The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, college wrestling’s fastest-growing men’s division, has nearly quadrupled in size during the past two decades, going from a segment of the sport that was just trying to survive to one that’s thriving today with 74 programs and more on the way. 

The NAIA is a division with unique characteristics and rules. Teams can enter 12 wrestlers per weight in the postseason and NAIA eligibility rules open the door for some athletes to take non-traditional college routes. NCAA Division I All-Americans Cam Tessari and Andrew Long competed on the NAIA stage. So did Brandon Wright and Eric Thompson, both of whom went on to freestyle success on the Senior level. 

Olympian Ben Provisor currently competes for Grand View and 2019 World Team member Pat Downey is on the St. Thomas University roster. 

The NAIA season kicked off last week and opening-week action featured the first upset of the season. Unranked freshman Hunter Bennett of Doane defeated #15 Harley Williamson, a two-time national qualifier from Doane, 10-8 in overtime at 125 pounds. 

The Champs are Here

In total, there are seven past national champions who will be attempting to increase their title counts. The lightest weight class, 125, has two of them. Brandon Orum of Life won the title in 2021, while Esco Walker took second at 133 that same year. The following year, Walker transferred to Grand View, dropped to 125 and beat Orum in the finals. This is the only weight with more than one champ in it.  Grand View also returns one other champion, Israel Casarez, at 157.  His performance at nationals last year was inspirational, including the hustle that got him the overtime takedown for the championship against Life’s Jack Bass, who is back as well.  Then there are the big boys; the three heaviest weights all return a champ. Eric Vermillion of Indiana Tech is going for title #3.  

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Zane Lanham of Life returns after pinning national champ and five-time All-American Isaac Bartel for a title. Gage Braun bumped up to 285 and sneaked up on many to beat two-time finalist Greg Hagan in the last championship bout.  Neither Connor Gimson (133) nor Cole Smith (165), two champs who still have eligibility remaining, are ranked.  Will either return?  Finally, we have Baterdene Boldmaa of Doane, who is perhaps the face of NAIA men’s wrestling right now. He has an electric style on his feet and could become the NAIA’s ninth four-time national champion this year.

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The Team Race

These are the top five teams in the preseason NAIA rankings:

#1 Grand View — After winning nine consecutive titles, Grand View finished second in 2021 before reclaiming the crown in March. The Vikings only lost two seniors, including a five-time All-American and a national champion. However, Baker transfer Isaiah Luellen is now #1 at 174, and Grand View also returns two-time All-American and national finalist #2 Giovanny Bonilla, who suffered an injury that ended his title pursuit last season. The Vikings return two champs in Walker and Casarez, plus #1 Carson Taylor, #2 Shea Ruffridge, #1 Marty Margolis, #2 Ben Lee, and #2 Greg Hagan. In other words, Grand View will be hard to beat, but we’ve seen it done.

#2 Life — Life pulled off a colossal upset in 2021 when the Running Eagles halted Grand View’s title run.  Life finished second this past year and is looking to establish a true rivalry with Grand View. The Running Eagles return star power in national champions Brandon Orum and Zane Lanham, 2021 finalist Asher Eichert, 2022 finalist Jack Bass, and three other returning All-Americans. In addition, Life brings back 2021 starters #6 Tyree Johnson and #6 Myles Starke. On top of that, it has some transfers with large potential in Riley Smucker from Cleveland State and Austin Harris from Oklahoma State, both D1 NCAA qualifiers. 

#3 Southeastern — Led by national champion Gage Braun, the Fire also return four more All-Americans — #3 Isaac Crowell, #3 Andreus Bond, #6 Sal Silva, and #5 Stephen Kelle. Southeastern has six more returning national qualifiers, most of them still young and capable of breaking through this season. Transfers such as Isaac Lopez and Douglas Peppers bolster the depth even further, giving the Fire the max 12 wrestlers in the top 20. 

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#4 Marian — Marian is a classic Indiana team, scrappy and good on top. The team returns three All-Americans, each of whom is currently in the top three of the rankings: Elliott Rodgers, Sam Osho and Jack Servies. Blake Mulkey, who placed fourth in 2021, also rejoins the squad.  

