Every season, krikya18.com ranks the biggest names the watch in college wrestling. In 2021, the ranking criteria was “most exciting.” In 2022, the theme shifted to “most interesting,” and in 2023, the ranking was for the “most notable.” Now, the rankings are back, this time based purely on credentials.
Former champs are ranked first, then national finalists, then All-Americans. There are more returning All-Americans than spots in the top 25 — the last six athletes on this list were thus chosen because of a combination of dominance, big wins, current ranking in their weight class and previous honors. These are the top 25 athletes you need to know heading into the 2024-2025 college wrestling season.
1. Carter Starocci, Penn State, 184 pounds
Penn State’s Carter Starocci is the biggest name in college wrestling this year.
Not only has the Nittany Lion veteran won four national titles, three team titles and been a Hodge Trophy finalist, but he’s also built his brand as a hard-nosed, never-say-die warrior who wants to wrestle everyone and dominate every second.
He notably in 2023 that he likes to take his opponents to “deep waters” and “feel [their] soul leave [their body]” — it’s this kind of mentality that has pushed him to a 77-4 varsity record with a 50%+ varsity career bonus rate.
HISTORY MAKER: Here's how Carter Starocci won his fourth national title
Penn State fans love Starocci and his fierceness, but it wasn’t always guaranteed that they’d get to see their star wrestle back this season. After winning his fourth title in 2-0 fashion against Ohio State’s Rocco Welsh, Starocci shared in the that he might have wrestled his last folkstyle match. He had world and Olympic aspirations and had already proven himself on the national stage.
Yet, less than two months later, Starocci that he would indeed be returning. He wanted to finish on his “terms.” He’s expected to go up a weight class to achieve that goal, bumping from 174 to 184. Winning a fifth national title and a Hodge Trophy at this new weight would certainly put an exclamation mark on a career that has been nothing if not historic.
2. Keegan O’Toole, Missouri, 174 pounds
Keegan O’Toole, the two-time title winner from Missouri, is the only other multiple-time NCAA champion returning this season, making him the obvious choice for the No. 2 wrestler on this list. He is expected to move up a weight class too, though, taking his funk from 165 pounds to 174 pounds.
Last year, O’Toole tested the field at 174 in a one-off bout against All-American Edmond Ruth — and he beat the Fighting Illini star 11-7. The match not only helped Missouri win the dual overall, but it also demonstrated just how transferable O’Toole’s skills were up a weight. His speed and scrambling ability are still huge attributes against the bigger athletes, and he’s far from outsized.
O’Toole now has the chance to end his career as a three-time national champion in his fifth season after finishing third in 2021, first in 2022 and 2023 and third in 2024. His offense-centric style could also make him a contender for the Hodge Trophy, an honor for which he has been a finalist in 2022 and 2023 but has not yet won. Lastly, O’Toole has the potential to be a large part of Missouri’s quest for a team trophy, its first since 2015.
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While O’Toole’s primary college rival, David Carr, graduated, he’ll still have a number of other stars and a former national champion, specifically Penn State’s Levi Haines, to contend with if he wants to finish his career on top.
3. Parker Keckeisen, UNI, 184 pounds
Parker Keckeisen might be the most underrated, dominant college wrestler in the field this season. The senior Panther majored every opponent he faced in the NCAA tournament last season and finished the year with a 90%+ bonus. He’s been a consistent contender at his weight, too, finishing third in 2021 and 2022, second in 2023 and then, of course, winning the weight in 2024. In fact, only five athletes have beaten Keckeisen in his varsity college career — and all five have graduated.
This year, though, a new name will enter the weight to challenge the returning champ: four-time NCAA champion Starocci. These two athletes have been in separate weight classes throughout their careers, but Starocci’s teammate, Olympic bronze medalist Aaron Brooks, is the only athlete who has multiple wins over Keckeisen in college. With Brooks and Starocci training in the same wrestling room in State College, there may be an inclination to give Starocci the edge against Keckeisen, but never underestimate Keckeisen. His self-described personality can be deceiving, but he’s here to win.
