UNC Wrestling 2025-2026

[81Heel/M1]

I am starting this thread with the roster based on what I think I know now. The WrestleStat rankings (WSR) for our wrestlers is provided, but as I have previously stated it is less than perfect. Keep in mind that it ranks freshmen low, as they have no college experience (not totally true as some freshmen will have participated in some open tournaments prior to enrolling at the school of their choice - Nate Askew has done this as a UNC recruit). In recent years all of the freshmen have redshirted anyway, so it is not likely to negatively impact the projections for next year.

Last year we had 2 weaker weight classes, 165 & 197, whose final WSR were in the 60s. My stated hope is that we would have someone in the top 50 for every weight class as a step forward in the rebuilding process. While we very well may improve at the lower ranked weights, we know we have lost our returning 3X AA with McNeil moving on to Michigan. Note that Moore also scored points for us at ncaat, and he and Lautt have transferred to Illinois (where they reunited with AOC).

Finally, I will remind you that I have no inside information. The roster and weights have been updated to the recently posted roster for 2025-26 season. What we know going into this listing is that we have no returning AAs, and none of our wrestlers have a pre-season AA ranking. With that said here is the roster.

125 - Kysen Terukina is the likely starter. As a grad student he is a 3X qualifier for the ncaat WSR = 25 (projects to 0.5 team points at ncaat)
Cam Stinson (R-Fr/WSR = 42)
Note: Terukina is as close as you could get to an equal replacement for Moore (WSR = 20), but we will need him to take a step forward and win a few
matches at the ncaat. Stinson makes a good workout partner and backup that could possibly qualify for the ncaat if injury hits here.
A wildcard is the possibility that Guanajauto might drop down and compete here with Oakley seemingly a lock for the 133 spot.

133 - Ethan Oakley is the likely starter. As a R-Sr he is a multiple time qualifier with a WSR = 20 (projects to 0.5 team points at ncaat)
Derek Guanajauto (R-So/WSR = 31) (Note this ranking projects to qualify for ncaat, but doesn't score team points).
Marco Tocci (R-So/WSR = 72)
Liam Hickey (Fr/WSR = 159)
Matt Botello (Fr/WSR = 159) (he was the #7 Wrestler at 132 in high school last year, and #42 on the top 100 seniors Big Board for Flo).

141 - Jayden Scott (R-Jr/WSR = 31) (projects to qualify but not score team points at ncaat, last year he scored 0.5 points at the ncaat after just missing the ncaat at 149 the previous year)
Elias Navida (R-Fr/WSR = 60)



149 - Luke Simcox (R-Fr/WSR = 14) (Note: 1 of our highest ranked wrestlers, he was the #1 ranked wrestler at 144 in high school last year (2024) (ncaat projection = 2-3 points)
Nick O'Neill (R-Fr/WSR = 73) (the #6 wrestler at 132 in high school in 2024)
Nate Askew (Fr/WSR = 213) (Nate has wrestled several open tournaments, and won a gold medal for the U.S. at the U17 world meet. High school ranking was #10 at the 144 weight class, and #62 on the top 100 Flo Big Board)
Mitchell Younger (Fr/WSR = 213) (Younger wrestled 144 in high school finishing as a 3 time state champ in Ohio and was ranked the #9 wrestler at that weight)

157 - Sonny Santiago (Gr/WSR = 22) (A 2X ncaat qualifier who projects to score 0.5 points at the ncaat).
Laird Root (R-Fr/WSR = 30 (projects to just miss the ncaat as they take 33).
Joey Showalter (R-Jr/WSR = 64)
Cullen Kane (R-So/WSR = 120)



165 - Bryce Hepner (grad transfer/WSR = 24) (projects to 0.5 points at ncaat).
Charlie Darracott (Gr/WSR = 50)
Omaury Alvarez (R-So/WSR = 56) (Alvarez did well in Greco this summer, finishing 2 in the U20 challenge trials)
Luke Sipes (Fr/WSR = 185) (he comes out of high school as a top 25 at 157).


