Caleb Smith unlocked potential he didn’t know he had

Photo: Caleb Smith earned All-American honors twice for the Huskers. Photo by Sam Janicki.

Editor’s Note: This article appeared in WIN’s Volume 32 Issue 4, the Late December Issue. 

By John Klessinger

After losing two straight matches as the No. 5 seed at 125 lbs. in the 2023 NCAA Division I Championships, Caleb Smith decided he needed a change. He already graduated from Appalachian State with a degree in marketing. With the COVID year, Smith had two remaining years of eligibility.

Smith recognized at App State he needed to grow. Before his sophomore season, he and two-time All-American Jonathan Millner trained every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6 a.m. “I had to be uncomfortable,” said Smith. “I hated waking up early. The time was one way to do that,” he added.

With two more years of eligibility and a disappointing result at the NCAAs, Smith prayed a lot and decided Nebraska was the place he needed to go. He loved Mark Manning and his staff. Smith spoke to Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA champion Jordan Burroughs before going to Lincoln about wrestling for the Huskers.

Burroughs told Smith there is a standard at Nebraska. “There is an expectation that you are to work towards being the best version of yourself every day. Not only wrestling, but in everything,” Smith said.

Almost immediately, Smith experienced something he didn’t feel at Appalachian State. Being in the Big Ten and a high-ranking program, everything felt bigger than him. He’d go to a store, and people knew who he was. “Nebraska was the most fun I ever had. I loved the training, the competition and the fans. It is special,” said Smith.

The transition, though, didn’t come with immediate success. Wrestling in the Big Ten was not the same as the Southern Conference. Smith lost a bunch of matches early. He struggled with his confidence.

He took a lopsided loss to Minnesota All-American Patrick McKee. It changed his career. After that match, a teammate said to him, “If you are doing this for God, why does it matter if you win or lose?” remembered Smith. That realization, along with Manning’s mindset, helped Smith slowly come to believe in himself.

“Manning told me to look in the mirror every day and say five times, ‘I am the best,’” said Smith. “I didn’t necessarily believe it, but every time I looked in the mirror, I said it,” he added.

Before the final match of the 2024 Minnesota dual, heavyweight Harley Andrews looked at Smith and said, “I got you.” He was talking about Smith’s loss to McKee. Anderson went out and sealed the dual with an 11-7 victory over Bennett Tabor.

“I learned those guys have my back. If I’d fight for them, they’d fight for me,” Smith said. That helped him open up and have more fun. Furthermore, it demonstrated to him the trust he had in his teammates and coaches.

The son of Lee and Tanya Smith, Caleb was born and raised in High Point, N.C. He is the middle child — his older brother, Micah, is 28 years old. And the youngest sister, Maya, is a sophomore at East Carolina University.

A one-time state champion at SW Guilford High School, Smith’s life started with adversity. He was born two months premature, weighing only three pounds, seven ounces. Smith spent 45 days in the NICU. He was so small, they dressed him in doll clothes. Growing up, he struggled with severe asthma.

Ironically, a weakness became Smith’s superpower. With a work ethic he learned from his father and faith from his grandparents, Smith’s superpower became his gas tank. “In my head, I know everyone wants to quit. My job is to give them a reason,” Smith said.

“I lost to Patrick McKee because I was shooting. I’ve probably wrestled the most overtime matches in NCAA tournament history. You don’t have to be that good. You have to fight. It’s about working harder than the guy across the mat,” Smith said of his mindset about competing at Nebraska.

Smith placed sixth in 2024 and seventh in 2025 at the NCAA Division I Championships. He wrestled in seven overtimes at those tournaments, winning six in sudden victory. He took guidance from Penn State national champion Mark Hall and Nebraska assistant coach, Tervel Dlagnev, an NCAA champion and Olympic bronze medalist in his own right.

Hall told him to focus on winning his best positions. Dlagnev told him all he had to do was win the most 30-second battles. “Coach Dlagnev told me that no one ever wins 100% of a match. He said to win, you have to win more of the match than your opponent,” Smith explained.

Smith focused on winning more 30-second matches than his opponent. “If I win four of those in the first period, I will win that period,” he added. The strategy helps him not worry about the outcome. “I try to win the small battles like body language, conditioning, etc,” he said. He said those small wins stack up in a match.

“Everybody is going to be nervous,” Smith said. He said you “practice” your mindset each day in the wrestling room. Smith advised setting daily goals, winning as many 30-second battles as possible, and focusing on effort and attitude.

One night, the Nebraska coaches had all the wrestlers write down and share their biggest fears. Smith realized the same fears he had were no different from those of highly-ranked Peyton Robb or Brock Hardy. It put things in perspective for him and helped him overcome things holding him back.

Smith likes to dance before matches. He admits he isn’t a great dancer. “It frees me up from my nerves,” Smith said. He also said your “why” needs to be bigger than you. For Smith, his faith, team, and fiancée, Emma Conley, help him not take anything for granted.

In the coming months, Smith will be wrestling for a 61-kg spot on the Puerto Rican National Team. He continues to aim high. Smith wants to qualify for Pan Ams and the World Team.

He recognizes all the great people along the way who have helped him to get where he is today. His high school club coaches — Coach Bob and Mike, his parents and siblings, everyone at Nebraska, Emma, and his faith.

“If I am going to lose, at least I lost because of me,” Smith said. It’s his ability to have the courage to shoot or act first in overtime. He has to give them a reason to quit.

“Legends happen because you do something crazy,” Smith emphasized. He takes every bit of their energy and exhausts them. All he has to do is fight longer. It is Smith’s superpower.