Just eight days stand between the 330 qualified NCAA wrestlers and the opportunity to chase their dream. Let’s break down what the championship brackets look like at each weight and who is favored from 125-285 pounds.
Click for all 47 at-large selections.
125 pounds
Top title contenders: Braeden Davis, Luke Stanich, Drake Ayala, Matt Ramos, Jore Volk, Troy Spratley, Jakob Camacho, Richard Figueroa, Patrick McKee, Eric Barnett
All-American sleeper: No. 33 Tristan Lujan
Throw the names in a hat and pick a predicted champ from there. That’s been the perspective on 125 pounds all season, and the conference tournaments only served to reinforce the sense of parity at this weight class. Then-No. 1 Matt Ramos of Purdue fell in the second round of the Big Ten tournament to Dean Peterson and then took another loss to Iowa’s Drake Ayala in the consolation finals. Lehigh’s Luke Stanich, who has two collegiate losses on the year to Richard Figueroa and Troy Spratley, won the EIWA tournament and earned the No. 2 seed while Big Ten bronze medalist Ayala slots in at the No. 3, despite losses earlier this year to Ramos, Michigan’s now-seeded No. 18 Michael DeAugustino and Oregon State’s Brandon Kaylor, a 2022 All-American who comes in at the No. 21 seed.
I listed all ten of the top seeds as title contenders, but Tristan Lujan at the No. 33 can’t be dismissed — that’s just how unpredictable 125 pounds is this year. The last time Lujan wrestled No. 1 seed and 2024 Big Ten champion Braeden Davis, he lost 4-2. That’s a one takedown difference between the lowest seed and the highest seed. Get ready for chaos
133 pounds:
Top title contenders: Ryan Crookham, Vito Arujau, Daton Fix
All-American sleeper: No. 16 Nic Bouzakis
The biggest story at 133 pounds this year has been Lehigh’s Ryan Crookham. The freshman burst on to the scene in November when he beat 2023 NCAA champion Vito Arujau at the Journeymen Classic 8-4, and he notched another win against the reigning Cornell champion last week at the 2024 EIWA championship. Crookham’s wins over Arujau, combined with his 19-0 undefeated record earned him the No. 2 seed behind five-time Big 12 champion and three-time NCAA finalist Daton Fix. Crookham will have American’s Max Leete first, and while he’ll be a heavy favorite, Leete’s a pinner.
Fix, meanwhile will have the winner of the pigtail match first, so he could see either Dyson Dunham from VMI or Indiana’s Cayden Rooks. Fix does have No. 8 Evan Frost of Iowa State on his side of the bracket, and if both of these athletes advance to the quarterfinals, pay special attention to this match. Frost battled tough against Fix in the Big 12 finals and held the Cowboy to a decision.
Arujau comes in at the No. 6 seed, meaning he’ll have Lock Haven’s Gable Strickland first. A win there, if seeds hold, could put him up against Cal Poly’s Zeth Romney in the second round and potentially N.C. State All-American Kai Orine in the quarterfinals. If the bracket goes chalk though, Orine will have to navigate past a tough Jacob Van Dee of Nebraska in the second round. Van Dee, much like Ohio State’s Nic Bouzakis at the No. 16 seed, is a landmine for anyone.
141 pounds
Top title contenders: Jesse Mendez, Beau Bartlett, Real Woods
All-American sleeper: No. 16 Cole Matthews
This is a fun weight class with a number of title contenders, most of which are from the Big Ten. Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez took control of this weight last weekend at the Big Ten tournament when he beat then-No. 1 Beau Bartlett and 2023 NCAA finalist Real Woods on the way to his first conference title. Both of those matches, though, were decided by a single takedown, and any of these three guys are capable of winning it all at NCAAs.
Bartlett will come in as the No. 2 seed while Woods sits at the No. 3 spot, setting up first round match for Woods against All-American Clay Carlson of South Dakota State. The path isn’t much easier for Bartlett though. His first round match will be against Kai Owen of Columbia who has a win this season over No. 7 Cael Happel of Northern Iowa, and the winner of that match gets the winner over No. 15 Mitch Moore vs. No. 18 Cole Matthews. Pittsburgh’s Matthews is an All-American with a win earlier this season against No. 1 Jesse Mendez. For Matthews to make the podium, he’ll need to string together a series of top-ten wins, but he’s been on an upward trajectory in the second half of the season and is a bad draw for his opponents in the bracket.
