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Penn State star Carter Starocci is The Open Mat's 2025 NCAA Division I wrestler of the year

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•05/07/25•

GregPickel

NCAA Wrestling: DI Wrestling
(Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images)

Penn State wrestling star Carter Starocci is adding one final accolade to his college-level trophy case before moving on to the next part of his competitive career. The five-time NCAA champ is The Open Mat’s 2025 Division I wrestler of the year. The publication announced the news on Wednesday.

Starocci finished his final season in State College with a 26-0 mark. Twenty-two of his wins came via bonus points. His final one was a decision triumph over Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen in the 184-pound national final. It marked his first championship in that weight class following four first place finishes at 174 pounds. He is the only five-timer thanks to the extra year of eligibility athletes impacted by the COVID pandemic in 2020 received and will be the last one until if and when a time comes when the oft-discussed idea of shaving the redshirt rule to instead give college athletes five years of eligibility becomes a reality. Even then, his feat will be hard to top.

“It means a lot to me, but as for me, I never want to down play the moment, but I mean it’s always cool,” Starocci said. “But one thing that Coach Cael [Sanderson] really instills in us is, this is all just preparation for the next thing, you know what I mean? In God’s eyes, I don’t think he looks at anyone different if you’re a national champ or not. I feel he kind of goes off your character and who you are as a person. All this is just preparation for that.

“I mean, it’s important because obviously I’m here doing it and I love to do it. But I think it ends at that. I don’t think it’s anything more or anything less.”

Will Starocci be one of the Penn State connections in Louisville next weekend?

The U.S. Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament is next weekend in Kentucky. The winners in various weight classes will earn a spot at Final X. That event, which is held in New Jersey in June, will set the World team for this cycle. As of Wednesday, Starocci is not on the entry list for the event. Time will tell if he decides to go or not. The Penn State standout has been mum about his future plans. He did compete on the freestyle circuit previously. And, he’s expressed MMA interest.

Whatever’s next, Starocci has proven that he’ll attack any challenge head-on. He did exactly that yet again in 2025, leading to The Open Mat honor.

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