A few weeks ago I was asked what Patrick Glory’s chances are of beating Spencer Lee in the 2023 NCAA finals. My answer was short, I said its not going to happen. But later that night, I got to thinking of how that match might play out, and I realized its much closer then I first considered it to be. So this got my thinking, who else could pull off huge upsets this college season? In this article, I will take a look at 10 guys who could shock the world. Keep in mind this is just for fun, and I don’t necessarily think this will happen, but its fun to think about, and ponder.
125 Patrick Glory Princeton
The way things stand as of now 125 is a two man race, between Spencer Lee of Iowa the 3X NCAA Champion and Patrick Glory of Princeton a returning NCAA finalist. To the casual fan this one is a given, Lee has looked nearly unbeatable the last couple of years, and he already has two one sided victories over the Princeton wrestler. A closer look will tell you, this match is much closer then it may seem. For one, Lee missed all of last season after opting for surgery. Meanwhile Glory was working and improving. We don’t know exactly how Lee will look after his return. Will he be at full strength? Will he have some ring rust? If you look back to the last time these two met, Glory rode Lee out the last minute of the second period and the entire 3rd period. Lee still won the match, but Glory showed that he can ride like the best of them. Glory has quality wins over Nick Piccininni, Vito Arujau, and Brandon Courtney, and has been gunning for another crack at Spencer for a long time.
184 Parker Keckeisen University Northern Iowa
Aaron Brooks is a heavy favorite to win his 3rd straight NCAA title at 184 this season, but Parker Keckeisen of UNI is a solid competitor who shouldn’t be overlooked. Parker is one of those guys who has kind of slide under the radar his entire wrestling career. Coming out of high school he wasn’t heavily recruited despite being a 2x Wisconsin state champion and Fargo all-american. He made an immediate impact once he arrived on campus, going 16-1 during his red-shirt season. He followed that up by winning the Big 12 tournament and finishing 3rd at the NCAA tournament during his freshman season. Last year he had the same results winning the Big 12 for the second time and again finishing 3rd at the NCAA tournament. These two last met in the semifinals of the 2021 NCAA tournament, where Brooks picked up a hard fought 3-2 victory. Both have made big improvements since then, and the rematch could go either way.
Heavyweight Tony Cassioppi Iowa
The truth is the heavyweight division is wide open this year (as long as Gable doesn’t return) Four world class competitors still remain. I could realistically see any of these four winning the 2023 NCAA title, and the waters are a little murky on this one. Tony has won three straight over Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet, and he also defeated NCAA runner-up Cohlton Schultz twice. At the same time Mason Parris has defeated Cassioppi three straight times but he has lost to both Schultz and Kerkvliet. If Tony ends up on the opposite side of the bracket as Parris he may be able to battle his way into the finals while one of the others takes out Parris. Everything will need to go just right for this to happen, or for any of the above mentioned four to win the title, This weight class could have a different champion every time its wrestled, its that even between the top four.
157 Levi Haines Penn State
Levi is probably the least known wrestler on this list, but that doesn’t mean his chances are less then anybody else on here. Levi is the only wrestler on this list not ranked in the top 32 for preseason rankings. However that’s only because its still unsure on weather or not coach Cael will let him start this year. If Cael does in fact let his star wrestler compete, he is right there in the mix for the NCAA title. the 157 weight class is very thin this season to start with, the current number 1 ranked wrestler being Brayton Lee from Minnesota. NCAA champion David Carr has moved up to 165, NCAA champion Ryan Deakin has graduated, NCAA finalist Quincy Monday has moved up to 165. So 157 is wide open, and who better then Levi Haines to step in and win his first NCAA title. Haines is a Pennsylvania native and 3x state finalist and a 1x state champion. At the conclusion of his junior year, he decided to opt out of his senior season in high school, and spent the year competing on the cadet world team, and entering college opens. He entered the Franklin and Marshall Open, and the Edinboro Open, winning titles in both. In the semifinals of the Edinboro Open, he ran into Ohio State’s Paddy Gallagher (who finished the season 17-3) Haines defeated Gallagher by a score of 8-3. The sky is the limit for Levi and his potential, but I can only imagine the heights he could reach being coached by Cael Sanderson.
133 Vito Arujau Cornell
Vito is currently ranked 3rd at 133 after moving up from 125, where he was a third place finisher at the 2022 NCAA tournament. 133 is currently dominated by Penn State’s Roman Bravo Young, who will be going for his third straight NCAA title. Dayton Fix also looms large, as he has been a 3x NCAA runner-up. Almost no one expects anyone other then those two to make the finals once again. Here’s the thing, Vito has already defeated both of these men, he has also beat 2X NCAA champion Nick Suriano. Vito is in fact a world beater, and has twice won the silver medal at the world championships He is more then capable of winning the 2023 NCAA title, and Cornell has an excellent history with its wrestlers winning titles.
197 Yonger Bastida Iowa State
While still figuring out folk style, Yonger has already made an impact at the college level. After entering last seasons NCAA tournament as the number 10 seed, he ended up earning all-american honors with a 5th place finish. Bastida is already considered a world class competitor on the freestyle scene, so its just a matter of time until he makes the necessary adjustments to contend for a national title. He has solid wins over NCAA runner up Jacob Warner, and NCAA champion Kyven Gadson. With another year of college wrestling under his belt the sky is the limit.
141 Beau Bartlett Penn State
Beau entered the college ranks as a blue chip recruit, he was a 4x National Prep champion, he claimed titles at the Ironman and the Powerade tournaments. Since arriving in Happy Valley he hasn’t had the best results, compiling a 23-13 record and going 0-2 at the 2022 NCAA tournament. However that was at 149, now finally back down to his natural weight class Beau Bartlett has a fresh start and a chance to rise to the top of the podium. On top of that, 141 has somewhat cleared out with the graduation of the weights top talent.
149 Austin Gomez Wisconsin
149 is very top heavy with the presence of Yianni Diakomihalis. This weight is about as safe as it can possibly be. Yianni is a 3x NCAA champion with only one collegiate loss to his credit. So it will take someone very special to deny him of his fourth national title. One person capable of that is Wisconsin’s Austin Gomez. This kid is dangerous, if he can get his hands on Yianni, he could put him in trouble. Austin is one of those guys who has huge throws in his deep arsenal. He used these throws to pin 2X NCAA champion Roman Bravo Young a few years ago. So he is more then capable of pulling the upset.
165 Dean Hamiti Wisconsin
Let me start by saying, 165 is completely loaded this year. Actually looking at recent history, its been loaded for several years now. This years 165 pound division, has three NCAA Champions, (two of them have won junior world titles) and two NCAA runner-ups. So its difficult to say who the favorite even is. I can say thou, Dean Hamiti, isn’t on to many peoples radar. Word out of Wisconsin is that Dean has made huge gains since last years national tournament, and at 6 feet tall he is an absolute cradle machine and can hit them from every position. He has the ability to beat anyone in the bracket on any given day, but so do several guys at 165.
174 Nelson Brands Iowa
To start its hard to say how Nelson’s recovery has been from last seasons elbow surgery. So its difficult to say what shape he will be in for the upcoming year. If 100%, Nelson has a nice blend of speed, strength, and an endless gas tank. This alone makes him dangerous, especially in a tournament setting. Combine that with finally competing in a more natural weight class, and the sky’s the limit on what he can do. He is like a bigger version of Austin Desanto. Brands has quality wins over All-Americans Taylor Venz, Sam Colbray, and Zach Braunagel, up at 184. It will be interesting to see him at 174.