The post-season is here. We have to wait an extra week for the biggest and baddest conference tournament of them all, but that just gives us more time to preview, prognosticate, and predict what will happen. Below is the projected seed for every weight at the Big Ten tournament with the number of allocations listed below. Pre seeds will be released early next week.

125

1. Spencer Lee, Iowa

2. Liam Cronin, Nebraska

3. Malik Heinselman, Ohio State

4. Eric Barnett, Wisconsin

5. Patrick McKee, Minnesota

6. Rayvon Foley, Michigan State

7. Devin Schroder, Purdue

8. Michael DeAugustino, Northwestern

9. Justin Cardani, Illinois

10. Robert Howard, Penn State

11. Jack Medley, Michigan

12. Nic Aguilar, Rutgers

13. Jacob Moran, Indiana

14. Zach Spence, Maryland

Number of pre-allocations: 7

Pretty straight-forward here at the lightest weight. These are right in line with our Big Ten rankings. The only result putting a small wrench into things is Justin Cardani’s 3-1 win over Eric Barnett. However, that was on January 17th and since then Cardani has gone 0-5 while Barnett has gone 4-0.

133

1. Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State

2. Austin Desanto, Iowa

3. Sammy Alvarez, Rutgers

4. Lucas Byrd, Illinois

5. Chris Cannon, Northwestern

6. Boo Dryden, Minnesota

7. Jordan Decatur, Ohio State

8. Kyle Burwick, Wisconsin

9. Jake Rundell, Purdue

10. Dylan Ragusin, Michigan

11. Tucker Sjomeling, Nebraska

12. Jordan Hamdan, Michigan State

13. Kyle Luigs, Indiana

14. Jackson Cockrell, Maryland

Number of pre-allocations: 7

Lucas Byrd and Chris Cannon present us with our first precedent I would like to set; when two wrestlers have similar resumes and one of them wrestles in the dual when the other doesn’t, the one who wrestled should get rewarded. Byrd and Cannon’s best win is both Boo Dryden and Cannon is undefeated while Byrd’s only loss is to Austin Desanto. However, Cannon did not wrestle in the Illinois dual and Cannon pinned his replacement - Dylan Utterback. Therefore, Byrd gets the four seed.

I can see Dylan Ragusin going in two spots here: #7 or #10. I put him at #7 in the Big Ten Rankings because of Jack Medley’s win over Jordan Decatur and Ragusin’s common opponent win over Decatur in King Sandoval. However, that victory came at 125 and Ragusin has only wrestled two matches at 133, so I’m not so sure the Big Ten coaches will look as highly on that. I believe it is more likely that he fits into the 10 spot with his win over Jordan Hamdan. This matches Tucker Sjomeling’s best win of the season and Ragusin’s 3-0 record at 125 is enough to lift him above Sjomeling.

Watch Roman Bravo-Young and Austin Desanto square off in last year’s Big Ten semifinals below.

141

1. Jaydin Eierman, Iowa

2. Nick Lee, Penn State

3. Sebastian Rivera, Rutgers

4. Chad Red, Nebraska

5. Dylan Duncan, Illinois

6. Marcos Polanco, Minnesota

7. Dylan D’Emilio, Ohio State

8. Parker Filius, Purdue

9. Drew Mattin, Michigan

10. Danny Bertoni, Maryland

11. Cayden Rooks, Indiana

12. Matt Santos, Michigan State

13. Colin Valdiviez, Northwestern

14. Dominic Dentino, Wisconsin

Number of pre-allocations: 7

The top three are highly up for debate here. However, I think the coaches will go in line with the most recent coaches’ poll and have Jaydin Eierman #1, Nick Lee #2, and Sebastian Rivera #3. 

It appears Dylan D’Emilio has earned the starting spot for Ohio State. This poses some issues as he earlier in the year he lost to Danny Pucino and Matt Santos. However, he now holds victories over both Parker Filius and Drew Mattin, so he fits in at #7. Santos falls to #12 with his losses to Mattin and Cayden Rooks.