4. Levi Haines, Penn State, 174 pounds
As a true junior, Levi Haines of Penn State is the youngest athlete on the list so far, but his credentials speak for themselves.
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After finishing second as a true freshman at 157 pounds and winning the weight the following season, Haines has already proven himself against everybody at his old weight. He has just two career losses in his 50 matches at the weight, one to two-time national champion Austin O'Connor and one to Northern Colorado's Vinny Zerban.
But now Haines is expected to make a big jump, up two weight classes to 174 pounds— a move that is good for himself and the Penn State lineup. A bigger, stronger Levi Haines is dangerous for the rest of the country. Haines showed just how tough he’ll be in this new weight class, too, when he shut out two-time NCAA champion O’Toole at the senior world team trials at 79kg. His task will now be to take that freestyle success and transfer it to the mat as he chases another title and looks to add his name to the list of Penn State two-time champs.
5. Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State, 285 pounds
Greg Kerkvliet has become only more and more dominant in his five years in the Penn State room.
The Minnesota native came into college with a lot of hype following his junior world silver medal and cadet world title, and he made an immediate impact with the Nittany Lions, taking seventh at NCAAs in his first varsity season. Since then, he's finished seventh, fourth, second and first at 285 pounds, posting a 70% bonus rate last season. He'll be on Hodge Trophy watch this season as he looks to wrap his career with another undefeated season.
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Kerkvliet's biggest competition will come from Oklahoma State's Wyatt Hendrickson, though Kerkvliet does have a career technical fall over the Cowboy. He also has three wins over the No. 3-ranked wrestler at the weight, Nick Feldman from Ohio State. Kerkvliet has demonstrated that he's on a different tier than his heavyweight foes, but the only thing harder than winning a national title is defending it. The whole weight class will be looking to take down the dominant, strong and fast returning champ.
6. Caleb Henson, Virginia Tech, 149 pounds
Caleb Henson made noise as a true freshman for the Hokies when he finished fifth at 149 pounds, but he cemented his name in the Virginia Tech record books last season when he became just the second Hokie wrestler in history to win a national title.
He won that title in dramatic fashion too by going upper-body with Michigan's Austin Gomez in the national finals and bonusing the Wolverine. Henson then gave of Hall of Fame worthy interview on ESPN that highlighted the valuable role his teammates played in helping him achieve this goal.
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Henson is part of a scrappy, tough, deep Hokie roster that will be looking to take over the ACC this year and make a push for a team trophy. As just a junior, Henson will be leading this charge. He'll start the year at the top-ranked guy at his weight, but he'll be pushed by 2022 NCAA finalist Ridge Lovett (who Henson beat last year 1-0 in the national semifinals) and in-conference foe Jackson Arrington, who beat Henson at ACCs last year, among other contenders. This is a fun weight class led by a funky wrestler, and if Henson can defend his crown at 149, he'll be the first Virginia Tech wrestler ever to win a second individual wrestling championship.
7. Jesse Mendez, Ohio State, 141 pounds
Jesse Mendez came to Ohio State as the No. 1-ranked high school recruit in his class, and his performances over the last two seasons show why he was given so much hype. As a true freshman, the Buckeye lightweight finished sixth, but he improved on that performance even more in 2024 by winning the Big Ten tournament and claiming his first national championship with a gritty takedown over Beau Bartlett of Penn State.
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Mendez has grown physically and stylistically as a Buckeye, and he is on track to become another multiple-time champ. His goals are bigger than that, though.
He's been public about the fact that he wants to bring a team title back to Columbus. Mendez is no longer the "Young Buck" that came to Ohio State in 2022 alongside so many high school stars. He's now a leader on a team that has had a history of great leaders. And he's ready to lead to the Buckeyes back to top, both at 141 pounds and across the board.
8. Andrew Alirez, Northern Colorado, 141 pounds
Northern Colorado's Andrew Alirez is back. After taking an Olympic redshirt in 2024, the former national champion has returned to this weight with the goal of adding more hardware to his trophy case in Greeley. He was flawless in his last folkstyle season, posting a 27-0 record and putting himself in the Hodge Trophy conversation. While he'll have a number of competitive challengers this year, including 2024 NCAA champion Mendez, Alirez has proven that he can top elite talent already in his career.
