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Big Ten Wrestling: Ranking the top three wrestlers at each weight class

By Chris Snyder

Penn State's Roman Bravo-Young, left, celebrates after scoring a decision against Oklahoma State's Daton Fix at 133 pounds in the finals during the sixth session of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Saturday, March 19, 2022, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich.220319 Ncaa Session 6 Wr 011 Jpg
Penn State's Roman Bravo-Young, left, celebrates after scoring a decision against Oklahoma State's Daton Fix at 133 pounds in the finals during the sixth session of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Saturday, March 19, 2022, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich.220319 Ncaa Session 6 Wr 011 Jpg /
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Mar 19, 2022; Detroit, MI, USA; Penn State wrestler Max Dean celebrates after defeating Iowa wrestler Jacob Warner (not pictured) in the 197 pound weight class final match during the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Little Cesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2022; Detroit, MI, USA; Penn State wrestler Max Dean celebrates after defeating Iowa wrestler Jacob Warner (not pictured) in the 197 pound weight class final match during the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Little Cesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

197

1. Max Dean (Penn State)
2. Jacob Warner (Iowa)
3. Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State)

Coming off his first ever NCAA Championship, it’s no surprise I have Penn State’s Max Dean at the head of the class at 197. However two-time All-American, and runner-up to Dean in the 2022 NCAA’s, Jacob Warner will be nipping at his heels.

Max got the better of Warner in their incredible match during the Penn State/Iowa dual in the regular season and he outlasted Jacob in the finals this past year. But Dean is going to have a full off season under his belt in the best wrestling room in the nation and there won’t be nearly as many adjustments needed as this will be Max’s second consecutive year at 197.

Based on these factors I would fully expect the gap to widen slightly between Dean and Warner. But this may come as a shock to you, I have been wrong once or maybe even twice before. I know, I know, it’s shocking.

The Big Ten is going to lose a trio of talented grapplers this upcoming season as Nebraska’s Eric Schultz, Michigan’s Patrick Brucki, and Rutgers’ Greg Bulsak closed their final collegiate chapter at the 2022 NCAA’s.

Ohio State’s Gavin Hoffman, who was just retro-actively awarded the official “2022 Matt Carpenter Surprise Performance Award” winner based on his sixth-place finish in this past year’s NCAA’s, will look to build on his unbelievable finish in the 2021-2022 season.

Hoffman was the No. 21 seed in his bracket and mowed down his opening round opponent and then upset the No. 5 seed Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) to punch his ticket to the quarterfinals. Gavin then flipped another upset in the quarters against OU’s Jake Woodley to find a semi-final matchup against Max Dean. We all know how this match went but for a guy who entered the 2022 NCAA Championships at 13-10, just to make it to the semi-finals is quite the accomplishment.

Another guy to keep an eye on is the ever-dangerous Cam Caffey from Michigan State. This guy seems to pull the upset of the year each and every year, however consistency appears to be a major hurdle in him being able to crack the top 10.

Oh, and there might be one additional wrench to throw into the equation. And that’s where former NCAA Champion A.J. Ferrari lands. There are rumors swirling around it could be in Big Ten country. Certainly, if this comes to fruition then the above pecking order will change. Like him or not, Ferrari is a top-notch wrestler on the mat. Off the mat? That’s something totally different.

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