Michigan has received their draws for the 2022 NCAA Tournament and will have 9 wrestlers contributing toward their quest to win their first national team title. Take a look below at the seeds for every Michigan wrestler along with a full breakdown of their bracket draws and potential matches.

125 - #1 Nick Suriano - 20 projected team points

As the #1, Nick Suriano will be a huge favorite in his opening match against the winner of the 32/33 - Patrick McCormick or Logan Ashton. In the second round, Suriano has an interesting matchup against either Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) or Drew Hildebrandt. Both are interesting matchups at the 16 and 17 seeds. Noto won the MAC and is currently 30-1 on the year. Hildebrandt is the returning 4th place finisher and wrestled Suriano to a tight, 2-1 match earlier in the year. Either way, Suriano should be considered the favorite to make the quarterfinals.

Suriano’s potential quarterfinal match will likely be one of Patrick McKee, Devin Schroder, or Sam Latona. All three of those wrestlers have had their highs and lows this year and will be big underdogs against the ultra-consistent Suriano. Still, McKee and Latona are returning All-Americans and present a challenging quarter-final match.

As unpredictable as the NCAA tournament is, attempting to predict Suriano’s semi-final opponent is a bit futile. However, Suriano’s potential semi-final opponents include returning national finalist Brandon Courtney, returning All-Americans Killian Cardinale and Taylor Lamont, Malik Heinselman, and Drake Ayala. Regardless of the challenging road, Suriano is a big favorite to make the finals for a likely showdown with #2 Vito Arujau!

Hear from Suriano after his Big 10 title:

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133 - #6 Dylan Ragusin - 9 projected team points

Dylan Ragusin had the best showing of his season at the Big 10 tournament highlighted by his win over All-American Lucas Byrd in the third-place match. Ragusin will be the #6 seed at the NCAAs and has a tough first-round match against Lehigh’s Malyke Hines. Ragusin and Hines haven’t wrestled in their college careers but Hines noticeably had a win over 12 seed, Micky Phillippi, earlier this season. Still, Ragusin should be the favorite and will likely face Oregon State’s Devan Turner in round 2. Turner and Ragusin haven't wrestled this year however it's worth noting Turner placed 4th at the CKLV where Ragusin was the champ. Should Ragusin make the quarterfinals, he’ll likely have a rematch with Arizona State’s Michael McGee. The two met in January where McGee dominated to a 10-0 victory.

Ragusin is unlikely to advance past the quarters but should he pull off the upset against McGee, he’ll likely face Daton Fix in the semis. Michigan doesn’t need Ragusin to make the finals however they will need him to battle through the consolations and earn All-American honors if they hope to compete for a team title.

Ragusin's match against McGee from earlier this season:

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141 - #24 Stevan Micic - .5 projected team points

Micic clawed his way to a 4th place finish at the Big 10 tournament after losing in the first round to Purdue’s Parker Filius. As the 24 seed, Micic is set up with a tough draw at the NCAA tournament - starting off with Missouri’s #9 Alan Hart. Hart finished in the round of 12 at last year’s NCAA tournament and has put together a solid year with a 15-5 record. However, Hart has two losses on the year to wrestlers who did not qualify for the NCAA tournament - Ty Smith and Cael Happel. Should Micic get by Hart, he’ll wrestle the winner of #8 Grant Willits and #25 Carter Young. Willits is the favorite in that match and has been solid this year with ranked wins over Real Woods, Parker Filius, and Jake Bergeland.

It’s unlikely Micic makes the quarterfinals and even more unlikely he gets passed #1 seed, Nick Lee, there. At this point, any points out of Micic at the NCAA tournament would exceed expectations for Michigan.

Stevan Micic on his return to folkstyle wrestling:

157 - #8 Will Lewan - 5.5 projected team points

Will Lewan was a huge shot in the arm for Michigan at the Big 10 tournament and will need to wrestle his best in Detroit to earn All-American honors. Though Lewan earned the 8 seed, he drew 4X national qualifier and a returning round of 12 finisher Jarrett Jacques in the first round. The two have never met in competition but this match is likely to be ultra-competitive. Should Lewan defeat Jacques, he’ll likely have #9 seed, returning All-American Kaleb Young in the second round. Lewan and Young met back in the 2020 season where Young came out on top in a 7-3 decision.

Should Lewan get by his tough first two matches, he will likely face defending national champion #1 David Carr. Though Lewan is wrestling his best of late, Carr will be a huge favorite over the Wolverine - especially considering Carr defeated Lewan 10-2 at last year’s NCAA tournament. 

Because it’s likely Lewan is wrestling in the consolation bracket, Michigan needs him to wrestle at or above his seed to help them contend with the likes of Penn State and Iowa. Lewan’s performance at Big 10s showed he’s capable of earning All-American honors but he’ll have a tough road to the podium in Detroit. 

165 - #6 Cam Amine - 9 projected team points

Like Lewan, Cam Amine’s performance at the Big 10 tournament was crucial to Michigan’s team title performance. Also like Lewan, Amine drew a tough route in his first two matches in Detroit despite earning a high seed. In his opening round match, Amine will wrestle Nebraska’s Bubba Wilson who defeated Amine last month, 5-3. Amine will then likely wrestle Northern Illinois Izzak Olejnik in the second round. Amine and Olejnik wrestled an overtime match at the 2019 MSU open where Amine came out on top, 2-1. 

If Amine navigates his way to the quarterfinals, he’ll likely have a rematch of the Big 10 finals with #3 seed Alex Marinelli. In that match, Marinelli controlled ties and moved Amine around the mat to earn an early stall point - which proved to be the difference in Marinelli’s 2-1 win. Amine will be a major underdog to make the semi-finals and will have to win on the backside to earn All-American honors for the second straight year. 

