Finishing top eight at the NCAA wrestling tournament is about more than the team points that an athlete earns — it’s about the lifetime of respect and pride that comes with that title.
These are 15 athletes who have yet to achieve that honor but could be poised for the best season of their career this year.
1. Troy Spratley, 125 pounds, Oklahoma State
The biggest story last season was how crazy and chaotic 125 pounds was last year, and this year has the potential to breed the same unpredictability. Just about everyone at 125 pounds in the Top 20 is an All-American threat depending on the way the NCAA bracket falls — Oklahoma State’s Troy Spratley is no exception. In his first year with the Cowboys, Spratley finished 22-8 with a major decision win over NCAA champion Richard Figueroa of Arizona State and victories against All-Americans Luke Stanich and Tanner Jordan. Spratley wrestled tough at the national tournament last year too, winning his first two matches before dropping in overtime to NCAA finalist Drake Ayala in the quarterfinals. South Dakota State’s Tanner Jordan, someone that Spratley split matches with earlier in his career, earned the Blood Round win over the Cowboy decisively 9-3, ending Spratley's season.
But this year, with a new coaching staff and a potential new training partner in Cowboy RTC member Roman Bravo-Young, Spratley is in a good position to finish on the podium. Ayala is bumping up to 133 pounds, and 2024 All-American Eric Barnett also graduated, bumping Spratley up to No. 7 to start the year. He’ll have an early test to begin the season when the Cowboys take on Wyoming on Nov. 22 in a dual in which Spratley could meet No. 3 All-American Jore Volk in a Big 12 championship rematch. This is a great early matchup to test the fitness of these two podium contenders in the first semester.
2. Dean Peterson, 125 pounds, Rutgers
Dean Peterson has been in this conversation of possible All-American contenders in both of his last two seasons in this unpredictable weight class. As a redshirt freshman for the Scarlet Knights, he roared to the Round of 12 after NCAA tournament wins over Stanford’s Nico Provo, Maryland’s Braxton Brown and Minnesota All-American Patrick McKee before losing to Lock Haven’s Anthony Noto in the Round of 12.
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Last year, his tournament didn’t go as well — he finished 1-2 after losses to Brett Ungar and Luke Stanich — but his regular season and Big Ten tournament showed his All-American potential, as he beat NCAA finalist Matt Ramos and All-Americans Eddie Ventresca, Michael DeAugustino and McKee. Peterson will now start the year ranked No. 12 with Provo one spot above him.
The big factor that could allow Peterson to jump levels this season is confidence and trust. Last year, Peterson’s teammate Dylan Shawver had the kind of trajectory that Peterson is looking for this year. Shawver finished in the Round of 16 in his first NCAA tournament and then found another gear in the 2024 postseason, winning his first Big Ten title and finishing seventh at NCAAs. He showed the development that is possible in the Rutgers room. Peterson has that potential too, and he now has a model to follow in Shawver. Together, these two Scarlet Knights could continue to grow into a dynamic, point-scoring duo that sets the tone for Rutgers this season.
3. Nico Provo, 125 pounds, Stanford
Stanford’s Nico Provo sent a message last season at the 2023 Cliff Keen Invitational that he was a threat at this weight, not just to earn All-American honors but to win a national championship. His wins over Trever Anderson, Brett Ungar, Kysen Terukina, 2023 NCAA finalist Matt Ramos and All-American Jore Volk briefly gave him the top spot in the weight class but a loss to Virginia Tech’s Cooper Flynn two weeks later pushed him out of that top spot. Provo ended last season off the podium too after tournament losses to Ayala and Volk, but he’s absolutely in the mix to compete for a trophy this season.
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The Cardinal have not yet released their schedule, but second-year coach Chris Ayres is known for creating challenging matches for his athletes and testing them early with top-ranked teams. Last year, Stanford wrestled Top-25 teams Virginia Tech, Purdue, Missouri and Penn during the out-of-conference schedule; the team also traveled to both Cliff Keen and the Southern Scuffle.