174 - Josh Ogunsanya (Grad/WSR = 14) (projects to score 2-3 points at ncaat, finishing 2 wins shy of AA).
Nolan O'Boyle (R-So/WSR is 69) (he went deep into the U23 team trials, losing in the blood round at 86KG)
Collin Carrigan (R-Fr/WSR = 76) (he finished 3rd in the U20 freestyle trials and jumped up nearly 20 points in the rankings)
Cade Tenold (R-So/WSR is 93)

184 - This starting spot is wide open in my opinion, with all of the backups at 174 competing here with Daily, Schlett, and Carson Tenold.
Jake Dailey (R-Fr/WSR = 39) and he placed 4th at the U20 team trials.
Nic Fea (R-SO/WSR = 41) (also went deep in the U23 team trials at 86KG before losing a close match to O'Boyle)
Marcus Murabito (R-Jr/WSR = 57)
Sabino Portella (R-So/WSR = 83)
Carson Tenold (R-So/WSR = 113)
Aidan Schlett (R-Fr/WSR = 133)


194 - Robert Platt (R-Fr/WSR = 23) (projects to qualify for ncaat, but not score any team points currently)
Michael Calcagno (Fr/WSR = 147)

285 - Nolan Neves (R-So/WSR = 22) (projects to score 0.5 points at the ncaat).
Jacob Levy (Fr/WSR = 158) (in high school he was top 8 at his weight and #79 on the Flo top 100)

The above list is up to date with the current official roster. In the last 2 years we have added late transfers from Stanford, but I suspect that supply line is running low after 2 seasons for Coach Koll at UNC.

2026 recruits:
125 - Dunia Sibomana (Flo top 10 at 120, SI top 25)
133 - Lukas Littleton-Mascaro (SI top 15 at 132)
174 - Lincoln Jipp (SI top 2 at 190)
174 - Brody Kelly (SI top 15 at 175)
174 - Ronin Gault

2027 recruits:
149 - Owen Clark
165 - Kane Shawger (SI top 35 at 144)
174 - Steel Meyers (SI top 35 at 165)
174-184 - Ben Ziola


We may take our lumps nationally this year without an obvious AA to anchor our team, but it should be fun to watch some of the young guys develop as the year goes on.

Finally, if any of you did not see my post on 247, I have changed my username from Matchone to 81Heel/M1. I would appreciate it if you follow this thread that you at least let us know your user name. I was guessing that at least 75-100 people followed the 247 wrestling threads, but I believe most never posted on the thread. Welcome to the new IC.

Updated 8/10/2025

 

[Jriv23]

Thanks for the write up and the information. I also came over from the 247 board.

 

[NYHeel92]

Hey there, nice to see you. Hopefully others will come on over.
This is NYHeel92, guess I need to figure out how to change User Name

 

[81Heel/M1]

Added 2026 recruits to my original post.

Also, a poster on the Intermat forum posted updated transfer portal statistics showing 309 wrestlers entered the portal. They report 179 have landed somewhere new and 13 returned to their former team. This is close to 62% finding a place to wrestle.

Our transfers were largely successful, with McNeal (Michigan), Moore/ Lautt (Illinois), and Tocci (back to Carolina). Only Palmer, who left the team last fall due to legal issues unrelated to academics or athletics, still without a landing spot.

 

[heelwrestler07]

I know it is tough to guess, but I am heelwrestler from the old board

 

[Jriv23]

I am so glad to see a lot of our posters from the 247 board are back and ready to go on this board. I wonderful sight to see.

 

[81Heel/M1]

Great to see key members that posted on 247 that have made the transition. Would like to see a few more that posted good information and added to the commentary on the wrestling threads.

I miss the view count that 247 showed, as it was a measure of the interest in the wrestling updates. I think most of that interest was very casual, but it was interesting to watch the count.

After things settle down here, I will reach back out to Ben about the questions we collected for the coaches on the other site.

 

[3397char]

Great to see key members that posted on 247 that have made the transition. Would like to see a few more that posted good information and added to the commentary on the wrestling threads.

I miss the view count that 247 showed, as it was a measure of the interest in the wrestling updates. I think most of that interest was very casual, but it was interesting to watch the count.

After things settle down here, I will reach back out to Ben about the questions we collected for the coaches on the other site.