149 pounds
Top title contenders: Ridge Lovett, Austin Gomez, Jackson Arrington, Caleb Henson, Kyle Parco
All-American sleeper: No. 26 Jaden Abas
The 149-pound weight class this year can be defined by dynamic wrestling and exciting elite talent. Ridge Lovett of Nebraska paces the group as the No. 1 seed following his win over Michigan’s Austin Gomez in the Big Ten finals, but he’ll have tough bouts throughout the national tournament. If the brackets go chalk, he could see No. 8 Casey Swiderski of Iowa State in the quarterfinals and All-American No. 3 Caleb Henson in the semifinals. Gomez sits at the No. 6, setting up a first round match between Gomez and No. 27 Jack Crook of Harvard.
On the bottom side of the bracket, Arizona State’s Kyle Parco earned the No. 2 seed by way of his Pac-12 title and earlier season win over Lovett. ACC champion Jackson Arrington comes in seeded at No. 3 and is a title threat as well.
Two former All-Americans are seeded outside the top ten including No. 26 Jaden Abas and No. 14 Dylan D’Emilio, and both are excellent sleeper picks, but Abas is particularly interesting because this will be his first NCAA tournament wrestling for new Stanford head coach Chris Ayres. Watch out for the Cardinal. He could surprise some people.
157 pounds
Top title contenders: Levi Haines, Jacori Teemer
All-American sleeper: No. 14 Cody Chittum
Penn State’s Levi Haines, a 2023 NCAA finalist, has separated himself at this weight class, and while he’s had a number of close matches, including an overtime Big Ten championship match against Michigan’s Will Lewan, Haines is the only wrestler at the weight with an undefeated record this year, and he’s looking like a title threat once again. If Haines wins his first round match though, he’ll face either All-American Brock Mauller of Missouri or Oklahoma State star Teague Travis in the second round, and neither of those matchups would be easy. Also on Haines’ side of the bracket is 2023 Cliff Keen Invitational champion Peyton Robb who sits at the No. 8 after a series of regular season losses — Robb is always a tricky matchup. Haines is 3-0 against Robb, but all of those matches have been decision wins with one of them coming in overtime. Michigan All-American Lewan is also a bad draw for wrestlers in this top side of the bracket at the No. 9 seed.
Arizona State’s Jacori Temmer is potentially the biggest threat to Haines at the No. 2 seed, and he’ll have Matt Bianchi of Little Rock first. The winner of that match faces the winner of Vinny Zerban vs. Cael Swensen, and Zerban was the No. 2-ranked wrestler at 157 pounds for a good part of the season. Meyer Shapiro, Cornell’s standout freshman, sits at the No. 3 while N.C. State All-American Ed Scott holds down the No. 4 spot. Freshman Cody Chittum at the No. 14 seed is the sleeper All-American at this weight because of his gritty style. He could see Shapiro in the second round if the brackets go chalk.
165 pounds
Top title contenders: Keegan O’Toole, Mitchell Mesenbrink, David Carr, Dean Hamiti, Julian Ramirez
All-American sleeper: No. 26 Caleb Fish
This is the deepest, most exciting weight class in the country. Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole leads the way with his perfect 19-0 record that includes wins over four-time Big 12 champion David Carr and 174-pound Big Ten champion Edmond Ruth. O’Toole will have a solid path to the semifinals, where, if the brackets go chalk, he’ll meet the winner of No. 4 David Carr vs. No. 5 Dean Hamiti. Carr won NCAAs in 2021 while Hamiti won Big Tens in 2023. Both Carr and Hamiti could be title threats, but only one will advance past the quarterfinals.
At the No. 2 seed, Big Ten champion Mitchell Mesenbrink has Northwestern’s Maxx Mayfield first, and he could also potentially see All-Americans Izzak Olejnik or Cameron Amine in the quarterfinals, depending on who makes it out of the second round. In the semifinals, if the brackets go chalk, Mesenbrink could meet No. 3 Julian Ramirez of Cornell, the only wrestler beyond O’Toole in the field with a win over Carr. There’s so much talent in this weight that it’s easy to focus on the stars and ignore the sleepers, but Caleb Fish at the No. 26 is interesting. Fish had a rough Big Ten tournament, but he previously held Hamiti to a 5-3 decision earlier this year, and, if he can find his groove in Kansas City, he could pull off some upsets in this deep weight class.
