Wrong he's been 3rd twice 23-24 and 24-25. He took his RS this year
EARLY 2026-27 lineup projections/discussions
- Thread starter backdrft76-1
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Oops, you are right. Got my years mixed up. Happens when you get old like me.
This board can be a fountain of misinformation and pipe dreams at times.
It's hard at times . I gotta remember most people are just fans and don't know anything or have any connections. And I'm one who likes facts. So I tend to be correcting things which makes people dislike you. But I would rather people not like me then have people believing things that aren't true
No…
23/24-was going to RS, but became starting 149 when SVN lost to injury… L1/W7 to finish third
24/25-starting 157… more conventional path to third
25/26-RS
Obviously Cael and his wrestlers will balance the future with the current. But it’s just a lil’ weird to get upset talking about what the current maximized point would look like and then discuss from there.
But the statement “we have others who will score as many points” is definitely incorrect. That’s why it’s productive to first analyze the maximum line up and then see who you may want to RS and figure out the opportunity cost of doing so.
And as someone else mentioned the Olympic year might throw a wrench into things. Also we should never underestimate OK State.
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Sorry, this was addressed already. Tyler finished 3rd in NCAAs twice. He has 2 years left.
The 2028 Olympic shirt is a red herring. In 5 Olympic shirt years under Cael, 2020 Manville and 2024 Facundo were the only ones to use it. Neither were potential starters in that year.
I won't be surprised if it does get used in 2028, because we'll have so many qualified guys and only 10 starting spots. I will be surprised if it's a serious factor in determining the starting lineup.
The most recent and very relevant example is Brooks. He was definitely in mid season conditioning form and his best in season preparation was wrestling Snyder, Cael and Varner every day. That plan worked very well considering who he needed to beat just to make the team.
I have said many times 2027 will determine lots of that with who medals. Depth won't be an issue. In the years past the depth wasn't what it is now. We definitely won't see a punt year
I was simply pointing out how wrestling through the season proved very effective preparation for him.
I know you weren't doing this to be a smart ***, but 5 wrestlers (as of now including Levi) in the 16 years Cael has coached here. Just want to point out Hall started out in redshirt, and Lee spent his senior season in the room. Not officially a redshirt but the closest thing to it. Kasak also did that.
I would also like to point out:
Mark Hall replaced Garret Hammond.
RBY's true freshman year, the others listed at 33 were Austin Clabaugh, Jack Davis 25/33, Jon Consotri 33/41, Patrick Higgins 33/41, Mason Lindenmuth, Brandon Mereditch 25/33, Scott Stossel 33/41.
Nick Lee was pretty much the same as RBY.
BB wrestled at 49 above his true weight class due to Nick Lee for 2 years.
The reason I bring all that up? As dominant as PSU has been, the guys you mentioned wrestled as true freshman due to "lack" ( I use that term loosely ) of depth. They were far and away the best option. Next year, and lately, most of the back ups would be expected to AA. LL already said he's going 25 next year. There are 3 guys for 2 spots at 33/41. Someone will be watching. Desmond used his redshirt, kind of unclear how many years Ono has, Blaze has a RS to use. SVN at 49. 5 guys for 3 spots - Kasak, Duke, MM, Henckel, and I'll even throw Sealey in there for 57-74. Only 1 has a RS to use. 2 guys for 84 with Rocco and Asher and neither has a RS. Connor and Barr at 97. Cole and Elijah at HWT. I'm assuming even though Elijah is a hammer on top, he probably won't have the weight or strength to compete with Cole so he'll use his redshirt.
I point out all of that to say this. We are extremely fortunate with the roster the staff has assembled. Will anyone jump ship in a few days? Possibly. But the staff has to get creative in RS usage and getting guys into lineup. None of us know what these guys will weigh next year or what the plan is. Whatever the lineup is next year, they'll be the favorites again, and if an in season adjustment needs to be made, it will be. Cael is probably already working on the lineup for 2030 trying to figure out who they want to target, and when RS will be used to make it all work.