IC staff is collecting site feature requests and bug reports in this forum: https://www.on3.com/boards/threads/feature-requests-bug-reports.7862955/post-163878074

improving view count is on the list already but anyone can post here for general improvement requests.

 

[Princemyshkin]

Finally figured out how to access. Glad to see some old names

 

[81Heel/M1]

Welcome Prince, and it is good to see many of the group that has posted on ICs Olympic sports wrestling threads in the past. I personally hope NYH92 gets his old username back, rather than his username shown above, but since I changed mine I guess I can’t complain either way.

With the busy summer, I missed the goheels article linked below introducing the 10 newcomers (8 incoming freshmen and 2 transfers).

Wrestling Welcomes 10 Newcomers For 2025-26 Campaign - University of North Carolina Athletics

The newest group of Tar Heels includes eight freshmen and two transfers.

goheels.com

 

[heelwrestler07]

If you go to the roster on Goheels.com it has been updated for the upcoming season, looks like Santiago and Darracott are both going to be on the team again

Wrestling Roster - University of North Carolina Athletics

The official Wrestling Roster for the North Carolina Heels

goheels.com

 

[Jriv23]

Good News indeed. Go Heels!

 

[81Heel/M1]

It looks like Estrada is in fact moving on, along with Max Martin, Colin Nugent, and Matthew Foil. I wish them all good things as they go. Although things could change related to weights, the roster suggests that Scott will stay down at 141, while Simcox and O'Neill bump up to compete for the 149 slot. With Santiago back you could also see Root or Showalter drop down to compete for 149, but the roster has them at 157.

I will update the original post in the next few days, but a quick look suggests that we are at least 3 deep everywhere except 141, 197, and 285. While there are a number of wrestlers that might be able to bump up or down to get to 141, there is less flexibility at 197 and 285 where the backups are true freshmen that will likely redshirt. There are several at 184 that might bump up to cover 197, though a few would be a better fit dropping to 174 if needed. At 285 there really doesn't appear to be a great backup option, other than burning Levy's redshirt.

Should be a fun year, and Santiago coming back could help score a point or so at ncaat. Still no clear path to replacing McNeil's production without someone taking a big step forward.

 

[81Heel/M1]

I updated the OP, to be consistent with the current roster listing. Noticed 1 additional change from my previous roster guesses, in that Greyson Harris was not listed. If you don't recognize that name, he was reportedly transferring to us through the portal earlier in the summer (WSR was 93).

Looking at the team via WrestleStat rankings, our lowest ranked projected starter is ranked #39. That is more than 20 spots higher than our 2 lowest ranked wrestlers at the end of last year. We have 2 weight classes (133 & 157) that have 2 wrestlers ranked in the top 33 positions, meaning our backup wrestler projects to make the ncaat field if the starter is lost. WrestleStat also ranks the top 33 projected starters at each weight, removing highly ranked backups. This is basically a projection of what the ncaat field will look like at the end of the year. This listing includes a UNC wrestler at every weight as projected to make the ncaat.

One more time for emphasis, the current WrestleStat projection is that UNC will send all 10 starting wrestlers to the ncaat. This includes 3 redshirt freshmen, including our highest projected seed in Simcox at #11 for the 149 weight class (projects to lose in the blood round at ncaat). Another redshirt freshman and a redshirt sophomore would also be projected to make the field if they were not behind an upper classman. Following these projections, only 2 wrestlers are projected to lose their first 2 matches at the ncaat, but 1 of those went 1-2 at last year's tournament. Six wrestlers are projected to win just 1 match at the ncaat. Ogunsanya is projected to be 2 wins shy of AA status, and Simcox is projected to lose in the blood round.

Our prospects for a top 30 finish at the ncaat this year may be very small going into the season, but there is a lot to be excited about for the future of UNC Wrestling.

 

[3397char]

It is worth noting that the new 30 athlete roster cap for D1 wrestling is now in effect. (That is roughly 3 guys per weight class.) The House v. NCAA settlement was amended to allow existing walk-ons on teams to be grandfathered in until they graduated. So of the 36 on our roster, at least 6 will be full-on walk-ons until they graduate.

