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2026-2027 Projected Lineup and Thoughts

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maxpain

All-American
Jul 6, 2006
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Alright let’s talk lineup for next year. I know there are a lot of missing pieces but team score wise I think we could be looking similar. A couple caveats, I think Bailey is too big for 133 and another year will help him grow in to 141. I think Block’s cut was tough this year and it may have impacted the gas tank in some matches.

125: Deluca
133: Kale Petersen / PORTAL?
141: Bailey
149: Williams/Estrada/Voinovich
157: Block
165: PORTAL / Bowling/Torres
174: Gabe
184: Angelo
197: Harvey
285: Kueter

Thoughts on each weight:

125: I think Deluca is capable of top 4.

133: Kale would be fine down a weigh . Probably R16/R12 with upside if he can improve his leg attack finishes. It’s a top heavy weight class so it’s all going to be a crapshoot outside the top 4. Portal if the right guy is available.

141: another year in the room and bigger/healthier I think he is a 4th-8th type guy.

149: IF Jordan comes back I think he has potential to be a mid AA type. Estrada maybe not as high of ceiling but you never know.

157: Block is improving a ton. A full off season to train while healthy is going to be huge. It’s a tougher weight class but I think he can handle it.

165: we got work to do. Maybe someone surprises but I think it’s all portal.

174: Gabe grew a ton this year. He showed tons of grit and heart. Excited to see what he does with a full year of competition at 174.

184: Angelo is the same guy we thought he was once he gets healthy. The dude has never gotten taken down in a college match. Spend the offseason healing up and improving and he is right there with McEnelly.

197: Harvey looked like he was improving every time out. He has work to do still but the talent is there and I think he could be an AA next year.

285: Ben is still the man. Likely preseason #1 I believe. He has got to get and stay healthy. With all the injuries I just don’t see how he can realistically play football but if he wants to then we will probably see Mocco a lot early in the year.

A lot of people might disagree but I think our bigger guys have a ton of NCAA team point scoring potential next year. We could be looking at 60-70 points between 174-285.
 
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Dont_Just_Dream

Dont_Just_Dream

Sophomore
Jun 8, 2025
44
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Ferrari and Keuter could set the tone for this team no doubt. Can they be in the finals? Seems very possible. Can they win... that's what takes this team to another level. Is Gabe a 5-8 guy at 174 or can he break into the top 4 - wouldn't put it past him with that heart. Feel like Block is a solid AA, but not sure of his ceiling. Wildcards are DeLuca, Bailey and Williams - a lof ot potential there, but could be nothing to high AA. Ludington doesn't feel quite ready for AA, but '97 is tough for young guys, so another year in the room and who knows.
Is there an impact transfer at 65? Blaze is an obvious to look at, but not at all saying it's realistic.
 
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IndianaHawk98

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Jul 2, 2025
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maxpain said:
Alright let’s talk lineup for next year. I know there are a lot of missing pieces but team score wise I think we could be looking similar. A couple caveats, I think Bailey is too big for 133 and another year will help him grow in to 141. I think Block’s cut was tough this year and it may have impacted the gas tank in some matches.

125: Deluca
133: Kale Peterson / PORTAL?
141: Bailey
149: Williams/Estrada/Voinovich
157: Block
165: PORTAL / Bowling/Torres
174: Gabe
184: Angelo
197: Harvey
285: Kueter

Thoughts on each weight:

125: I think Deluca is capable of top 4.

133: Kale would be fine down a weigh . Probably R16/R12 with upside if he can improve his leg attack finishes. It’s a top heavy weight class so it’s all going to be a crapshoot outside the top 4. Portal if the right guy is available.

141: another year in the room and bigger/healthier I think he is a 4th-8th type guy.

149: IF Jordan comes back I think he has potential to be a mid AA type. Estrada maybe not as high of ceiling but you never know.

157: Block is improving a ton. A full off season to train while healthy is going to be huge. It’s a tougher weight class but I think he can handle it.

165: we got work to do. Maybe someone surprises but I think it’s all portal.

174: Gabe grew a ton this year. He showed tons of grit and heart. Excited to see what he does with a full year of competition at 174.

184: Angelo is the same guy we thought he was once he gets healthy. The dude has never gotten taken down in a college match. Spend the offseason healing up and improving and he is right there with McEnelly.

197: Harvey looked like he was improving every time out. He has work to do still but the talent is there and I think he could be an AA next year.

285: Ben is still the man. Likely preseason #1 I believe. He has got to get and stay healthy. With all the injuries I just don’t see how he can realistically play football but if he wants to then we will probably see Mocco a lot early in the year.

A lot of people might disagree but I think our bigger guys have a ton of NCAA team point scoring potential next year. We could be looking at 60-70 points between 174-285.
Click to expand...
It’s rumored that Minto will be moving up to 184, so the 174 weight class opens up a TON. I think Gabe can win it all, especially if he is in the right headspace as this past weekend.

184 will get tougher with the addition of Minto; but, an injured Angelo couldn’t even get taken down and had the national champion barely win by the skin of his teeth. So after the surgeries and recovery, give me Angelo any day out of the week to win this weight class.

