From high school to NCAA, it’s not always by the book

Photo: Nebraska’s Brock Hardy was among the oldest AAs, as only the Husker and Gable Steveson represented the graduating class of 2018 on the podium. Photo by Sam Janicki. 

By Rob Sherill

Editor’s Note: This article appeared in Volume 31 Issue 7 of WIN Magazine, which was printed on April 9, 2025.

This is one of the columns I’ve had the most fun writing every year. The NCAA Championships are the measuring stick for every college wrestler in America. Everybody remembers what happened those three heart-stopping days in March – words that never rang true more than they did this year.

It’s also, in a sense, an evaluation of how well I do my job. After all, the rankings I do every issue during the season for WIN are more than just the pecking order for the nation’s best high school wrestlers. They also provide the basis for a lot of speculation – by college coaches and by fans – of who we’re most likely to see on the awards stand at future NCAA tournaments. They’re my take on whom you’ll see becoming the champions and All-Americans of the future.

And that’s why this brief look back is always so interesting – in a sense, it’s my personal report card. I hope it’s as interesting for all of you.

As we’ve seen over the years, nothing is absolute. The No. 1 wrestler in high school, it stands to reason, is going to be No. 1 in college as well…right?

If the tournament everybody in the rankings is shooting for – the NCAA Championships, held most recently at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia this month – is any indication, not necessarily.

While wrestlers ranked No. 1 more than held their own, the 80 All-Americans, including the wrestlers who competed in the championship final matches, ran the gamut in rankings position when they finished their high school careers.

Only three of the 10 champions, led by the first-ever five-time champion, Carter Starocci (184) of Penn State, finished their prep careers with the No. 1 ranking at their weight class. The others were Lucas Byrd (133) of Illinois and two-time champion Jesse Mendez (141) of Ohio State.

Both of Nebraska’s champions, Ridge Lovett (149) and Antrell Taylor (157), finished their prep careers in the No. 12 spot – a ranking almost unheard of for a champion in recent years. Wyatt Hendrickson of Oklahoma State, whose stunning upset of two-time champion Gable Steveson of Minnesota was one of the tournament’s all-time moments, also finished his prep career outside the Top 5 – he was No. 6.

So, 2025 was a far cry from the previous three NCAA tournaments, which saw 22 of the 30 champions finish their prep careers with a No. 1 ranking, including eight in 2023. Only seven of this year’s 20 finalists finished either No. 1 or No. 2; by contrast, only one of the 20 finalists did not finish with a Top-3 final prep ranking just a year ago. Nevertheless, it was still the ninth straight NCAA tournament that saw at least three No. 1 wrestlers win titles.

The 133-pound final, which saw Byrd outlast Drake Ayala of Iowa in the overtime tie-breakers, was the only final that matched No. 1 wrestlers. A No. 1 met a No. 2 in just two other championship matches – 141 and 174.

The 19 No. 1s who did earn All-America honors were one more than last year, and 30 of the 80 All-Americans finished No. 1 or No. 2. The topsy-turvy nature of the 157-pound class was predictable based on the rankings of the All-Americans at that weight. Although it contained three No. 1’s, Joey Blaze (second) of Purdue, Tyler Kasak (third) of Penn State and Meyer Shapiro (fifth) of Cornell, No. 12 Taylor won the weight class, and three of the All-Americans finished with rankings of No. 20 or lower.

The expansion of our individual rankings from 20 to 25 at each weight class in 2014 paved the way for No. 21 Jake Frost (141) of Iowa State and No. 24 Vinny Zerban (157) of Northern Colorado to become All-Americans. Eight All-Americans finished their prep careers unranked entirely. Although that total was lower than last year’s 12 unranked All-Americans, eight of the 10 weight classes contained at least one. And with 10 All-Americans ranked in the second 10, the road to All-America honors can be accomplished from virtually anywhere inside – or outside – the rankings.

Of the 80 All-Americans, 45 finished their prep careers ranked in the Top 5, the same number as last year. That’s fewer than the previous three seasons, however, which saw 52, 53 and 52 Top-5 wrestlers in the All-America table.

The final year of additional eligibility awarded by the NCAA due to the pandemic pause, along with Olympic redshirts, was felt again this season. For the second straight year, the now sixth-year Class of 2019 produced the most All-Americans, 22, among the seven graduating classes that produced an All-American. Five of the 10 champions also came from that class: Byrd, Lovett, Starocci, Hendrickson and Stephen Buchanan (197) of Iowa.

The seventh-year Class of 2018 produced the two oldest All-Americans, Steveson and fellow finalist Brock Hardy (141) of Nebraska. In 2023, 64 of the 80 All-Americans were four or more years removed from high school. That number shrunk to 54 in 2024, and 38 this year.

Youth was also served, however. Not only did the third-year Class of 2022 finish second with 16 All-Americans, but it produced three champions – Mendez, Taylor and Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) of Penn State. The second-year Class of 2023, with 15, was just one behind. Unlike last year, when a record six true freshmen became All-Americans, Luke Lilledahl (125) of Penn State was the lone true freshman to reach the podium in 2025.

Kingston (Pa.) Wyoming Seminary produced the most All-Americans of any prep program for the second straight year, with four former Blue Knights reaching the podium. Hartland (Wis.) Arrowhead and Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic produced a pair of All-Americans for the second year in a row. Blairstown Township (N.J.) Blair Academy, Cartersville (Ga.) Woodland, Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Preparatory and Omaha (Neb.) Millard South also produced a pair of All-Americans. The 80 All-Americans completed their prep careers in 27 states.

Regardless of finish, however, the All-Americans demonstrate to us every year that their success doesn’t come from rankings. It comes from talent, athletic ability, technique – and perhaps most of all, a passion for the sport. It also means that we care a lot more about the rankings than the wrestlers do – and that’s as it should be. A No. 1 ranking doesn’t guarantee you anything but a big bullseye. And not being No. 1 obviously translates more to motivation than it does to failure. Just look at this year’s All-Americans.