A similar type of schedule would again give Provo the chance to feel out the competition and sharpen his skills against the best. Stanford has also never finished higher than 11th at the NCAA tournament, but if Provo can find his way on the podium alongside teammate Hunter Garvin and another Cardinal or two (possibly 2021 All-American Jaden Abas), this team could be poised for history.
4. Nic Bouzakis, 133 pounds, Ohio State
Ohio State's Nic Bouzakis came into college with huge hype, and he's had some stellar breakout moments already in his career. But now the young Buck is looking to make a statement and add another line to his wrestling resume with All-American honors.
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Bouzakis finished his first year as a starter with a 23-11 record and a Round of 16 finish. He lost his two NCAA tournament matches to four-time NCAA finalist Daton Fix and Penn State All-American Aaron Nagao to end his solid season, and Fix has since graduated. New names at the weight like Penn State's Braeden Davis and Iowa's Drake Ayala could create interesting new wrinkles, but Bouzakis has the ability to hold pace with these athletes on his best day. He'll start the year ranked 15th, making him one of the lower-ranked athletes on this list, though it won't take much for Bouzakis to rise. He pinned two-time All-American Kai Orine of N.C. State last year in the Buckeye vs. Wolfpack dual, and he also beat Nagao at the Ohio State vs. Penn State dual.
WHAT. A. MATCH!
— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling)
No. 12 Nic Bouzakis hangs on and defeats No. 5 Aaron Nagao, 12-10. x 🎥 BTN /
If he can string a few of those kinds of high-caliber wins together, he could be a real difference-maker both for Ohio State in the team race and individually at 133 pounds.
5. Connor McGonagle, 133 pounds, Virginia Tech
Despite having an unconventional last two seasons, Connor McGonagle belongs in the All-American conversation at 133 pounds. The new Hokie spent the first five seasons of his career at Lehigh, where he qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2021 and 2022 and then suffered a season-ending injury at the EIWA tournament in 2023. The 2024 season was supposed to be McGonagle’s year. He beat Virginia Tech All-American Sam Latona, now his teammate, at the All-Star Classic and looked primed for a podium run at that point until a loss to teammate Ryan Crookham at the Journeymen Classic changed that plan.
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McGonagle ended up sitting behind Crookham for the entire season while Crookham raced to a third-place finish at NCAAs. Now McGonagle has a fresh start. As previously mentioned, he's joining a new Virginia Tech lineup with All-American Sam Latona at 141 pounds as well as NCAA champion Caleb Henson at 149 pounds.
Competitors ➡️ Hokies
— Virginia Tech Wrestling (@HokiesWrestling)
Ready to see former competitors turned Hokies, Connor Mcgonagle & Lennox Wolak suit up in orange and maroon for the 2024-2025 season! 🦃
He'll also potentially be able to train with Hokie All-American Eddie Ventresca at 125 pounds. This is a dangerous room, and with a full year of training in this environment, a healthy McGonagle could be a scary sight for the other 133-pounders.
6. Cael Happel, 141 pounds, UNI
Northern Iowa’s Cael Happel has put together two impressive regular seasons and entered the national tournament as a top-15 seed twice. In fact, last year, he earned the No. 7 seed after a 20-7 record leading into the NCAA tournament. But, in back-to-back years, Happel has run into landmines on his quest for All-American honors. Last year in particular, he dropped a sudden victory bout to Minnesota’s Vance VomBaur and then went on a run on the backside, beating tough athletes in Tagen Jamison, Sergio Lemley and All-American Cole Matthews before dropping his Blood Round match to 2023 NCAA finalist Real Woods. This could be Happel’s year though. Woods has since graduated, and Happel will start the year ranked seventh in the country, one spot below VomBaur and one spot above Lemley.
Of the athletes ranked above him, Happel has wrestled five of them, beating Nebraska’s No. 4 Brock Hardy twice. He also kept his losses to both returning NCAA finalists at the weight, Andrew Alirez and Jesse Mendez, to a decision. For Happel to be an All-American in 2025, he’ll likely have to go through a number of previous place winners along the way, given that the weight class includes eight returning All-Americans. But Happel’s been open about the fact that he's not just looking for a podium spot — he wants to win it all. There’s something powerful about that confidence. Happel has one shot left, and he’s shown he has the talent to make a deep run.
