of the Rest

#6 Chas Tucker, Cornell

#7 Montorie Bridges, Wyoming

Although most of the Big Red lineup will be taking Olympic redshirts, Chas Tucker is the only one who will be competing at a world championship event. The U23 world team member will be one of the team leaders this year in Ithaca, along with Ben Darmstadt. He’s just 2-4 in his two trips to NCAAs, but also has wins over Luke Pletcher and Austin DeSanto in his career.

This paragraph was originally about #7 Taylor LaMont of Utah Valley, who was coming off a redshirt to recover from surgery. But LaMont will be taking an Olympic Redshirt as he tries to make the team in Greco at 60kg.

Bridges placed in 2018, then fell short last year as the 12 seed in a much-improved weight class. With several guys leaving, he’s back in All-American contention but is the same guy he always was. He still has two more years to do what Bryce Meredith never did and win a title for the Cowboys, but he’s still got to clear the hurdles of making the semis and finals first.

Sleepers and Landmines

#8 Noah Gonser, Campbell

#9 Cam Sykora, North Dakota State

#10 DJ Fehlman, Lock Haven

#13 Paul Konrath, Indiana

#17 Mario Guillen, Ohio

Coach Cary Kolat strategically redshirted a bunch of guys last year, and now they return nine starters in what is obviously a potentially massive year for Campbell. One of the team leaders is senior Gonser, a two-time qualifier for the Camels. He has an opportunity for a great seed, especially if he does well at Midlands once again. One of the nation's best wrestlers on top, I strongly recommend against choosing bottom when facing the Michigan native.

Speaking of being good on top, Sykora has made a living off his ability to ride. The fifth year senior bonuses over half the people he wrestles, and is a three-time qualifier for the Bison. However, he's gone 1-2 in every trip to nationals and has double digit losses every year, so a bit of consistency is needed to land on the podium in his final go round.

Keeping with our theme here, you really don't have a choice but to be a constant threat to turn people when you go to Lock Haven. It comes with the territory of having Scott Moore as your coach, who had 34 pins his senior year. Fehlman's got a long way to go to get there, with just 15 falls in his career, but if he comes through and places in Minneapolis, it's because he breaking guys on top.

No, Konrath did not qualify for NCAAs last year, and he bounced between 133 and 141 after transferring from Wisconsin. But that's part of the point of this section — that the wrestler's resume doesn't suggest they are necessarily an easy pick to be an All-American. But his coach Angel Escobedo was one of the best lightweights a decade ago, so I'm betting that one of his guys in the first three weights will benefit from that this year.

Here's the thing. One or more of Ohio's first four weights is going to be really really good, and I'm going with the lighter Guillen, who placed twice at Ironman. The Bobcats had five AAs from 2010-2016, so it's not unrealistic that they get another one on the podium this year. The biggest thing for Guillen will be getting a full year under his belt, as he only wrestled 22 matches last season.

New Blood

Jordan Decatur, Ohio State

Julian Chlebove, Arizona State

Reece Witcraft, Oklahoma State

#15 Collin Gerardi, Virginia Tech

#20 Jarrett Trombley, NC State

Drew Bennett, Northern Iowa

We've known about Decatur and Chlebove since they were freshmen in high school, so if you watch absolutely zero high school wrestling, here is your warning. They were uber prospects, clear blue chips, which guarantees nothing, but they have the pedigree of guys who can come in and compete right away. Chlebove was a three-time Pennsylvania state champ and Decatur went 2-0 at Who's #1 along with being a Cadet wold teamer.

Reece Witcraft won an Ironman title for Broken Arrow and a Fargo Greco title for team Oklahoma while in high school. With Fix focusing on freestyle, it seems like Witcraft is the best man for the job. He's got D1 athleticism and isn't afraid to throw people, so he'll be one of the most exciting Cowboys out the chute.

Trombley flew under the radar in high school and made the semis in Vegas at the JR Open. A classic NC State get, he was #74 on the 2018 Big Board and went 21-6 last season. One of his wins came over fellow ACC redshirt freshman in Collin Gerardi. The Virginia native took RBY to overtime at the Scuffle and should be the starter for the Hokies.

He'll be in a roster battle, but I expect Drew Bennett to make a good jump this year for the Panther Train. In general, the 2018 recruiting class brought in by the Schwab Mob will be impacting West Gym sooner than later.

Key Dates

Nov. 15: Ohio State at Pitt

Nov. 22: Penn State at Arizona State

Dec. 1: Wisconsin at Iowa

Dec. 29-30: Midlands

Jan. 1-2: Southern Scuffle

Jan. 11: Iowa State at Arizona State

Jan. 31: Penn State at Iowa

Feb. 7: Penn State at Wisconsin

Feb. 15: Ohio State vs Penn State

That Friday in November could give us our first glimpse of how good Jordan Decatur can be this year when the Buckeyes travel to Fitzgerald Field House and he sees #4 Phillippi in perhaps just the fifth match of his young career. Similarly, a week later will be the first test for Julian Chlebove as he'll get All-American Roman Bravo-Young at home in Tempe.

Gomez won't be down at 133 until CKLV, so that means we won't get to see him vs DeSanto in the November 24th dual between the Cyclones and the Hawkeyes.

The hits don't stop coming, as we'll get Gross/DeSanto to kick off December, and then probably should get it again at the end of the month in the Midlands finals. A few days later we're set up for a Gomez/Phillippi Scuffle final in a rematch of their second round bout from NCAAs.

Starting off the second semester, the Cyclones travel to ASU as Gomez will test the young Chlebove. Then January closes out with the dual of the century of the year when the Nittany Lions travel to Iowa City for the first time since 2017 and RBY/DeSanto will be one of the headlining matchups.

The late conference slog for RBY includes a road dual against Gross and then his high school rivalry with Jordan Decatur will be renewed on February 15. They wrestled four times in Akron, including for the 2016 world team spot.

Nomad's Predictions

1. Seth Gross, Wisconsin
2. Austin DeSanto, Iowa
3. Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State
4. Austin Gomez, Iowa State
5. Micky Phillippi, Pittsburgh
6. Montorie Bridges, Wyoming
7. Julian Chlebove, Arizona State
8. Chas Tucker, Cornell

More chalk, and I in no way feel bad about it. The tiers are pretty clear at the first two weights, so I would really have to do some verbal gymnastics to justify moving some of those guys out of All-American contention.

I believe Gross will qualify for the Olympic Team Trials, win the Hodge and be an NCAA champ in what could be a trophy year for the Badgers, one of the most important seasons in program history. He's certainly not unbeatable, but we've got 90+ years of data to suggest being good on top is the most valuable skill one could have in college wrestling, and the other guys in contention aren't exactly dynamos on bottom.

DeSanto's multiple wins over RBY, plus his major of Gomez, makes me believe he's a little separated than those two and a bit safer pick to make the finals, though he'll have to go through those same guys once again this year. Bravo-Young may be in a similar position as the one Nick Lee was in last year, where he was clearly better than he was as a freshman but the weight didn't get any easier.

Similar to Wisconsin, this year has massive import and potential in Ames as Dresser looks to kick the Cyclones' return to glory into hyperdrive. Gomez is right at the front of that, and his ability to throw makes him the most dangerous guy in the weight. It's a big ask to go from not placing to finalist, but something we have seen before.

Phillippi gets back on track and places this year, especially if his offense picks up even a bit. Bridges starts the season in that next tier but has his opportunities to jump into the highest one.

The last spot wasn't easy when you've got veterans like Gonser and Sykora in the fold, but Chlebove is too talented to ignore. The skills that made him good in high school, his top work and scrambling, will translate right away. It's never fun picking a true freshman to place, but skill-for-skill I think Chlebove is right near the top of the pecking order in this bracket.

Tucker replaces LaMont now that the latter is redshirting. Of course, the Chlebove prediction to place is greatly complicated by the fact that he lost to teammate Josh Kramer in ASU's intrasquad.

141 Pounds

Contenders

#1 Dom Demas, Oklahoma

#2 Nick Lee, Penn State

#3 Luke Pletcher, Ohio State

You'll likely first notice the names not on the contenders list. Two-time defending champion Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell and three-time All-American Jaydin Eierman of Missouri will most likely elect to exercise their Olympic Redshirt eligibility. With those two removed and Joey McKenna completely out of NCAA eligibility, the top three placers from 2019 will not be in contention for a title in 2020. 

As the respective returning fourth- and fifth-place finishers from Pittsburgh, Demas and Lee are undoubtedly the next guys up on the list of contenders. One could argue Lee had a more consistent season, but at NCAAs it was inside trips and upper body throws from the dynamic Dom Demas that made the difference, as the Sooner prevailed over Lee the consolation semifinals.

Speaking of consistency, Luke Pletcher finished fourth at NCAAs in the last two years. That was down at 133 in both instances, but Pletcher is no stranger to 141, having wrestled there as a true freshman in the 2016-17 season. 

We have this trio as in the most elite tier for the weight class, but that is by no means an unimpregnable position. 141 is shaping up to be one of the wildest in memory. 

The absence of Yianni and Jaydin opened up a pandora's box of lower weight chaos. As we will explore further in the next section, there are contenders coming from every direction, all with their eyes on the main prize and the means to secure it. 

Other Contenders

#4 Mitch McKee, Minnesota

#5 Grant Leeth, Missouri

#6 Kyle Shoop, Lock Haven

#7 Chad Red, Nebraska

#8 Tariq Wilson, NC State

#9 Max Murin, Iowa

#10 Kaden Gfeller, OK State

We will only indulge ourselves with so many words to clutter your screen, and so we draw a line in the pixels at seven other contenders, with a sentence or two on each of them. 

McKee had a breakout season in his third year in Minneapolis. The true senior could have a similar jump this year, which would put him in the upper echelon of the weight class.

Leeth is a brick house coming down a weight class. One shudders to think of the pressure he will be able to apply his opponents at 141 after seeing what he could do at 149.

All-American Shoop was criminally slept on last season, present company included. We will not make the same foolish mistake this season. 

Speaking of All-Americans, Chad Red has climbed the podium steps twice in two attempts. If the redshirt junior can avoid an early-season slump like the one he suffered last season, he'll earn a higher seed and make his third attempt at a medal less of a chore.

