Wrestling 2026 Rutgers NCAA Tournament Thread

[Leonard23]

Update? Thx

After 2

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Team Scores
Functions
Printed on 03/19/2026 10:52 p.m.

Team Scores
1	Penn State​	40.5​
2	Nebraska​	27.0​
3	Iowa​	25.5​
4	Oklahoma State​	25.0​
5	Ohio State​	23.0​
6	Iowa State​	21.5​
7	Arizona State​	17.0​
8	Stanford​	15.0​
9	Cornell​	14.0​
9	Michigan​	14.0​
9	Virginia Tech​	14.0​
12	Lehigh​	13.0​
13	Minnesota​	12.5​
13	Wyoming​	12.5​
15	Missouri​	12.0​
16	Illinois​	11.5​
16	NC State​	11.5​
18	Columbia​	10.5​
18	Indiana​	10.5​
20	Oklahoma​	8.5​
21	West Virginia​	8.0​
22	Pittsburgh​	7.5​
23	Utah Valley​	7.0​
24	George Mason​	6.5​
24	Penn​	6.5​
24	Rutgers​	6.5​
27	Princeton​	6.0​
28	Rider​	5.0​
29	South Dakota State​	4.5​
30	Drexel​	4.0​
30	Little Rock​	4.0​
30	North Carolina​	4.0​
30	Northern Iowa​	4.0​
30	Oregon State​	4.0​
35	Bucknell​	3.5​
35	Maryland​	3.5​
35	Navy​	3.5​
35	Purdue​	3.5​
35	SIU Edwardsville​	3.5​
35	Wisconsin​	3.5​
41	Air Force​	3.0​
41	Northern Illinois​	3.0​
43	American​	2.5​
43	Army West Point​	2.5​
45	Binghamton​	2.0​
45	Brown​	2.0​
45	Lock Haven​	2.0​
45	North Dakota State​	2.0​
45	Ohio​	2.0​
45	The Citadel​	2.0​
51	Appalachian State​	1.5​
51	Buffalo​	1.5​
51	Duke​	1.5​
51	Morgan State​	1.5​
55	Bellarmine​	1.0​
55	Franklin and Marshall​	1.0​
55	Gardner-Webb​	1.0​
55	Harvard​	1.0​
55	Kent State​	1.0​
55	Northern Colorado​	1.0​
61	Cal Poly​	0.5​
61	Central Michigan​	0.5​
61	Chattanooga​	0.5​
61	Edinboro​	0.5​
61	Virginia​	0.5​
66	Bloomsburg​	0.0​
66	Davidson​	0.0​
66	Michigan State​	0.0​
66	Northwestern​	0.0​
66	VMI​	0.0​

 

[SirScarlet]

So is Goodale a bad coach when our low seeded guys lose and a good coach when our high seeded guys win?

Stop...this is absurd. As a group, the performance has been abysmal

 

[Crackersisback]

On a side note, I can't believe how much central michigan has fallen off the radar. They were once a powerhouse. To people's point , it all has to do with Coaching. I don't think we should get rid of goody , but something has to change. Somebody pointed out the obvious. There are too many distractions at rutgers.

 

[Samson1975!!!]

So is Goodale a bad coach when our low seeded guys lose and a good coach when our high seeded guys win?

Neck n neck with Princeton and Rider. Losing to Columbia, Indiana and Maryland.

He is what the standings at the end of the weekend say he is. If he pushes guys through to placement and finishes inside top 20, that would be great! If the team flounders and they finish low 30s, I'd expect some grumbling

 

[Kiddagger311]

Stop...this is absurd. As a group, the performance has been abysmal

I guess based on seeds, Smith, Shawver, Clark going 0-2 should be expected. Joey O/ Barbosa/ and I guess SCW(how inj is Ryder really) underperformed.. Pinto did as expected.. Cotton/Catka had huge unexpected wins.. it def coulda went worst overall.. if RU can make out wit 1 or 2 AA then it went better then expected going in…

 

[SCNJ]