Also, Corby kept saying block isn’t that big. He did great at 149 and 157 is SO much deeper, I think he is good where he is at. 165/133 are the weights we really need to look to the Portal, unless Kale can do something at 133 but idk about that, respectfully.

Excited for next year!
 
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Dont_Just_Dream

Dont_Just_Dream

Sophomore
Jun 8, 2025
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Any chance Ferrari wants 74? I'm opening a can of worms, as that may be the best spot for Arnold, but just thinking out loud if that's a possibility.
 
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Squatch96

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Jul 3, 2025
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Idk if harvey will AA next year but I think he's got a shot could be wrong. With the bigger guys it just seems way more unlikely we see guys just come in and are a major threat as true freshman Gable Steveson,Steve Mocco and AJ Ferrari are guys that come to mind off the top of my head just my opinion
 
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Dont_Just_Dream

Dont_Just_Dream

Sophomore
Jun 8, 2025
44
165
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IndianaHawk98 said:
I thought the same thing, Angelo EASILY wins 174 if he had a descent to 174. I still think that he can win 184 if he has his offense ready and he’s shooting on all cylinders.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I would hate to see Gabe get squeezed, and I'm actually a big believer in letting guys eat -> but I have no idea of where Ferrari is as far as weight/weight management.
 
M

maxpain

All-American
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Dont_Just_Dream said:
Any chance Ferrari wants 74? I'm opening a can of worms, as that may be the best spot for Arnold, but just thinking out loud if that's a possibility.
Click to expand...

I would be surprised if it is possible. It probably is far from optimal for him. I think 184 is perfect.

Re: Block, I am not an insider like Corby (I am being serious and not a smart@ss), but a guy who would know said he is cutting from 160 in season. Maybe he was being hyperbolic but if not that’s a big cut to handle for a 5 month season. If he can make 149 then that’s outstanding.
 
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sdvike

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I thought Kale was at 33 a couple of years ago and the weight cut was alot. If I remembering right, he really struggled with leg attacks lifting. If we don't get someone in the portal, might be better for Bailey to drop back down and Petersen at 41.
 
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Kohawks99

Sophomore
Jan 3, 2023
52
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maxpain said:
I would be surprised if it is possible. It probably is far from optimal for him. I think 184 is perfect.

Re: Block, I am not an insider like Corby (I am being serious and not a smart@ss), but a guy who would know said he is cutting from 160 in season. Maybe he was being hyperbolic but if not that’s a big cut to handle for a 5 month season. If he can make 149 then that’s outstanding.
Click to expand...
Cutting from 160 to 149 is a lot to you in season? Maybe I'm not comprehending what you typed, but I think cutting from 160 to 149 is one of the smaller amounts of weight that guys cut from? Again, could be misinterpreting what you said
 
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CatCoach

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May 29, 2001
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What makes it tough is Deluca wrestled one match this year before he sustained a significant injury. So we still don't know how he is doing and he certainly didn't get any better while not wrestling. Was he even practicing toward the end of the year?
Same could be said for Estrada. He did not wrestle a single match this year.
I feel like they could both help us next year, especially Deluca, but we have no body of work to base that on.
I would like us to spend a little more $$ on a "quality/proven" 165 and maybe go with Peterson & Estrada, rather then split our spending between 2/3 transfers at 133, 157, & 165.
If we could get Blaze, who seems like a finalist next year, or 20 pts, I would rather do that, than get 3 blood round guys who accumulate 6 points between the 3 of them.
Dean Peterson = 3 pts, Bailey = 3pts, Williams = 0, & Endene = 0 scored 6 total points in this years NCAA tourney.
Seems like we might be better served going for 1 big fish, rather than 2/3 smaller fish. Maybe offer Blaze $300,000 instead of spreading $300,000 on 3 portals.
Transfer portal is such a role of the dice with no guarantees.
 
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maxpain

All-American
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Kohawks99 said:
Cutting from 160 to 149 is a lot to you in season? Maybe I'm not comprehending what you typed, but I think cutting from 160 to 149 is one of the smaller amounts of weight that guys cut from? Again, could be misinterpreting what you said
Click to expand...

It seems like an above average cut to be making once or twice a week for 5 months. Maybe I am wrong. If so then that is great because as others have said 149 is an easier weight.
 
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maxpain

All-American
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CatCoach said:
What makes it tough is Deluca wrestled one match this year before he sustained a significant injury. So we still don't know how he is doing and he certainly didn't get any better while not wrestling. Was he even practicing toward the end of the year?
Same could be said for Estrada. He did not wrestle a single match this year.
I feel like they could both help us next year, especially Deluca, but we have no body of work to base that on.
I would like us to spend a little more $$ on a "quality/proven" 165 and maybe go with Peterson & Estrada, rather then split our spending between 2/3 transfers at 133, 157, & 165.
If we could get Blaze, who seems like a finalist next year, or 20 pts, I would rather do that, than get 3 blood round guys who accumulate 6 points between the 3 of them.
Dean Peterson = 3 pts, Bailey = 3pts, Williams = 0, & Endene = 0 scored 6 total points in this years NCAA tourney.
Seems like we might be better served going for 1 big fish, rather than 2/3 smaller fish. Maybe offer Blaze $300,000 instead of spreading $300,000 on 3 portals.
Transfer portal is such a role of the dice with no guarantees.
Click to expand...
I absolutely agree with your analysis on going with what we got at 133 and 149/157, and going after one big fish at 165.