We don't expect perpetual shot machine Tariq Wilson to have any trouble filling out 141-pounds after two seasons at 133. He may have the highest ceiling (and longest reach) of anyone in the division.

If Murin can emerge out the Iowa wrestling room that includes Austin DeSanto, Gavin Teasdale, and Vince Turk with the Hawkeye 141 varsity gig, he will no doubt be a force to be reckoned with.

Gfeller gave Hodge trophy finalist Anthony Ashnault all he could handle at home in the RAC last season, up at 149-pounds. There is no one he can't hang with at 141.

Best of the Rest

We stopped at 10 other contenders, but that cuttoff point was admittedly arbitrary. We are more than sympathetic to arguments that #11 Tristan Moran (wins over Lee and McKee), #13 Ian Parker (win over Demas), #15 Sa'Derian Perry (2018 All-American plus a win over Demas), #18 Real Woods (Scuffle runnerup and a top redshirt freshman), among many others are all capable of a deep NCAA run in March. 

Furthermore, if Dom Demas is the top contender, and Ben Freeman beat him last year, who's to say Michigan likely 141-pound starter doesn't have a shot at the title? Certainly not us.

Sneaky Blinders & Landmines

Nomad calls them "sleepers," CP and Bratke call them "sneakers," and we call them "sneaky blinders" because it sounds like the show Peaky Blinders and that show rules and everyone should watch it. 

Grant Willits, Oregon State

Corey Shie, Army

Sal Profaci, American

Willits will enter his redshirt sophomore season as a Beaver and is primed to make a big third-year jump after going 1-2 at the NCAAs last year. The 2019 Pac-12 champ has a long frame but also possesses the strength to power his way to a surprise trip to the podium. 

Shie is one of six returning national qualifiers for head coach Kevin Ward's seasoned Black Knight squad. With multiple wins over fellow qualifiers, Shie could sneak his way into the final eight in Minneapolis. 

Profaci was a qualifier for Michigan in 2017. Now a graduate transfer at American, the change of scenery could be would the New Jersey native needed to find his groove again. 

New Blood

Real Woods, Stanford

Cole Matthews, Pitt

Brian Courtney, Virginia

You may think we'd be above making a "real deal" pun about Real Woods, and boy would you be wrong. Woods, in fact, is the real deal, and the highest-ranked redshirt freshman for a reason. A full year in the Cardinal wrestling room can only have elevated his already high wrestling IQ. Do not be surprised if Woods is in the hunt for a podium step. 

Cole Matthews went 21-4 last season while redshirting, which included two wins over Cozy Boy and fellow redshirt freshman, Quinn Kinner of Ohio State. 

Courtney had a redshirt freshman season truncated due to injury. He got that year of eligibility back and will be a key cog in the formidable Cavalier lightweight battery that includes Jack Mueller and Louie Hayes. 

Key Dates

Sunday, November 10: Stanford at Ohio State

The debut of the Covelli Center will feature a marquee match between freshman #18 Real Woods and senior #3 Luke Pletcher. 

Friday, November 15: NC State at Old Dominion

An early-season clash that could feature two All-Americans in #8 Tariq Wilson and #15 Sa'Derian Perry. 

Friday-Saturday, December 6-7: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational

This tourney should appear as a key date in every weight class preview, as this event is a veritable beast, likely to feature more All-Americans than any other tournaments save the NCAAs and maybe Big Tens. Slated to appear in Vegas are #1 Dom Demas, #3 Luke Pletcher, #4 Mitch McKee, #7 Chad Red, #12 Sam Turner, #13 Ian Parker, #17 Mitch Moore, #22 Ben Sherman, #23 Ben Freeman, and #25 Nate Limmex. It will be an excellent opportunity for someone to score an upset or two and make a claim for a high ranking, or for one of the big dogs to firmly establish themselves in the upper echelon. 

Wednesday-Thursday, January 1-2: The Southern Scuffle

Like the CKLV — and the Midlands — the Southern Scuffle is one of the NCAA wrestling calendar's premier tournaments. This year's edition will be especially crucial for #6 Kyle Shoop, as it will be Lock Haven's toughest tournament of the season, and give the redshirt senior ample opportunities to prove his bona fides. 

Sunday, January 24: Penn State at Nebraska

There is a good chance #2 Nick Lee will be undefeated when this match goes down. #7 Chad Red, however, will have had the benefit of enjoying a more robust schedule which includes the monstrous CKLV. Lee's schedule doesn't get any easier after this All-American showdown, with #9 Max Murin the week after, then #4 Mitch McKee and #3 Luke Pletcher in the final month leading up to the postseason. 

Sunday, February 2: Missouri at Oklahoma State

#5 Grant Leeth and #10 Kaden Gfeller are both dropping down a weight class. Additionally, Leeth is coming off an injury. Hopefully, both are healthy and ready to go in this late-season dual, as major NCAA seeding implications will be on the line. 

Spey's Spredictions

1) Dom Demas, Oklahoma

2) Nick Lee, Penn State

3) Mitch McKee, Minnesota

4) Kaden Gfeller, Oklahoma State

5) Luke Pletcher, Ohio State

6) Kyle Shoop, Lock Haven

7) Tariq Wilson, North Carolina State

8) Grant Leeth, Missouri

R12) Chad Red, Nebraska

R12) Max Murin, Iowa

R12) Tristan Moran, Wisconsin

R12) Real Woods, Stanford

Unlike the coward Daniel Nomad, we predict bloodrounders in these previews. 

I'm very keen on the possibility that Nick Lee wins this national championship. Penn State wrestlers under Cael Sanderson's tutelage have a pretty good track record with this kind of thing. But ultimately, we're going with the guy who beat Lee the last time they wrestled at the NCAA tournament.

Demas' inside trip/throw by/merkle series is second to none. And while Dom hit a rough patch in the middle of last season, where he dropped four dual meet matches in a row, he was able to get back on track by March. We expect more of the same this season. 

On the other hand, Lee will likely have a better record than Demas when NCAA seeds are announced, and his pace and attack rate is a sight to behold. Between Demas' arsenal and Lee offensive pressure, neither one is ever out of a match until the final whistle blows. 

As such, we'd like to propose to the NCAA that if Lee and Demas both make it to the finals, that their match be turned into a best-of-seven series, World Series style. Seems reasonable and fair to us.

The rest of the All-Americans and bloodrounders were absolute torture to pick. We want to see Chad Red on the podium, and he clearly has the talent to get it done, but his inconsistency made it impossible to pick him over the rest of the field. 

Pletcher at fifth is almost definitely underselling him, but we witnessed as McKee made such huge strides last season that we won't be surprised if he forced his way into the finals in his senior campaign. McKee's style may be more suited to freestyle, but he's been working on making his front head pinch long enough to make it equally effective in folkstyle as well. 

Tariq Wilson could also make a mockery of these projections. Following up a season where injuries affected his performance and changing weights makes his future doubly tough to predict. You could say the same thing about Kaden Gfeller. 

And while we're making excuses for our picks, we couldn't force ourselves to pick Woods to break through the bloodround, no matter how hard we tried, but it certainly has a possibility of happening. 

We hope you have enjoyed this illuminating journey through a part of the heretofore inky void of the impending NCAA season. Join us tomorrow as Nomad blazes a perspicacious trail through the murky abyss known as 149-pounds.

149 Pounds

Preview szn will take into account many things, from weight class rankings to redshirt reports to the crystal ball rankings, to try to give you as clear a picture as possible of what’s in store for the 2019-20 season. The specter of Olympic Trials will hang over the year, impacting weight class changes and the depth of some brackets at the NCAA tournament in Minneapolis.

Over a third of the guys in the final 2018-19 ranking have graduated from 149, including the top three placers from Pittsburgh. Not to mention #5 is redshirting, while #10 and #16 are moving up in weight. That leaves it as perhaps the most wide-open weight for now, along with some of the most interesting additions to the field from incoming freshmen and guys changing weights.

The Favorite: To Be Determined

A throne long held by Zain Retherford, and then taken by Anthony Ashnault over the likes of Micah Jordan and Matt Kolodzik at the end of last year, 149 is now more up for grabs than it’s been in a long time. So this portion will remain empty, and our contenders list will be expanded.

The Contenders

#1 Austin O’Connor, North Carolina

#2 Brock Mauller, Missouri

#3 Jarrett Degen, Iowa State

#5 Sammy Sasso, Ohio State

#11 Brayton Lee, Minnesota

The first preseason #1 of the Coleman Scott era, now the pressure’s on O’Connor to deliver a national title to Chapel Hill, which would be just the fourth in UNC history. Going back through the photos of NCAAs it’s quite apparent the emotion he had on his face after making the semis and guaranteeing himself an All-American placement as a freshman. The 12th overall recruit on the 2017 Big Board, O’Connor has been a winner his whole career. But will a title run for the St. Rita product look similar to the one Jason Tsirtsis had, or can he increase his offensive output from the 3.75 points per match he averaged in the postseason?

Our preseason #2 in Mauller suffered a 4-3 defeat in the consi semis at the hands of O’Connor spelled the difference between their third and sixth-place finishes at NCAAs. The champ right before Zain at 149 was another Missouri wrestler in Drake Houdashelt, so Brian Smith may want to call upon his former Tiger for inspiration. After taking over for an injured Grant Leeth last season, there is no confusion this year, with Jaydin Eierman redshirting and Leeth moving down to 141.

Mauller and #3 Jarrett Degen split their four matches last year, so there’s really not much differentiating those two. Degen went from the Cyclones' only NCAA qualifier to their only returning placer and perhaps one of the most important wrestlers in the program looking towards the 2020 national tournament in Minnesota. He’s going to be battle-tested coming through the Big 12, as this might be the best weight in the conference.

Two guys who squared off for the Junior world team spot round out our list of contenders. Sammy Sasso came in to high school and impacted Pennsylvania AAA wrestling right away at Nazareth, became the face of District XI, had a widely followed recruitment, and wound up at the only school to win team trophies each of the past five years. His third-place showing at Midlands included wins over Pat Lugo, Alec Pantaleo, and Josh Maruca. He finished off his year with a 6-4 victory over Brayton Lee in the finals of the Edinboro Open.

