NCAA Rankings 2018-19

Valenc-me Your Ears

Several All-Americans are bumping up a weight class (or two), which caused some consternation at the top of the rankings. 

Chandler Rogers fit pretty neatly between Jordan Kutler and Taylor Lujan. The placement of David McFadden and Michael Kemerer, the latter of whom is expected to move up all the way from 157, however, proved a thornier puzzle to untangle. Both McFadden and Kemerer had comparable seasons to Myles Amine and Daniel Lewis, and there are arguments to putting the newcomers on either side of the incumbents. We ultimately gave the benefit of the doubt to the wrestlers who changed the least amount of weight classes, but do not be surprised for this group to change places early and often once the season resumes. 

Mikey Labriola had one of the most impressive redshirt seasons of anyone, with wins over two All-Americans in David Kocer and Jacobe Smith. His loss to Dylan Lydy puts him pretty firmly in the 11th spot, one of the highest rankings of any freshman so far. 

Drew Hughes was having a very solid year before going down with an injury. He is the highest ranked new name to the top 20. As with most other weights, expect a lot of movement toward the bottom of 174. Some other names to look out for include: Lorenzo De La Riva of North Dakota State, AJ Pedro of Brown, Devin Kane of North Carolina and Anthony Mantanona of Oklahoma, among many others.  

Want to get in touch with the rankers? Follow Christian and Andrew on Twitter @CPyles8 and @SpeyWrestle or email: christian.pyles@flosports.tv or andrew.spey@flosports.tv