Not sure if I missed this news or a post on here, but just read an article saying that Sakamoto will be eligible to wrestle this semester for OK State.
Next Years Lineup
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So, 174 (I hope we RS Dee) is unknown. 184 is BT and he will be fine. 97 looks like a good fill and without injury I guarantee we see KD as an AA.
So I don’t see much of a problem besides it’s not a lineup to unseat PSU.
Is it true that OSU admin is working to get Wisconsin declared a Junior College so Dean can get another year?
I feel like OK State has set up a good future with the lineup from 57 and up. Robideau, Lockett, Routledge, Thompson, Merrill, Johnson, throw a good HWT recruit in there, and maybe Jax Forrest (if he commits to OK State and grows some) and I would say they are setting themself up to take a shot at Penn State. Only time shall tell!
184 is up in the air. I could see us bring in a transfer at HWT if a top tier one is available.
Many are counting on true freshmen (in the upper weights, no less). Most of those need to redshirt or face too many seasoned, mature wrestlers to be consistently successful. I hope the portal provides temporary help in order for the young guys to be prepared down the line.
I think 2026 is a transition year for heavyweight where a number of guys could win it. After that, I think some incoming FR and RSFR will be ready to take over that weight as you describe.
I wish we would have done the redshirt deal talked about before the season. Would have sacrificed some this year but would be stacked next year with multiple title shots. What was the lineup we could have had?
Roster limits are gonna make it hard to recruit at the level this staff probably wants to recruit and also bring in several transfers every year. IMO BT is the 184 unless he royally screws up, 197 is Merrill, and HWT is either Doucet or somehow another transfer. Lockett is probably a guy too good to redshirt, so maybe you have a transfer at 165/174 (whichever Lockett doesn’t go).
My sense is that the hard 30 man roster limit for 25-26 will soften considerably in the next few months. Maybe phased in or maybe done away with entirely. Odds are diminishing that it stays as-is.
Why woukd Iowa offer him garbage, or are you talking an Iowa degree?
Do you think that happens via litigation or just schools pushing back on the roster limit? I’m not super up to date on any legal proceedings around this kinda thing.
Schools are pushing back on it. At a minimum, I think you'll see a phased in approach. The whole thought process by the NCAA is silly if you think about it. Why does anyone care how many kids are on a roster if the scholarship limit is a hard limit. Title 9 law is set on scholarships and not roster size. Maybe they eventually get to a point where only 30 guys can get ANY scholarship or book money, and the remaining guys are wrestling for the love of the sport and a photo/memory of being on a podium team.
A great point but I think I might have to push back on the notion of the NCAA putting thought into anything
The roster cap seems like a halfass attempt to wrangle in NIL. Without a cap there’s nothing stopping a big donor from fully funding 100 kids. There needs to be a total funding cap or something, but the roster cap is a stopgap measure. Or at least that’s my read on it.
There is a cap. and NIL counts against that cap. The athletes are going to be making WAY less than now. NCAA still gonna NCAA - they want to right the ship so money goes to the school first. Then it's distributed.
But like @Pennstate1985 said - everything is up in the air and everything is in discussion. The NCAA still gonna NCAA and they're trying to "cap" NIL - which, I don't see how that will stand up in court in the future.
Hey @vhsalum, how is NIL tied to roster limit? There has to be a reason why roster limit is being attacked but in my denseness I don't see it. Is the thought process unrelated to wrestling, but has effects on wrestling? I'm assuming that this issue is directed toward football and possibly Title IX and we suffer the fallout as per usual. Is the NCAA trying to prevent an end around where the 30 lowest guys get the scholarships and the best 7-8 guys get the high NIL, which would probably circumvent the "spirit" of the intent.
Mitigate, mitigate, mitigate. NCAA is doing everything they can to lessen the blow of NIL money going to the athletes. But they have to "give" to the Olympic Sports as well. It's this weird dance that they're doing.
