2021-22 NCAA DI Rankings

Cavallino Rampante

Two former Ivy Leaguers and one current Ancient Eighter will be added to the 197-pound title hunt this season.

Former Cornellian and current Nittany Lion Max Dean will still have to win the Penn State starting spot from Michael Beard, but assuming he does, he'll stay in the number two spot in the preseason poll, thanks mainly to his 2018-19 season that saw him make the NCAA finals and defeat two national champions along the way. 

All-American and two-time EIWA champ Ben Darmstadt also returns to action. He'll take next season off if he wants to keep his streak of alternating years on and off the varsity team, not that we're recommending it. Joining him in the weight class is fellow All-American Pat Brucki, who made the move from Princeton to Michigan after the 2020 season. 

Unfortunately, it would appear that three-time national qualifier Noah Adams will be moving on after graduating from West Virginia and will not return for his final year of eligibility. 

We're also making the assumption that Isaac Trumble is the Wolfpack starter at 197 but he'll have competition in the wrestling room from Nick Reenan.

You may also notice that Braxton Amos is not on this list, despite making the Olympic Team Trials finals and winning two medals at the Junior World Championships. Those results were ridiculously impressive, however, they were not folkstyle results against collegiate competition, so they are not factored into the rankings. Amos and other true freshmen in similar situations start the season unranked.

We're pretty sure though that folks like Amos will be climbing up the charts in no time. 

Update - November 1, 2021

Alan Clothier is moving up from 184. His entrance in the rankings knocks out Nick Stemmet of Stanford, for now. 

In wrestle-off news, Levi Hopkins defeated #24 Chris Kober, earning a spot in the honorable mentions as a result. 

Do you have questions or comments for the rankers? We welcome and encourage your feedback. Hit up Andrew Spey (email: Andrew.Spey@flosports.tv; Twitter: @SpeyWrestle) and JD Rader (email: jd.rader@flosports.tv; Twitter: @rader_jd)