The 2021 Junior World Championships will be held in Ufa, Russia from August 16-22. This event has become the premier competition for the world’s top talent under the age of 20. In this article, we’ll explore how America’s best wrestlers have performed at Junior Worlds in men’s freestyle since 2010 and how that has translated into NCAA and Senior level success.

Junior World Medalists Have Insane NCAA Success

Since 2010, there have been 29 individuals who have won a medal at the Junior World Championships. Of those 29 individuals, 24 have gone on to earn All-American honors at the NCAA Division 1 level. On top of that, 12 of the 27 medalists have gone on to win an NCAA Championship and 6 of those won multiple NCAA titles. Take a look below to see all of the junior world medalists since 2010 with their NCAA success:

Beyond the clear NCAA success that junior world medalists have, seven athletes have gone on to wrestle at the world/Olympic level. Logan Stieber, Pat Downey, Kyle Snyder, Adam Coon, Thomas Gilman, Daton Fix, and Gable Steveson have all made a senior team for USA. Stieber (2016 World Champ), Snyder (Olympic Gold, 2X World Gold, World/Olympic Silver, World Bronze), Coon (2018 World Silver in Greco), Gilman (2017 World Silver, 2020 Olympic Bronze) and Steveson (2020 Olympic Gold) are the only ones to bring home world/Olympic hardware of this list.

What About The Non-Medalists?

Junior Worlds is, of course, an age-level competition and many of the competitors are still in the development stage of their careers. With that in mind, it’s clear to see how Junior Worlds played a huge role in those who failed to medal. 22 wrestlers who competed at Junior Worlds since 2010 (and did not medal) went on to earn All-American honors at the NCAA division 1 level. More than that, 4 of those who failed to place at junior worlds went on to win an NCAA title. Take a look at those who didn’t find success at Junior Worlds but did went on to find success on the D1 level:

This Year’s Squad

You can view the full list of this year’s Junior World team in all styles for Team USA by clicking here. On the men’s side, only Rocky Elam and Keegan O’Toole have already earned All-American status (both for Missouri). The rest of the squad has many years of NCAA eligibility left and are sure to become household names for American collegiate fans. The Junior World Championships are the perfect opportunity to get an early look at those wrestlers who will be competing for NCAA titles and world/Olympic team spots for years to come.  

Some Other Fun Junior World Facts

• Every Men’s Freestyle Olympian competed at Junior Worlds (David Taylor DNP’d in 2007 and Kyle Dake DNP’d in Greco in 2008)
• 65 of the 84 reps went on to earn All-American Status at the D1 Level
• Every Junior World Gold Medalist has made the NCAA Finals (6 of 8 have won NCAA Titles)
• 2017 Most Medals - 3 Golds, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze
• 2017 Best Team Finish - Gold
• Daton Fix, Zahid Valencia, and Mark Hall were the only wrestlers to make 3 Junior World teams
• Daton Fix is the only American to win 3 Junior world medals