174 pounds
Top title contenders: Carter Starocci, Mekhi Lewis, Shane Griffith, Cade Devos
All-American sleeper: No. 12 Patrick Kennedy
The big storyline at 174 pounds is injuries. Two former NCAA champions — Carter Starocci and Shane Griffith — forfeited at least one match at the Big Ten tournament, dropping them down to the No. 9 and No. 4 seed respectively, despite the fact that both went undefeated in their conference prior to the conference tournament. This shakeup pushes Virginia Tech’s Mekhi Lewis, another former champion, into the No. 1 seed spot and gives him a potential quarterfinal match against Starocci, depending on how the early rounds shake out. Griffith at the No. 4 seed means he’s also on the same side as Starocci and Lewis.
South Dakota State’s Cade Devos benefited from Griffith and Starocci’s medical forfeits at Big Tens. He’ll take the No. 2 seed, and the only returning All-American he has on his side of the bracket is No. 22 Peyton Mocco of Missouri. Mocco will have to make it past his first round match against Austin Murphy of Campbell and then beat the winner of Danny Wask of Navy vs. Rocco Welsh of Ohio State to advance, but he’s still in a better spot than anyone on the other side of the bracket with the three NCAA champions Griffith, Starocci and Lewis.
184 pounds
Top title contenders: Parker Keckeisen, Isaiah Salazar, Bernie Truax
All-American sleeper: No. 21 Brian Soldano
Much like 157 pounds, this weight class is led by a single name: Parker Keckeisen. The Panther junior is 23-0 on the year with 88.4% bonus — he’s destroyed everyone in his path, regardless of their credentials. His path to the finals is good, but it could send his through All-Americans Will Feldkamp and Trey Munoz as well as U23 world team member Bennett Berge, depending on how the brackets shake out.
Down at the No. 2 spot is Isaiah Salazar who has had a sneaky good year and boasts a 21-1 record. His first opponent, Tony Negron of Arizona State is scrappy and got into the tournament on an at-large bid. If Salazar makes it past Negron, he’ll get the winner of Reece Heller and Ryder Rogotzke, both dangerous wrestlers. While the headliner of 184 pounds has been Keckeisen, a number of those aforementioned foes have the potential to disrupt another Panther title quest at 184 pounds.
197 pounds
Top title contenders: Aaron Brooks, Trent Hidlay
All-American sleeper: No. 15 Max Shaw
The match everyone wants to see at 197 pounds is No. 1 Aaron Brooks vs. No. 2 Trent Hidlay. For this to happen, both athletes would either have to make the finals or meet somewhere along the way in the consolation bracket, with the former scenario much more likely to happen than the latter. Hidlay and Brooks both come into the national tournament with undefeated records and bonus rates of at least 83%. These athletes have met three times before, with Brooks claiming victory all three times by a margin of two points or less. In a previous interview with NCAA.com Hidlay explained that he bumped up to 197 pounds this year to take on Aaron Brooks, and he believes he’s ready. We’ll find out next weekend.
Last year’s NCAA finalist Tanner Sloan sits at the No. 3 spot following his Big 12 title last weekend, and he’ll have Sam Mitchell of Buffalo first round. One sleeper to watch is North Carolina’s Max Shaw at the No. 15. Shaw’s 19-5 on the year and will open his tournament up against No. 18 Nick Stemmet of Stanford.
285 pounds
Top title contenders: Greg Kerkvliet, Yonger Bastida, Wyatt Hendrickson, Cohlton Schultz
All-American sleeper: No. 21 Dayton Pitzer
Let’s end with the big men. All year Greg Kerkvliet has been the No. 1 seed following his NCAA finals runner-up performance last year. He was seen as the runaway favorite, but, after Iowa State’s Yonger Bastida took down Air Force’s Wyatt Hendrickson to win Big 12s, Bastida and Hendrickson are in the mix. Don’t count out Greco specialist and senior world team member Cohlton Schultz either. Schultz is 9-1 on the year with a loss to Bastida 4-3, but he’s a consistent performer in March and someone always in the mix for the top spot on the podium.
Lucas Davison of Michigan is a bad draw for anyone on the bottom half of the bracket, including Bastida (though Bastida does have a hard-fought win against the Wolverine). On the top half though, perhaps the most interesting match is between No. 21 Dayton Pitzer from Pittsburgh who earned an at-large bid and No. 12 Konner Doucet of Oklahoma State. Pitzer was hurt earlier in the year, so his draw is impacted by that injury, but he’s someone who could wrestle to the Blood Round and fight for his shot to earn some hardware.