Lee was a three-time Indiana state champ out of the same club that produced Chad Red. For nearly his entire high school career, he placed at all the majors — Akron, Super 32, Fargo — beating just about all his peers, but never finishing at the top of the heap. Then he finally won Fargo as a graduated senior, and rebounded from getting teched by Sasso in the Open finals to beat him twice en route to the Junior world team spot. He’s always been a shade better in freestyle due to his neutral prowess, but his pace is just as difficult to deal with in folkstyle.

Best of the Rest

#4 Brock Zacherl, Clarion

#6 Pat Lugo, Iowa

#7 Boo Lewallen, Oklahoma State

#8 Max Thomsen, Northern Iowa

#10 Mike D’Angelo, Princeton

By sheer happenstance I wound up calling the last match of Zacherl’s season. It was at CKLV, and seemed like a huge blow to Clarion. But thanks to the NCAA’s much-improved positions on medical redshirts and sixth years, Zacherl gets one more crack at a national title in perhaps an even better position this time around. A three-time qualifier, he has just 12 career losses.

Lugo is the type of guy Iowa will be depending on to make a jump this year as they push for a title. But he’s ranked sixth to enter the season, and was eighth last year along with a Round of 12 finish as a freshman, so the data thus far in his career suggests his preseason ranking is about what his talent level is, placement-wise. Expect a lot of overtime, as over 20 percent of his matches last season went beyond seven minutes.

Boo Lewallen committed to Oklahoma State after his junior year of high school, but his career is nearing its close. The issue for Lewallen has never been desire or skill or practice partners — it’s been health and opportunity. His one and only full season he was an All-American, beating four other AAs that year, but he's constantly battling injuries. The first four weights will be crucial for the Cowboys, especially with Kaid Brock and Daton Fix out. We spent the day with him back in February before the Iowa dual.

Max Thomsen placed fifth as a freshman and has lost in the bloodround twice since then. A key piece in the Panthers' strong 2015 recruiting class, it is their last shot to put it all together as a group and give UNI their best NCAA tournament finish of the Doug Schwab era. He's going to see Degen and Lewallen multiple times in the second half of the year, the first of which he is 3-0 against and the second he is 1-2 against, losing the last two.

With Matt Kolodzik focusing on freestyle, Mike D'Angelo slides down to 149 in his final year for the Tigers. A two-time national qualifier up at 157, he went 19-4 while taking a greyshirt. An NHSCA senior champ and Super 32 finalist from New York, D'Angelo has placed three times before at EIWAs but never claimed a conference title.

New Blood

#14 Griffin Parriott, Purdue

#21 Yahya Thomas, Northwestern

Andrew Alirez, Northern Colorado

Kevon Davenport, Nebraska

Matt Grippi, NC State

We've already covered Lee and Sasso above in the contenders section, so to make up for that we're adding some weight changes to this portion. Parriott was unquestionably a blue-chipper coming out, #7 on the 2016 Big Board, but didn't qualify for NCAAs as a freshman and was 2-2 there last year. But Boilermaker assistant AJ Schopp said Parriott is a new man this season, focused and ready to roll.

Meanwhile, Thomas battled weight issues down at 141, but then looked great in making the Junior world team at 65kg. He didn't even get a chance to qualify for the national tournament as he did not wrestle at Big Tens, but this should be his breakout year, especially with Ryan Deakin at the weight above him.

Perhaps the true freshman I'm most excited to watch is Andrew Alirez. Partially because we've known he's going right away, partially because most of our data on him is in freestyle, and partially because he competes for a smaller program trying to become one of the big dogs. But the main reason is that he's absolutely fearless and a pit bull. Yes, he'll win a ton of matches with his swing single. But he's exactly the kind of kid I believe won't fold in a bloodround match in March.

Willie put Kevon in the Round of 12 in his first batch of crystal ball rankings, but it still is yet to be determined if he redshirts or starts right away over #22 Collin Purinton, a fifth-year senior. Similarly, AJ Leitten was elected a team captain for the Wolfpack so we might not see Matt Grippi this season. 

Key Dates

Nov. 24: Minnesota at Oklahoma State

Nov. 24: Iowa at Iowa State

Dec. 6-7: Cliff Keen Las Vegas

Dec. 29-30: Midlands

Jan. 1-2: Southern Scuffle

Jan. 12: Missouri at Northern Iowa

Jan. 12: Northern Colorado at Oklahoma State

Jan. 17: Northern Iowa at Northern Colorado

Jan. 24: Ohio State at Iowa

Jan. 26: Oklahoma State at Iowa State

Jan. 26: Ohio State at Minnesota

Feb. 2: Missouri at Oklahoma State

Feb. 15: Minnesota at Iowa

Feb. 16: Northern Iowa at Iowa State

Feb. 22: Iowa State at Missouri

Feb. 23: Oklahoma State at Iowa

Thanks to the composition of this weight, damn near every weekend there is going to be a great matchup. The weekend before Thanksgiving we'll get #11 Brayton Lee against #7 Boo Lewallen at Gallagher-Iba and another match between #6 Pat Lugo and #3 Jarrett Degen in Ames, just one of several juicy matchups when the Hawkeyes face the Cyclones.

Then at CKLV we could see the following guys: Degen, Lee, #4 Brock Zacherl, #5 Sammy Sasso, #8 Max Thomsen, and stud freshman Alirez, to go along with six other guys in the preseason top 20, as well as #21 Yahya Thomas. An excellent way to mark yourself as a front runner for the NCAA title a month into the season.

Then at Midlands we'll see O'Connor's first test of the year, with Lugo and Thomsen in the mix, along with D'Angelo, Parriott, and Yahya. Then a couple of days later at the Scuffle we'll get Degen, Lewallen, and Alirez before the Big 12 schedule even starts, plus #15 Requir van der Merwe and #18 Russell Rohlfing out of the Pac-12.

Sunday, January 12 will be fun: Brock Mauller against Max Thomsen and Alirez vs Lewallen. Turning right around that next week Alirez will face Thomsen, potentially with both of them coming off losses and hungry to get back on track. Did I mention the Big 12 is going to be fun this year?

We've barely mentioned the Big Ten, but that'll start picking up in late January with Sasso against Lugo at Carver-Hawkeye, then Sasso vs Brayton in Minneapolis in one of the more brutal weekends of the year. That same weekend Boo faces Degen in Ames.

Heading into February, we get Mauller vs Lewallen, and then perhaps our only break of the season. We finish with a flurry, as Brayton takes on Lugo followed by Thomsen against Degen the next day. Closing out the year we'll get Degen vs Mauller and Lewallen facing Lugo.

Phew. Don't envy our rankers for 149.

Nomad's Predictions

1. Sammy Sasso, Ohio State
2. Austin O'Connor, North Carolina
3. Brock Mauller, Missouri
4. Brayton Lee, Minnesota
5. Jarrett Degen, Iowa State
6. Andrew Alirez, Northern Colorado
7. Max Thomsen, Northern Iowa
8. Pat Lugo, Iowa

Just like last year, no matter who I pick, it's someone who's never done it before. Given the number of important matches listed above, it's also highly unlikely we see someone go undefeated. So I'm picking the guy I think is most likely to put together five matches in March: Sammy Sasso.

Yung Sasso has taken losses in his career, and he yo-yoed around the top five in high school. But he's got the mat game, he's hard to score on, and from that he can put guys on their back with his straight leg cradle. I've seen him win Fargo, Super 32, Ironman, FloNationals, PA states, Who's #1, and the U.S. Open. He's at a power program where guys have won before, and he's got the pedigree from one of the most historic areas for wrestling in the country.

A coaching staff that battles is the one in North Carolina. They fight for rankings, they fight for seeds, they want their recruits mentioned all the time, and they're hungry to become a contender. That's the environment O'Connor is in right now, so I don't have much issue seeing him claw through Thursday and Friday in Minneapolis to get to the finals.

Mauller's not fooling me. I frequently give Missouri guys too little credit, not this year. Maybe I'm sleeping on him by not picking him to win or make the finals, but he's got top four written all over him this year. He's battled with Lee a ton, mostly in freestyle, and Mauller won the last time they faced off so that's why Brayton goes fourth. I've also got a tad more faith in Mauller's folk, for now.

Degen and Alirez could see each other as many as four times this year, and so I'm going with the prior AA there, but Boo is going to be difficult to keep out of the top five, let alone off the podium at all. Thomsen is 3-0 against Lugo going back to high school, so I'm going with history there.

If you tell me I'm getting 2018 Boo Lewallen, guaranteed a full year of health, I'd pick him to place. But his body worries me, so he's not in my top eight. Here's hoping for a clean bill of health for all these guys.

157 Pounds

Contenders

#1 Hayden Hidlay, North Carolina State

#2 Kaleb Young, Iowa

#3 Ryan Deakin, Northwestern

Last year's top three all graduate (#1 Nolf, #2 Tyler Berger, and #3 Alec Pantaleo), which leaves Hayden Hidlay as the preseason favorite. Hidlay won the first 26 matches of his varsity career, taking his first loss and only loss of the 2017-18 season in the 2018 NCAA finals. 

Hidlay started last season ranked #2 but an early-season loss to Larry Early knocked down his ranking and was partly to blame for him receiving the #5 seed, which meant Hidlay had to go through Nolf in the semifinals. That infamous match, which you can watch below, ultimately went Nolf's way. Hidlay won his next wrestleback match against Deakin but then fell to Pantelo to finish fourth in his sophomore campaign.

Young and Deakin are 2A and 2B on the contenders' list. They met three times last season. Deakin won in the finals of the 56th Midlands, but Young would get his revenge twice in Pittsburgh, winning in sudden victory in both the quarterfinals and the fifth-place match. 

Hidlay has the early Vegas odds in his favor, but Young and Deakin aren't far behind. Young will have the pressure of the Hawkeyes' potential title run propelling him forward and Deakin will be looking to build off his Final X appearance over the summer. 

Other Contenders

#4 Larry Early, Old Dominion

#5 Brady Berge, Penn State

#11 Jacori Teemer, Arizona State

#18 David Carr, Iowa State

Larry Early's aforementioned victory over the preseason favorite provides evidence for his inclusion in the top tier of contenders. Eight losses on the season though drops the All-American to tier #2. Still, the senior Monarch will be expected to improve on his eighth-place finish from 2019. 