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Alirez's resume is long and dates back to his days as a high school wrestler, when he was beating college national champions like Dean Heil in national freestyle tournaments. He came to Northern Colorado as the No. 1 recruit in his class and made an early statement at the 2020 U.S. nationals, where he beat All-Americans Yahya Thomas, Evan Henderson and Mitch McKee and NCAA finalist Joey McKenna. His folkstyle journey was a little rockier, though, as he missed the 2021 NCAA tournament due to the shortened season and injury and then finished in the Round of 12 the following year.
But Alirez's potential has never been in doubt, and fans are now seeing the full display of his athleticism, regardless of style.
9. Richard Figueroa, Arizona State, 125 pounds
Richard Figueroa became the king of the lightweights last season when he topped a wild 125-pound bracket at NCAAs that almost never had a consistent leader throughout the season. Figueroa's win also served as reward for the young Sun Devil who patiently waited for his shot at this weight class, sitting behind NCAA finalist Brandon Courtney for his redshirt season and his first season of NCAA eligibility.
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Now that's he the man to beat, he's not looking back. Figueroa paces a weight with five additional All-Americans, and he has wins over four of them. He posted a 15-5 overall record with losses to All-American Jore Volk, Cliff Keen Invitational Champion Nico Provo, Oklahoma State's Troy Spratley, Oregon State's Maximo Renteria and Ashton Jackson of Purdue by injury default, but he ended the year on a 10-match win streak.
If Figueroa stays healthy and can continue to rack up consistent wins in a weight class that is likely to breed chaos, he's put himself on track to win a second title in one of the most unpredictable weight classes of the year.
10. AJ Ferrari, CSU Bakersfield, 197 pounds
AJ Ferrari rounds out the returning national champs, but his journey has been even more unconventional than any of the previous names.
As a true freshman, Ferrari won the 197-pound weight class in 2021 for Oklahoma State, topping Pittsburgh's Nino Bonaccorsi in the finals, 4-2. He then returned for the 2021-22 season where he looked strong and rolled through his first 10 matches with a 70% bonus rate until a car accident resulted in a season-ending injury before Big 12s. Legal issues led Ferrari to leave Oklahoma State after that season, and he teased a transfer to Iowa.
Ferrari wrestled one tournament with Iowa coaches and alums in his corner but ultimately did not join the team. He has since settled in at CSU Bakersfield, a team where Ferrari can make a real impact if he returns to top form. He'll come into the season ranked No. 4 in FloWrestling's rankings behind Stephen Buchanan of Iowa, Jacob Cardenas of Michigan and Rocky Elam of Missouri. Ferrari has two career wins over Buchanan, including a 13-8 Big 12 title win and a 4-2 victory at the 2022 Bedlam dual. He has not wrestled Cardenas or Elam yet in his career.
Where the BAKERSFIELD GRIT is made!
— CSUB WRESTLING (@CSUBWrestling)
Season officially starts 11.1.24
Ferrari is a bit of a wildcard, but he's on this list because he did win a national championship, and, while wrestling results never exist in a vacuum, the title does warrant a ranking for Ferrari.
11. Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State, 165 pounds
Despite not having a national title to his name, Penn State sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink is potentially the biggest favorite across any weight class heading into this college wrestling season. In his first year as a Nittany Lion, Mesenbrink put on a show, winning 26 straight matches with a 70%+ bonus rate. His lone last year came in a competitive national finals match against two-time NCAA champion David Carr, but Carr has since graduated. This is Mesenbrink's weight now.
First trip to Nationals for Mesenbrink! 🥈
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST)
Mesenbrink has two bonus-point wins over the No. 2-ranked athlete in the weight, Michael Caliendo, and a bonus-point win against No. 6 Cameron Amine. He's also only getting better. Mesenbrink wrestles a fast, aggressive style that has proven overwhelming for those in his weight class, and, after an off-season of testing himself against the best in the country at the Olympic Trials, he'll be ready to roll come November. All of Mesenbrink's matches should be appointment viewing for college wrestling fans this season simply because of the energy and pace he brings to the mat and the funk he employs on his way to dominating his opponents.