Stop...this is absurd. As a group, the performance has been abysmal

Smith (24) lost to a 9 and 25
Shawver (26) lost to a 6 and 10
Olivieri (9) lost to a 24 and beat a 25
Clark (24) lost to a 9 and 25
Barbosa (14) lost to a 19 and 30
Pinto (21) lost to a 12 and beat a 28
SCW (11) lost to a 22 and beat a 27
Cotton (15) beat an 18 and 2
Catka (27) beat a 6 and 11

Looking solely at seeding:
-Olivieri lost one match he should have won
-Barbosa lost two matches he should have won
-Pinto lost one match he should have won
-SCW lost one match he should have won
-Cotton pulled off a huge upsets
-Catka pulled off two huge upsets

So in other words, we’re net -2 in the should have won/lost game but 3 of the 4 guys with a disappointing loss have wrestled back and are still alive and two other guys are one front side win away from a podium spot.

This team as constructed was never going to perform well at the tournament as I said a week or two ago, yet still 5 guys are alive and at least two have realistic AA chances.

 

[SCNJ]

Neck n neck with Princeton and Rider. Losing to Columbia, Indiana and Maryland.

He is what the standings at the end of the weekend say he is. If he pushes guys through to placement and finishes inside top 20, that would be great! If the team flounders and they finish low 30s, I'd expect some grumbling

I’ve said for years I truly do not care about team scoring at the tournament and I think it’s a ridiculous concept.

 

[SCNJ]

If you think this was a great day with the guys going 7-11 including 4 guys going 0-2, think again.

Props to Cotton and Catka.

I don’t think it was a great day. I think anyone who was expecting a great day was delusional. This is not a great tournament roster but still two kids are in the quarters and 3 others are alive in wrestlebacks. Rather focus on what’s still at hand rather than cry about the losses.

 

[Kiddagger311]

I’ve said for years I truly do not care about team scoring at the tournament and I think it’s a ridiculous concept.

Doesn’t matter if we care or not. This is how ncaa is structured so we gotta adapt to it.. the dumbest was using this tournament structure to qualify teams for the paycom dual meet tourney though…

 

[SCNJ]

Doesn’t matter if we care or not. This is how ncaa is structured so we gotta adapt to it.. the dumbest was using this tournament structure to qualify teams for the paycom dual meet tourney though…

I think the scoring system is ridiculous and is not an accurate way to assess teams outside the top 5 or 10 range.

As I’ve used this example before, when teams like Northern Colorado and Cal Baptist get all their points from one guy making a deep run and we finish below them, it’s doesn’t and shouldn’t mean they’re better than us. The scoring system measures a collection of individuals which is literally the antithesis of what a team is.

 

[Kiddagger311]

I think the scoring system is ridiculous and is not an accurate way to assess teams outside the top 5 or 10 range.

As I’ve used this example before, when teams like Northern Colorado and Cal Baptist get all their points from one guy making a deep run and we finish below them, it’s doesn’t and shouldn’t mean they’re better than us. The scoring system measures a collection of individuals which is literally the antithesis of what a team is.

Yep I agree, I used to say it’s pretty bizarre how one champ is worth more than a squad full of ncaa qualifiers. That never really felt right for a team but it is what it is.. we share this viewpoint bc RU historically is a better dual team.. the power programs and traditionalist will say to never change how ncaa is scored… so only thing to do is adapt to it…

 

[Kiddagger311]

If Joey O wins his next 2 match he would then get the loser of Stanich/Enchemedia in blood round… that’s a tough blood round if he makes it..

 

[SirScarlet]

Smith (24) lost to a 9 and 25
Shawver (26) lost to a 6 and 10
Olivieri (9) lost to a 24 and beat a 25
Clark (24) lost to a 9 and 25
Barbosa (14) lost to a 19 and 30
Pinto (21) lost to a 12 and beat a 28
SCW (11) lost to a 22 and beat a 27
Cotton (15) beat an 18 and 2
Catka (27) beat a 6 and 11

Looking solely at seeding:
-Olivieri lost one match he should have won
-Barbosa lost two matches he should have won
-Pinto lost one match he should have won
-SCW lost one match he should have won
-Cotton pulled off a huge upsets
-Catka pulled off two huge upsets

So in other words, we’re net -2 in the should have won/lost game but 3 of the 4 guys with a disappointing loss have wrestled back and are still alive and two other guys are one front side win away from a podium spot.