Brady Berge didn't make the podium down at 149 in his redshirt freshman campaign. The Minnesota native might be a better fit up at 157 however, and the junior freestyle junior world bronze medalist also has the benefit of another year in one of the best wrestling rooms in the country.

Jacori Teemer and David Carr are two redshirt freshmen who we think have the potential to contend for a title. Teemer finished fifth at Midlands (down at 149) and then won the National Collegiate Open at 157. Carr only dropped one match last season while redshirted, then went to Estonia and won a freestyle junior world championship at 74kg. For those reasons, we are very bullish on these two youngsters. 

The Rest of the Best of the Rest

You've seen the best of the rest, now check out the rest of the best. 

#6 Eric Barone, Illinois

#7 Josh Humphreys, Lehigh

#8 Anthony Artalona, Penn

#9 Talen Rahmani, Pitt

#10 Jarrett Jacques, Missouri

Barone has a win over Young. Humphreys has beaten nearly a dozen national qualifiers including All-American Christian Pagdilao. Artalona made the bloodround as a true freshman. Rahmani also made the bloodround, though at his third NCAA tournament. Finally, Jacques had a very promising true freshman season for the Tigers.

Sneaky Blinders & Landmines

Nomad calls them "sleepers," CP and Bratke call them "sneakers," we call them "sneaky blinders" because it sounds like the show Peaky Blinders and that show rules and everyone should watch it. 

#15 Logan Parks, Central Michigan

#21 Quincy Monday, Princeton

#23 Luke Weiland, Army

Parks placed seventh at Midlands and went 1-2 at NCAAs. Logan has had close matches with some of the best in the division. He also has a very rad wolf-moon tattoo, which is worth some sleeper points. 

As the son of an Olympic gold medalist, Quincy Monday certainly has the right wrestling pedigree. He also had a solid true freshman season, placing third at EIWAs and qualifying for the NCAAs. 

Weiland is one of Army's six returning NCAA qualifiers on the Black Knight roster. The senior from Missouri also made a trip to nationals as a sophomore. Weiland, like most of his West Point teammates, is a tough out you do not want to see in your side of the bracket. 

New Blood

#11 Jacoori Teemer, Arizona State

#18 David Carr, Iowa State

#22 Will Lewan, Michigan

Justin McCoy, Virginia

Peyton Robb, Nebraska

Jaden Mattox, Ohio State

Mason Phillips, North Carolina

Kendall Coleman, Purdue

157 is a very young weight class, with only eight seniors currently ranked in the top 25 (compared to 15 seniors at 149 and 13 at 165). It's also tied with 125 in having the most ranked freshmen at three. Expect that number to increase as the season progresses. 

Besides Teemer and Carr, who we've already covered, Michigan's Will Lewan snuck into the rankings after a quality true freshman campaign on a redshirt. Other blue blood programs feature blue-chip talent in their first varsity season. McCoy, Robb, Mattox, Phillips, and Coleman all have the potential to earn a ranking, if not an All-American medal. 

Key Dates

Friday, November 15: Old Dominion at NC State

Will Larry Early be able to replicate his early-season upset over Hayden Hidaly from 2018?

Friday, November 22: Penn State at Arizona State

A very tough early test for both Jacori Teemer and Brady Berge. It doesn't get much easier for Berge next week, either, when he is scheduled to wrestle Lehigh's Josh Humphreys in Bethlehem. 

Sunday, November 24: Iowa at Iowa State

How real of a deal is David Carr? We'll find out when he wrestles All-American Kaleb Young in Ames. 

Friday-Saturday, December 6-7: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational

This tourney should appear as a key date in every weight class preview, as this event is a veritable beast, likely to feature more All-Americans than any other tournaments save the NCAAs and maybe Big Tens. Slated to participate in Vegas are #1 Hidlay, #3 Deakin, #11 Teemer, #13 Thomas, #17 LaPrade, #18 Carr, #22 Lewan, and unranked freshmen McCoy, Mattox, and Robb.

Monday-Tuesday, December 30-31: The 57th Midlands Championships

Another rematch of Deakin vs Young in the finals perhaps? Throw in Barone, Artalona, Hartman, and many more and you've got a killer bracket for the prestigious annual midwest tournament. 

Friday, January 31: Penn State at Iowa

Young vs Berge but just, in general, this dual meet is going to be out-of-control bonkers entertainment. 

Thursday, February 20: Lehigh at Penn

EIWA and NCAA seeding will be on the line when Artalona and Humphreys are scheduled to clash. 

Spey's Spredictions

1) Hayden Hidlay, NC State

2) Ryan Deakin, Northwestern

3) Kaleb Young, Iowa

4) David Carr, Iowa State

5) Brady Berge, Penn State

6) Anthony Artalona, Penn

7) Josh Humphreys, Lehigh

8) Jacori Teemer, Arizona State

R12) Eric Barone, Illinois

R12) Larry Early, Old Dominion

R12) Zach Hartman, Bucknell

R12) Jarrett Jacques, Missouri

Unlike the coward Daniel Nomad, we predict bloodrounders in these previews.

There is a lot of talent at 157, as is usually the case with middleweights. This year the second and third tiers seem unusually deep, at least at the preseason mark, so we expect to be proven wrong many times in our predictions. 

At the top, we think it's finally Hidlay's year to climb to the top of the podium, giving Wolfpack head coach Pat Popolizio his third national champion (after Gwiazdowski and Macchiavello). We think Deakin inches past Young in the semifinals, although it could just as easily go the other way, as it did twice in Pittsburgh. 

We're pretty bullish on junior world champ David Carr, so much so that fourth feels too low. Carr may very well win the whole dang thing and it would not surprise us in the slightest. 

The bottom half is all freshmen or sophomores, who we think will conspire to deny seniors Barone and Early an All-American medal in their final attempt. Harman and Jacques round out the top 12 with more youth. 

165 Pounds

With the defending champ taking an Olympic Redshirt, as well as former third Logan Massa, and last year's third having graduated, 165 may seem a little thinner. But three-time All-American David McFadden is coming back down, meaning there are seven returning placers in the field. Read on to see who else is in contention to place, who the dark horses are, and what new blood is ready to make an impact right away.

The Favorite: #1 Vincenzo Joseph, Penn State

With five of the top dozen scorers in NCAA tournament history all coming out of the Penn State room in the past decade, it's easy to understand how a guy like Vincenzo Joseph might be overlooked. But he's about to finish off a resume right at the level of some recent Nittany Lions: two titles and three finals, and now starting the year as the preseason #1 for the second time.

Over the years, he's had multiple battles with Isaiah Martinez, Alex Marinelli, and Isaiah White, but we might have to wait for the senior level to see his rivalry with Mekhi Lewis grow. He's never had an undefeated season and he's never won Big Tens, but he could conceivably end his career with over 100 victories and a golf score (combined NCAA finishes) below seven with single digit career losses.

His bonus percentage has gone up every year, so for me I'm looking to see if he can have something like a 30-0 season with a 75% bonus rate, Hodge-like numbers to close out his career. He knows how to win matches on top, he's incredibly difficult to score on, and he can stage comebacks and hit home runs with his inside trip. All of this is to say, the Pittsburgh native is one of the more underappreciated wrestlers of the past 20 years.

The Contenders

#2 Alex Marinelli, Iowa

#3 Evan Wick, Wisconsin

#4 David McFadden, Virginia Tech

Hard what to make of this grouping here. McFadden pinned Marinelli at NCAAs in 2018, Marinelli has won three straight against Wick, and the Badger has lost twice to McFadden, but Wick has placed the highest of all three at the past two national tournaments. In case you couldn't tell, the seeds and draws in Minneapolis will be massively important.

The Bull has looked amazing during his two straight undefeated regular seasons, but then has faltered a bit with sixth and seventh place finishes at NCAAs. Entering his junior year, he is likely to be seen as the primary threat to Cenzo, having beaten him twice already. Both were #3 on back-to-back senior Big Boards and are wrestling for the nation's top two teams this season, key to the title hopes of both programs.

Wick went from being a 10 seed placing third to a 4 seed placing fourth. With Seth Gross coming in for his senior year, Wick gets a reprieve from being the face of the program this season, and now has a full year working with Jon Reader and Ben Askren to improve his attack rate from neutral and expand his top repertoire beyond his cradle. Hopefully we finally get to see him against Joseph this year.

I thought McFadden was going up for good when Lewis entered the Hokie lineup, but he's back down to where he placed his first two seasons in Blacksburg. The senior leader on this VT squad, you have to wonder how Mekhi's title impacted McFadden. They both are from New Jersey, are very close, and after finishing sixth/sixth/fifth, we may finally see DMC get over the hump. He's only made the semis once, and never won in three trips to the consi semis.

Best of the Rest

#5 Isaiah White, Nebraska

#6 Josh Shields, Arizona State

#7 Bryce Steiert, Northern Iowa

#9 Shane Griffith, Stanford

Isaiah White is obviously the most difficult question about putting in the championship tier. But he's lost three in a row to Cenzo, four in a row to Wick, and is 0-1 against Marinelli. Additionally, those schools have had national champs more recently than Nebraska save Wisconsin, who had a finalist in 2016 the same year as the Huskers (plus Tyler Berger last year).

Shields was a part of the top ranked 2015 recruiting class for Arizona State, and has now placed twice at NCAAs. But for the Sun Devils to win a team trophy for the first time under Zeke Jones (they are currently tied for fourth with Wisconsin), they'll need to be carried by the back half of their lineup, starting with Shields.

After starting two years for the Panthers coming out of high school, Bryce Steiert took a much needed redshirt. He came back in a much better place and finally placed for UNI, steadily improving from a Round of 16 finish, to the bloodround, and then eighth last season. His next hurdle is Big 12 consistency, with Chandler Rogers graduated but looking to avenge two losses to Demetrius Romero from last year.

