NCAA Prospect Rankings

Silva And Chlebove Will Make 141 Fun

Joey Silva holds the top spot after his big win at Who's #1. We feel pretty confident that Silva would be the No. 1 prospect at either 133 or 141, but we see him as more of a 141 for Michigan. Silva is one of the best defensive wrestlers in the country and should not have much of a problem adjusting to the physicality of a Big Ten schedule.

The senior out of Lake Highland Prep in Florida is a great juxtaposition to our No. 2 prospect, perhaps the best technician of any future 141-pounder in Julian Chlebove. It's maybe not fair to call Chlebove a technician, because that may imply he lacks the freewheeling nature we see from him on the mat.

Real Woods separated himself from his peers with his riding ability. He rode out Drew Mattin in the third period to win his first Ironman title, and then at last year's Ironman Woods dominated Jordan Decatur on top to win 11-1 in the consi semis. Top game like that has to make the Stanford coaches feel good about Woods coming into next season.

Ryan Anderson got quite a bit bigger over the summer and went from a projected 125/133 to a projected 141, maybe even ultimately ending up a 149. If he can back up his Journeymen title with an impressive run at Super 32, his rise up to the fourth spot will look even more justified.

Josh Saunders and Cole Matthews are great examples of how many varied ways there are to look at the Big Board. It's not that they don't have upside potential; their value is really in how high their floors are at 141. Along with our 10th- and 12th-ranked prospects in Ryan Vulakh and Dylan D'Emilio, respectively, Saunders and Matthews seem like guys who coaches don't have to worry much about. They'll come out, win matches, work hard, and stay eligible -- all the little things that keep a program moving.

On the other end of the coin are high upside guys such as Cleveland Belton and Malcolm Robinson. Belton was a hot hand earlier this year but did take a single loss at the Journeymen Classic. He is very young for a junior, so we feel he has room to grow into a good sized 141 and leg-attack with the best of them. Malcolm Robinson might have the highest upside of anyone on this list, but he's been taking quite a few losses this year. That may still be lingering effects of his concussion, but he can walk into most any high school room in the country and take anyone down.

Most of the prospects on this list are still available, with 13 out of 20 having yet to verbally commit.