Penn State wrestling dominates first individual rankings of 2024-25

Penn State wrestling is right around the corner, and one sign of that is the release of the preseason rankings by InterMat. The Nittany Lions once again dominated the rankings, with seven wrestlers making the top five and nine cracking the top 33 at their respective weight classes.

Cael Sanderson’s squad is also a heavy favorite to win a fourth consecutive National Championship with a 117.5-point projection in InterMat’s tournament rankings. Penn State wrestling has a massive 31.5-point gap between itself and second-place Iowa (86). That is, of course, without any bonus points added during the NCAA Championships.

Penn State wrestling dominates first individual rankings of 2024-25

The Nittany Lions are expected to roll out a powerful lineup that includes returning NCAA Champions, National Runners-Up, former All-Americans, and newcomers with high potential. While there’s no definitive Penn State starting lineup yet, InterMat determined its rankings using the most likely projections.

125: Luke Lilledahl (Not Ranked)

Despite being the No. 1 overall recruit for the incoming freshmen class, Luke Lilledahl isn’t ranked in the top 33. This has been a standard practice the past few seasons, with only wrestlers in their redshirt freshman year or older being ranked in the preseason.

Last season, Braeden Davis climbed from preseason unranked at 125 to the weight class’s No. 1 overall seed at the NCAA Championships.

133: No. 11 Braeden Davis

There was much speculation that Braeden Davis was moving up a weight class for 2025 because of how much he cut to stay at 125 last season. It appears he is projected to wrestle at 133, according to InterMat.

It is important to note, however, that Davis would be competing with former All-American Aaron Nagao for the starting spot at 133. Both wrestlers still have their redshirt, but many think Davis will take the job after winning the Big Ten Championship and going 22-4 a season ago.

141: No. 3 Beau Bartlett

Mandatory Credit: Nick Tre. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Beau Bartlett has gotten close but hasn’t been able to break through and win a National Championship at 141 pounds. Last season, he got as close as ever, losing to Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez in the NCAA Finals. Bartlett finished the year with a 24-2 record.

Now, 2023 NCAA Champion Andrew Alirez returns to the weight class after a redshirt season and will present another challenge for Bartlett. Using his extra year of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bartlett will get one last shot at finishing on top of the podium in 2025.

149: No. 2 Shayne Van Ness

Shayne Van Ness entered last season as one of the top wrestlers expected to be in title contention. The 149-pounder was fresh off a 24-7 redshirt freshman season that saw him finish third at the 2023 NCAA Championships. But an injury three matches into the year forced Van Ness to miss the rest of the 2024 season.

Now, Van Ness enters 2024-25 once again as a title contender, ranking only behind Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech, winner of the 2024 NCAA Championship at the weight class.

157: No. 5 Tyler Kasak

Tyler Kasak was expected to sit behind Beau Bartlett at 141 pounds last season, but Van Ness’s injury at 149 forced the true freshman into a starting role. Kasak exceeded expectations in relief, finishing the year with a 24-5 record and a third-place finish at the 2024 NCAA Championships.

The sophomore is again in Big Ten and national title contention after bumping up another weight class.

165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink

Mitchell Mesenbrink burst onto the scene in his first season in Happy Valley. Mesenbrink finished 26-1, with his only loss coming in the NCAA Final to David Carr, a match that the Cal-Baptist transfer only lost 9-8 because of riding time.

This year, Mesenbrink is an overwhelming favorite to take home the title at 165 and is thought by many to be a contender for the Dan Hodge Trophy. His top competition is Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo, who Mesenbrink beat all three times the two faced last season, including a 17-9 major decision in the NCAA championship semifinals.

174: No. 2 Levi Haines

Levi Haines will be making a big jump in 2025, going from 157 pounds to 174. Or at least, the jump will be significant perception-wise, after many reported that he was doing a serious weight cut in 2024. Haines has had a terrific start to his college wrestling career, finishing 25-2 and second during his freshman season and a perfect 23-0 on his way to the National Championship in 2024.

This upcoming season, Haines ranks No. 2 behind Keegan O’Toole, who is moving up from 165 pounds. The weight class will be among the deepest in college wrestling in 2024-25. Another title could really solidify Haines’ place in Penn State wrestling history.

184: No. 1 Carter Starocci

Mandatory Credit: Nick Tre. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Carter Starocci will be looking to win an unprecedented five National Championship, thanks to an extra year of eligibility from COVID-19. However, Starocci is expected to attempt the feat at a heavier weight and move up to 184 for his final year.

The change may be partly due to what Starocci plans on doing after his Penn State wrestling career, whether it’s freestyle wrestling or UFC. It also presents a new challenge for the four-time NCAA Champion, who is currently 93-4 in his career. Two of those losses came last season after he injury defaulted out of the Big Ten Championships. Taking out those injury losses, Starocci hasn’t lost since 2021 and will be a real contender for the Dan Hodge Trophy in 2025.

197: No. 23 Josh Barr

There was much uncertainty about who would start at 197 pounds for Penn State wrestling this season. According to InterMat, it looks like Josh Barr, although many still wonder if 2024 No. 7 overall recruit Connor Mirasola could win the starting spot.

Barr is coming off a solid freshman campaign, during which he finished 15-0 with a 73.33% bonus percentage. Now a redshirt freshman, Barr will look to use that tournament experience from last season and translate it into being a full-time starter. Bar was a heralded high school recruit and ranked No. 4 nationally in the 2023 class. The talent is clearly there; now, it is just a matter of progressing and becoming a title contender.

285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet

Greg Kerkvliet is also using his COVID year to return to Penn State and attempt to win back-to-back national titles. The heavyweight broke through in 2024 to win the title after three All-American finishes the previous seasons.

Kerkvliet is a heavy favorite to take home the crown again in 2025 and is expected by many to finish the year undefeated. His top contenders will be No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson of Oklahoma State and No. 3 Nick Feldman of Ohio State.

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