Four of the top ranked 165s wrestled in Who's #1, with the most recent being Shane Griffith. Their track record is strong, as Vincenzo has won two titles, McFadden is a 3x AA, and White placed last year for Nebraska (he lost to McFadden back at WNO in 2014). Like Joseph, he also wrestled in and won his match at the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic as a senior. He made the finals of the U.S. Open at 79kg, before dropping to 74kg and making the finals of the JR Trials. He was a three-time New Jersey state champ for one of the nation's premier programs in Bergen Catholic. If you don't believe Griffith has the pedigree to place as a freshman, you haven't been paying attention.

Sleepers and Landmines

#8 Demetrius Romero, Utah Valley

#11 Thomas Bullard, NC State

#15 Austin Matthews, Northern Colorado

#20 Drew Hughes, Michigan State

Kennedy Monday, North Carolina

Demetrius Romero has career wins over four different AAs: Joe Smitih, Bryce Steiert, Paul Fox, and Logan Massa. With Taylor LaMont taking an Olympic Redshirt, it is now on Romero to become the third placer in the history of Utah Valley. He starts the year ranked eighth, with wins over three guys right below him and coming off a Round of 12 finish. It's not a very big leap to think he can place in Minnesota.

The teams ranked third through thirteenth are separated by just 13 points right now, the kind of gap that can easily be made up with a few overperformances based on preseason rankings, or bonus points. Willie has them making up some of those points and going from 13th to 5th in his crystal ball rankings. A two-time qualifier, Bullard is the type of guy NC State needs to make up some of that ground this year.

Injured, transfer, small program, good prospect coming out of high school. Austin Matthews is the very definition of a landmine, and with Northern Colorado coming off its best ever recruiting class, they will need the leadership of a sixth year senior to show their freshmen the way.

Similarly, Drew Hughes was #12 on the Big Board coming out of high school and won his match at the PWC. After recovering from injuries and coming back down to 165, he may now be a threat to place. Beyond that, his best position is top and RayVon Foley got the monkey off the back for Roger Chandler's Spartans, so Hughes will have less pressure on him.

Lot of potential candidates for comeback wrestler of the year coming out of this 165 bracket, with Kennedy Monday making his return to the Tar Heels, and now up at the proper weight.

New Blood

#22 Emil Soehnlen, Purdue

Travis Wittlake, Oklahoma State

Phil Conigliaro, Harvard

Peyton Mocco, Missouri

Danny Braunagel, Illinois

Carson Kharchla, Ohio State

Former Ohio state champ and Ironman runner-up Soehnlen slides in for the Boilermakers, yet another solid get for Tony Ersland. From the same class as Soehnlen, Wittlake was #5 on the 2018 Big Board and finally gets his chance to start for the Cowboys.

After recovering from a knee injury he suffered his senior year at National Preps, he had an excellent freestyle season, going 15-5 and placing at both the Open and World Team Trials in Juniors, also making the U23 finals. He beat Travis Wittlake twice in Raleigh and should contend for an EIWA title right away.

Speaking of good freestyle seasons, Braunagel made the Open finals, with wins over Wittlake and Mocco. Between the Lindenwood Open and Midlands, the Illini redshirt freshman was 5-3 against Division I competition. In his only tournament against D1, Mocco beat David Carr at last year's Cyclone Open.

The top-ranked 165lb prospect, and the fourth overall prospect on last year's Big Board, there were questions about whether or not Carson Kharchla should go right away. But after beating #12 Ethan Smith in the wrestle-off, the Buckeyes may roll out the true freshman sooner rather than later.

Key Dates

Nov. 22: Penn State at Arizona

Nov. 24: Nebraska at Northern Iowa

Dec. 1: Wisconsin at Iowa

Dec. 6-7: Cliff Keen Las Vegas

Dec. 29-30: Midlands

Jan. 12: Nebraska at Wisconsin

Jan. 18: Nebraska at Iowa

Jan. 24: Penn State at Nebraska

Jan. 31: Penn State at Iowa

Jan. 31: Stanford at Arizona State

Feb. 7: Penn State at Wisconsin

Feb. 20: Northern Iowa at Wisconsin

Vincenzo has a full slate on his hands, starting with a match against Josh Shields in Tempe, a rematch of last year's semis. This season, Joseph has the preseasons #s 2, 3, 5, and 6 all on the road.

Wick and Marinelli renew their rivalry at Caver-Hawkeye to start December in a match that will help determine Big Ten tournament seeding. The CKLV field includes McFadden, White, Shields, Steiert, Romero, plus potentially Kharchla. We could get yet another Wick/Marinelli matchup at Mildands, plus the bracket includes Steiert and Monday.

The Big Ten grind kicks off hard in January, with a marquee matchup every weekend. Another Wick/White bout comes January 12th in Madison, followed by White against Marinelli in CHA. White's brutal three weekend stretch ends with Cenzo in Lincoln, at which point Joseph sees ZayZay, Marinelli, and Wick in a span of four duals.

That same day as Marinelli vs Joseph, we'll see Shane Griffith against Shields. Somehow Wick and Cenzo have yet to hit, but they are scheduled to on February 7th in Madison. Closing out the season, we'll get Wick vs Steiert the last weekend of the year.

Nomad's Predictions

1. Vincenzo Joseph, Penn State
2. David McFadden, Virginia Tech
3. Alex Marinelli, Iowa
4. Evan Wick, Wisconsin
5. Isaiah White, Nebraska
6. Shane Griffith, Stanford
7. Josh Shields, Arizona State
8. Carson Kharchla, Ohio State

In his folkstyle career, Cenzo went from two straight AAA titles in Pennsylvania for Pittsburgh Central Catholic, and then after a redshirt year, two more NCAA crowns at Penn State. He hit a speed bump in March against the Junior world champ, but has otherwise proved year after year to be able to come on top at the end of each season.

Marinelli might get four more matches against Wick, and they're both juniors, so this song and dance could continue into next season as well. Griffith will get a couple challenges this year (Kharchla, Monday, Shields, the Scuffle), but should have an excellent record heading into NCAAs, though he may struggle with the heavy hipped White.

Shields stays consistent to finish out his career, and I've been betting young, so I'm following that up here. Again, we still don't know if Kharchla goes, but it's too difficult to pick between the Steiert/Romero/Fogarty/Bullard/McCormick group. So I'm leaning on the youngster from a power program.

174 Pounds

Today, we will use our feeble senses to comprehend the complex cosmos that is the 174-pound weight class. And if we're feeling strong, perhaps we study whole worlds of matter, energy, and life as well!

The most notable change from last season is the cessation of one of college wrestling's greatest rivalries. Mark Hall is expected to return at 174 pounds, but the man who stopped him in the last two championship finals, Zahid Valencia, is likely to be up at 184 pounds.  

Myles Amine, the pride of San Marino, is also out of the mix. Amine qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games by finishing fifth at the 2019 World Championships and will take this folkstyle season off as he prepares to represent the Appinine microstate in Tokyo next summer. 

Additionally, Duke's Matt Finesilver, who spent most of last season in the top 20, will also be taking a redshirt. Taylor Lujan of Northern Iowa made the round of 12 from the #8 seed at in Pittsburgh. He will try to break through the bloodround this season up at 184. And David McFadden, a fixture of the All-American podium, will drop back down to 165 after spending last season at 174. 

Contenders

#1 Mark Hall, Penn State

#3 Michael Kemerer, Iowa

With some of the familiar boldface names no longer in the 174-pound title hunt, Mark Hall's path to a fourth NCAA finals is cleared of a few roadblocks. The 2017 NCAA champion could be considered a prohibitive favorite, but we're keeping the door open for Michael Kemerer to wheedle his way into the 2020 championship conversation.

Kemerer had two stellar campaigns before injuries forced him to miss all of the 2018-19 season. Before he was forced to take a medical redshirt, Kemerer had planned on making the jump up two weight classes from 157 to 174. While Mark Hall has proven himself to be a cut above the rest of the division (his two losses in the last two years were both to Zahid Valencia in the NCAA Finals), he's yet to face the new and embulkened Hawkeye. 

Hall has three lifetime wins over #2 Jordan Kutler in three matchups, and one over #4 Mikey Labriola and #5 Joseph Smith in their only respective bouts. However, Hall has never faced Kemerer, so for now, we have Kemerer as a preseason contender. 

Other Contenders

#2 Jordan Kutler, Lehigh

#4 Mikey Labriola, Nebraska

#6 Joseph Smith, Oklahoma State

#7 Devin Skatzka, Minnesota

It was a fairly straightforward process drawing a line after the next five contenders. Kutler, Labriola, Steiert, and Skatzka all climbed podium steps last March — Steiert down at 165, the others at 174. Joseph Smith was stopped in the Round of 16 at 165 pounds last season but earned All-American honors in two prior appearances at the NCAA Championships. 

Kutler has the strongest resume of the group, despite finishing seventh, one place below Labriola. Kutler only took losses to wrestlers who finished in the top five last season, whereas Labriola was felled by a few non-All-Americans.

Joseph Smith wrestled a season's worth of matches at 174 before dropping down to 165 specifically for the postseason. Smith qualified for NCAAs, but his lack of matches at 165 meant he entered the tournament as the 33rd seed. With the graduation of both Jacobe Smith and Chandler Rogers, the Cowboy roster composition is better suited for Smith staying at 174 for the entire season, although it is still October and nothing is set in stone. 

Deven Skatzka had a breakout season in 2019, his first with the Gophers after transferring from Big Ten rival Indiana. Skatzka placed eighth, earning All-American honors for the first time in three trips to nationals. It will be interesting to see how his rivalry with Dylan Lydy or Purdue progress, as the Boilermaker holds a 4-0 advantage in their lifetime series. 

The Rest of the Best of the Rest

You've seen the best of the rest, now check out the rest of the best. 

#8 Connor Flynn, Missouri

#9 Ben Harvey, Army

#10 Anthony Valencia, Arizona State

#11 Kimball Bastian, Utah Valley

#12 Dylan Lydy, Purdue

#13 Brandon Womack, Cornell

Connor Flynn has one of the best wins of anyone in the weight class with his victory over Mekhi Lewis in a dual meet last November. Ben Harvey is a two-time bloodrounder. He leads a very stout and balanced Black Knight lineup.

Anthony Valencia has shown many flashes of brilliance over his career. His best results, however, have been in freestyle and down at 74kg (approximately 163 pounds). For instance, Valencia placed third at the 2019 Senior US Open. He's yet to put together a similar performance in folkstyle, but the potential is clearly there.

