The greatest New Year's tradition in wrestling, the Southern Scuffle, will once again feature some of the deepest brackets of the regular season. Here's some of the action you can expect at the middleweights.

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Before reading about all the action at 149, 157, and 165, be sure to check out Nomad's preview of what you can expect from the lightweights. This tournament, combined with Midlands, will set the stage for the second half of the year and the post-season. Now, on to the middleweights.

149: 6 Ranked

#4 Boo Lewallen (OK State)

#11 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State)

#18 Requir van der Merwe (Stanford)

#19 Russell Rohlfing (CSU-Bakersfield)

#21 Tanner Smith (Chattanooga)

#23 Gerard Anegelo (Rutgers)

Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado)

Commentary: The two All-Americans, #4 Boo Lewallen and #11 Jarrett Degen, will probably get the top two seeds at this weight, but Northern Colorado's Andrew Alirez, who is currently unranked due to a lack of opportunities to wrestle ranked opponents, could win this bracket.

Oklahoma State's Boo Lewallen was an All-American in 2018 and entered last year with high expectations before suffering a season-ending injury. Lewallen is back and wrestling well. He's 9-0 on the season with a convincing 8-3 win over Minnesota's Brayton Lee.

Jarrett Degen of Iowa State was an All-American last year. His season is off to a bumpy start as Degen suffered an apparent shoulder injury at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas. Assuming he's healthy now, Degen will be seeded to make the finals opposite Lewallen. These two have wrestled three times. Degen's one win was by injury default when Lewallen couldn't finish the match in last season's dual meet. 

While Lewallen has traditionally owned this series, his wins haven't come easy. A healthy Degen is a serious contender here. Check out this wild one from when they met in a 2018 dual meet.

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One potentially unseeded wrestler who could turn this bracket upside down is Andrew Alirez of Northern Colorado. Alirez's season hasn't afforded him the opportunity to wrestle any highly ranked opponents, but his high school and freestyle accomplishments suggest he could do well here. Some people believe Alirez to be an NCAA title contender this year.

The three contenders will be pushed by a tough field including four ranked foes in #18 Requir van der Merwe of Stanford, #19 Russell Rohlfing of CSU-Bakersfield, #21 Tanner Smith of Chattanooga, and #23 Gerard Angelo of Rutgers. 

The NCAA Qualifier Van der Merwe actually out-placed Degen here last year though the two never met. He's also a combined 3-0 against Rohlfing and Smith.

Rohlfing is an NCAA qualifier with a long frame and scrambling style that can give guys big problems, especially the first time they see him. He finished sixth here last year.

Chattanooga's Smith went 1-2 at NCAA's last season and looks to represent his home school well in this tough field.

David Bray's Picks: 1) Andrew Alirez, Northern Colorado 2) Boo Lewallen, Oklahoma State 3) Jarrett Degen, Iowa State 4) Requir van der Merwe, Stanford

157: 5 Ranked

#2 Hayden Hidlay (NC State)

#3 David Carr (Iowa State)

#7 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider)

#17 Matt Zovistoski (App State)

#19 Taleb Rahmani (Pittsburgh)

The top two seeds here are the #2 and #3 wrestlers in the country. We thought we might see this match at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, but Ryan Deakin prevented that by beating Carr in the semis. He went on to earn a convincing win over Hidlay in the finals and grab the #1 spot in the country.

So now, a month later, we could finally see this match if seeds hold. Hidlay is a 2x All-American and 2018 Finalist, and he'll be the favorite here. He is incredibly difficult to score on and uses his under-hook to great effect. He was many people's pre-season pick to win this weight. For a good look at Hidlay's under-hook prowess, check out his CKLV semi win over Kendall Coleman.

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Iowa State freshman David Carr put together an outstanding first semester with wins over Iowa's Kaleb Young and Purdue's Kendall Coleman. Like Hidlay, he didn't have an answer for Deakin at CKLV, but he has looked otherwise outstanding. A potential Carr vs Hidlay final could be the match of the tournament.

