Five-time Penn State wrestling champ Carter Starocci named Big Ten male athlete of the year
Former Penn State wrestler Carter Starocci, the only five-time champion in NCAA history, has been named the 2024-2025 Jesse Owens Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year. He takes home the honor after capping his stellar college career by beating Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen in the 184-pound finals at this year’s national tournament at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. In his final season, the Erie, Pa., native went a perfect 26-0. His season included six pins, 10 technical falls, and five victories by major decision.
USC women’s basketball guard JuJu Watkins took home the Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year honor.
Starocci is the fourth Big Ten male athlete of the year in Penn State history. Former Nittany Lions men’s gymnast Luis Vargas won it in 2005. And, wrestlers David Taylor and Bo Nickal claimed it in 2014 and 2019, respectively.
“Starocci is also the 14th wrestling student-athlete chosen as Big Ten Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year, dating back to Iowa’s Ed Banach in 1983, and the first since Minnesota’s Gable Stevenson in 2022,” the Big Ten adds in a news release. “Since 1983, wrestling student-athletes from four schools, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Penn State, have been recipients of the Big Ten Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year award.”
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For his career, Starocci was 104-4 with 20 falls, 25 technical falls and 21 majors decisions in blue and white. He was a finalist for the 2025 Hodge Trophy, which is the Heisman Trophy of college wrestling, and was named the 2025 NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Wrestler and also the 2025 Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.
How will Penn State replace Starocci in its lineup?
Starocci won his first four NCAA titles at 174 pounds. Then, he claimed the historic fifth at 184 pounds. That’s the spot he vacates in the Lions’ lineup ahead of the 2025-2026 season. Former Ohio State wrestler Rocci Welsh is on track to take it over. The 2023-2024 All-American transferred into the Penn State program this offseason after taking a redshirt year with the Buckeyes in 2024-2025.
As for the rest of the lineup, head coach Cael Sanderson’s team returns seven of 10 All-Americans. The list is led by returning 165-pound NCAA champ Mitchell Mesenbrink.
