INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has announced the first coaches’ ranking for the 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
The coaches’ rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. Wrestlers must have eight Division I matches in the weight class to be considered with at least one within the last 30 days.
Of the 10 weight classes, five are led by members of the Big Ten Conference with wrestlers from Iowa leading the way in three classes. Drake Ayala leads at 125, Real Woods at 141 and Jared Franek at 157 pounds.
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Two-time national champion Keegan O’Toole of Missouri sits atop the 165-pound weight class.
Lehigh’s Ryan Crookham leads at 133 pounds while Ridge Lovett of Nebraska leads 149 pounds. At 174 pounds, Edmond Ruth of Illinois was ranked first by the coaches and Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen debuts atop 184 pounds.
North Carolina State’s Trent Hidlay leads at 197 pounds. Wyatt Hendrickson at Air Force rounds out the rankings by coming in first for the heavyweights.
The coaches’ ranking is one of several criteria that will be evaluated by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee during the at-large selection and seeding process along with head-to-head competition, quality wins, Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), conference tournament placement, results versus common opponents and win percentage.
A full description of the entire selection process for the 2024 Division I Wrestling Championships is available at ncaa.org.
The 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships take place March 21-23 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City as the event returns for the first time since 2003.
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