Because this rule is in effect across the sport, it likely really limited the options for people trying to transfer out: all those other teams were full up as well so it was a "buyers market." And while they could keep their existing walk-ons, it would probably be hard to add additional walk-ons. It is not clear all of the ins and outs of how the NCAA applies this rule, but I do know that the NCAA requires each school to identify which players over the roster limit are designated as protected under this grandfather clause.

So, hypothetically, it is possible someone like Santiago was told that UNC had a spot for him, but at a limited (partial) scholarship. Such a player could then try to explore the portal, find out that other acceptable schools were either also not offering a full scholly, or a flat no because they were full. Then that player was compelled to return to their original school: the only competitive place that has space for them.

This is pretty reductive, because things like playing time, academics, coaching fit, etc... also play in, but it is very likely that this scenario played out over and over again across D1.

The most obvious other factor is how many schollies a team actually has available? The scholly limit has jumped from 9.9 to 30 per D1 team. most schools will take a long time to max this our for Wrestling, if they ever do it at all. UNC has stated a goal of maxing out every sports scholarship limit as quickly as possible. But they have also stated that for 2025-26 that we are increasing department wide from 338 to 532, which is an increase of 200 scholarships, but well below the total cap that is around 735 under new rules. So while it is logical to assume that wrestling has an increased scholarship total, it is still well below 30 full scholarships.

I am also going to guess that while some top wrestling programs like Penn State are now well ahead of us in total scholarship count, just because this sport is a feather in their cap in a way that few other sports can match. But UNC, based on their public declaration that they will max out scholarships ASAP, is ahead of some of our wrestling peers. To put it another way, the schools with more schollies than us are probably attraction top 10 talent depth at every position (recruits we still struggle to land sometimes,) while UNC remains positioned in that second tier of committed wrestling programs.

Going back to our example of Santiago, He probably was not on a full ride last season, and maybe is not a full ride now as well, but perhaps a lot closer to full ride, and at a number few schools would have matched.

I am making a lot of speculation here; do not take this as fact.

 

[heelwrestler07]

I think the speculation on Santiago specifically had more to do with him retiring from the sport for health reasons rather than roster limit or scholarship considerations, but in theory this is a very important point. We are already are making great strides in depth, and we are potentially positioned to jump ahead of programs that can't match us in terms of scholarships. High level wrestlers need high level work out partners, and if we can offer more guys we can have a stronger room and a stronger room attracts better wrestlers. Schools with lower scholarship numbers for wrestling will struggle more to fill out the depth in their room compared to us and that will end up effecting not just depth but top end talent, both from what high end talent we can acquire and the development of the wrestlers in the room

 

[3397char]

I think the speculation on Santiago specifically had more to do with him retiring from the sport for health reasons rather than roster limit or scholarship considerations, but in theory this is a very important point. We are already are making great strides in depth, and we are potentially positioned to jump ahead of programs that can't match us in terms of scholarships. High level wrestlers need high level work out partners, and if we can offer more guys we can have a stronger room and a stronger room attracts better wrestlers. Schools with lower scholarship numbers for wrestling will struggle more to fill out the depth in their room compared to us and that will end up effecting not just depth but top end talent, both from what high end talent we can acquire and the development of the wrestlers in the room

My mistake; I thought he had entered the portal.

I did remember that he had concussion issues and I hope he can stay healthy.

 

[heelwrestler07]

My mistake; I thought he had entered the portal.

I did remember that he had concussion issues and I hope he can stay healthy.

No worries, overall it was a great point even if he wasn't the perfect example. I have talked about the effects of the scholarship and roster limit changes before but I don't know that it has made it to the board as much as it should have. I will also echo your point that I hope Santiago stays healthy, you always want to see people able to finish out on their own terms and not have health issues dictate things to them, especially when it comes to brain health.