Lydy and Bastian split matches last year. As previously mentioned, Lydy owns four wins over All-American Devin Skatkza, so both wrestlers are capable of making a podium run in March. So is Brandon Womack, as evidenced by his All-American run in 2017, which he accomplished by beating Anthony Valencia in the bloodround. 

Sneaky Blinders & Landmines

Nomad calls them "sleepers," CP and Bratke call them "sneakers," we call them "sneaky blinders" because it sounds like the show Peaky Blinders and that show rules and everyone should watch it. 

#18 Joseph Gunther, Illinois

#23 Marcus Coleman, Iowa State

Anthony Mantanona, Oklahoma

Cody Hughes, Virginia Tech

Joey Gunther is a three-time qualifier. He very well could grind his way into the top eight this season, and is worth a late-round pick up if you are participating in a fantasy wrestling league.

Marcus Coleman has tremendous upside potential as the 22nd ranked 174-pounder. Kevin Dresser knows how to get the most out of his wrestlers, so don't be surprised if Coleman makes a big jump in his third collegiate season. 

Anthony Mantanona has a high-flying arsenal who isn't afraid to go big at any time. His big-move proclivities mean he is the definition of a landmine: someone capable of blowing up a bracket from any seed.

Cody Hughes will step into the void left by David McFadden, who is moving down to 165 to fill the void left by Mekhi Lewis' Olympic Redshirt. Having those two, plus a not-too-shabby Hunter Bolen at 184 as work out partners, is a reason to be high on this Hokie's potential.

New Blood

There are zero freshmen in the preseason top 25 at 174. The rankings will eventually be populated with first-year varsity wrestlers, however, perhaps by the following competitors. 

Michael O'Malley, Dexel

Tyler Dow, Wisconsin

Victor Marcelli, Virginia

Rocky Jordan, Ohio State

Layne Malczewski, Michigan State

Caleb Hopkins, Campbell

Nelson Brands, Iowa

O'Malley and Dow were #43 and #50 on the final Class of 2018 Big Board. Marcelli was #77 though he showed tremendous potential after a promising summer in freestyle and is ready to contribute to the Cavaliers at a lighter weight than originally planned.

Rocky Jordan just beat Kaleb Romero in their wrestle-off for Ohio State, which you can watch here.

Malczewski and Hopkins are two under-the-radar redshirt freshman who will be looking to make an impact at their respective programs next season. 

It's unlikely we'll see Nelson Brands in the postseason, not when the Hawkeyes will be rolling out three title contenders at 157, 165, and 174. That might make Brands the most talented wrestler in the NCAA who doesn't wrestle in the postseason. 

Key Dates

Saturday, November 16: Oklahoma State at Lehigh

A fantastic early-season tilt and a huge potential matched between Joe Smith and Jordan Kutler. 

Sunday, November 17: Black Knight Invitational

Mark Hall will be the favorite but look for West Point's own Ben Harvey to make him earn it in his home gym. 

Friday, December 6: Penn State at Lehigh

#1 Hall vs #2 Kutler. Last season it was 6-2 in favor of Mark. Can Jordan close the gap, or perhaps notch an upset?

Friday-Saturday, December 6-7: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational

This tourney should appear as a key date in every weight class preview, as this event is a veritable beast, likely to feature more All-Americans than any other tournaments save the NCAAs and maybe Big Tens. Slated to participate in Vegas are #4 Labriola, #5 Steiert, #7 Skatzka, #10 Valencia, #11 Bastian, #12 Lydy, #13 Womack, #15 Hastings, #21 Bullard, #22 McNally, #23 Coleman, #25 Oliver, Mantanona, Marcelli, Hughes, and more. 

Monday-Tuesday, December 30-31: The 57th Midlands Championships

We might see an all Iowa final with Kemerer and Steiert, but look for Harvey and Lydy to try and crash that finals party.

Saturday, January 18: Nebraska at Iowa

Calamity in the cornstalks as Labriola and Kemerer are slated to lock horns. 

Friday, February 21: Arizona State at Lehigh

Yet another big home dual for the Mountain Hawks and another big match for Kutler, who could see #10 Anthony Valencia.

Spey's Spredictions

1) Mark Hall, Penn State

2) Michael Kemerer, Iowa

3) Jordan Kutler, Lehigh

4) Joseph Smith, Oklahoma State

5) Mikey Labriola, Nebraska

6) Bryce Steiert, Northern Iowa

7) Devin Skatzka, Minnesota

8) Ben Harvey, Army

R12) Dylan Lydy, Purdue

R12) Anthony Valencia, Arizona State

R12) Connor Flynn, Missouri

R12) Brandon Womack, Cornell

Unlike the coward Daniel Nomad, we predict bloodrounders in these previews. We're also predicting Hall to finish his career with a second NCAA title in his fourth trip to the NCAA finals. Considering his domination of the field thus far, the 174-pound newcomer Michael Kemerer is the only credible threat, and unfortunately for Kemdawg, his high shot rate doesn't bode well for his chances against a superior counter-wrestler like Hall. That being said, we're very much looking forward to their three potential matchups this season: in a late January dual, at Big Tens, and at NCAAs.

We see previous All-Americans Kutler, Smith, Labriola, Steiert and Skatzka once again climbing the podium steps in March. We picked Harvey to be the only first-time AA of the bunch, but he's basically a toss-up with Lydy to break through the bloodround at this point in the year. 

The Round of 12er we'd be least shocked to prove us wrong and place in the final eight is Anthony Valencia. We picked conservatively based on past folkstyle results, but we hear good things from Tempe and would not be surprised in the slightest if Anthony has a strong performance in Minneapolis. 

184 Pounds

At 184, a national champ has bumped up, only one All-American from last year's weight returns, and a Junior world medalist enters the fray. Meanwhile, an NCAA finalist is taking an Olympic Redshirt, and two placers from 197 two years ago are in the field. We will also be getting into the potential athletes right on the bubble of placing.

The Favorite: #1 Zahid Valencia, Arizona State

Now that it's clear Zahid isn't taking an Olympic Redshirt, the question becomes how will freestyle impact his final season in Tempe? It's already affected his weight class, moving up to 184 to better prepare himself for 86kg at the senior level. He's yet to qualify for the Olympic Trials, so he'll be doing at least one domestic freestyle tournament in the next two months, and might potentially go overseas in the second semester.

Focusing back on folkstyle, though, the redshirt senior from California is one of the two biggest favorites entering this season. He's #2 in our pound-for-pound ranking and second on our preseason Hodge ranking as well. That'll happen when a two-time NCAA champ enters a weight class with one returning AA from 2019 (though there are four overall).

With guys like Bo Nickal and Jason Nolf in our very recent memory, it's easy to take for granted just how difficult and special it is to earn three national titles. Even when you're a heavy favorite like Zahid, winning is hard. It requires talent, desire, good coaching, luck, work ethic, and remaining healthy. For the fifth-year senior, balancing his freestyle goals will only add to the level of difficulty. But this is what he signed up for, and we'll all be watching intently.

The Contenders

#2 Ben Darmstadt, Cornell

#3 Dakota Geer, Oklahoma State

#7 Shakur Rasheed, Penn State

#8 Taylor Venz, Nebraska

It was pretty difficult separating the contenders from the rest of the field, so I went with a somewhat objective metric: guys who have placed before. That gives us two All-Americans from 197 at the 2018 NCAA tournament, and one AA apiece from the last two years of nationals at 184lbs.

Ben Darmstadt was #38 on the 2016 Big Board, took a greyshirt, and then made the semis as a two seed before getting pinned twice in a hard semi slide to sixth. A back injury kept him out for all of last season, time the Big Red staff believes he will get back in the form of a medical redshirt. He'll have an insane length advantage over everyone down at 184, but it remains to be seen what, if any, effects the cut will have on him.

When the Cowboys made all their weight change moves, it was Dakota Geer who figured to be the odd man out. Whether they kept in Chandler Rogers at 165 or not, Geer was either going to be the least likely AA of the bunch or the man on the bench. But it was him, not two-time placer Joe Smith or returning AA Jacobe Smith, who landed on the podium, from the 26 seed no less. That lands him as the preseason #3, but this is a guy who once wrestled in Who's #1 and was at the top of the nation's richest wrestling state.

Shakur Rasheed was the center of a roster battle in 2018 but won the 197lb spot and his seventh-place points at NCAAs helped carry the Nittany Lions to another national title. He switched places with Bo Nickal, dropping down to 184 last year, and battled injuries that limited his effectiveness at the national tournament. He failed to place after dropping two tight ones to eventual All-Americans Chip Ness and Geer, but was granted a sixth year, though if he can't go PSU just has top recruit Aaron Brooks waiting in the wings.

Willie picked Taylor Venz to make the finals in his crystal ball rankings, a not entirely unreasonable notion. He placed fourth as a seven seed in 2018, only losing to Myles Martin and Emery Parker that year. Out of the nine seed last year, he made the Round of 12 with losses to graduated AAs Ryan Preisch and Zack Zavatsky. Venz is very good on top, with 23 techs or pins as a freshman and sophomore, which is also the position that'll carry him this year.

Best of the Rest

#4 Nino Bonaccorsi, Pittsburgh

#5 Taylor Lujan, Northern Iowa

#6 Sam Colbray, Iowa State

#9 Hunter Bolen, Virginia Tech

#10 Louie DePrez, Binghamton

#15 Trent Hidlay, NC State

My great hope is that Keith Gavin or one of his assistants uses a pitch counter to track all of Nino Bonaccorsi's shots this season. It may seem like a big jump up to being ranked fourth after not placing as a freshman, but that's just the makeup of 184 right now. Given that his head coach was a 174lb national champ and former 84kg world team member, plus Bonaccorsi's high school pedigree, being this highly ranked right away isn't actually all that odd.

Interesting news out of Cedar Falls that we knew has been coming is two-time bloodrounder Taylor Lujan coming up in weight for his final year at UNI. You've heard this in other previews, but the boot scootin' son of a gun was part of that ballyhooed 2015 recruiting class, and has to fill the shoes of the graduated NCAA champ. The good people of Georgia will be intently watching Lujan's final collegiate season.