174 - #3 Logan Massa - 13.5 projected team points

Logan Massa earned the #3 seed and will be a big favorite against Binghamton’s Jacob Nolan in round 1. In round 2, Massa will face the winner of #14 Chris Foca and #19 Thomas Flitz. Foca defeated Flitz 8-5 two years ago and, if healthy, will likely meet Massa in the round of 16. Foca, however, forfeited out of EIWAs after suffering an injury against Penn’s Nick Incontrera. 

Should Massa make it to the quarters, he’ll likely face the winner of Dustin Plott and Peyton Mocco. The two met in the finals of the Big 12 championships where Plott came out on top of a close, 4-3 decision. Both would be challenging matchups but Massa should be the favorite to reach the semifinals. National champion Mekhi Lewis will likely be waiting for him there and while the two have never met in college, Massa has defeated Mekhi Lewis twice in freestyle - at the 2020 RTC Cup and 2019 senior nationals.

Massa will have to wrestle his best to make the finals but he’s certainly capable of defeating any of his potential opponents. 174 pounds is a DEEP weight with Carter Starocci, Michael Kemerer, and Hayden Hidlay as the major title contenders on the opposite side of the bracket. 

Amine's win over Mekhi Lewis from December of 2019:

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184 - #1 Myles Amine - 20 projected team points

Myles Amine was the hero for Michigan at the Big 10 championships and will need to repeat that performance in Detroit for Michigan's team title hopes. Amine will be the #1 seed and should cruise to the semi-finals. There, Amine will likely face Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen. Amine and Keckeisen have never wrestled in their college careers but have put together similar seasons. Keckeisen won the Big 12 championships and, like Amine, his only loss on the year was a close decision to Aaron brooks. The Keckeisen - Amine match is a fascinating one and will likely be decided by a takedown or less.

Trent Hidlay and Aaron Brroks will likely face off on the bottom side of the bracket in what would be a rematch of last year's NCAA finals. 184 pounds is a unique weight in that any of the top 4 - Myles Amine, Aaron Brooks, Trent Hidlay, or Parker Keckeisen could walk away with the national title on Saturday night in Detroit. Michigan needs Amine to be atop that podium if they hope to edge out Penn State and Iowa for the team title.  

Hear from Myles Amine after his 2022 Big 10 title:

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197 - #4 Patrick Brucki - 12.5 projected team points

Patrick Brucki’s third-place performance at Big 10s earned him the #4 seed at the NCAA Tournament. Brucki should get by Cleveland State’s Ben Smith in the first round but then will likely have a match with Oklahoma’s Jake Woodley in the second round. Woodley and Brucki met in the finals of the MSU open earlier this season where Woodley came out on top in overtime - 4-2. The matches don’t get much easier for Brucki if he gets revenge on Woodley - he’ll likely face returning national finalist Nino Bonaccorsi in the quarters and then #1 seed Max Dean in the semis. That means to make the finals, Brucki will have to avenge two of his 6 losses on the year and take out the returning NCAA runner-up! 

Brucki is certainly capable of reaching the NCAA finals but it’s equally (or more) probable he loses to Woodley in the second round. 197 is the most challenging to predict weight at this year’s NCAA tournament and could result in the most chaotic bracket in Detroit. Expect the result of this weight class to play a major factor in the team race.

Brucki's match against Woodley from earlier this season:

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285 - #7 Mason Parris - 6.5 projected team points

Mason Parris received about the best draw he could have asked for as the #7 seed. Parris starts off his tournament with Penn’s Ben Goldin - who Parris majored 2 years ago (8-0). In the second round, Parris will likely wrestle the winner of #10 and #23 - Nathan Traxler and Quinn Miller. The two have split matches this year and are both major underdogs to Parris. That means Parris will likely cruise to the quarterfinals with a potential match against Arizona State’s Cohlton Schultz. Parris and Schultz have never wrestled in their college careers however Parris outplaced Schutlz at last year’s NCAA tournament. 

Should Parris get by Schutlz, he will likely meet #3 Tony Cassioppi in the semifinals. Parris and Cassioppi have met three times in their college careers with Parris coming out on top in all three - 2 by pin and 1 by major. Though they haven’t met this year, Parris has to fell much better about being on the same side as Cassioppi and Schultz compared to being on the top side with Gable Steveson and Greg Kerkvliet. Especially because Parris’ only 4 losses this year are to Gable and Kerk. 

If Michigan is looking for a place to gain major points, heavyweight with Mason Parris is the spot. Should Parris make the finals, he’d earn 16 team points compared to the 6.5 he’s projected to earn with a 7th place finish.

Team Projected Points - 96.5

If you're a Michigan fan, you have to feel good about Nick Suriano, Logan Massa, Myles Amine, and Mason Parris's chances of making the semi-finals. The Wolverines will need big points out of those four wrestlers if they hope to contend for a team title. On the other side of things, Dylan Ragusin, Stevan Micic, Will Lewan, Cam Amine, and Patrick Brucki didn't receive any favors in their draws. There's certainly a scenario where all five of those wrestlers fail to earn All-American honors. However, if Michigan repeats their performance at Big 10s, expect the Wolverines to come away with 7-8 All-Americans and score over 100 team points. If that happens, they'll certainly be in the hunt to win their program's first national title.

Team scores based on seeds have Penn State earning 113 points. That means Michigan will have to overperform at a weight or two while Penn State will have to underperform. Check out a breakdown of Penn State's draws here.

Coach Bormet's thoughts on their Big 10 title and upcoming NCAA Tournament:

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Check out the full 2022 NCAA brackets here.