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3 Big Ten wrestling pre-seed takeaways: Penn State wrestling show

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•about 14 hours•

GregPickel

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Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson, left, and Iowa head coach Tom Brands, second from right, watch matches on their respective mats during the second session of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, Saturday, March 5, 2022, at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK)

The Big Ten has released pre-seeds for its 2025 wrestling championships. The two-day event is slated for this Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9, at Northwestern. Big Ten Network will televise the opening, semifinal, and final sessions. B1G+ will stream the rest of them. Blue-White Illustrated will have complete coverage throughout the weekend as Penn State seeks its third straight conference tournament title.

Below, we have three things we learned from the pre-seeds, which are not finalized until after Friday’s coaches meeting in Evanston but are unlikely to change. You can also watch the BWI Penn State wrestling show and find links to the podcast version.

1. The seeds look mostly as expected

Unlike some years, there was little social media outrage about the pre-seeds this year. They look mostly as many anticipated them to. Penn State has five top seeds — Beau Bartlett (141), Shayne Van Ness (149), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174), and Carter Starocci (184) — as expected. Gabe Arnold is in for Iowa instead of Angelo Ferrari at 184 and is the No. 4 seed, which means he could meet Starocci in the semifinals after plenty of trash talk was exchanged before the Hawkeyes-Lions dual meet but Iowa went with Ferrari over Arnold opposite Starocci.

Looking back at our roundup of seed projections, there were questions about where sophomore 133-pound starter Braeden Davis would end up. He is at No. 4, which was one potential landing spot. And, while most figured Shayne Van Ness would have the top seed at 149, there was some question about it. But, he did indeed land it.

Here are the full Penn State pre-seeds:

125 pounds, Luke Lilledahl: No. 4

133 pounds, Braeden Davis: No. 4

141 pounds, Beau Bartlett: No. 1

149 pounds, Shayne Van Ness: No. 1

157 pounds, Tyler Kasak: No. 2

165 pounds, Mitchell Mesenbrink: No. 1

174 pounds, Levi Haines: No. 1

184 pounds, Carter Starocci: No. 1

197 pounds, Josh Barr: No. 2

285 pounds, Greg Kerkvliet: No. 2

2. Tyler Kasak lands at No. 2

We could have covered this above. But, it felt worthy of a breakout. After finishing third at 149 pounds a year ago via a prolific run through the consolation bracket at nationals, Penn State sophomore Tyler Kasak bumped up to 157 for the 2024-2025 season. He finished the regular season at 15-1, with his only loss coming by injury default to Maryland’s Ethen Miller back in February. There was some talk that the seeding committee might still put Kasak at number one, but that wasn’t realistic. Thus, Miller is No. 1 and Kasak No. 2 at 157.

3. All eyes are on the pending showdown at heavyweight

Ever since Minnesota legend Gable Steveson announced in late 2024 that he was returning for one final collegiate season, observers and fans of the sport have been anxiously waiting for the Golden Gopher to wrestle defending NCAA champ and Penn State 285-pound starter Greg Kerkvliet in the postseason. They are the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds, respectively, at Big Tens, and if all goes as anticipated, they will meet in a headliner final on Sunday afternoon. The outcome will impact the seeding at nationals, which is the win each wrestler covets the most.

Watch the Penn State wrestling show from Blue-White Illustrated

You can watch this week’s Penn State wrestling show in the video player below and also on YouTube. Or, you can listen at your favorite destinations for audio like SPOTIFY and APPLE.

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