{"id":85684,"date":"2025-03-16T14:35:05","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T19:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/2025-ncaa-wrestling-championships-preview-and-predictions\/"},"modified":"2025-03-16T14:35:05","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T19:35:05","slug":"2025-ncaa-wrestling-championships-preview-and-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/2025-ncaa-wrestling-championships-preview-and-predictions\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships: Preview and Predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships are finally here this week as the tournament heads to Philadelphia. With that, we have a preview and predictions!<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll go down the list at each weight, picking champions and All-Americans along the way. A very tough exercise considering the amount of bouts, but it\u2019s all in good fun.<\/p>\n

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The tournament is set for Thursday to Saturday, six sessions in total inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Let\u2019s dive in!<\/p>\n

125 lbs.<\/h2>\n

1. Luke Lilledahl, Penn State<\/a>
2. Matt Ramos, Purdue<\/a>
3. Caleb Smith, Nebraska<\/a>
4. Richie Figueroa, Arizona State<\/a>
5. Vincent Robinson, NC State<\/a>
6. Jett Strickenberger, West Virginia<\/a>
7. Dean Peterson, Rutgers<\/a>
8. Eddie Ventresca, Virginia Tech<\/a><\/p>\n

Lilledahl is ready to finish the freshman campaign on top. The Penn State lightweight showed he\u2019s ready for the spotlight winning the Big Ten title. Ramos is certainly a threat to get back to the finals and finally claim gold as well. This weight is simply bonkers though.<\/p>\n

\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

133 lbs.<\/h2>\n

1. Nasir Bailey, Arkansas-Little Rock<\/a>
2. Lucas Byrd, Illinois<\/a>
3. Drake Ayala, Iowa<\/a>
4. Dylan Shawver, Rutgers<\/a>
5. Ethan Oakley, North Carolina<\/a>
6. Tyler Knox, Stanford<\/a>
7. Connor McGonagle, Virginia Tech<\/a>
8. Braeden Davis, Penn State<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve stuck with Bailey all season long and won\u2019t budge now. Little Rock gets their first champion in school history. Byrd has been awesome this year but will fall short. Expect great backside runs by Shawver and Knox.<\/p>\n

141 lbs.<\/h2>\n

1. Andrew Alirez, Northern Colorado<\/a>
2. Jesse Mendez, Ohio State<\/a>
3. Beau Bartlett, Penn State<\/a>
4. Vance Vombaur, Minnesota<\/a>
5. Brock Hardy, Nebraska<\/a>
6. Josh Koderhandt, Navy<\/a>
7. Cael Happel, Northern Iowa<\/a>
8. CJ Composto, UPenn<\/a><\/p>\n

Going with Alirez here. I have been since the preseason. He\u2019ll get his second national title while Mendez knocks off Bartlett in their epic college rivalry en route to the finals. Hardy is the No. 1 seed but I have him falling back to 5th.<\/p>\n

149 lbs.<\/h2>\n

1. Caleb Henson, Virginia Tech<\/a>
2. Ridge Lovett, Nebraska<\/a>
3. Shayne Van Ness, Penn State<\/a>
4. Kyle Parco, Iowa<\/a>
5. Lachlan McNeil, North Carolina<\/a>
6. Sammy Alvarez, Rider<\/a>
7. Ethan Stiles, Oregon State<\/a>
8. Kannon Webster, Illinois<\/a><\/p>\n

This is Henson\u2019s world and we\u2019re all just living in it. I want to pick Lovett to finally get the title, but Henson is just too darn good and will win his second crown. Alvarez finally gets to wrestle in an NCAA Tournament and he\u2019ll make it count.<\/p>\n

157 lbs.<\/h2>\n

1. Tyler Kasak, Penn State<\/a>
2. Meyer Shapiro, Cornell<\/a>
3. Ryder Downey, Northern Iowa<\/a>
4. Antrell Taylor, Nebraska<\/a>
5. Jacori Teemer, Iowa<\/a>
6. Rafael Hippolito, Virginia Tech<\/a>
7. Brandon Cannon, Ohio State<\/a>
8. Jude Swisher, UPenn<\/a><\/p>\n

