College Wrestling predictions: Picks for 2025 national champions, dark horses

With the 2024-25 college wrestling season underway, it’s a great time for predictions for the national champions come March.

The 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships are scheduled for March 20-22 in Philadelphia in a return to the East Coast. With a lot of wrestlers graduated and a lot of them back, there could be quite the crop of champions across all 10 weight classes.

So without further ado, let’s dive in! This is a second look through these weight classes, so some there are some contender additions post-latest edition of On3 Wrestling.

125 lbs.

The pick: Richie Figueroa, Arizona State
Top contenders: Jore Volk, Wyoming; Matt Ramos, Purdue; Caleb Smith, Nebraska

I like Figueroa to repeat here but this weight class could be very random. 2023 finalist Matt Ramos is a scary individual and could run through this weight class. Don’t sleep on Volk.

133 lbs.

The pick: Nasir Bailey, Little Rock-Arkansas
Top contenders: Ryan Crookham, Lehigh; Dylan Ragusin, Michigan; Dylan Shawver, Rutgers; Drake Ayala, Iowa

This weight is stacked and it includes Ayala who was a finalist last year at 125 pounds. 2024 Big Ten champion Braeden Davis of Penn State is also up in weight. But Bailey is the pick, he seems due after a breakout campaign. But, this might be the most wide open weight in the country.

141 lbs.

The pick: Andrew Alirez, Northern Colorado
Top contenders: Jesse Mendez, Ohio State; Beau Bartlett, Penn State

Keeping this list a little shorter because the weight is top heavy with these three guys. Mendez is the 2024 champion, Bartlett has a win over him but Alirez is the 2023 champ. Good luck figuring this one out.

149 lbs.

The pick: Caleb Henson, Virginia Tech
Top contenders: Shayne Van Ness, Penn State; Ty Watters, West Virginia; Kyle Parco, Iowa; Ridge Lovett, Nebraska

I’m going with Henson to top wrestling’s 149 pound weight class for the second straight season. He’s impressed me since that run in March. Parco transferred to Iowa from Arizona State, Van Ness is back from injury, Lovett is still a threat and Watters might still be under the radar!

157 lbs.

The pick: Meyer Shapiro, Cornell
Top contenders: Jacori Teemer, Iowa; Peyten Kellar, Ohio; Antrell Taylor, Nebraska

This weight is a little harder to determine outside of the top two guys in the country. I’m going with Shapiro to give Cornell another individual champ. Teemer is at Iowa after leaving ASU with Parco and is squarely in the mix to get back to wrestling’s biggest stage after last season.

165 lbs.

The pick: Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State
Top contenders: Mikey Caliendo, Iowa; Hunter Garvin, Stanford; Peyton Hall, West Virginia

Other guys like Julian Ramirez of Cornell and Cam Amine of Oklahoma State will make noise, but they’re outside this top tier for now. Mesenbrink is the big favorite this year after losing in the finals in 2024. Whoever he faces, Mesenbrink seems like an easy bet at the start of the year.

174 lbs.

The pick: Keegan O’Toole, Missouri
Top contenders: Levi Haines, Penn State; Rocco Welsh, Ohio State; Cade DeVos, South Dakota State; Lennox Wolak, Virginia Tech; Dean Hamiti, Oklahoma State

O’Toole and Haines seem destined to face each other, but there are a lot of land mines in this weight class. Welsh wrestled 184 during the first weekend of the year, so that’ll be something to monitor. I have O’Toole get his third title and first at a new weight class. Haines moves up after winning the 157 pound title last year.

184 lbs.

The pick: Carter Starocci, Penn State
Top contenders: Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa; Dustin Plott, Oklahoma State

It’s so hard to pick against Starocci, who’s going for an unprecedented 5th NCAA title after winning four at 174 pounds. Keckeisen was the 2024 champ at this weight and had an argument for the Hodge Trophy. I want to pick him, and perhaps I will by the end of the year. But I have to lean Starocci, who hasn’t lost since 2021 (in actual matches wrestled, not injury defaults from last season).

197 lbs.

The pick: Jacob Cardenas, Michigan
Top contenders: AJ Ferrari, CSU Bakersfield; Stephen Buchanan, Iowa; Rocky Elam, Missouri; Stephen Little, Little Rock-Arkansas

I’ll go with Cardenas after he had a successful career at Cornell. The grad transfer was ranked No. 3 to start the season but this weight class is open. Ferrari won the 2021 title at Oklahoma State but hasn’t wrestled since 2022. Now that he’s finally back, he’ll be a factor and it wouldn’t shock me if he won it all.

285 lbs.

The pick: Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State
Top contenders: Wyatt Hendrickson, Oklahoma State; Nick Feldman, Ohio State; Cohlton Schultz, Arizona State; Yaraslau Slavikouski, Rutgers; Younger Bastida, Iowa State

I’m giving more contenders here basically to point out guys that could face Kerkvliet in the finals. Can’t pick against big Greg who won it all last season. Hendrickson goes from Air Force to Oklahoma State and could take a step forward under David Taylor. If that’s the case, maybe he has a chance to win the whole thing.