Rider's Jesse Dellavecchia currently sits at #7 in the country. He finished in the round of 16 at NCAA's last year at 165 and was undefeated this season until last weekend when he lost a 13-7 decision to Princeton's Quincy Monday. He also has a win over Monday this year. A win over either Carr or Hidlay would be the best win of Dellavecchia's career.

Like Dellavecchia, App State's Matt Zovistoski is new to 157 this year. He's a 2x NCAA Qualifier and was 8th here last year at 149. He has wins in his past against Josh Heil and Requir van der Merwe and is certainly capable. Keep your eyes on him in this bracket.

Pitt's Taleb Rahmani was a match away from achieving All-American honors last season. He's coming off an upset loss to Maryland's Jahi Jones, but he's one of the most dangerous wrestlers in the country. He can pin in a lot of different ways. Rahmani is a must-watch 157-pounder.

David Bray's Picks: 1) Hayden Hidlay, NC State 2) David Carr, Iowa State 3) Jesse Dellavecchia, Rider 4) Taleb Rahmani, Pitt

165: 8 Ranked

#7 Shane Griffith (Stanford)

#9 Tanner Skidgel (Navy)

#10 Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh)

#11 Thomas Bullard (NC State)

#12 Andrew Fogarty (ND State)

#14 Travis Wittlake (OK State)

#17 Ebed Jarrell (Drexel)

#22 Nick Kiussis (West Virginia)

This is one of the more wide-open weights of the more wide-open weight classes of this tournament. This field includes a lot of parity with 8 wrestlers ranked between 7 and 22.

Last year's Southern Scuffle was Shane Griffith's coming-out party. Griffith, while redshirting for Stanford last year, gave 2x NCAA Champ Vincenzo Joseph one of his closest matches of the season. He went on to place 3rd here with wins over Jesse Dellavecchia and Chandler Rogers. He's ranked 7th this season and will be the favorite here. Things get much foggier after Griffith.

Navy's Tanner Skidgel is a bit of an enigma in this bracket. He's ranked 9th at 165 currently but has losses to Wentzel, Fogarty, and Jarrell who are all in the bracket. It will be interesting to see what kinds of adjustments he's made for the competition headed into the Scuffle.

Jake Wentzel of Pitt is the 10th ranked 165-pounder in the land. In addition to his win over Skidgel, he is 2-1 against Kiussis and has a win over Jarrell. He does have a loss to Fogarty who's a couple spots behind him.

NC State's Thomas Bullard is a 2x NCAA qualifier who's ranked 11th in the country. He has wins over Fogarty and Kiussis but has lost to Ebed Jarrell. He's coming off a 3rd place performance at CKLV and seems to be having the best season of his career. Here's his CKLV consolation semifinal win over #12 Andrew Fogarty.

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Andrew Fogarty is ranked #12 and has wins over Wentzel and Jarrell and is 2-1 against Kiussis. He does have the losses to Griffith and Bullard mentioned above. He's a force on top and could go a long way in this bracket.

Oklahoma State's Travis Wittlake might be the biggest wild-card in this bracket. He has a 5-1 win over Drexel's Ebed Jarrell, but that's the only match he has against the top 8 in this field. Wittlake was a big recruit coming out of high school and remains undefeated, though somewhat untested so far this year. We'll learn a lot about where he fits in the 165 landscape in Chattanooga.

#17 Jarrell and #22 Kiusis round out this field. As demonstrated in their results above, they are capable of beating some of the top guys in this bracket. The offer nice depth to a loaded weight class. Don't be surprised to see them knock off any of the guys seeded ahead of them.

David Bray's Picks: 1) Shane Griffith, Stanford 2) Travis Wittlake, Oklahoma State 3) Thomas Bullard, NC State 4) Andrew Fogarty, North Dakota State