Watch Jaydin Eierman and Nick Lee wrestle at the 2018 NCAA tournament below. 

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Sign Up

Already a subscriber? Log In

149

1. Sammy Sasso, Ohio State

2. Max Murin, Iowa

3. Michael Carr, Illinois

4. Griffin Parriott, Purdue

5. Michael Blockhus, Minnesota

6. Yahya Thomas, Northwestern

7. Kanen Storr, Michigan

8. Mike Van Brill, Rutgers

9. Ridge Lovett, Nebraska

10. Peyton Omania, Michigan State

11. Graham Rooks, Indiana

12. Drew Scharenbrock, Wisconsin

13. Beau Bartlett, Penn State

14. Michael North, Maryland

Number of pre-allocations: 6

149 is a bit of a mess. Michael Blockhus has wins over Yahya Thomas, Drew Scharenbrock, and Peyton Omania, but also a loss to Mike Van Brill and Brock Hardy, who Thomas beat. However, when it comes to conference seeding, head-to-head is critical. Omania upset Kanen Storr, but Storr stays ahead of Van Brill with a head-to-head win over him. Van Brill’s win over Blockhus keeps him above Ridge Lovett, whose best win is Omania. Omania goes ahead of Graham Rooks because of his win over Storr. 

157

1. Ryan Deakin, Northwestern

2. Kaleb Young, Iowa

3. Brayton Lee, Minnesota

4. Kendall Coleman, Purdue

5. Brady Berge, Penn State

6. Will Lewan, Michigan

7. Garrett Model, Wisconsin

8. Robert Kanniard, Rutgers

9. Chase Saldate, Michigan State

10. Elijah Cleary, Ohio State

11. Caleb Licking, Nebraska

12. Michael Doetsch, Maryland

13. Matt Ortiz, Indiana

14. Luke Odom, Illinois

Number of pre-allocations: 7

Actually pretty straight-forward seeding here. The only debatable spots are is #7 as Garrett Model and Robert Kanniard’s resumes are basically identical. That seed could go either way and it wouldn’t be wrong. Elijah Cleary and Caleb Licking also have similar resumes, but Licking’s loss to Maxx Mayfield, who Matt Ortiz beat is holding him back. However, Licking has a head-to-head win over Ortiz and Michael Doestsch wrestled in the Maryland-Indiana dual when Ortiz did not, so Doetsch gets the #12 spot.

165

1. Alex Marinelli, Iowa

2. Danny Braunagel, Illinois

3. Ethan Smith, Ohio State

4. Cameron Amine, Michigan

5. Joe Lee, Penn State

6. Andrew Sparks, Minnesota

7. Peyton Robb, Nebraska

8. Jacob Tucker, Michigan State

9. Gerrit Nijenhuis, Purdue

10. Nick South, Indiana

11. Brett Donner, Rutgers

12. Jonathan Spadafora, Maryland

13. David Ferrante, Northwestern

14. Josh Otto, Wisconsin

Number of pre-allocations: 7

A nicely separated weight until #8 - #10. Jacob Tucker beat Gerrit Nijenhuis, Nijenjuis beat Nick South, and South beat Tucker. So, Tucker, who was a national qualifier last year and ranked the highest going into the fiasco, comes out on top followed by Nijenhuis and then South.

Brett Donner is actually 0-3 on the year but his losses came to Ethan Smith, Cameron Amine, and Andrew Sparks, so he stays ahead of Jonathan Spadafora. Spadafora’s only win on the year is David Ferrante. Ferrante’s only win on the year is Josh Otto.

174

1. Mikey Labriola, Nebraska

2. Michael Kemerer, Iowa

3. Carter Starocci, Penn State

4. Logan Massa, Michigan

5. DJ Washington, Indiana

6. Kaleb Romero, Ohio State

7. Jackson Turley, Rutgers

8. Jared Krattiger, Wisconsin

9. Jake Allar, Minnesota

10. Drew Hughes, Michigan State

11. DJ Shannon, Illinois

12. Emil Soehnlen, Purdue

13. Troy Fisher, Northwestern

14. Philip Spadafora, Maryland

Number of pre-allocations: 7

This could be the hottest contested seed of the tournament, and the coaches will more than likely will go with Michael Kemerer as the one because of his head-to-head victory over Mikey Labriola last season. However, they are both undefeated this season and Labriola wrestled in the dual when Kemerer did not. I think that should be rewarded. 