Now in his second year down at 184, Sam Colbray won the unofficial Iowa college state title during the year, beating both Wilcke and Foster, but then fell to Foster at Big 12s. He was very clearly a top-10 guy, with single-digit losses last year.

We are constantly getting updates from coaches about how guys look in the room, what type of effect they have on the program, and the reports out of Blacksburg have been glowing for Hunter Bolen for over a year now. The Scuffle finalist is back from redshirt and is going to be a leader for the Hokies.

Binghamton is the land of the DePrez family, and Lou is carrying the torch right now. He had 15 bonus-point wins and really only had two hiccups that he couldn't overcome last year: Foster and Preisch, both of whom have graduated.

Wrestling's in the family for Trent Hidlay. His brother has already been an NCAA finalist and fourth placer, Trent was #18 on the 2018 Big Board, and now their brother Heath lives down in Raleigh with them. He joins Zahid, Geer, and Colbray as current 184s who have wrestled at WNO. Trent has started to expand his offensive arsenal beyond his underhook, but it is still devastating and a little different than how most guys use underhooks.

Sleepers and Landmines

#11 Cash Wilcke, Iowa

#12 Corey Hazel, Lock Haven

#13 Cam Caffey, Michigan State

#14 Dylan Wisman, Missouri

A rather bland group of sleepers and landmines in the sense that it's the next four ranked guys, but they do actually fall under this umbrella. Wilcke had a controversial overtime loss to eventual finalist Max Dean in the second round of NCAAs, split with Venz last year, and lost twice in the Round of 12 when he was up at 197. It's Wilcke's last season, and Iowa is in position for a team title. Sounds like an awfully dangerous out.

Two-time qualifier Corey Hazel missed all of December and most of January, wrestling just 22 matches and only picking up one bonus win, seeming not at full strength for the year. With two straight top-20 finishes, Lock Haven is just starting to be one of those programs where any guys that get to the tournament are dangerous.

Going through these previews, it's clear we're seeing a new and improved Michigan State program. They had an All-American last year, two Junior Greco world team members, and are bringing in a recruiting class with four Big Boarders on it. Caffey was one of those world teamers, and only got up to #17 in the rankings last year.

It took three years for Wisman to qualify, but he finally did last year for the Tigers. It even came after missing six weeks of the season, and featured a win over finalist Max Dean but also a loss to non-qualifier Carless Looney, who had a losing record. Wisman is the ultimate wildcard entering his final season in Columbia.

New Blood

#17 Gavin Hoffman, Ohio State

Billy Janzer, Rutgers

Jack Jessen, Northwestern

Zach Braunagel, Illinois

A little light on new blood, and Hoffman lost his wrestle-off to Zach Steiner the other day. We're all still a little surprised he's down at 184 after being a 195 and 220 for most of high school. Janzer won his wrestle-off over Willie Scott and should be in the lineup this weekend, so we'll get our first look at him.

A couple boys from the Land of Lincoln are breaking into the lineups for both of Illinois' Big Ten programs. Jessen and Braunagel are more known for their freestyle acumen but will be thrown to the fire in that January/February conference dual grind.

Key Dates

Nov. 22: Penn State at Arizona State

Nov. 23: NC State at Cornell

Dec. 6-7: Cliff Keen Las Vegas

Jan. 6: Iowa State at Arizona State

Jan. 18: Pittsburgh at Oklahoma State

Jan. 19: Virginia Tech at Cornell

Jan. 25: Oklahoma State at Northern Iowa

Jan. 26: Oklahoma State at Iowa State

Feb. 1: NC State at Pittsburgh

Zahid only has three matchups on his schedule with guys ranked highly in the preseason, and I'm curious how many of them end up happening. One of those dates is against Shakur Rasheed, which as you will see is my predicted NCAA final. That's followed up a couple weeks later by a potential CKLV final with the preseason #2 in Ben Darmstadt.

Speaking of Darmstadt, will Trent Hidlay be able to underhook him on November 23 in Ithaca? As for Dakota Geer, he's got an excellent three-match stretch in late January where he faces the preseason #4, #5, and #6 ranked wrestlers all in a row.

Nomad's Predictions

1. Zahid Valencia, Arizona State
2. Shakur Rasheed, Penn State
3. Hunter Bolen, Virginia Tech
4. Taylor Venz, Nebraska
5. Louie DePrez, Binghamton
6. Nino Bonaccorsi, Pittsburgh
7. Trent Hidlay, NC State
8. Ben Darmstadt, Cornell

Zahid's the easy pick. Two through eight, though, is a complete and utter crapshoot. So, if healthy, I went with the guy from the team that is 37-6 in their last 43 NCAA semifinals. Rasheed is best suited for 184 weight-wise, is constantly looking to put people on their back, and has the same mentality that has more well-touted teammates have.

As I mentioned, the expectations out of Blacksburg are sky high for Bolen, and Venz has already placed in the fourth spot before. DePrez is likely the best "small program" guy in the country, and is approximately 82-0 against Bonaccorsi since high school.

197 Pounds

Bo Nickal's single-season at 197 was one of the most dominant seasons at any weight in recent NCAA memory. The wire-to-wire #1 and NCAA champ has graduated, meaning there will be a new champion of 197 pounds. Other All-Americans who are out of eligibility include Preston Weigel (third), Willie Miklus (sixth), and Ben Honis (eighth). 

Who steps up to fill those podium steps? Our penultimate preseason preview is below, presented as best as our five feeble senses will allow. 

Contenders

#1 Kollin Moore, Ohio State

#2 Pat Brucki, Princeton

#3 Kyle Conel, Penn State

The leading contender to win a national title, commonly referred to as the "favorite" among sporting communities, is also the only 197-pounder to make it on to the official preseason Hodge Rankings. Moore has the size and speed to take command of the weight class after three top-four finishes in his first three cracks at the NCAA Championships. 

Brucki had a breakout season last year and has a good chance of becoming Princeton's first finalist since Greg Parker in 2002 at 174 pounds.

The big question mark for the weight class, and perhaps the NCAA season, is what version of Kyle Conel will we see in 2020? Conel only wrestled two matches last season after his Cinderella third-place finish in 2018 (watch the FloFilm: The Highs and Lows of Kyle Conel), before pulling the plug on the season due to injuries. He then made a graduate transfer move to Happy Valley and will be in a Penn State singlet the next time he steps on the mat. Exactly when that will be is unknown, but if he's operating at the same level as he was beating Kollin Moore twice at the 2018 NCAAs in Cleveland, he will clearly be a contender to win the whole thing. 

Other Contenders

#4 Jacob Holschlag, Northern Iowa

#5 Tanner Sloan, South Dakota State

Like Kyle Conel, Jacob Holschlag is coming back from an injury, only in Holschlag's case, it was the entire season that was missed. Holschalg is listed as a redshirt senior on the UNI roster page, but may yet receive another year of eligibility from the NCAA. Whether this is Jacob's last or second-to-last season on the Panther Train, it's likely that the fifth-place finisher from 2018 contends with the elite of the division all season long.

Tanner Sloan has yet to compete in a varsity match for the Jackrabbits, but had one of the most impressive redshirt seasons of any true freshman. The Sloan Ranger notched wins over All-Americans Jacob Warner and Josh Hokit, as well as #9 ranked Eric Schultz, finishing with a record of 24-2. If Sloan can make another level jump like he did from high school to college, he'll be able to compete with the best of the division.

The Rest of the Best of the Rest

You've seen the best of the rest, now check out the rest of the best. 

#6 Josh Hokit, Fresno State

#7 Jacob Warner, Iowa

#8 Nick Reenan, NC State

The next three wrestlers in the division continue the theme of the weight class having a lot of potential but unknowns clouding up the future with variabilities. This makes it more difficult for the pundits but more fun for the fans.

Hokit is currently scoring touchdowns (literally) for the Bulldog football team. He's got the athleticism to contend for a title; the question is can he make the transition between sports in time to peak in March. 

Josh Hokit with another score for @FresnoStateFB and the Bulldogs lead 7-0 early in the first quarter. pic.twitter.com/gk4PjhfnlF

— FloFootball (@FloFootball) September 29, 2019

Jacob Warner was a blue-chip recruit brought in to anchor the Hawkeye lineup at 197. Expectations were astronomical, but Warner was able to battle through some midseason missteps and an early upset at the NCAAs to fight his way onto the podium. Very few freshmen do better in March, which is why there is a lot of optimism for the young upperweight in Iowa City. 

Nick Reenan managed to qualify for the NCAAs as a true freshman in 2017 while cutting down to 174. A stellar redshirt campaign in 2018 led to high expectations in 2019, but late-season injuries hampered his question for an NCAA medal. The question in Raleigh is if this talented competitor has recovered from his injuries and if his sufficiently bulked up to handle 197.  

Sneaky Blinders & Landmines

Nomad calls them "sleepers," CP and Bratke call them "sneakers," we call them "sneaky blinders" because it sounds like the show Peaky Blinders and that show rules and everyone should watch it. 

#13 Thomas Lane, Cal Poly

#15 Ethan Laird, Rider

#24 Dom Ducharme, CSU-Bakersfield

Sam Schuyler, Buffalo

Thomas Lane burnished his landmine bona fides when he took out the #12 seed Rocco Caywood and the #5 seed Jacob Warner in his first two matches at the NCAAs in Pittsburgh. He is the veritable definition of a bracket-buster.

Laird made a run to the round of 16 from the #32 seed, winning three matches along the way. Ducharme is bumping up from 184 where he made the national tournament for the first time. Dom will be entering his third year of varsity wrestling, and as we all know, the third time is Ducharme.

Schuyler, like Ducharme, has found great results wrestling freestyle. If he can translate those to folkstyle results, he'll be right there with the top of the weight class.

New Blood

#5 Tanner Sloan, South Dakota State

Lucas Davison, Northwestern

Joel Shapiro, Iowa State

Michael Beard, Penn State

The only freshman in the top 25 is the aforementioned Tanner Sloan, but there's a trio of other freshmen that could find themselves ranked in a hurry, as well as a few inevitable surprises that elude our prognosticator's eye. Lucas Davison likely has the strongest claim for a ranking. The Wildcat freshman shut down his redshirt campaign after Midlands but had already accumulated several quality wins over NCAA qualifiers by that point. 