This team as constructed was never going to perform well at the tournament as I said a week or two ago, yet still 5 guys are alive and at least two have realistic AA chances.

As I said above, its not just that we lost, it's how we looked.

Anyway, I want to stay positive and root for the kids who are still alive

But Goody needs help

 

[mjckrash]

Cotton wrestled great but how much you wanna bet Elam is sick. He looked spaced out and was dragging from the first whistle. He was dead.

Can't you just me happy Cotton won

 

[mjckrash]

Cotton has good opportunity to be AA. Him and Catka give us something to root for today. Overall this has been disappointing showing. Expected few more wins. Did not expect 4 to have zero wins

 

[RUAldo]

Who gives a ****!!

Well, not that I give a **** b/c Cotton is a beast, but a MD over #2 undefeated wrestler that looked like he was walking dead is rather unusual.

 

[Leonard23]

Some other big upsets and info

 

[RUAldo]

After 2

​

Team Scores
Functions
Printed on 03/19/2026 10:52 p.m.

Team Scores
1	Penn State​	40.5​
2	Nebraska​	27.0​
3	Iowa​	25.5​
4	Oklahoma State​	25.0​
5	Ohio State​	23.0​
6	Iowa State​	21.5​
7	Arizona State​	17.0​
8	Stanford​	15.0​
9	Cornell​	14.0​
9	Michigan​	14.0​
9	Virginia Tech​	14.0​
12	Lehigh​	13.0​
13	Minnesota​	12.5​
13	Wyoming​	12.5​
15	Missouri​	12.0​
16	Illinois​	11.5​
16	NC State​	11.5​
18	Columbia​	10.5​
18	Indiana​	10.5​
20	Oklahoma​	8.5​
21	West Virginia​	8.0​
22	Pittsburgh​	7.5​
23	Utah Valley​	7.0​
24	George Mason​	6.5​
24	Penn​	6.5​
24	Rutgers​	6.5​
27	Princeton​	6.0​
28	Rider​	5.0​
29	South Dakota State​	4.5​
30	Drexel​	4.0​
30	Little Rock​	4.0​
30	North Carolina​	4.0​
30	Northern Iowa​	4.0​
30	Oregon State​	4.0​
35	Bucknell​	3.5​
35	Maryland​	3.5​
35	Navy​	3.5​
35	Purdue​	3.5​
35	SIU Edwardsville​	3.5​
35	Wisconsin​	3.5​
41	Air Force​	3.0​
41	Northern Illinois​	3.0​
43	American​	2.5​
43	Army West Point​	2.5​
45	Binghamton​	2.0​
45	Brown​	2.0​
45	Lock Haven​	2.0​
45	North Dakota State​	2.0​
45	Ohio​	2.0​
45	The Citadel​	2.0​
51	Appalachian State​	1.5​
51	Buffalo​	1.5​
51	Duke​	1.5​
51	Morgan State​	1.5​
55	Bellarmine​	1.0​
55	Franklin and Marshall​	1.0​
55	Gardner-Webb​	1.0​
55	Harvard​	1.0​
55	Kent State​	1.0​
55	Northern Colorado​	1.0​
61	Cal Poly​	0.5​
61	Central Michigan​	0.5​
61	Chattanooga​	0.5​
61	Edinboro​	0.5​
61	Virginia​	0.5​
66	Bloomsburg​	0.0​
66	Davidson​	0.0​
66	Michigan State​	0.0​
66	Northwestern​	0.0​
66	VMI​	0.0​

On the one hand this list shows how unbelievably dominant PSU is - to the point I would argue it’s ruining the NCAAs. On the other hand, goes to show you how bad coaches are at recruiting and assessing talent - you could fill a roster with studs from small colleges that would beat most B10 programs.

 

[Leonard23]

 

[SirScarlet]

if Zinn invests in Wrestling, I think we could truly be a top 7ish program.

all the bones are there....