7. Sergio Lemley, 141 pounds, Michigan
Sergio Lemley made a name for himself in a serious way midway through his freshman year last season when he dominated 2023 NCAA finalist Real Woods 14-2 in the Michigan vs. Iowa dual on Feb. 2 of this year. Lemley also beat All-American Brock Hardy at the Big Ten tournament, helping him earn the No. 8 seed at NCAAs, despite several losses earlier in the season including one against a wrestler who did not qualify for the tournament.
Lemley's first appearance at NCAAs started strong with an offensive, high-scoring match against veteran Cleveland Belton, but he then dropped to Hardy in the second round. In the consolation bracket, Lemley ran into Happel to finish the season 1-2 at the tournament and 18-9 on the year.
Lemley's flashes of greatness show the kind of wrestler he can be when he is on, and his Big Ten schedule will once again allow him to fight for those big wins. He could potentially see Hardy, returning NCAA champion Jesse Mendez, NCAA runner-up Beau Bartlett and Minnesota All-American Vance VomBaur all before the postseason, and a win against any one of those athletes would help him in the seeds. The 141-pound weight could shake out much like it did last year though with Lemley at the No. 8 seed hitting an All-American in the second round — that's the nature of these deep weights. He just can't let a loss shake his focus, if it happens.
8. Jackson Arrington, 149 pounds, N.C. State
Jackson Arrington has the kind of resume that you would expect not only for an All-American but for a national champion. Last year he won the ACC tournament, beating NCAA champion Caleb Henson in sudden victory. Arrington was rewarded for his success with the No. 3 seed in the tournament, but that seed didn’t give him any easy matches. He had Penn’s Jude Swisher first, whom he majored, and he then hit All-American Dylan D’Emilio of Ohio State whom he ultimately beat 8-1. Next, Arrington ran into All-American and eventual NCAA finalist turned Olympian Austin Gomez whom he battled with but lost to 12-9. On the backside of the bracket, Arrington would ultimately lose in the Blood Round for the second year in a row, this time to Penn State’s Tyler Kasak 5-4. Those two losses were part of the five losses that Arrington took last season, with the others coming against Henson in the Virginia Tech vs. NC State dual, D’Emilio at the Cliff Keen Invitational and Nash Singleton by countable medical forfeit at Cliff Keen.
Wrestling szn is just around the corner 👉 ||
— NC State Wrestling 🤼♂️ (@PackWrestle)
Arrington has been so close, twice. As a true junior, he has two more shots to take home top-eight honors, but he’s in a good position to make it happen this season, even in a tough weight. He'll enter the year ranked No. 8 behind Lachlan McNeil of North Carolina and Anthony Echemendia of Iowa State, both of whom moved up from 141 pounds. McNeil adds fun depth to the ACC here, and he’s someone Arrington can expect to meet at least once in the dual, and perhaps again in the ACC tournament. He’ll have plenty of chances to be tested.
9. Terrell Barraclough, 165 pounds, Utah Valley
Terrell Barraclough is the only athlete on the list who has been a backup for the last four seasons but is still someone who could push for the podium. After spending his undergraduate career at Penn State behind NCAA champion Levi Haines and NCAA finalist Mitchell Mesenbrink, Barraclough transferred back to his home state of Utah to wrestle his final season for the Wolverines. He’ll finally get his chance to be the man and make a deep run at nationals, and his record suggests he could be a real bracket-buster.
Barraclough is 42-19 in his career thus far with a win over All-American Jackson Turley and victories against NCAA qualifiers Caleb Fish, Derek Gilcher, Corbyn Munson and Cael Swensen, and he starts the year ranked and His first big test will come early too, as the Wolverines travel to Stanford on Nov. 1 to start the season in a dual which could feature Barraclough versus No. 3 All-American Hunter Garvin. These two have not yet met in their college careers, and this clash between the veteran Barraclough and the redshirt sophomore Garvin will be a must-watch match. Two weeks later, Barraclough could run into another All-American in Oklahoma State’s Cameron Amine. A win over either Garvin or Amine could be big for Barraclough’s confidence and momentum heading into Cliff Keen in early December.