Joel Shapiro won his wrestle-off and will likely start the season for the Cyclones. He will be pushed for the starting job by teammate and fellow redshirt freshman Francis Duggan.

Finally, Michael Beard will likely begin the season on redshirt, but if Kyle Conel for whatever reason can't wrestle, Beard would a more than adequate substitute. 

Key Dates

Friday, December 6: Penn State at Lehigh

An early test for Kyle Conel vs #14 Jake Jakobsen.

Friday-Saturday, December 6-7: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational

This tourney should appear as a key date in every weight class preview, as this event is a veritable beast, likely to feature more All-Americans than any other tournaments save the NCAAs and maybe Big Tens. Slated to participate in Vegas are #1 Moore, #4 Holschlag, #5 Sloan, #8 Reenan, #9 Schultz, #10 Brunner, #12 Aiello, #12 Lane, #16 Woodley, #17 Ritter, #21 Reynolds, #22 Davidson, #23 Bulsak, Davison, Ducharme, Shapiro and more.

Monday-Tuesday, December 30-31: The 57th Midlands Championships

Jacob Warner will try to exorcise the demons of a disappointing tournament last season. This may be the toughest tournament for 197-pounders as #2 Brucki, #4 Holschlag, #7 Warner, #10 Brunner, #12 Aiello, #13 Lane, Davison, among others, are all scheduled to be in attendance. 

Friday, January 31: Penn State at Iowa

There's not a dual bout to be had in this match. Conel vs Warner is certainly no exception.

Saturday, February 15: Fresno State at South Dakota State

Football season will be a distant memory when Hokit and Sloan are slated to clash. 

Spey's Spredictions

1) Kollin Moore, Ohio State

2) Pat Brucki, Princeton

3) Jacob Holschlag, Northern Iowa

4) Tanner Sloan, South Dakota State

5) Josh Hokit, Fresno State

6) Jacob Warner, Iowa

7) Nick Reenan, North Carolina State

8)  Sam Schuyler, Buffalo

R12) Kyle Conel, Penn State

R12) Eric Schultz, Nebraska

R12) Christian Brunner, Purdue

R12) Thomas Lane, Cal Poly

Unlike the coward Daniel Nomad, we predict bloodrounders in these previews. 

We think it's finally Kollin Moore's time. All three of his losses last season were to Bo Nickal. The year before that, his only losses were to Michael Macchiavello (who won an NCAA championship that year), Anthony Cassar (who won an NCAA championship the next year), and Kyle Conel twice at NCAAs. Moore's beaten just about every other contender, and we think that trend continues, and that Kollin Moore ends up in the running for a Hodge. 

All the opponents that Pat Brucki lost to last season graduated. We think the human action figure reaches the finals in his third varsity season with the Tigers. 

We're assuming Jacob Holschlag recovered from his injury that head coach Dough Schwab mentioned in his media day interview recently and returns to the podium for the first time since 2018 in his senior campaign. 

We expect big things from Tanner Sloan, and we see the young Jackrabbit all the way up at #4. Hokit and Warner are also capable of big things, and we could easily see them making the finals, but at this point we're conservatively penciling them in for fifth and sixth. 

Our #7 and #8 wrestlers also have massive potential. Both are coming off injuries as well. Reenan has a better track record but has been down at 184 or lighter thus far in his career. Schuyler has less folkstyle wins to justify this pick, but his success as the U.S. Open and JR World Team Trials suggests he's ready to take the next step. 

We're big fans of the next quartet of bloodrounders; we just ran out of room on the podium. If healthy, Kyle Conel has the ability to win it all (having two wins over the #1 ranked guy is all the evidence you need for that). We'll be rooting for him, but we just aren't ready to pick him to All-American until we see him in action. 

285 Pounds

At heavyweight, the national champ received at least one extra year of eligibility, as many as four other All-Americans from last year are coming back, as well as two studs returning from redshirt years. We'll also be getting into the freshmen ready to make an impact and dark horses looking to rise in the rankings and place at the end of the year.

The Favorite: #1 Anthony Cassar, Penn State

It's still hard to fathom the trajectory of Cassar's career, from not qualifying for Jersey states his first three years to winning it as a senior, being off the Big Board but then making a Junior world team, and never being a starter in college before being an NCAA champ. Now, with this year left and an option for next year if he wants it, Cassar represents a massive boon to PSU's title chances the next couple seasons.

He seems like a reasonable bet to be a Hodge finalist, along with his teammates Mark Hall and Vincenzo Joseph, all of whom start the year ranked first. Cassar could put up takedown numbers approaching what we saw out of Kyle Snyder when he at 285. He beat #2 Gable Steveson and #6 Trent Hillger twice, as well as a major over #3 Jordan Wood early in the regular season.

One thing that will be fascinating is when he makes his return to freestyle when the Nittany Lions go en masse to the U.S. Open in December in Fort Worth, Texas. It will be his first time wrestling freestyle since Junior worlds in 2015, and it's not unrealistic to see him winning it.

The Contenders

#2 Gable Steveson, Minnesota

#3 Jordan Wood, Lehigh

It was somewhat difficult to include Jordan Wood when Gable Steveson has never lost a match to him. But with the news yesterday that Steveson is still suspended and not practicing with the team, it felt right to add Wood. The Gopher heavyweight is currently in limbo, but if he is able to return will be favored to be in the finals opposite Cassar.

This portion was originally going to include Greg Kerkvliet, but with him entering the transfer portal, it seems unlikely he'll be wrestling this season.

Jordan Wood has been in the public view for quite some time, having been a four-time finalist and two time champ in Pennsylvania, Cadet world silver, wrestled at Who's #1, Junior world teamer, and now All-American. He is a leader for the Mountain Hawks with two seasons of eligibility remaining, a reliable closer in the Brown & White lineup. I think his absolute floor, the worse case scenario, is fourth.

Best of the Rest

#4 Tanner Hall, Arizona State

#5 Matt Stencel, Central Michigan

#6 Trent Hillger, Wisconsin

#7 Jere Heino, Campbell

#9 Mason Parris, Michigan

A good mix here for the guys favored to fill out the podium, excluding Zach Elam who is redshirting this year. A 2017 All-American for the Sun Devils, Hall is the elder statesmen of the group (to put it mildly). The 2011 high school graduate won Midlands last season competing unattached, and is a huge factor in ASU's chances of winning a team trophy for the first time in since Zeke Jones has been the head coach.

Matt Stencel finished #18 on the 2016 Big Board and has now finally worked his way into the Top-5 of the rankings. A returning AA with just six losses (two of which he avenged), Stencel is CMU's ace in the hole at the end of duals. He's also a must watch as he led the nation in falls against Division I opponents, with over a quarter of them coming in the first minute.

Along with Seth Gross and Evan Wick, #6 Hillger are returning placers for the Badgers. Thor is athletic, good on top, and can be creative from neutral, with some scrambling mixed in. He was in the Junior Trials finals and went three matches with Parris, a guy he'll likely have to see multiple times this year.

Campbell redshirted a good portion of their starting roster, and are now pushing for the first SoCon title of the Cary Kolat era as he tries to raise the Camels up just as NC State and North Carolina are also on the rise. One of those guys redshirting was Heino, who now has several years worth of experience at the world championships for Finland. He fell to Hall in the Midlands semis only to beat him a few weeks later in freestyle at the Dave Schultz.

Rounding out the AA contenders is Junior world champ Mason Parris, who was one of the most intriguing prospects coming out of high school. A three sport athlete who never got a chance to focus on wrestling, you see him still making jumps. The fireman's is his main offensive attack, but he'll have to expand beyond that to jump into the next tier of heavyweights.

Sleepers and Landmines

#12 David Tate Orndorrf, Utah Valley

#14 Demetrius Thomas, Pittsburgh

#16 AJ Nevills, Fresno State

Orndorrf is coming back from a 1-1 performance as our Greco heavyweight at U23 worlds, but unlike his teammate Taylor LaMont, he will not be taking an Olympic Redshirt. Six of his nine losses last year were to All-Americans, so he's right on the cusp of getting on the podium himself.

Thomas fell off a bit at the end of the year, getting majored twice at NCAAs, but I see him rebounding in a big way and being a surprise placer for Keith Gavin's Panthers. Nevills did not appear in Fresno's first duals of the year, so hopefully he is healthy and won't miss extended time.

New Blood

#11 Anthony Cassioppi, Iowa

Garrett Hoffman, Bucknell

Aidan Conner, Princeton

John Birchmeier, Navy

Not a whole lot of guys making their way into the weight. The #14 guy on the 2018 Big Board, Cassioppi went 20-2 during his redshirt year for the Hawkeyes, falling to Heino and Stencel at Midlands. This wouldn't impact the rankings, but Cassioppi beat Parris at Fargo last July and is already ranked #11 to begin with before taking Elam out, so he's a Top-10 guy walking in already.

Hoffman is making his way up from 197 after missing all of last season with an injury. Conner was a Super 32 champ last year who should start right away for the Tigers, and Birchmeier was a Beast of the East champ from Virginia who Navy already rolled out on opening day.

Nomad's Predictions

1. Anthony Cassar, Penn State
2. Gable Steveson, Minnesota
3. Jordan Wood, Lehigh
4. Trent Hillger, Wisconsin
5. Jere Heino, Campbell
6. Tanner Hall, Arizona State
7. Anthony Cassioppi, Iowa
8. Demetrius Thomas, Pittsburgh

It's still unclear if Steveson will wrestle this season or not, but if he does, I think we'll see him in the finals. With him not being able to practice, plus Penn State's track record, as well as Cassar being 2-0 against him, it's a relatively easy choice for me.

Wood is too steady to see him placing behind Gable, and if he's not there, should be in the finals. There's a lot of hype around the Badgers getting a team trophy this year, and it appears I'm buying into it with Hillger jumping up a few rungs on the ladder.

Kolat's second AA (first was Nathan Kraisser in 2017) will be the giant Finnish man, and he'll get another crack at Hall. Cassioppi's too good on top and has too reliable a track record from high school, though that would knock out a guy who pinned him in 43 seconds last year in Stencel. I already mentioned I'm taking Big Meech to finish on the podium.