Bailey Moore has been devastatingly close to All-American status in each of his three trips to nationals, winning at least two matches each time. While Marian has 12 ranked wrestlers, its next best shot at an All-American might be at 125 where Alex Cottey is ranked 10th and Anthony Hughes is 11th. Hughes was a true freshman qualifier last season and a conference champion. Cottey is more of an unknown, transferring in from Tennessee-Chattanooga and returning to Indiana, where he was a four-time state finalist and two-time champion.

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#5 Indiana Tech — Indiana Tech has 10 wrestlers currently ranked, but that doesn’t include two-time national champion Conner Gimson. Gimson’s twin brother, Matt, however is ranked #5 at 133. Led by two-time champ Eric Vermillion, Indiana Tech also brings back All-American Kyle Kantola and bloodrounders Nick Gates and Nate Wheeler. Those five, plus five other top-20 guys puts the Warriors fifth in the rankings for now.

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New Year, New Me

Each year we see weight changes and this year has plenty of guys bumping up or down. Last year we saw Esco Walker cut down from 133 to win a title, while Gage Braun did the opposite, bulking up to heavyweight to claim a championship. Here are some proven NAIA guys that will be entering a new weight class, returning from a hiatus, or simply competing for a new school.  If you are looking for some guys to surprise the nation, these may be it:

125 — Diago Hernandez (Ottawa) — Round of 12 at 133 in 2022

133 — Daniel Vargas (Doane) —  Two-time All-American at 125

133 — Blake Mulkey (Marian) — All-American at 141 in 2021 

133 — Markis Branford (Lindsey Wilson) —  NJCAA All-American

141 — Tyree Johnson (Life) — All-American at 141 in 2021 

141 — Creighton Baughman (Concordia) — NJCAA All-American

149 — Martin Wilkie (MSU-Northern) — NAIA finalist at 141 in 2022

149 — Aaron Gandara (Southern Oregon) — All-American at 157 in 2022

157 — Gio Bonilla (Grand View) — Two-time All-American

157 — Sal Silva (Southeastern) —  All-American at 149 in 2022)

157 —  Cole Luallen (Reinhardt) — NAIA #1 seed at 149 in 2022

165 — Riley Smucker (Life) — D1 qualifier 165 2022 at Cleveland State 

174 — Douglas Peppers (Southeastern) — (NAIA qualifier at Brewton-Parker

184 — Myles Starke (Life) — 2021 NAIA qualifier)

184 — Hayden Wempen (Morningside) — 2022 qualifier at Missouri Valley 

197 — Tucker Tomlinson (Ottawa) — NJCAA Champ/Wyoming transfer

285 — Daulton Mayer (Thomas More) — Two-time All-American at 197 

285 — Hunter Dejong (Morningside) — All-American at 197 in 2022 

Dynamic Duos

One of the unique things about the NAIA is its rule that permits 12 postseason entries, which helps create more roster depth. Just because you can’t beat the guy in front of you doesn’t mean you can’t start. You just have to prove yourself as one of the best 12 on the roster.  So we end up with some hammers at the same weight and on the same team, pushing each other. Let’s look at 10 of the best duos at who will be pushing each other all season.

125 — Lindsey Wilson — #7 Connor Diamond and #19 Clarence Lee-Green

141 — Cumberlands — #4 Bryce Nickel and #16 Chasen Brown

149 — Doane — #12 Tristan Zamilpa and #13 Nate Lendt

157 — Grand View — #1 Israel Casarez and #2 Giovanny Bonilla

165 — Marian —  #3 Elliott Rodgers and #20 Jordan Fulks

174 — Southeastern — #5 Stephen Kelle and #12 Douglas Peppers

184 — Life — #6 Myles Starke and #8 Asher Eichert

197 — Eastern Oregon — #8 Marco Retano and #9 Jay Smith

285 — Missouri Valley — #6 Joshua Isaac and #16 Brooks Baker

285 — Grand View — #2 Greg Hagan and #3 Tommy Mommer