INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has announced the first coaches’ ranking for the 2025 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

The coaches’ rankings are determined by a vote of 16 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the eight conferences. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. Wrestlers must have eight Division I matches in the weight class to be considered with at least one within the last 30 days. 

Of the 10 weight classes, eight are led by members of the Big Ten Conference with wrestlers from Penn State leading the way in four classes. The top spots in five classes are comprised of former national champions.

Four-time 174-pound champion, Carter Starocci of Penn State, is leading all wrestlers in the 184-pound weight class while Keegan O’Toole, two-time 165-pound champion at Missouri, is pacing the 174-pound field.  First-time national champions in 2024, Jesse Mendez of Ohio State, Caleb Henson at Virginia Tech and Greg Kerkvliet from Penn State all lead their respective weight classes. 

Penn State’s Tyler Kasak at 157 pounds and Mitchell Mesenbrink at 165 pounds, each lead their weight classes.  Drake Ayala at 133 pounds and Stephen Buchanan at 197 pounds hold the top spot in their weight classes for Iowa.  Purdue’s Matt Ramos is out front at 125 pounds.

The coaches’ ranking is one of several criteria that will be evaluated by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee during the at-large selection and seeding process along with head-to-head competition, quality wins, Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), conference tournament placement, results versus common opponents and win percentage.

A full description of the entire selection process for the 2025 Division I Wrestling Championships is available at ncaa.org.

The 2025 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships take place March 20-22 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia as the event returns for the first time since 2011.

CLICK to SEE Complete Rankings