Big Ten Wrestling Tournament 2024 preview, predictions for all 10 weight classes

It’s time for the Big Ten Wrestling Tournament preview and predictions for the 2024 edition of the top conference championships in the sport.

These predictions are based off of the pre-seeds released earlier this week. Brackets are official at the end of the week just prior to the tournament.

Let’s dive into previews and predictions for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, across all 10 weight classes.

125 lbs.

Pick: No. 1 Matt Ramos (Purdue) over No. 3 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin)

Ramos has been the best wrestler in a wild weight class all year. The win over Spencer Lee last year was no fluke. Now, this weight is wide open, make no mistake, but we’ll roll with the Boilermaker. Also, we’re leaning to Barnett knocking off No. 2 Drake Ayala (Iowa) in the semifinals.

133 lbs.

Pick: No. 1 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) over No. 2 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers)

Ragusin has been the best in this weight all season long and it’s very hard to pick against him. As far as who will face him in the finals, we’ll go with Shawver, who has wins over Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) and Aaron Nagao (Penn State) within the top five of the Big Ten. Watch out for Brody Teske (Iowa) who was supposedly a late entry and the No. 14 seed. He could be a bracket buster.

141 lbs.

Pick: No. 3 Real Woods (Iowa) over No. 1 Beau Bartlett (Penn State)

Bartlett is unbeaten and took out everyone below him. However, we’re gonna bank on Woods turning it back up for the postseason after some hits and misses late in the year. He’ll have to get through Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez in all likelihood, but there’s a feeling about Woods getting it done.

149 lbs.

Pick: No. 2 Austin Gomez (Michigan) over No. 1 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska)

Gomez lost to Lovett 11-4 earlier this year, but it’s his lone loss. Gomez is the type of wrestler who can take out this entire weight class and win a national title, he can be that good. Lovett’s been a welcomed return to the lineup this year and is the favorite, but we like chaos. The Wolverine will get it done.

157 lbs.

Pick: No. 1 Levi Haines (Penn State) over No. 6 Chase Saldate (Michigan State)

Well this looks familiar. Haines beat Robb in last year’s Big Ten finals in Michigan. Haines is the national title favorite and will be the pick again in two weeks. Nebraska’s Peyton Robb is a dark horse after making the finals last year, but he’d get Haines in the semis. We’re going with a wildcard on the other side in Saladate to knock off guys like Brayton Lee (Indiana) and Michael Blokchus (Minnesota) to get to the finals.

165 lbs.

Pick: No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) over No. 1 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin)

It’s tough to pick against Hamiti in this weight, but there’s something special brewing with Messenbrink right now. When the young bucks can turn it on right away for PSU, it’s a scary sight. Mesenbrink will remain undefeated after the weekend.

174 lbs.

Pick: No. 2 Shane Griffith (Michigan) over No. 5 Rocco Welsh (Ohio State)

Full disclosure, this is if Carter Starocci (Penn State) medically forfeits out of the tournament due to his knee injury. If Starocci wrestles, he’s the pick and it’s not close. But, without him, Griffith is the pick now over a stud freshman in Welsh. Griffith, a former national champion from Stanford could really boost his resume ahead of NCAAs winning this tournament.

184 lbs.

Pick: No. 1 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) over No. 2 Lenny Pinto (Nebraska)

This might be the other most wide open weight class in the Big Ten besides 125 pounds. So of course, we’ll pick chalk at the top. But looking at the top eight, it would not be totally shocking to see anyone win this weight. Obviously some are heavier hitters and favorites than others, but this should be a wild weight class.

197 lbs.

Pick: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) over No. 7 John Poznanski (Rutgers)

This is more of a gut feeling going into the weekend based on the seedings. The winner is going to be Brooks, make no mistake. He’s the heavy favorite to win his fourth national title as well. But the other side is the wild west. The common pick might be Jaxon Smith (Maryland) or Zach Glazier (Iowa), but Poznanski is more than capable of beating both at his peak. We’re banking on his favorable matchups and pulling off a nice run to the finals.

285 lbs.

Pick: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) over No. 2 Nick Feldman (Ohio State)

Kerkvliet is the heavy favorite as well. He’s leveled up from year to year and is the favorite for the national title. Feldman has to beat Lucas Davison (Michigan) again to get to this spot, but we’ll go with Feldman. He’s peaking at the right time and will get to the finals.

For the full set of pre-seeds from the Big Ten Tournament, click HERE! The Big Ten Tournament takes place at Maryland on March 9th and 10th.