Every March the best college wrestlers in the country, get together for the NCAA Wrestling Championships! This tournament is the culmination of a lifetime of hard work for these young men, and only one (in each weight class) can be crowned champion.

This year’s tournament takes place March 20-22nd, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the Wells Fargo Center.

In this article we will discuss last year’s 149 lb champion and who the top contenders are for this season.

2024 Champion: Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech entered the tournament as the #4 seed and stormed his way to the title going 5-0, defeating All-Americans Ty Watters, Ridge Lovett, and Austin Gomez in the Finals. He finished the year with a 30-2 record.

This Year’s Contenders: Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech is 18-0, Ridge Lovett of Nebraska is 20-2, Shane Van Ness of Penn State is 20-2, and Kyle Parco of Iowa is 20-3 on the year. All 4 of these wrestlers are capable of winning the whole damn thing.

Other Contenders: Paniro Johnson of Iowa State is 24-3 and is able to hang with anyone in the division. Two of his three loses came at 157, where he also defeated returning NCAA finalist Jacori Teemer.

Dark Horse Contenders: Kannon Webster of the University of Illinois is 14-6 on the year and is capable of pulling some serious upsets. He has defeated Caleb Rathjen, Dylan D’Emilio, and Kyle Parco in his college career as well as his most recent and biggest victory over Shane Van Ness. I have been saying it all season, Webster is the real deal, and has a good chance of landing on the podium in Philadelphia.

2025 NCAA Champion Prediction: Shane Van Ness of Penn State

Every March the best college wrestlers in the country, get together for the NCAA Wrestling Championships! This tournament is the culmination of a lifetime of hard work for these young men, and only one (in each weight class) can be crowned champion.

This year’s tournament takes place March 20-22nd, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the Wells Fargo Center.

In this article we will discuss last year’s 141 lb champion and who the top contenders are for this season.

2024 Champion: Jesse Mendez had a dominate NCAA tournament in 2024 going 5-0, with a pin and a tech, in the opening two rounds before defeating three all-Americans and claiming his first championship with a 4-1 victory over Beau Bartlett, to cap a 30-2 season.

This Year’s Contenders: Jesse Mendez of Ohio State, Beau Bartlett of Penn State, and Andrew Alirez of Northern Colorado. Mendez and Alirez have both already claimed NCAA titles, and Bartlett is right in the mix with either of them.

Jesse Mendez: Jesse was a 4X Indiana State champion going 157-1, he also was a U20 World Silver Medalist. At Ohio State he is already a 2x All-American, finishing 6th as a freshman and winning his first NCAA titles as a Sophomore. He is currently 25-3 on the year and ranked 3rd in the country.

Beau Bartlett: Beau had a 177-8 high school record, where he was a 4x national prep champion. At Penn State he is a 4x NCAA qualifier and 2x All-American finishing 2nd and 3rd. He is currently 21-1 and ranked first in the country.

Andrew Alirez: A 4 X Colorado  State Champion, Alirez was the number 1 overall recruit in the class of 2019. Andrew is the returning 2023 NCAA Champion after redshirting last season. In 2023 he was an undefeated 28-0 NCAA Champion. At the NCAA tournament he defeated Beau Bartlett and Real Woods back to back. He is currently 15-1 and ranked #7 in the country.

Other Contenders: Brock Hardy of Nebraska 23-3, Cael Happel of Northern Iowa 24-3, and Vance Vombar of Minnesota 23-4, are all serious contenders. While I don’t see them winning an NCAA title I could see any of them upsetting one of the top 3.

Dark Horse Contenders: I have said this all season Sergio Lemley of Michigan is capable of beating anyone in the bracket. Currently 19-9 on the year and ranked 13th in the country. This kid has the potential to pull off serious upsets, as he has proven against All-Americans Real Woods and Brock Hardy.

2025 NCAA Champion Prediction: Jesse Mendez of Ohio State

Every March the best college wrestlers in the country, get together for the NCAA Wrestling Championships! This tournament is the culmination of a lifetime of hard work for these young men, and only one (in each weight class) can be crowned champion.