Kasak has gotten better all year after finishing third at 149 last season. He\u2019s just a hair better than Shapiro right now. Teemer is an absolute wild card, health wise of course. He could certainly bust this bracket if he\u2019s closer to full health.<\/p>\n

165 lbs.<\/h2>\n

1. Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State<\/a>
2. Mikey Caliendo, Iowa<\/a>
3. Terrell Barraclough, Utah Valley<\/a>
4. Peyton Hall, West Virginia<\/a>
5. Cam Amine, Oklahoma State<\/a>
6. Hunter Garvin, Stanford<\/a>
7. Julian Ramirez, Cornell<\/a>
8. Beau Mantanona, Michigan<\/a><\/p>\n

Mesenbrink and then the field right? Caliendo closed the gap in the Big Ten finals, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be enough. Barraclough will have one heck of a tournament and Ramirez finally gets onto an NCAA Wrestling podium.<\/p>\n

174 lbs.<\/h2>\n

1. Keegan O\u2019Toole, Missouri<\/a>
2. Levi Haines, Penn State<\/a>
3. Dean Hamiti, Oklahoma State<\/a>
4. Simon Ruiz, Cornell<\/a>
5. Lenny Pinto, Nebraska<\/a>
6. Carson Kharchla, Ohio State<\/a>
7. Patrick Kennedy, Iowa<\/a>
8. Garrett Thompson, Ohio<\/a><\/p>\n

This one is razor thin. I had O\u2019Toole, then Haines, then O\u2019Toole again. Sticking with the Mizzou Tiger to get his third national title. Hamiti will fall short to Haines but wrestle back for third. I like Ruiz to have a strong tournament. Despite being the 5-seed, I think he\u2019s being slept on.<\/p>\n

184 lbs.<\/h2>\n

1. Carter Starocci, Penn State<\/a>
2. Max McEnelly, Minnesota<\/a>
3. Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa<\/a>
4. Dustin Plott, Oklahoma State<\/a>
5. Chris Foca, Cornell<\/a>
6. Gabe Arnold, Iowa<\/a>
7. Silas Allred, Nebraska<\/a>
8. Edmond Ruth, Illinois<\/a><\/p>\n

The stunner of, almost, all stunners. I have McEnelly over last year\u2019s champ Keckeisen to get to the finals. However, Starocci wins title No. 5 in a feat that will never be duplicated again. At least, in this writer\u2019s lifetime. Heck, even if the NCAA actually grants five years of eligibility to be the norm. It won\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

197 lbs.<\/h2>\n

1. AJ Ferrari, Cal State Bakersfield<\/a>
2. Jacob Cardenas, Michigan<\/a>
3. Stephen Buchanan, Iowa<\/a>
4. Josh Barr, Penn State<\/a>
5. Michael Beard, Lehigh<\/a>
6. Stephen Little, Arkansas-Little Rock<\/a>
7. Mac Stout, Pittsburgh<\/a>
8. Luke Stout, Princeton<\/a><\/p>\n

Ferrari returns to the top for me. His defense is some of the best in college wrestling and he wrestles so smart. I think he knocks off Cardenas in the finals and Buchanan (again) along the way. The Stouts will wrestle each other twice but both finish on the podium.,<\/p>\n

285 lbs.<\/h2>\n

1. Gable Steveson, Minnesota
<\/a>2. Gerg Kerkvliet, Penn State<\/a>
3. Wyatt Hendrickson, Oklahoma State<\/a>
4. Ben Kueter, Iowa<\/a>
5. Nick Feldman, Ohio State<\/a>
6. Cohlton Schultz, Arizona State<\/a>
7. Owen Trephan, Lehigh<\/a>
8. Yaraslau Slavikouski, Rutgers<\/a><\/p>\n

Steveson and then everyone else. The intriguing matchup might be Kerkvliet against Hendrickson in the semifinals. The Cowboy can do it, but Kerkvliet has proven otherwise in their careers. I like Slavikouski to get back on the podium if his shoulder holds up. It\u2019s a big ask.<\/p>\n

The post 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships: Preview and Predictions<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships are finally here this week as the tournament heads to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85684\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}