12. Ridge Lovett, Nebraska, 149 pounds
Ridge Lovett has all of the skills needed to be a national champion, and, twice, he's come so close to achieving this ultimate goal. In 2022, he advanced to the national finals before dropping a decision match to four-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis in 2022, and in 2024, he also came up just short, losing 1-0 to 2024 NCAA champion Caleb Henson in the national semifinals.
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His final appearance in 2022 put him at No. 11 on this list, as did his high-caliber wins. Lovett has career victories against two national finalists in Austin Gomez and Beau Bartlett, as well as NCAA champion Henson from Cliff Keen. He also beat four All-Americans handily in the regular season. Lovett competes like a national champion, and while he finished lower than expected at last year's nationals, his resume suggests he can make it back to the main stage on Saturday night.
Lovett has wrestled at three different weights through his career, jumping around from 133 to 141 to 149, but the last of those three weights has proven to be his sweet spot. He has one last chance to put himself on the list of national champions at that weight, following in the footsteps of so many Huskers who have left their mark on the program through their championship performances.
13. Beau Bartlett, Penn State, 141 pounds
Beau Bartlett is one of those Penn State wrestlers who probably doesn't get the credit he deserves because of the team he's on and the success that's expected of Penn State wrestlers, but this 141-pound Nittany Lion has been stellar during his time in the varsity lineup.
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Bartlett's first national collegiate podium appearance came in 2023 when he took third at NCAAs, and he followed that up with a second-place finish last year after a narrow loss to Ohio State's Jesse Mendez in the national finals. In those two seasons combined, Bartlett's posted a 41-5 record.
2024 NCAA Runner-Up
— Beau Bartlett (@BeauBartlett)
Successful people are risk takers. They understand the journey and use their goal as a guide instead of a destination. The journey is controlled, the destination is uncertain. Embrace the journey, accept any destination.
I’m not done taking risks.
He'll come into the season ranked third behind Mendez and Alirez, but he poses a threat to them both because of his defensive prowess and his unflappable fundamentals.
Bartlett also won over fans at the 2024 national tournament because of the enthusiasm and joy with which he wrestles. Despite losing to Mendez, Bartlett was all smiles on the podium and demonstrated a love for wrestling that makes people want to watch him compete. Much like his teammate Starocci, Bartlett wasn't certain he would return to the mat this year, but he ultimately decided to rep the Blue and White one last time, now with his eyes on a national title in this last go-round.
14. Cohlton Schultz, Arizona State, 285 pounds
What Cohlton Schultz has accomplished at Arizona State is exceptional. The Sun Devil big man is a four-time All-American and 2022 NCAA finalist, a two-time Olympic Trials finalist and a senior world team member, so while he's sometimes overlooked because he's shared a weight class with generational talent, Schultz is the real deal.
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Last season, Schultz had to balance a rigorous folkstyle schedule with his training for the Greco Olympic team, but with the trials behind him, Schultz now has the chance to be all-in on freestyle for his final season. He'll come into the year ranked No. 4 because of losses last season to Ohio State's Nick Feldman, Missouri's Zach Elam and Penn State's Greg Kerkvliet, but he also has a career win over Kerkvliet and Elam as well as Hodge Trophy winner Mason Paris and All-Americans Trent Hillger, Yaraslau Slavikouski, Tate Orndorff and Jordan Wood.
Schultz is strong, tough and all but immovable. He can wrestle upper body with the best in the world, and he's a tough draw for anyone in this weight because of his size and his power. I expect Schultz to work his way up the podium steps this year and be a national title contender.
15. Jacori Teemer, Iowa, 157 pounds
After finishing fourth, sixth and second in his last three NCAA tournament appearances, Iowa's Jacori Teemer will enter this season ranked first with a solid path to his first national title. Teemer comes to Iowa City after spending the last four years in Tempe, Arizona with Arizona State — he and 149-pound teammate Kyle Parco are hoping the change of scenery and a new perspective will propel them to new heights this year.