 

[RUAldo]

Sorry for the negativity and stating the obvious, but our only two that advanced are transfers. Two other former homegrowns advanced wearing Iowa and Oklahoma singlets. Former AA Shawver a mess. Columbia making history with our former staff. Ashnault at Princeton. No doubt Goodale is a great guy and has done a lot to elevate the program. BUT WTF IS RU WAITING FOR = HIRE JB OR JG. It’s the B10. Fertile recruiting grounds. Great facilities. It’s a dream job for almost any coach. We are paying Knox millions. We have a NJ wrestling and Olympian legend in RU’s backyard. This is why it’s so hard to continue to support RU athletics both financially and as a fan/alumni.

 

[Leonard23]

 

[Leonard23]

 

[kupuna133]

Plenty of chances to change the narrative of this tournament today. Let’s come out Aggresssive and loose.

 

[elvis7]

As I said above, its not just that we lost, it's how we looked.

Anyway, I want to stay positive and root for the kids who are still alive

But Goody nee

 

[biochemist001]

After 2

​

Team Scores
Functions
Printed on 03/19/2026 10:52 p.m.

Team Scores
1	Penn State​	40.5​
2	Nebraska​	27.0​
3	Iowa​	25.5​
4	Oklahoma State​	25.0​
5	Ohio State​	23.0​
6	Iowa State​	21.5​
7	Arizona State​	17.0​
8	Stanford​	15.0​
9	Cornell​	14.0​
9	Michigan​	14.0​
9	Virginia Tech​	14.0​
12	Lehigh​	13.0​
13	Minnesota​	12.5​
13	Wyoming​	12.5​
15	Missouri​	12.0​
16	Illinois​	11.5​
16	NC State​	11.5​
18	Columbia​	10.5​
18	Indiana​	10.5​
20	Oklahoma​	8.5​
21	West Virginia​	8.0​
22	Pittsburgh​	7.5​
23	Utah Valley​	7.0​
24	George Mason​	6.5​
24	Penn​	6.5​
24	Rutgers​	6.5​
27	Princeton​	6.0​
28	Rider​	5.0​
29	South Dakota State​	4.5​
30	Drexel​	4.0​
30	Little Rock​	4.0​
30	North Carolina​	4.0​
30	Northern Iowa​	4.0​
30	Oregon State​	4.0​
35	Bucknell​	3.5​
35	Maryland​	3.5​
35	Navy​	3.5​
35	Purdue​	3.5​
35	SIU Edwardsville​	3.5​
35	Wisconsin​	3.5​
41	Air Force​	3.0​
41	Northern Illinois​	3.0​
43	American​	2.5​
43	Army West Point​	2.5​
45	Binghamton​	2.0​
45	Brown​	2.0​
45	Lock Haven​	2.0​
45	North Dakota State​	2.0​
45	Ohio​	2.0​
45	The Citadel​	2.0​
51	Appalachian State​	1.5​
51	Buffalo​	1.5​
51	Duke​	1.5​
51	Morgan State​	1.5​
55	Bellarmine​	1.0​
55	Franklin and Marshall​	1.0​
55	Gardner-Webb​	1.0​
55	Harvard​	1.0​
55	Kent State​	1.0​
55	Northern Colorado​	1.0​
61	Cal Poly​	0.5​
61	Central Michigan​	0.5​
61	Chattanooga​	0.5​
61	Edinboro​	0.5​
61	Virginia​	0.5​
66	Bloomsburg​	0.0​
66	Davidson​	0.0​
66	Michigan State​	0.0​
66	Northwestern​	0.0​
66	VMI​	0.0​

Glad to see that we're tied with George Mason going into Day 2.

 

[SirScarlet]

yep...coaching matters

 

[koleszar]

I have no idea what this graphic is showing us money wise. It’s clearly not coaching salaries. NIL no way we spend that much and Michigan has 10x more than us. WTF are these numbers?

 

[kupuna133]

I have no idea what this graphic is showing us money wise. It’s clearly not coaching salaries. NIL no way we spend that much. WTF are these numbers?

Had the same reaction. Goody doesn’t makes a whole lot. Can’t imagine the rest of the staff does either. Not like we have high level resident athletes (but from what I recall they are paid through separate entity). Didn’t travel west this year. So no true travel expense. Something doesn’t add up. But it is RU after all. Where we overspend as an art form.