The more you hear, the more you know less. but the below is the best breakdown i've seen of where we currently stand.
https://natlawreview.com/article/ta...-approval-settlement-house-v-ncaa-could-bring
If that's the goal then it's just delaying the inevitable. It's not a fix based on market conditions, and therefore untenable long term.
The NCAA certainly has the ability to set the number of athletes that can train in an institutions facilities. I dislike what NIL has done to sports, but will participate in it for wrestling. I have decided to ignore the other sports as now it is just a different pro sports league where kids get classes. Wrestling and most women's sports are the exception, but basketball, football, and golf will become that.
I mean the financial aspect of it. How much $ can be paid and by who. They can dictate what the Universities do, sure, but I don't see how they can say it all has to be run through the University and capped.
I think the NIL would be difficult to allocate to the Universities. That is my money and I can do what I want with it. I think David has reflected he wants the sponsorship to be with the company doing it and does not necessarily like the Pokes with a Purpose solution for contributions.
Next year's lineup right now would be: 125 Spratley jun. or Sakamoto fr., 133 Hughes soph. or McComas fr., 141 Jamison jun. or Vega fr., 149 Young sen. or Robideau fr., 157 Travis jun. or Routledge fr., 165 Lockett fr. or Young fr., 174 Mower jun. 184 Thompson soph. or Robb soph., 197 Merrill fr. or Robb soph., Hwt Doucette sen.,. Lots of young talent that are freshmen and sophomores, also good depth. We have a few weight classes that need help in the near future. So, thru the transfer portal or freshmen we need to fill a few weight classes. Obviously we need a great HWT and a 174 or 165 if Lockett goes to 174. If Hughes can't make 133 we could use another or we may need a 157 if Routledge is not elite. 184 has some question marks not in regard to talent but in motivation. 2026 recruits we want is HWT Mocco or Merrill, 133 or 41 Forrest, maybe Stewart at 165 or 174 or Waters at 184. I don't know who will be available in the portal but we need a 174 for next year. Hamiti would have looked great there next year. Again the 2026 recruiting class will be vital for our future. Lots of young talent that is very good but right now I would say we have 1 wrestler who has signed with us who looks like a great wrestler (Lockett). Several with big development could make it to the great level.
First of all I think transfers will determine where guys fall in the lineup but imo you’re pulling on the lineup alittle too hard. Robideau and Routledge should go 157 and 165. I think Dee will go 174
As for ‘26 kids I think leaving Wolbert off the list is nuts. He has another year to develop and he’s now at the age and level where he’s getting to roll with Ben. He’s going to explode over his Sr year (like most top AWA kids). Ben is extremely high on what he’ll do in college. At 165/174/184 Stew just committed to Illinois and word on Waters isn’t too promising. Another staff seems to think we cooled on him so idk what the plan is. At HWT you didn’t mention Ross and I think he’s 1A. I’m also not aware of us having Merrill on campus yet so it’s hard to throw him in that group imo.
Transfer will dictate a lot. IDK if we’ll stick with Sr transfers to fill holes or if we’ll target some stud underclassmen too. As for Sr’s, Taye G. from Campbell (beat Feldman at the All Star) is taking a Medical RS and could be an interesting pickup with the way HWT clears out. Trumble also has one more year and should really move up with HWT clearing out. Isaac Dean (184)from Rider is another interesting cat. He gave Plott all he wanted at CKLV and he’s beat a #6, #11 & #12 this year. He’s very athletic and unorthodox. Hes kind of an upside guy with coaching imo. I think you’ll also see one or two of the 174/184 guys from Iowa hit the road. PK wouldn’t be a bad option.
If we go younger I think Bouzakis will be looking around with some of the whispers of why his Bro decommitted and Devino coming on. I also love Tyler Knox (133) and Lorenzo Norman (174) out at Stanford. Norman gave Hamiti his biggest test of the year imo. He’s going to be a stud. And as far as pie in the sky goes I’d love to steal Max McEnelly from Minne. That kid is a stud.