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The 157-pound weight class is an interesting one this year, though, with half of the top-10 ranked athletes in the Big Ten. Teemer could see No. 4 Tyler Kasak of Penn State in conference action, as well as Nebraska's Antrell Taylor, Ohio State's Paddy Gallagher and Minnesota's Tommy Askey, though none of these athletes have All-American'd at 157 (Kasak finished third at 149 pounds last year). On paper, Teemer's most significant challengers are instead likely to be Cornell's true sophomore Meyer Shapiro, who finished third last season, and Stanford's Daniel Cardenas, though Teemer has four wins over Cardenas.
Long story short, Teemer's in a good position to break through this year. He's familiar with the weight class, he's in a good training room with All-American partners and he's ready to make a run for the finals again, this time with the Hawkeyes.
16. Dustin Plott, Oklahoma State, 184 pounds
Much like Teemer, Oklahoma State's Dustin Plott will see a different training situation this year, and he didn't have to transfer schools to find that new experience. Plott's longtime coach and Cowboy legend John Smith retired at the conclusion of last season, and, in early May, the Oklahoma State athletic department hired Olympic gold medalist David Taylor to take over the team. Suddenly, Plott has a new upperweight in the room to roll with and learn from in his final season. Will this be enough to help him jump levels and top the weight class in March?
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The 184-pound weight is going to be a tough one for Plott this year. Though he's finished sixth, sixth and second in his three NCAA tournaments so far and has proven that he's a championship-caliber wrestler, reigning national champion Keckeisen returns, as does four-time NCAA champion Starocci, who is bumping up from 174. Now, Taylor might be the exact right person to help Plott strategize to take on Starocci, but stopping a Nittany Lion legend will still be difficult.
The Cowboys have yet to release their dual schedule, though Starocci has made it clear that he hopes Penn State duals Oklahoma State. For Plott to compete against the two returning champs at his weight, he'll need to up his offense and avoid being overwhelmed by the force for Keckeisen and Starocci, which is easier said than done.
17. Rocco Welsh, Ohio State, 174 pounds
Ohio State's Rocco Welsh is on this list after just one season because of his breakout true freshman year in which he made the national finals opposite four-time national champion Starocci. His toughness and endurance are important aspects of his success as Welsh powered through three sudden victory matches at the NCAA tournament, including one in which he avenged an earlier season loss to Edmond Ruth, to punch that ticket to the finals.
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His success on the college scene isn't a surprise to anyone that followed Welsh in high school, as the Pennsylvania native racked up accolades all throughout his prep years. He won two Pennsylvania state titles, a Super 32 title and two Ironman tournament titles. He was also the No. 1-ranked 170 pounder heading into his senior season of high school.
Some wrestlers aren't able to translate those achievements into college wins, but Welsh was. Of his five losses last year, four came against All-Americans, and all of those All-Americans have graduated or moved up in weight. Welsh will come into the year ranked No. 3 though because of the addition of former national champions from 165 and 157 pounds, Keegan O'Toole and Levi Haines, but, given that Welsh held Starocci to just two points, he needs to remain high on the list of those who can compete for a title at 174 pounds this year.
18. Drake Ayala, Iowa, 133 pounds
Iowa's Drake Ayala makes his first appearance of an krikya18.com "Wrestlers to Watch" list after his standout season last year in which he battled through his side of the 125-pound bracket and finished second in the country behind Arizona State's Figueroa. Ayala is now bumping up to 133 pounds and entering a field that includes 2024 third place finisher Ryan Crookham and other All-Americans like Nasir Bailey, Dylan Ragusin, Evan Frost, Dylan Shawver, Kai Orine, Aaron Nagao and Lucas Byrd. Ayala is quick on his feet and smart on the mat, and his success will hinder on how well he's able to translate those skills to bigger athletes.