This year’s tournament takes place March 20-22nd, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the Wells Fargo Center.

In this article we will discuss last year’s 133 lb champion and who the top contenders are for this season.

2024 Champion: Vito Arujau of Cornell captured his second straight NCAA title last season defeating Dayton Fix 5-3 in the finals. Vito also won a senior level world title at 61 kg. He had collegiate wins over Ryan Crookham, as well as NCAA Champions Roman Bravo Young, and Pat Glory.

This Year’s Contenders: Drake Ayala of Iowa, and Lucas Byrd of Illinois, all have had tremendous seasons.  Drake and Byrd are 1-1 against each other this season.

Drake Ayala: The 3X Iowa State champion was an NCAA finalist last year down at 125. The jump to 133 hasn’t seemed to have slowed him down one bit as Drake has had an excellent year. Already defeating the #2 and #3 ranked kids in the class.

Lucas Byrd: A 2X Ohio State Champion, Byrd is already a 2X All-American. Back for his 7th year of college wrestling Byrd has a legit shot of making the finals. Just a few weeks ago Byrd scored a dominant 7-1 win over former Big 10 champion Braeden Davis of Penn State.

Other Contenders: Zeth Romney of Cal Poly 13-4, Tyler Knox of Stanford 24-6, and Braeden  Davis of Penn State 12-5, all have a chance to go far in the tournament. Evan Frost of Iowa State 18-4 has also looked solid this year.

Dark Horse Contenders: Nick Bouzakis of Ohio State is 22-7 and Jacob Van Dee of Nebraska is 14-9. Both of these kids have a chance to make a deep run at the National tournament.

2025 NCAA Champion Prediction: Drake Ayala of Iowa

Every March the best college wrestlers in the country, get together for the NCAA Wrestling Championships! This tournament is the culmination of a lifetime of hard work for these young men, and only one (in each weight class) can be crowned champion.

This year’s tournament takes place March 20-22nd, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the Wells Fargo Center.

In this article we will discuss last year’s 125 lb champion and who the top contenders are for this season.

2024 Champion: Richie Figueroa of Arizona State had an incredible run at the 2024 NCAA tournament going a perfect 5-0 picking up wins over, Ethan Berginc, Patrick McKee, Braeden Davis, Anthony Noto, and Drake Ayala. Richie Figs finished the year with a 17-5 record.

This Year’s Contenders: 125 has had  a wild year once again with several wrestlers entering and exiting the top 5. I could see several talented wrestlers end up atop the podium. In my opinion there are 3 that stand out above the rest.  Matt Ramos of Purdue, Richie Figueroa of Arizona State, and Luke Lilledahl of Penn State.

 Matt Ramos: Matt was a 2019 Illinois State Champion of Lockport High School. He was also a 2018 Cadet World Champion, a 2022 US Open Champion, and last years NCAA Runner-Up. Most famously though, he is known as the man who pinned Spencer Lee at the 2023 NCAA Championships. Matt is the number 2 ranked wrestler in the country and is  26-1 on the year.

Richie Figueroa: The 2024 Pac 12, and NCAA Champion, is currently 14-2 on the year and is ranked 5th in the nation. His highest ranked win of the year is against #6 Stevo Poulin.  He has all the skills In the world but hasn’t looked his best this year.

Luke Lilledahl: The 2024 U20 World Champion has been very impressive so far in his college career. With a 19-2 record he is currently ranked 1st.  His highest ranked win on the year is over former NCAA finalist Matt Ramos, whom he defeated 12-4.

Other Contenders: Eddie Ventresca of Virginia Tech 16-3, Troy Spratley of Oklahoma State 20-4, and Vince Robinson of North Carolina State 18-3 have all had fantastic seasons and could make a deep run.

Dak Horse Contenders:  When I say dark horse contenders, I’m only looking at guys outside the top 10. Charlie Farmer of Army West Point has put together a 22-8 record on the year and has continued to improve as the season progressed.  Joey Cruz of Iowa is ranked number 20 and is sporting a 14-12 record. He has a rapid attack style on his feet and really pushes a fast pace.

2025 NCAA Champion Prediction: Matt Ramos of Purdue

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