Some might also be surprised to see Donnell Washington above Kaleb Romero, but Romero lost to Carter Starocci, and Washington beat Starocci. 

184

1. Aaron Brooks, Penn State

2. Chris Weiler, Wisconsin

3. Owen Webster, Minnesota

4. John Poznanski, Rutgers

5. Max Lyon, Purdue

6. Layne Malczewski, Michigan State

7. Taylor Venz, Nebraska

8. Zac Braunagel, Illinois

9. Nelson Brands, Iowa

10. Rocky Jordan, Ohio State

11. Jelani Embree, Michigan

12. Kyle Cochran, Maryland

13. Jack Jessen, Northwestern

14. Drayton Harris, Indiana

Number of pre-allocations: 7

With Myles Amine up at 197, Aaron Brooks is the clear #1. #2 - #10 is a complete mess, however. I went with Chris Weiler #2 because although he lost to Rocky Jordan first match of the year, he has since beat Taylor Venz, Zac Braunagel, and Max Lyon while only losing to Brooks. Owen Webster has similarly come on strong at the end of the season but is being held back by his first loss of the season - freshman backup Nathan Haas and another early loss to Layne Malczewski. Webster’s head-to-head victory over John Poznanski, who has wins over Jordan and Lyon, keeps him at #3. Lyon goes ahead of Malczewski because of his head-to-head win, despite that being Malczewski's only loss of the year. Venz ahead of Braunagel because he owns the head-to-head battle and similarly with Braunagel and Nelson Brands. 

197

1. Eric Schultz, Nebraska

2. Myles Amine, Michigan

3. Jacob Warner, Iowa

4. Lucas Davison, Northwestern

5. Cameron Caffey, Michigan State

6. Michael Beard, Penn State

7. Thomas Penola, Purdue

8. Matt Wroblewski, Illinois

9. Gavin Hoffman, Ohio State

10. Billy Janzer, Rutgers

11. Nick Willham, Indiana

12. Garrett Joles, Minnesota

13. Jaron Smith, Maryland

14. Andrew Salemme, Wisconsin

Number of pre-allocations: 5

Interesting situation for the top seed here. In the Big Ten rankings, I put Amine #1 because he is a three-time All-American never placing lower than fourth, and already has wins over #5, #6, and #9 in the Big Ten. However, I am inclined to believe that seeds will be more like the latest coaches’ poll with Eric Schultz #1 and Amine #2. With only three matches at 197, there is a possibility that Amine falls down below Jacob Warner and Lucas Davison as well, but his win over Cam Caffey will keep him no lower than #4.

285

1. Gable Steveson, Minnesota

2. Mason Parris, Michigan

3. Anthony Cassioppi, Iowa

4. Luke Luffman, Illinois

5. Christian Lance, Nebraska

6. Trent Hillger, Wisconsin

7. Tate Orndorff, Ohio State

8. Christian Colucci, Rutgers

9. Jamarcus Grant, Purdue

10. Christian Rebottaro, Michigan State

11. Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State

12. Jack Heyob, Northwestern

13. Rudy Streck, Indiana

14. Garrett Kappes, Maryland

What to do with Greg Kerkvliet? That might not just be the biggest question at this weight, but of the entire tournament. The freshman has two wins this year, both over winless Maryland heavies. Jack Heyob and Rudy Streck each only have one win on the season and it’s Garrett Kappes for both. So, I think Kerkvliet slides in at #11 ahead of those three. However, the coaches could take into consideration his win of Cornell’s Lewis Fernandes last year as a redshirt into play and put him at #7 or #8. 

Watch Gable Steveson break down his 2020 Big Ten final with Mason Parris below.

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Sign Up

Already a subscriber? Log In