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Ayala has had quite the dramatic career already at Iowa after being thrown into the mix as a true freshman following Spencer Lee's ACL injury on his second knee to then redshirting and wrestling against Lee in a chippy match at the Solider Salute to now being the new face of the Hawkeye program.
He and Lee traveled together to Paris this summer to train together on Lee's journey to a silver medal, too, and that experience can only help Ayala. Iowa is known as Lightweight U, and it's Ayala's turn to carry the torch of the program back to the top of the podium.
19. Matt Ramos, Purdue, 125 pounds
The Matt Ramos story that most fans know probably begins with him shocking the world on a Friday night in March in Tulsa by pinning three-time national champion Spencer Lee. That match will always be part of Ramos' legacy. But the senior Boilermaker is more than that one win. He's a smart, funky wrestler with an 80-22 career record and wins over All-Americans Drake Ayala, Michael DeAugustino, Caleb Smith, Patrick McKee, Eric Barnett, Killian Cardinale, Brandon Kaylor, Kai Orine and Lucas Byrd. It's an impressive resume that includes stars at both 125 and 133 pounds and shows the strength of Ramos against athletes of all sizes and styles.
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Ramos will start the season ranked No. 5, and his first big test against some of his opponents ranked above him will likely come at the Cliff Keen Invitational in early December. He went 4-2 at that tournament last year, dropping bouts to All-American Caleb Smith and eventual tournament champ Nico Provo.
Results at Cliff Keen don't mirror championship results, but this tournament does serve as a litmus test to see where athletes are at before the second half of the schedule. Ramos could also see conference foes like Smith again during the Big Ten season, though that schedule hasn't been released yet. The fun thing about Ramos is that regardless of who he is wrestling, he's always capable of going big and doing something unexpected.
20. Wyatt Hendrickson, Oklahoma State, 285 pounds
Wyatt Hendrickson is one of the most dominant wrestlers on this list, and his placement at No. 20 is more of a statement on how many returning national champions and national finalists are in the mix than it is on Hendrickson. If titles and runner-up finishes were not a criteria on the list, Hendrickson would probably be as high as No. 3 or No. 4. The Air Force graduate turned Oklahoma State Cowboy has finished third in both the last two seasons and is consistently one of the nation's top pinners. His fun, explosive style has made him a fan favorite, and he's in a position to compete for a national title again this year, this time under new a new coach and alongside new teammates.
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Hendrickson elected to take his bonus COVID year in Stillwater because Air Force does not allow athletes to wrestle more than four years at the Academy, and Hendrickson had more to prove on the mat before he retired from college athletics.
With a 96-11 career record, Hendrickson will come into the year ranked No. 2 behind Penn State's Kerkvliet, and while Kerkvliet has teched him in the past, Hendrickson was not fully healthy for that match. Another year of training, and training under Olympic gold medalist David Taylor no less, could make Hendrickson even more of an unstoppable force.
21. Stephen Buchanan, Iowa, 197 pounds
Much like Hendrickson, Stephen Buchanan could be seen as being ranked too low, given that his resume includes an eighth place finish and two third place finishes at the national tournament. He also has a career record of 86-25 and is currently ranked No. 1 at 197 pounds on FloWrestling's rankings.
Hendrickson gets the nod over Buchanan on this list because of his dominance, and the other athletes above him all have NCAA finals experience, but, if the season plays out as the rankings suggest, Buchanan could end the year not only as a national finalist but as a national champion.
Buchanan started his career at Wyoming, where he developed from a national qualifier with 13 losses in a year to a third-place finisher with just three loses in a year by the end of his junior season. Buchanan then transferred to Oklahoma, where he redshirted his first season with the Sooners and then finished third again. His grand finale as a folkstyle wrestler will come at Iowa as he aims for top honors now as a Hawkeye following his transfer.
22. Ryan Crookham, Lehigh, 133 pounds
Ryan Crookham had a nearly perfect season last year. He battled his way into the lineup as a redshirt freshman, beat a returning national champion, won his conference and earned the No. 2 seed at the national tournament. Everything was set for the Mountain Hawk to roll to his first NCAA title in his first season as a varsity college wrestler.
