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2021 NCAA Wrestling Championship Watch Party

2021 Dan Hodge Trophy Rankings Update: Gable Or Spencer?

2021 Dan Hodge Trophy Rankings Update: Gable Or Spencer?

Spencer Lee and Gable Steveson are in a tight race for the most prestigious award in college wrestling. So, who's in the lead?

Mar 17, 2021 by JD Rader
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Conference weekend shook things up a bit and made one thing even more clear than it already was - it's a two-pony race for the Hodge Trophy Award this year - Spencer Lee and Gable Steveson. 

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Conference weekend shook things up a bit and made one thing even more clear than it already was - it's a two-pony race for the Hodge Trophy Award this year - Spencer Lee and Gable Steveson. 

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A reminder - the Dan Hodge Trophy uses seven criteria when determining the season's best wrestler. They are presented below in the order of importance. 

  1. Record

  2. Number of pins

  3. Dominance

  4. Past credentials

  5. Quality of competition

  6. Sportsmanship/citizenship

  7. Heart

Below you will find the rankings along with an explanation and some numbers. The dominance score is an average of how many team points a wrestler accrues every time they step on the mat. 

 RankNameSchoolWeightYearRecordPreviousNumber Of PinsBonus Rate

Dominance Score

1Spencer LeeIowa125SR7-015100%5.71
2Gable StevesonMinnesota285JR11-023100%5.09
3Daton FixOklahoma State133SO9-03489%4.8
4Jaydin EiermanIowa141SR8-05462%4.53
5David CarrIowa State157SO15-06473%4.66
6Keegan O'TooleMissouri165FR13-08576%4.84
7Sammy SassoOhio State149SO12-09341%4
8Hayden HidlayNC State157SR9-010277%4.55
9Austin O'ConnorNorth Carolina149JR8-011262%4.12
10Michael KemererIowa174SR7-012257%4.14

Why Spencer Is #1

Spencer Lee remains in the top spot over Gable Steveson because quality of competition is the #5 criteria. Gable clearly leads in that criteria, but Spencer leads in criteria #2, #3, and #4. They are both tied in criteria #1 #6 and #7. Now, Gable's superior quality of competition might just be enough to put him above Spencer if he continues his dominance and Spencer doesn't tech or pin his way through the NCAA tournament. For now, however, Spencer remains #1. Inferior opponents or not, teching/pinning your way through a season is unprecedented. 

Honorable Mention

The following guys are just barely on the outside looking in of the top ten at this point.

Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan)

Anthony Valencia (Arizona State)

Zach Hartman (Bucknell)

Jaret Lane (Lehigh)

Lou Deprez (Binghamton)

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