 

[81Heel/M1]

One of our questions we put together for a potential interview addressed whether or not Santiago would come back, and another poster stated he was not coming back due to head injuries. It made sense given his helmet/headgear that he wore, but did not turn out to be true. Sometimes decisions made at the end of the season can change over the summer

We had 5 enter the portal with McNeill landing at Michigan and both Moore and Lautt going to Illinois. Tocci rejoined the team, and very well may be one of the designated student athletes. If that wasn’t true before he entered the portal, it almost certainly was after he put his name in the portal. Palmer was the 5th portal entry, and I am not aware of him landing anywhere. I believe he had a legal issue that was unrelated to wrestling or academics. Hope he finds a better path going forward, but it seems like it will not be on UNC’d wrestling team.

There could be value in having some designated student athletes, but my guess is there is a limit to there usefulness given it is only for current wrestlers. While others may have left the team on their own, being told you were a lower tier team member might have helped them move on. I wish them well, and I hope Tocci and others so designated do all they can to show their worth.

 

[81Heel/M1]

Somewhere over the next few days I will edit the questions we collected over on 247, and re-post here.

For some time I have watched the view count on the 247 thread, and I am convinced that there were at least 75 - 100 members that followed that thread. It seems most of the known members that posted on that thread have made the transition to this one, though I am still trying to get used to the new handle for NYH92. A few days back Danman posted a comment about the roster on the thread we had started on the 247 site, and and it looks like there are still a number of individuals that check the thread. I may continue to go over there from time to time, but I will post anything I find here first.

As we look ahead to the coming season, I ran the comparison function on the WrestleStat site, looking at UNC vs. each of the acc wrestling teams in a dual match. Keeping in mind that the WrestleStat site sometimes picks upsets and results are just guesses, but they have us beating everyone except VaT and Stanford (who is stacked this year). For the record they have VaT beating Stanford in that comparison. The UNC vs. state match is close (3-4 points). There have been rumors over the summer that TJ Stewart was going to land at state, but I am not certain he is going to land anywhere this year. If he did it would turn the likely outcome to state's favor. Again, its all speculation until they actually wrestle, but it is an interesting projection.

 

[NYHeel92]

Definitely hoping for another neck and neck match with State this year. Unfortunately in odd years we get VaT and State on the road.

Stanford at home should be a good one.

EtA: thought I had username fixed. Need to try again!

 

[NYHeel92]

Trying again.

 

[Princemyshkin]

Hopefully the new kids can step up, been a couple of disappointing years at times. Injuries, guys not being consistent and just falling short haven’t helped. Excited where the program is headed.

 

[Jriv23]

I hope they can to. The program is coming up which is a great sign to hear. Go Heels!

 

[81Heel/M1]

I edited our questions from the 247 site to fill in what we have learned over the summer and with the roster being posted. Please let me know if you have suggestions or edits. I have mentioned this to @BenSherman, and promised that I would provide them to use as they choose in the pre-season interviews. After this has been done it might be interesting to get some interviews of wrestling alumni. Bob Shriner is a former AA from the early 1980s that is working with the team, and he might be a good starting place to connect with the history of the program. Anyway, the questions as modified are:

Introduction: It has been nearly 2 years since Coach Koll took over Carolina Wrestling in the fall, after Coach Scott departed to his alma mater. The team he inherited was just starting a significant rebuilding process, as Coach Scott appears to have targeted 2023 as a big year (note that Carolina finished 12th in 2023 despite having 2 returning All-Americans that missed the NCAA Tournament due to injuries). For more than a decade Carolina Wrestling has fallen behind in the race for conference championships, and has not been consistently in the national conversation. While there have been successes, highlighted by the 2 national championships earned by Austin O'Connor (along with 5 AA honors earned), there has not been a step forward to contention for conference or national recognition.

1. Can you address your vision for all things Carolina Wrestling, how much progress has been made, and any challenges to moving things forward.

2. Can you address the Tar Heel Wrestling Club and it's role as a regional training center as a part of all things Carolina Wrestling? Are there plans to bring in more wrestlers that have not been associated with Carolina wrestling, or is the Club primarily providing a training center for wrestlers associated with the program (note that this summer they added local wrestlers including Ethan Ramos – former UNC wrestler and dook assistant coach and Shannon Hanna – former Campbell wrestler)?

3. One of our members noted that they believe attendance was up this year. Was that true, and if so how was the increase achieved? How important is increased attendance and fan support for recruiting?