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Then Crookham hit the national semifinals and ran into a different version of Vito Arujau — the same national champion he had already beaten twice that season. Arujau majored him, sending Crookham down to the consolation bracket.
Crookham stayed tough. He beat a tough wrestler in Iowa State's Evan Frost in the consolation finals 4-1 and then topped Little Rock's Nasir Bailey for third. Bailey gave him a match, scoring three points to Crookham's four, but the bout still belonged to the Mountain Hawk.
With Arujau gone, Crookham owns the weight class. At least, right now. Bailey is certainly capable of making a push for the title, as is Iowa's Ayala and a number of other athletes, but the only athlete in the country with a college wrestling win over Crookham is no longer in the field, and this fact no doubt gives the sophomore a new dose of confidence and determination.
23. Michael Caliendo, Iowa, 165 pounds
Among the All-Americans who could potentially be on this list, Caliendo earned his spot by way of his seventh and fourth place finishes and his career wins over NCAA champion Shane Griffith as well as a nearly half a dozen other All-Americans.
Mikey Caliendo upsets Shane Griffith 😲
— WeAreWrestlers (@WeAreWrestlers)
Caliendo will come into the season ranked No. 2 at 165 pounds behind Mitchell Mesenbrink, and Mesenbrink will be tough to overcome. Caliendo does have a good path to his first national finals though if he consistently wrestles in his fast-pace way and keeps bringing the "Iowa Style" handfight to his bouts. He already has wins (albeit close ones) over No. 3 Hunter Garvin and No. 5 Julian Ramirez, though he has not yet wrestled No. 4 Peyton Hall, a sneaky good two-time All-American senior from West Virginia. Iowa has had a national finalist every year since 1990. Is this the year Caliendo joins that list?
He'll have a new training partner to help him accomplish that goal too, as three-time All-American Jacori Teemer from Arizona State joined the team in the offseason and will similarly be aiming to end the season on top.
24. Meyer Shapiro, Cornell, 157 pounds
As a true freshman, Meyer Shapiro made a name for himself at 157 pounds, topping Colton Washleski, Tommy Askey, Johnny Lovett, Jared Franek, Bryce Andonian and Daniel Cardenas at the NCAA tournament to finish third. The Big Red star now comes into the season ranked No. 2 at 157 pounds, ahead of Cardenas and just below Teemer. His bonus rate makes him particular dangerous, as he majored, teched or pinned ;68%+ of his opponents last year. With another year in the Cornell room training with teammates and alums like Yianni Diakomihalis, he's likely to be even more explosive.
Shapiro's impact isn't just measured in his wins, losses or pins. He's also made a major contribution to Cornell as a team, helping the Big Red finish second as a program in 2024. He'll be the face of his team now that the team's other two placewinners in 2024 — Arujau and Jacob Cardenas — graduated and transferred, and, if you have to pick a face of the program, having a sophomore who finished third in his rookie season is a good choice.
Shapiro's quest for his first individual title begins November 10 at the Journeymen Classic in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
25. Sammy Sasso, Ohio State, 165 pounds
Ohio State's Sammy Sasso rounded out this same list last year, though his health at that time was even more of a question than it is now. In August 2023, Sasso was shot in the stomach during an attempted carjacking. The Ohio State wrestler was taken to the hospital following the incident and put in critical care. He spent all last season recovering, learning to move his body again and coaching on the sidelines when he could. Sasso's future was never certain, but he's now listed on the Ohio State roster as a 165-pounder, suggesting that Buckeye fans could see Sasso in action again.
A three-time All-American and two-time NCAA finalist, Sasso has been in the title conversation ever year since he arrived on campus. He's finished second, fifth and second in his two tournament appearances, but all of those finishes have come at 149 pounds. The weight cut has always been tough for Sasso, particularly during the 2022-23 season, so 165 pounds could be the right weight for this new version of the Buckeye star. He's not ranked in Flo's standings right now, but if he's healthy, he's someone who has a history of making the NCAA finals and could very well be back there again this season.