I was just thinking about Norman. Who knows if he’d give up a Stanford education but I would love to have him here. I’d also love Ty Watters from West Virginia but again who knows if he transfers.
I really, really don't want to get kids from other schools. I know that isn't the game being played, but dang it just hurts those middle and lower level schools.
It won't be long until those programs start getting the axe if they can't keep kids.
It won't be long until those programs start getting the axe if they can't keep kids.
Very very valid point that I completely agree with on one hand and on the other it's hard to sit on a hole in your lineup while a guy like Zeth Romney is out there and will more than likely leave Cal Poly no matter what. I'm just using him as an example because he's getting alot of attention.
I agree that any young wrestler can grow and change weight classes and that usually happens and hurts our lineup historically. I don't know what is going on with Wolbert but his junior year so far has been poor. So I did not include him in the top 2 for weight classes next year( he would be a senior in high school) and for his poor junior year performance effecting my view of him for the future as a Cowboy. Maybe he has an injury and so can't practice much so he is in bad shape? I appreciate the information on potential transfers. With the 2026 class we need a HWT, Mocco is probably our best chance to get but Merrill has a connection to us and with Drury it is hard to pull a real good wrestler out of Iowa.
I agree with Chase in that North Dakota State got wrecked when their Coach went to OU and took a bunch of our quality and then Iowa took our 2 All Americans. However, I am self-centered and want 35, so if I could get Norman from Stanford, I would like it.
That is the one caveat where it is palatable. I am applying for a leadership position dealing with the portal and NIL.
My rules...
-Only take a kid in the portal that put himself there and he cannot receive NIL money until one year of eligibility is exhausted at new location. Any tampering proven results in losing portal ability for 3 seasons.
-Penn State has to give two guys to the portal every year that can enroll in any school that doesn't have a bird as a mascot.
-The portal office will be chartered in Oklahoma and all transfer activity starts there.
-No portal additions the year following a podium finish by placement. Champ, 3 years, runner-up, two years, 3rd, one year.
Joking aside, there really needs to be some portal protection for these schools that are good (or lucky) at identifying and developing talent.
I also don't blame programs for going after these guys either...it is what it currently is.
I have real mixed feelings on poaching wrestlers from smaller teams. Unfortunately, these are the times we live in. I hope there are laws that protect these smaller teams and conferences, that also allow for transfers like Amine, who are looking for a fresh start but limit teams like Iowa who have no problem with ravaging other teams, like a bully taking lunch money from a freshman.
We need a large group of transfers next season, seniors or otherwise to stay top 3. Period. With what we have and who we have coming in, it is not enough yet. We also need some guys that everyone thinks is "the guy" next year replaced as well. It goes without saying we really need some more of the top 26' guys, hopefully jax and Ross. Hopefully the NIL deals get more lucrative to get them here with some of the wrestling as of late. DT did not look amused whatsoever last night.
Do not expect some massive portal influx. And you shouldn't. That's not how DT wants to build. You guys have a GREAT recruiting class coming. DT isn't looking for short term bandages. He's going to trust in himself and his coaches. And he's going to give chances
My guesses:
125 - Spratley/Sakamoto
133 - witcraft/McComas
141 - Hughes/Vega
149 - Jamison
157 - Travis/Robideau
165 - Routledge
174 - Lockett
184 - Brayden Thompson
197 - Merrill
285 - Doucet
I would bet a transfer a heavy is coming. Not sure DT wants to watch Doucet lumber around for an entire season. But other than that, you don't need the number of tranfers the way you guys are thinking.
I believe Reece will be out of eligibility. And time will tell if they're active with the portal or not. I don't believe they will bring in 1/2 a line up but will definitely use the portal to plug a few holes
I’m interested to see whether they look to grab a few high level seniors in the portal again to act as a stopgap while the current recruits redshir and develop, or if they decide to let guys take their lumps next year knowing that it’ll pay dividends their sophomore through senior years.