4. The transfer portal is impacting college sports more and more, to the point of making every college athlete is a free agent every year. How do you approach using the transfer portal, and finding a balance between recruitment and development vs. pulling in experienced transfers? Note that there are currently 6 transfers that appear to be in a position to potentially start for UNC next season (Terukina, Oakley, Darracott, Hepner, Ogunsanya, and Neves). Four were on the team last year, and appeared to be used to fill holes in the lineup as part of the rebuilding process you inherited. One of the two new transfers appear to be replacing lost production from transfers out after Lautt, Moore, and McNeil graduated and elected to move on. Is this a fair description of the process you and your team went through, and how do you see using the transfer portal going forward?

5. We have some questions about rule changes in college wrestling. Can you provide your feelings on the change to the 3 point take down? Has it accomplished what was intended? How has it impacted strategy? If it stays in place, do you think a reversal should also be worth 3 points? Are there other rule changes the staff is focusing on, would like to see, or preparing for in the coming season? Included as part of this question, can you address your expectation regarding roster limits (with the transitional designated student athlete option) and how that will impact the team?

6. How big has NIL become for being a competitive wrestling program, and how does Carolina Wrestling measure up against some of the traditional wrestling powers? Has Administration been supportive, and do you have access to the necessary support to compete? How is the University addressing the access to NIL while trying to run a complete athletic program? With the House Settlement, how will the Wrestling program be included in the revenue share by the University?

7. Are there any injuries or ongoing issues that any of the wrestlers are dealing with, and how much of an impact do you expect these to have on the season?

8. Are you expecting any significant weight class changes? The roster suggests that Scott will stay down at 141, and that Simcox and McNeill will compete for the 149 starting spot. Santiago coming back would seem to have the inside track on the 157 spot, but with Darracott back and Hepner transferring in is there a chance that Darracott would drop and challenge for the spot? Assuming Ogunsanya is the likely starter at 174, who all do you expect to compete for the 184 starting spot?

9. Now that your first recruiting class has all redshirted their freshman year, can you provide a hint as to some of the young wrestlers you think are ready to have a visible impact on Carolina Wrestling, or to challenge for starting spots?

10. How do you feel recruiting is going for 2026? You have brought in some impressive classes in 2024 and 2025 relative to the average historical recruiting classes for Carolina Wrestling, so do you think that the 2026 class will be on the same level? Also, how is the process for recruiting the 2027 class coming?

 

[81Heel/M1]

Looks like Devon Miller either didn’t make it to campus, or didn’t stick. Intermat forum has a report that he is enrolled at the University of Central Oklahoma. Kind of reminiscent of the Noah Pettigrew situation a few years back. This leaves 125 a little thin, unless Tocci or Hickey can drop f needed.

 

[Jriv23]

That is messed up. If he knew he was not going to make it then he or his parents should have said so. It is tough being a coach right now.

 

[DiverDownBrian]

Is this true?

 

[81Heel/M1]

So far I have not seen this anywhere except the Intermat forum, but I wouldn’t doubt that it’s true. He was only there a year, though he also worked for Coach Koll at Stanford. Seems like the least disruptive coaching position to lose, and always a chance that we can get a really good replacement. May be a little late in the cycle, but there is always someone looking for a new opportunity.

Next week I am planning to start doing a look at the weight classes somewhat like I did on the other board last spring, but with a slant towards looking at what improvements wrestlers need to make to take the next step. It may roll out more slowly than I intended initially, due to certain life events going on for me. Some of my thoughts will be things we have discussed, but I am trying to spend a little time looking at the new transfers especially to compare with last year’s wrestlers.

 

[81Heel/M1]

Taking a look at the 125 and 133 weight classes today, and remember I have no inside information. There are a few things going on here, starting with the no show by Devon Miller.

