Ohio State enters this weekend’s Big Ten Championships without a top-seeded wrestler for the first time since 2011. 

The Buckeyes arrive at the tournament in Maryland, however, with six wrestlers seeded in the top five of their respective weight classes — one more than the five they had seeded in the top five last year. Outdoing last year’s total comes despite the well-chronicled, season-ending injuries to key members of their lineup. 

Ohio State coach Tom Ryan isn’t worried.

“We’ve overcome a lot of challenges this year by a lot of trust in the program, by a lot of trust of the athletes towards the coaches and the coaches to the athletes,” Ryan said. “It was kind of ‘Next man up’ all year. This season showed our great depth. We’ve got a lot of great guys in the (practice) room.”

Put differently, Ryan hasn’t drafted any concession speeches for this weekend’s tournament. 

“By all measurable truths, we should wrestle well,” he said. “These guys love what they do; they train hard. If we base how they’ll do this weekend on how we performed this season, we should do well.”

As heralded as the Big Ten Championships are, how the tournament prepares his wrestlers for the NCAA Championships is the priority for Ryan. He cited the disappointing outcome for Jesse Mendez at last year’s conference tournament. 

Mendez, the second-seed entering last year’s conference tourney, lost three two-point matches on his way to a sixth-place Big Ten finish. 

“We’ve really adopted an all-things-work-for-our-good approach,” Ryan said. “No matter what happened for Jesse at Big Tens last year, we don’t know how he would have wrestled at nationals if he would have won Big Tens. What happened was supposed to happen. Jesse learned some things, and he ended up having an outstanding national tournament and finished as an All-American. So again, all things work for our good. We make sure of that.” 

Asked which matchups he’s looking forward to see between his own wrestlers and others, Ryan paused.

“There are so many good guys,” he said. “This tournament is a buffet of incredible wrestlers. It’s crazy. The UFC cards usually have one great matchup, maybe two, each time they have an event. This is a weekend of the highest wrestling in the world. These are guys that go to the Pan Am’s, to Junior World Championships. I mean, there are eight to 10 guys at this tournament that could place in the top four in the world.

“As far as great matchups, there’s Dylan Shawver from Rutgers and Bouzakis; that’ll be a good one. And if Nic wrestles like we know he’s capable, there’s a potential matchup with (Michigan’s Dylan) Ragusin in the finals. You’ve got (Iowa’s) Real Woods and Mendez as a probable matchup in the semis. At 174, you’ve got Edmund Ruth from Illinois and Rocco (Welsh), that can be a great one early on. I’m really excited about the possibility of Carter Starocci (Penn State) and Rocco facing off. 

“At 184 — I mean, 184 is gonna be wild — and you’ll have a fired up Michigan kid (Jaden Bullock) looking forward to a rematch with (Ryder) Rogotzke and a possible matchup for Ryder with an incredible wrestler in Isaiah Salazar from Minnesota. We should see the rematch between (Michigan’s) Lucas Davidson and Feldman at heavyweight; that’s one I think a lot of fans are looking forward to.”

With their #2 seeds, both Mendez and heavyweight Nick Feldman are the Buckeyes’ highest-seeded wrestlers heading into the conference tournament.

Ohio State’s Big Ten Tournament Seeds

125: Brendan McCrone — 8

133: Nic Bouzakis — 3

141: Jesse Mendez — 2

149: Dylan D’Emilio — 5

157: Isaac Wilxox — 10

165: Bryce Hepner — 8

174: Rocco Welsh — 5

184: Ryder Rogotzke — 4

197: Luke Geog — 6

285: Nick Feldman — 2

Spotlight: Anthony Ralph 

When Tom Ryan hired Anthony Ralph as the Buckeyes’ recruiting coordinator, Ohio State assistant head coach J Jaggers and Ralph already had a relationship.

“J and I go back quite a bit,” Ralph, a two-time Ohio state champion, said. “I’m six years older than he is, but we’re from the same high school, same area, and I was one of his coaches at (St. Peter) Chanel.”

While connections during any job hunt never hurt, Ralph's recruiting prowess had already impressed Ryan during Ralph’s stint at Notre Dame College in Euclid, OH. Head coach Frank Romano’s tireless recruiter helped build Notre Dame into one of college wrestling’s small-school powers from the program’s inception in 2006.  

“We just hit the ground running at Notre Dame,” Ralph said. “The recruiting really worked out for us from the start.” 

Ralph was on the Falcons’ staff from 2006 to 2016. They won the NAIA national team championship three consecutive seasons, from 2010 to 2012. After becoming an NCAA Division II program, they won the team title in 2014. From 2012 to 2016, Notre Dame produced 18 individual national champions and 62 All-Americans.  

“A lot of our recruits had gone to D1 schools and for whatever reason, it wasn’t what they were after,” Ralph said. “Many were strong Ohio guys that came back home, still loved wrestling and wanted to compete. Many were D1-caliber but needed the small classroom environment, more one-on-one attention, and that worked out in my favor when recruiting them because of our size.”

Ralph’s road to Ohio State came on the heels of the toughest match of his life. After battling Stage 3 lymphoma and having had his last cancer treatment only weeks before, Ralph arrived with perspective.

“The wrestling background, my training background, that helped,” Ralph said. “I could either cry about what I was going through or focus on the important things I had to do to beat it. My chemo treatments were from 8 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. At the beginning of October in 2016, Jaggers called me. I’d finished my treatments but didn’t know that I was in remission yet.”

Despite the uncertainty, Ryan hired Ralph. 

In addition to his gratitude, Ralph’s primary approach to recruiting top wrestling talent centers on honesty.  

“The biggest thing, not just for me but with the whole staff, is transparency,” Ralph said. “We allow parents and the athletes to see who we are, all the time. During Covid, we started doing Zoom meetings that allowed all the coaches to be in on meetings with recruits and their families. They saw how we were and how we interacted with each other. They get to know us, and we aren’t different once they show up on campus.

“Another necessary thing is our due diligence. We try to talk to everyone involved in the recruit’s life — his parents, grandparents, club coaches, high school coaches, brothers, sisters, sisters’ fiances — it doesn’t matter. We talk with everyone we can. 

“That’s not all — there are eight or nine other factors we look into. What’s the kid’s composure, his emotional control? How does he act on the mat when things aren’t going his way? Is he coachable? How has he acted with teammates who might not be as talented as he is? What are his leadership traits? 

“All that goes into recruiting each athlete.”  

Although the Buckeyes’ recruiting classes have been among the tops in the nation since his arrival, Ralph deflects praise. 

“These guys were fabulous recruiters before I ever got here,” he said. “I wasn’t brought in to change much.”

Ryan, however, isn’t as reserved.

“Anthony plays a critical role,” he said. “He’s been a fantastic hire. He’s a hard worker. He’s very competent, and he handles many of the endless logistics, freeing up our coaches’ time to focus on the skill development of the team.

“He really builds strong connections with our student-athletes.”

Ralph cites human connections as the most rewarding aspect of his job.

“The relationships I get to build with these wrestlers, with their families, watching them grow on the mat and in life, that’s the best part,” he said. “I’m not in the practice room as much as the other coaches, but part of my job is just helping the athletes navigate through the challenges that come up every day for all college students. 

“The bond I get to build with these guys is something I cherish.”