Don’t count out Barraclough just because he’s never wrestled at the NCAA tournament. This is a guy who trained in the same room with the best wrestlers in the country, and he’s someone who knows what it feels like to be part of a winning culture. Now it’s his turn to be in the spotlight for his new team, and he’s primed to take full advantage of that opportunity.
10. Gabe Arnold, 174 pounds, Iowa
Iowa’s Gabe Arnold really had his breakout season last year, beating All-Americans Travis Wittlake, Will Feldkamp and Lennox Wolak during his redshirt season up at 184 pounds. He’s in a different category than most of the athletes on this list in that he has not officially wrestled a varsity season and could still be a four-time All-American, but he’s included in this discussion because he'll have to battle for his starting spot in the deep Iowa room and still put together an impressive postseason to end up on the podium.
Arnold starts the season in Flo’s rankings at No. 6 at 174 pounds, while Intermat has Arnold’s teammate, Patrick Kennedy, listed instead at No. 8. Kennedy finished in the Round of 16 in 2023 at 165 pounds and then placed in the Round of 12 last season at 174 pounds. With 174-pound All-American Nelson Brands returning this year but expected to bump up to 184 pounds, Kennedy and Arnold will likely be competing for the same spot. Whoever wins that spot, be it Arnold or Kennedy, could be a podium contender.
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Arnold gets the nod on this list over Kennedy because of the caliber of his wins. His three All-American wins last year up a weight class as a true freshman showed the world that Arnold is physically mature enough to compete against some of the best guys in the country. He did also test himself against 184-pound NCAA finalist Dustin Plott and battled to a close 5-1 loss. Kennedy has solid wins himself though, as he beat All-Americans Wyatt Sheets and Cam Amine in 2023 and All-Americans Edmond Ruth and Jackson Turley in 2024. This matchup will be settled in the room, or potentially, at the Soldier Salute, as was the case with the 165-pound spot last year, but, regardless of which athlete earns the nod, Iowa has two great options who could score critical team points at 174 pounds.
11. Gaven Sax, 174 pounds, Oklahoma
After transferring from North Dakota State to Oklahoma in the offseason, last year’s Round of 12 finisher Gaven Sax is now reunited with his old Bison coach Roger Kish and ready to chase his first All-American title. Sax is a consistent athlete; he’s someone who beats the athletes he's supposed to beat but is still looking for that signature win. He’ll now start the year as No. 9 at 174 pounds according to Intermat, one spot below Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy, after finishing last season with a 20-7 record.
Sax made a huge jump last season from his 12-12 record the previous year, and his improvement suggests that he’s capable of continuing on his upward trajectory. He’ll have plenty of competition in the Big 12 this year too including No. 1 Keegan O'Toole, No. 4 Cade DeVos and No. 6 Dean Hamiti all in his weight after O'Toole and Hamiti bumped up from 165 pounds. DeVos has been a challenge for Sax and has beaten him four times in his career, though all four of those matches have been decision wins for the Jackrabbit. Sax has never wrestled collegiately against the non-conference athletes ranked above him including Kennedy, Nick Incontrera, Lennox Wolak, Rocco Welsh or Levi Haines, but he has beaten No. 10 MJ Gaitan in sudden victory. This is a deep weight with a number of podium threats. Sax can’t be ignored in the All-American discussion though.
12. Jaxon Smith, 184 pounds, Maryland
The most interesting thing about Jaxon Smith's upcoming season with the Terps is not only his quest for the podium — it's also his drop down to 184 pounds. Smith is a big, athletic wrestler, so if he's dropping down 13 pounds, it must be because he thinks he's more likely to make some noise against those lighter competitors. He came to the University of Maryland as one of head coach Alex Clemsen's biggest recruits, and now he'll look to become the first All-American under this new coaching staff. The weight shift is a bold move, but it warrants including Smith on this list of potential first-time All-Americans to watch.
The first Clemsen's Corner of the 2024-25 season is here!