At 125 the general assumption has been since the transfer announcement that Kysen Terukina that he would be the starter here. He is a 3X ncaa qualifier, and is currently ranked at #24 on WrestleStat (WS). Replacing starter Spencer Moore, who transferred to Illinois, they are ranked very similarly. Terukina won a match last December between them in an OT 1 point victory. So if everything goes according to design he will be the starter. Looking at a few matches on video, I think he is more explosive than Moore on his feet and on the bottom, but Moore seems to be a better wrestler on top. Terukina has an explosively quick high crotch single leg, and an opportunistic low single. He also has pretty strong hips and solid defense on his feet. My biggest concern with his offense on his feet is that he tends to get stuck on the hc single against better wrestlers that block his right arm from switching to the double. This leads to a stalemate or in some cases a takedown given up. He has the ability to beat a top 10 wrestler, similar to Moore, and if he can make a few improvements finishing from his feet and riding he could take the next step to get to the podium.

The presumption to this point is that Stinson will be the backup, and he is currently rated #38 on WS. WS has an option to look at weight classes based on projected starters or including all wrestlers. On the all wrestler list Stinson ranks between the number 32 and 33 wrestlers from the starters only list, and therefore would project to make the ncaat if he were to have to step in as a starter.
With Miller a no show, that is all of the 125 wrestlers on the roster. On WS, however, they now list Guantajuato as a 125 wrestler, and rank him #18. If he is possibly dropping down to challenge here, it will only make the room stronger with 3 potential ncaa qualifiers competing. The problem here is that I don't know if WS has inside knowledge, or if they are guessing the same as me at this possibility. For the record I included it in my OP on this thread before they made the change. Guanajuato doesn't have a lot of videos from last year easily available, but he seems solid on his feet as well as on the mat. If he doesn't drop, he will be competing with Oakley for the 133 spot.

Oakley is currently ranked #18 by WS, and seems to be poised to pick up where he left off last year. The problem is that after going undefeated in the acc, he fell off in the acct and ncaat. Not a bad finish, but he seemed to be positioned to have a really strong finish and it just didn't pan out. The keys for Oakley include making a step forward on his offense, becoming more aggresive and finishing shots, and getting off the bottom against elite mat wrestlers (Knox from Stanford).

Tocci (WS #72) is the other option at 133. He is a solid wrestler, but may struggle to beat out any of Terukina, Guanajuato, or Oakley for a starting spot. Additional competition in the room include freshmen Matt Botello (Flo top 100 coming out of high school) and Liam Hickey. Both are good additions to the room, but will almost certainly redshirt this year.

That's all for now, so please let me know your thoughts. My next 2 weeks are going to be a little crazy, but I hope to look at 141 and 149 soon.

 

[81Heel/M1]

While 125 & 133 have 2 multi-year ncaat qualifiers and a couple of younger wrestlers with promise, 141 has a 1X ncaat qualifier and some young wrestlers with promise between 141 and 149.

Scott returns, and according to the roster he will stay down at 141. Last year he finished with 1 win at the ncaat, and therefore had a top 24 finish. WS has him ranked #32 at the weight, in spite of him finishing higher than that last year. Would like to see him finishing better on his feet, but mostly he has to learn to escape from the bottom. He will be backed up by Navida, who is ranked #64 by WS (basically what Lautt and Darracott were ranked at the end of last year).

Simcox (149) is our highest ranked wrestler at #12 by WS, though most all of his college wrestling during his red shirt year was in minor tournaments. According to WS Simcox will be backed up by O'Neill (#71). I was not able to find any college videos that I could watch on either of these wrestlers, but I am excited to see how things pan out this year for them. Two freshmen are also listed on the roster at 149, Nate Askew and Mitchell Younger. Askew was a U17 gold medalist this year, and Younger comes in as a 3X Ohio state champion. Both should red shirt this year. Note that this summer Askew wrestled at a weight compatible with the 141 weight class, and might be an option should multiple injuries occur at this weight. I will also add that if Root can make it to 149, he may choose to challenge here rather than competing with Santiago and possibly Darracott (WS has him listed at 157).

I would like to think that we will be deeper down the road, but with roster limits it is not likely that we will have much more than 2-3 wrestlers at each weight. So far there has been a lot of flexibility for competition if wrestlers are able to drop a weight from their roster weight class and compete for the available starting spots. That becomes more challenging eventually in the higher weight classes.

