2018-2019 Prospect Rankings

Prospect Rankings By Weight

Prospect rankings are back! Here we handicap the talent and rank them based on what we believe will be their future college weights.

Over the next couple weeks, we'll roll out Prospect Rankings at each of the ten college weights.

A little about these rankings:

The Prospect Rankings are markedly different from the weight class rankings (which are all grades with wrestlers at their current weights and based entirely on results) and the Big Board rankings (which are grade specific and opinion-based).

Prospect Rankings take wrestlers from all grades and project them to their college weights. We then rank them based on what we think (opinion/assessment) their potential is.

A good measure to understand what I'm assessing, is to find a valuation to a senior, and then to take all the other wrestlers and project what level they will be at when they are a senior.

It's certainly an inexact science - one that is ever evolving and full of factors (none more obvious than the difficult in projecting physical growth). But Prospect Rankings just might be the most important one to recruiters, who have to not only target each weight, but have to deliberate on signing that weight this year, or waiting a year or two on someone who might turn out to be better.

The Turnover at 174:

- Ten of the previous Top 20 graduated

- Six of the Top 20 remained ranked at the same weight

- Six of the current Top 20 were ranked at other weights

- Eight of the current Top 20 are new to the Prospect Rankings

At The Top:

From 1 thru 20, this is a very deep crop. You have returning IL big school Champ Matt Ortiz at the 20 spot. That equals depth. Several guys with intriguing potential were left off so let's give them a shout out - Gavin Kane and Drew Eller of GA, Tyler Stoltzfus or PA and Greyden Penner in Missouri, Oklahoma's Zane Coleman and Jon Fagan of Idaho.

Ok, now really at the top...

Alex Facundo is the blue chipper leading the way. I think he's pretty much the consensus #1 at just about any weight he's projected at. Keckeisen had an outstanding Fargo which confirmed an elite status. I like his resourcefulness enough to put him just ahead of Cadet World Bronze medalist Abe Assad. Of course Assad could be the best of the bunch here. It's just that his sample size is relatively small. He went from an unranked non-state-placer to #1 and Cadet World Teamer in the span of 14 months. 

My next three are all Juniors. You all know Plott, of course. But probably know less about Bele, who we haven't seen in a major in quite a while. I think he has major upside, especially as he grows from middleweight to upperweight. 

I put Lawrence in the top tier, though at this point he's a boom or bust. He's had fantastic wins, but some inconsistencies (as is expected with most sophomores). He might be the prospect I want to match most closely at Super 32.