 

[koleszar]

Had the same reaction. Goody doesn’t makes a whole lot. Can’t imagine the rest of the staff does either. Not like we have high level resident athletes (but from what I recall they are paid through separate entity). Didn’t travel west this year. So no true travel expense. Something doesn’t add up. But it is RU after all. Where we overspend as an art form.

Our highest paid coach is Goodale and his salary is under $300k. The rest of the staff 3 guys make in the $100k range.The SKWC is pretty much nonexistent This is taken from some independent guy who tried to tally coaching, facilities and travel.

 

[Samson1975!!!]

I’ve said for years I truly do not care about team scoring at the tournament and I think it’s a ridiculous concept.

Every team is supposed to recruit and develop guys to stand out and points are awarded for that. Has it ever been different?

The fact these smaller prograns can do it doesn't show the scoring is flawed as much as shows Rutgers is struggling to accomplish their stated goals in recent seasons.

Big day today could change the narrative though!

 

[Leonard23]

Sorry for the negativity and stating the obvious, but our only two that advanced are transfers. Two other former homegrowns advanced wearing Iowa and Oklahoma singlets. Former AA Shawver a mess. Columbia making history with our former staff. Ashnault at Princeton. No doubt Goodale is a great guy and has done a lot to elevate the program. BUT WTF IS RU WAITING FOR = HIRE JB OR JG. It’s the B10. Fertile recruiting grounds. Great facilities. It’s a dream job for almost any coach. We are paying Knox millions. We have a NJ wrestling and Olympian legend in RU’s backyard. This is why it’s so hard to continue to support RU athletics both financially and as a fan/alumni.

We should all be ecstatic that our new AD is at the national championships and attended most matches. She's all in and I have confidence she'll invest in the program to build a winner.

It's easy to blame the coaches, and they're certainly responsible for some, but the wrestlers need to perform and take accountability. The coaches don't teach them to be passive. You can see how much it bothers Goodale when they're not aggressive and don't perform. Mindset isn't easy to change. Is Tom Ryan a bad coach because Bouzakis hasn't performed in March, was upset and never a national champ or even AA yet, when he was projected to be a 3x-4x AA and 1x+ champ? He was #3 P4P recruit in 2021 with tons of accolades. Our guys that lost weren't elite recruits.

Is JB even interested in jumping into college coaching with young kids and just building his club? JG is still at Nebraska and would be a good assistant. Would he be a good HC and can he recruit? We tried bringing in Bryan Snyder to replace Pritzlaff but that fell apart at the last minute.

Let's see how the rest of the tournament shakes out. I don't have trouble supporting the school or program, even if I want better.

 

[UnderHooks]

We should all be ecstatic that our new AD is at the national championships and attended most matches. She's all in and I have confidence she'll invest in the program to build a winner.

It's easy to blame the coaches, and they're certainly responsible for some, but the wrestlers need to perform and take accountability. The coaches don't teach them to be passive. You can see how much it bothers Goodale when they're not aggressive and don't perform. Mindset isn't easy to change. Is Tom Ryan a bad coach because Bouzakis hasn't performed in March, was upset and never a national champ or even AA yet, when he was projected to be a 3x-4x AA and 1x+ champ? He was #3 P4P recruit in 2021 with tons of accolades. Our guys that lost weren't elite recruits.

Is JB even interested in jumping into college coaching with young kids and just building his club? JG is still at Nebraska and would be a good assistant. Would he be a good HC and can he recruit? We tried bringing in Bryan Snyder to replace Pritzlaff but that fell apart at the last minute.

Let's see how the rest of the tournament shakes out. I don't have trouble supporting the school or program, even if I want better.

I’ve heard from a few sources there is a catholic school in south Jersey that has spoken with JB. He is considering that position for a few years and would then make a move to UPENN when his children are older. This allows him to continue to grow and run his club which is currently looking at additional locations. Feed his private school with those club members when they get to HS age.