Final note that I have still not seen confirmation that Joseph is leaving for Lehigh. There is a thread about it on Intermat, and another on the Lehigh message board, but nothing shows an announcement that he is going to Lehigh. Both threads reference the same social media post, but it is not official from either school. It is also worth noting that he is still on the goheels roster as a UNC coach.

I may get back to this sometime next week, and pick up with 157 & 165. Hoping to be able to find more videos with the more experienced wrestlers in the next few weight classes.

 

[NYHeel92]

These two weights will be critical, for duals and ACC points. Scott I thought had good improvement last year, particularly finishing shots. As you said, needs to avoid getting ridden out by tough top-wrestlers. Can he take the next step and challenge for an ACC championship?

Simcox is an unknown. Very highly ranked out of high school but my read of his few RS matches in open tournaments was he maybe underperformed his ranking. We’ll see…despite his good WS ranking I see 149 as a huge unknown this year.

 

[heelwrestler07]

These two weights will be critical, for duals and ACC points. Scott I thought had good improvement last year, particularly finishing shots. As you said, needs to avoid getting ridden out by tough top-wrestlers. Can he take the next step and challenge for an ACC championship?

Simcox is an unknown. Very highly ranked out of high school but my read of his few RS matches in open tournaments was he maybe underperformed his ranking. We’ll see…despite his good WS ranking I see 149 as a huge unknown this year.

Glad to see you got the username issue straightened out. Scott has lost matches before because he can't get an escape and he needs to get that fixed if he is going to take the next step. I haven't seen Simcox, but I hope that he can step up and at least live up to his ranking, I know that some of the freshmen and high school wrestlers are making it seem easy, but it is not a easy transition from high school to college. Hopefully any struggles he had in his redshirt year were a result of the transition and not an indication he will struggle this year

 

[81Heel/M1]

Intermat preseason wrestling rankings for UNC wrestling.

UNC Wrestling (@uncwrestling) on Threads

Preseason polls 💪

www.threads.com

 

[SeaPinesHeel]

For the life of me, I cannot understand how NCSUX continues to have success in wrestling, beating us several times recently. why would you ever want to go wrestle at Cow College instead of on the Hill???

 

[81Heel/M1]

For the life of me, I cannot understand how NCSUX continues to have success in wrestling, beating us several times recently. why would you ever want to go wrestle at Cow College instead of on the Hill???

Some of the problem is that success gets attention, and they have had more success in recent years. Interestingly this could be the year that we have a chance to win against state, but unfortunately the match will be an away match I believe.

Intermat is reporting a commitment for 2027 from Ben Ziola out of Nebraska. Limited search shows that he has won state championships in the lower weights, but appears to be still growing. His dad apparently believes he will be a 174/184 weight in college. His older brother was a top 25 recruit for Nebraska this year. Hope he makes it to campus As 2027 still seems like a ways off, and Nebraska could make a push for him to stay at home.

Reminder that the Intermat rankings in the above link are for expected starters only. For the wrestlers I have already previewed they are reasonably consistent with WS on Terukina and Oakley. They have ranked Scott consistent with his finish last year. On the freshman Simcox they appear to be taking a wait and see approach, as he is not ranked.

Still not seeing anything official on Joseph leaving for Lehigh.

 

[SeaPinesHeel]

I have never been to a match there (and never will, most likely) but I assume they just roll a mat out in the middle of a pasture, park some pickups with their lights on pointed at the mat, and say "lets go!"?

 

[Bates]

Still not seeing anything official on Joseph leaving for Lehigh.

UNC-Chapel Hill Employment Opportunities | Recruiting Coordinator

 

[81Heel/M1]

Good catch Bates. That is Joseph’s title on the goheels roster, and he is still listed there. For the Tar Heel Wrestling Club (RTC) he is listed as head coach. Could be an option for Ethan Ramos to come back home from the darker shade of blue, but I would love to get someone like Dake in that role. Clark could be another option, but the fact that he is studying to take the Bar suggest he will go a different direction after wrestling.

 

[81Heel/M1]

Added another 2027 commitment from Kane Shawger out of the Cincinnati area. He finished 3rd in the state as a freshman, before winning a championship as a sophomore. Wrestled at 138 last year, but is being projected at 165.