Iowa-Penn State rated No. 1-2 in WIN’s Preseason Ranks

Photo: WIN’s 2021-22 NCAA Div. I rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic, appear in the latest issue of WIN Magazine. This issue, printed on Sept. 27,  previews all 10 weight classes before the upcoming season. The issue also includes WIN’s High School rankings, the Girls High School rankings as well as features on Iowa adding women’s wrestling, the return of Ivy League wrestling … and a preview of the 2021 UWW World Championships in Oslo, Norway. Click here or call 888-305-0606 to subscribe to WIN Magazine and get this issue. (Use Discount Code “Preseason”).

NEWTON, Iowa — With most All-American wrestlers returning this season after the NCAA offered another year of eligibility because of the pandemic, defending national champion Iowa and runner-up Penn State are ranked first and second, respectively, in WIN Magazine’s 2021-22 NCAA Division I Preseason Tournament Power Index.

The Hawkeyes, shooting for a 25^th all-time national championship this March in Detroit, return all ten national qualifiers from last season, including three-time NCAA champion Spencer Lee at 125 pounds, as well as past All-Americans Austin DeSanto (133), Jaydin Eierman (141), Kaleb Young (157), Alex Marinelli (165), Michael Kemerer (174), Jacob Warner (197) and Anthony Cassioppi (Hwt).

The Nittany Lions return all four national champs in Roman Bravo-Young (133), Nick Lee (141), Carter Starocci (174) and Aaron Brooks (184) as well as All-American Greg Kerkvliet (Hwt) and welcomes Cornell All-American Max Dean, who was forced to sit out last season when the Ivy League cancelled the season. Dean was an NCAA finalist in 2019.

Cornell’s two-time national champ Yianni Diakomihalis, whose last national tournament was in 2019, is returning and most likely will be moving up to 149 pounds.

The other 2021 national champs returning are North Carolina’s Austin O’Connor, who is expected to move up to 157 pounds, as well as Iowa State’s David Carr (157), Stanford’s Shane Griffith (165), Oklahoma State A.J. Ferrari (197) and Minnesota’s Gable Steveson (Hwt). The Gopher, who also is coming off an Olympic gold-medal performance this past summer, was co-winner of the 2021 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy with Iowa’s Spencer Lee.

WIN’s TPI predicts approximately how many NCAA points a team will score in Detroit in March at the Division I Championships, excluding bonus points, based on numbers associated with individual placements/rankings based on our preseason rankings: 20 for 1^st, 16 for 2^nd, 13.5 for 3^rd, 12.5 for 4^th, 10 for 5^th, 9 for 6^th, 6.5 for 7^th and 5.5 for 8^th. Wrestlers ranked 9-12 earn two points each, followed by 1.5 points for wrestlers ranked 13-16 and 1 point for those ranked 17-20.

WIN’s individual rankings, which will be updated in November, are subject to change as wrestlers finalize what weights they will wrestle later this fall. WIN will also announce Dual Rankings in December.

Each wrestler’s year deals with athletic eligibility. The 2021 finish indicates where wrestlers finished in the 2021 Nationals as well as others who did not wrestle in the 2021 NCAAs but may have placed or qualified in past national tournaments.

WIN Magazine’s 2021-22 Tournament Power Index (TPI)

WIN Magazine’s 2021-22 Preseason Rankings

125 pounds

133 pounds

141 pounds

149 pounds

157 pounds

165 pounds

174 pounds

184 pounds

197 pounds

Heavyweight