NCAA Rankings 2018-19

Nickal, Back

Last year's 197-pound finalists both graduated, but moving up a weight class to fill the void is Bo Nickal, who takes the top spot after winning a championship at 184 last season. 

There's a case for re-ordering the rest of the returning guys at the top, but for the most part, we stuck with our philosophy of heavily weighting conference and NCAA wins. From Conel on down though, everyone has taken losses, some more puzzling than others, so expect a lot of movement in the rankings if that trend continues over to the new season. 

The one place where we had to make an adjustment to the rankings is where we overlooked a conference tournament victory by Stephen Loiseau over Chris Weiler at EIWAs. We've move Weiler below Loiseau to start the season, but as with the rest of the list, don't be surprised if that order changes quickly.

With ten new names to the list, the bottom half of the top 20 is similarly far from locked into place. Brunner's win over Jacob Warner was enough to earn him the top spot of the newcomers, while Warner is the highest ranked freshman in the weight class. Fellow freshman Jake Woodley, who split matches with Warner last season while they both were redshirting, is not far behind. 

Tom Sleigh was inactive for nearly all of last year but was a force to be reckoned with in the previous season. He has the potential to move up the rankings in a hurry. Garrett Hoffman had an injury-shortened season but his victory over Penn State's Anthony Cassar might be the most over-looked quality win in the division. 

Some other names to be on the lookout for include: Army's Rocco Caywood, NC State's Malik McDonald, Rutger's Matt Correnti, Clarion's Greg Bulsak, and Central Michigan's Jordan Atienza. 

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