— Maryland Wrestling (@TerpsWrestling)
Featuring an early update on our squad and some key dates to start the season.🐢💪 x
Smith finished in the Round of 12 in 2023 at 197 pounds, dropping his Blood Round match to Penn State's NCAA champion Max Dean, and went 1-2 last year after losing to Garrett Joles of Minnesota and Jacob Cardenas of Cornell. He also has career wins over senior world team member Zac Braunagel (another potential first-time All-American to watch), All-American Stephen Little, All-American John Poznanski and All-American Jacob Warner.
His achievements over the last two seasons gave him the No. 10 rank on Intermat, just above a dangerous Dylan Fishback of N.C. State and just below Lenny Pinto of Nebraska. The top eight at this weight are all All-Americans led by four-time NCAA champion Carter Starocci and reigning NCAA champion Parker Keckeisen. In order to secure a podium finish, Smith is going to need to jump a level from where he was at when he wrestled at 197 pounds and likely beat multiple All-Americans in a row on the biggest stage.
13. Silas Allred, 197 pounds, Nebraska
Much like several of the athletes on this list, Silas Allred is a former Round of 12 finisher with a statement win to his name. In the 2023 Big Ten tournament, Allred shocked the country when he topped 2022 NCAA champion Max Dean to claim his first conference title. He then followed that up with a win over Dean again in the NCAA second round before dropping to Jacob Warner in the Blood Round. Last year, Allred again pushed to the Blood Round, only to fall this time to Jacob Cardenas of Cornell.
Allred holds a 55-16 career record with nearly identical 26-8 and 25-7 individual varsity season records as a sophomore and a freshman. Allred will now enter his junior season ranked No. 9, one spot below South Dakota State's Zach Glazier as a result of Glazier's major decision win over Allred last year at the Big Ten tournament. Allred has had his ups and downs, but his ceiling is competing for a national title in a weight class where he already has a win against a former champ.
14. Zach Glazier, South Dakota State
One of the biggest stories in the off-season of college wrestling this year has been the transfers. Much has been made of McGonagle's and Wolak's transfer to Virginia Tech, Cam Amine, Wyatt Hendrickson and Dean Hamiti's transfer to Oklahoma State and Jacob Cardenas' transfer to Michigan, but Zach Glazier's transfer from Iowa to South Dakota State is also a big story. He's joining a program that put four athletes on the podium last year and has continued to make impressive gains under head coach Damion Hahn. This could be his year to end up as an All-American, now representing the Jackrabbits.
Glazier had a strong regular season as the 197-pounder for Iowa last year, posting a 21-1 record heading into the Big Ten tournament with his lone loss coming by decision to NCAA champion Aaron Brooks. Glazier then earned a rematch with Brooks in the Big Ten finals but dropped the match again. He secured the No. 7 seed at NCAAs based on that performance, but his national tournament did not go as well as his conference tournament. A loss to Virginia Tech's Andy Smith in the opening round of NCAAs sent him down to the consolation bracket where he beat Luke Geog of Ohio State before taking his second sudden-victory loss of the weekend to Stephen Little of Little Rock.
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But now Glazier has experienced that environment. He knows what to expect. Look for him to come back this year with force and punch his way further into the bracket come postseason time.
15. Dayton Pitzer, Pitt, 285 pounds
Dayton Pitzer has been on All-American watch since his redshirt year with Pitt when he beat All-Americans Trent Hillger and Cohlton Schultz at the Midlands Championships. Last year, expectations changed after Pitzer suffered a serious injury against Schultz in a dual in January, forcing him to sit out several matches in advance of the postseason. Though Pitzer rebounded and went 3-1 at ACCs, he wasn't able to find his rhythm at the national tournament and finished 1-2 for a season record of 12-7.
He starts this season, his redshirt sophomore season, ranked No. 12 in Intermat, sandwiched between Iowa's Ben Kueter and Illinois' Luke Luffman. He'll have two top-ten foes early though when the Panthers take on Lehigh and its No. 8 ranked heavyweight Nathan Taylor on Nov. 24 and Ohio State and No. 3 Nick Feldman on Dec. 13. If Pitzer's healthy and feeling confident, he should be able to battle both of those athletes. A signature win like that would prove that he's back to form and really in the All-American conversation.