 

[Leonard23]

I’ve heard from a few sources there is a catholic school in south Jersey that has spoken with JB. He is considering that position for a few years and would then make a move to UPENN when his children are older. This allows him to continue to grow and run his club which is currently looking at additional locations. Feed his private school with those club members when they get to HS age.

That makes sense and what I expected. He wants to be on Valenti's staff or takeover for Valenti, with Valenti returning to his AD role? It would likely take David Taylor $1M+/yr plus a ton of other $ for staff and resident athletes to get JB here.

 

[Bms22]

Sorry for the negativity and stating the obvious, but our only two that advanced are transfers. Two other former homegrowns advanced wearing Iowa and Oklahoma singlets. Former AA Shawver a mess. Columbia making history with our former staff. Ashnault at Princeton. No doubt Goodale is a great guy and has done a lot to elevate the program. BUT WTF IS RU WAITING FOR = HIRE JB OR JG. It’s the B10. Fertile recruiting grounds. Great facilities. It’s a dream job for almost any coach. We are paying Knox millions. We have a NJ wrestling and Olympian legend in RU’s backyard. This is why it’s so hard to continue to support RU athletics both financially and as a fan/alumni.

We can all hope and pray for JB as Goody has brought us to this point but as most have said this tournament has been less than inspiring. Would I have signed up to have two in quarters from the start - absolutely. Thought Remy would have been one and Joey being the other. I'm hopeful Zinn will do the right thing and she has been everywhere in her short time which has been refreshing. Doesn't seem afraid to spend money and cut a person loose for underperformance (not the case with Goody as he deserves an Admin role here). Donny given the keys to run his own program is starting to show what impact he had on ours. Let a new coach come in with Knox to usher a new era and bring us inside the top 10. Money should follow with results

 

[NJwrestling26]

I’ve heard from a few sources there is a catholic school in south Jersey that has spoken with JB. He is considering that position for a few years and would then make a move to UPENN when his children are older. This allows him to continue to grow and run his club which is currently looking at additional locations. Feed his private school with those club members when they get to HS age.

He isn’t going to coach a high school team. He just gave a 45 minute interview with nj com. He wants to coach college one day and even implied he’d like to do it in NJ and talked about how Rutgers should be a power. He’s focused on elevating south jersey wrestling as a whole right now with his club, he isn’t just going to takeover some private school to just build a high school super team

 

[Leonard23]

 

[UnderHooks]

The current coaching Staff has strengths and weaknesses. Guys like Mytech and Pollard have done well recruiting in areas, but in my opinion D1 level technicians they are not. Donnie and SeaBass are much more accomplished and stronger in this area. Outside of Labrieola who is young and new to coaching, the staff lacks that presence of an accomplished veteran that can speak first hand to wrestling on the biggest stage, mindset, technique, preparation, etc. having men on your staff that wrestled on the world stage, internationally is a major + that almost all of the top teams have.

 

[UnderHooks]

He isn’t going to coach a high school team. He just gave a 45 minute interview with nj com. He wants to coach college one day and even implied he’d like to do it in NJ and talked about how Rutgers should be a power. He’s focused on elevating south jersey wrestling as a whole right now with his club, he isn’t just going to takeover some private school to just build a high school super team

One day…. He is speaking a different tune to people down here

 

[NJwrestling26]

That makes sense and what I expected. He wants to be on Valenti's staff or takeover for Valenti, with Valenti returning to his AD role? It would likely take David Taylor $1M+/yr plus a ton of other $ for staff and resident athletes to get JB here.

Valenti just waited like a decade to become a head coach they aren’t just going to push him back into the admin side unless he chooses to do that. He’s literally the reason the RTC has made the strides it has and he’s the best wrestler in school history. And as for your other post above maybe you missed it while you were giggling but I’ve mentioned like 8 times in the last year James Green is the best younger coaching prospect out there. He’s the reason for Nebraska jumping a level , he coached the USA youth team at the Olympic training center years ago and every single wrestler gave him credit for getting them better. Caleb Henson said he never wins a national title if it were for the time he spent getting coached by James Green. NJ guy, all the kids coming up know who he is, 5x world team member , multi time world medalist, already a respected an experienced coach.