Braeden Davis jumps into top 5 of national rankings

Braeden Davis had a rocky initial transition to 133 pounds this year after claiming the top seed at 125 in last spring’s NCAA Championships. The sophomore suffered an injury scare against Drexel in the season opener for Penn State wrestling, then fell out of the top 10 of the national rankings after losing to No. 1 Ryan Crookham of Lehigh.

But after taking down No. 5 Nasir Bailey of Little Rock, the young Nittany Lion finds himself in the top five of InterMat’s 133-pound rankings. Braeden Davis moved up five spots after defeating Bailey in a tight 1-0 decision at the Journeymen Collegiate Duals last weekend.

It’s now the first time Davis ranks inside the top five of his new weight class, and he has returned to the mix for All-American status. Starting the year at No. 7, Davis fell as low as No. 11 during the opening month of the 2024-25 season.

Davis also defeated Micah Roes (Binghamton) by a 6-0 decision and Kade Moore (Missouri) by a 14-3 major decision in his other two matches at the Journeymen Collegiate Duals. In addition to Bailey, the sophomore also surpassed No. 8 Evan Frost (NC State), No. 9 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State), No. 10 Tyler Knox (Stanford), and No. 11 Tyler Wells (Minnesota) in this week’s rankings.

Davis is now 6-1 on the season with a 33.33 bonus percentage, which is currently on par with the 38.46 bonus percentage from 2023-24.

More tests ahead for Davis in upcoming Penn State duals

Perhaps the second toughest opponent of the season for Braeden Davis will be the match against  No. 4 Drake Ayala when Penn State wrestling battles Iowa inside the Bryce Jordan Center on January 31. The opportunity will be yet another test to see whether or not Davis is a national title contender in addition to being an All-American hopeful.

Before that big match, two ranked opponents on the road will stand in his way: No. 20 Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) and No. 16 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers).  It is still too early in the season to see exactly where Davis fits into the national landscape, but the win last weekend should certainly generate some more positivity moving forward. As we have seen with plenty of wrestlers under Cael Sanderson, early-season losses don’t dictate postseason success.

Penn State wrestling will return home to take on Michigan State at Rec Hall on January 10 at 8:00 p.m. The dual will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

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