It might not be as good from a dual perspective but from a NCAA team points ROI perspective it’s a no brainer in my opinion. It all hinges on the right guy entering the portal at 165 though.
 
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MSU158

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maxpain said:
It seems like an above average cut to be making once or twice a week for 5 months. Maybe I am wrong. If so then that is great because as others have said 149 is an easier weight.
Click to expand...
It definitely depends on body type and how diligent you are with year around weight management. But, it is not unheard of to drop that much weight in one hard practice and I have wrestled more than 10 lbs over what I weighed in at at the end of the day and have seen guys well above even than that.

The hydration rules were quite a bit different in my time, but 10-11 lbs is nothing for a lot of guys even now…
 
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cwobrien11

cwobrien11

Heisman
Apr 22, 2009
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Kohawks99 said:
Cutting from 160 to 149 is a lot to you in season? Maybe I'm not comprehending what you typed, but I think cutting from 160 to 149 is one of the smaller amounts of weight that guys cut from? Again, could be misinterpreting what you said
Click to expand...
It's not the biggest of cuts, but one of the things that people don't think about is that he is really, really tall for that weight class. Not quite Jaxon Joy tall, but closer to Jaxon Joy than any other person that was on the podium. Most of the 149 pounders are 5'6"-5'8" and Ryder is every bit of 5'11" if he's not 6' and his body is still trying to fill out so he's not only cutting, he's fighting against nature to make that cut. Cutting 11 pounds on his frame is different than cutting 11 pounds from a guy that's 3-5 inches shorter.
 
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cwobrien11

cwobrien11

Heisman
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Just my take:

125: Deluca
133: Kale Petersen/????
141: Bailey
149: Estrada/Voinovich (I think Williams is going to be in the portal in a week)
157: Block
165: ????
174: Arnold
184: Ferrari
197: Ludington
285: Kueter
 
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Libertylover

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IndianaHawk98 said:
I thought the same thing, Angelo EASILY wins 174 if he had a descent to 174. I still think that he can win 184 if he has his offense ready and he’s shooting on all cylinders.
Click to expand...
He said he planned on being a 174 at all the other schools he looked at, but Iowa wanted his as 184. When he heals, I think he can eat and lift to grow into a bigger 184. There was definitely a physical difference between the two in the finals and him and Sinclair. Minto will probably be a big 184.
 
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blcoach80

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If the cut isn't terrible and Block didn't struggle with his weight this year, I don't know why he would want to go up to 157. He could have this year as Iowa never really had anyone set in stone at 157 and he still stayed at 149, so that tells me the cut was sustainable for him this year. Who knows if that changes in the next 6 months though.
 
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Anon1751917054

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Jul 7, 2025
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<<What makes it tough is that Deluca wrestled one match this year before he sustained a significant injury. So we still don't know how he is doing, and he certainly didn't get any better while not wrestling>>

This-- very few guys can miss a whole wrestling season and still be great--That missed mat time makes it a lot tougher.

For whatever reason, bad luck, training, or putting ourselves in a position to get hurt-- we are injured as a team WAY too much over the last several years.
 
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sdvike

All-Conference
Feb 23, 2016
908
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cwobrien11 said:
It's not the biggest of cuts, but one of the things that people don't think about is that he is really, really tall for that weight class. Not quite Jaxon Joy tall, but closer to Jaxon Joy than any other person that was on the podium. Most of the 149 pounders are 5'6"-5'8" and Ryder is every bit of 5'11" if he's not 6' and his body is still trying to fill out so he's not only cutting, he's fighting against nature to make that cut. Cutting 11 pounds on his frame is different than cutting 11 pounds from a guy that's 3-5 inches shorter.
Click to expand...
And if like me many moons ago, he may have been 10 pounds over with a couple of days till weigh in. Weight management is better today but I believe some still struggle to control it.
 
A

AFHawk86

Senior
May 2, 2025
116
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Corby2 said:
Hope all is well. Seems like yesterday we were watching the Bigs at Rutgers together.
Click to expand...
I have a vivid memory of this because it was on the precipice of everything shutting down for COVID. Plus, I had never seen lines that long for the men’s restroom as everyone was washing their hands thoroughly. Hope you are doing well also.
 
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Kohawks99

Sophomore
Jan 3, 2023
52
146
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sdvike said:
And if like me many moons ago, he may have been 10 pounds over with a couple of days till weigh in. Weight management is better today but I believe some still struggle to control it.
maxpain said:
I am going to guess I was misinformed because I got a laugh from someone who would DEFINITELY know. :ROFLMAO:

Either way Ryder is crushing it, excited to see what next your holds for him.
Click to expand...
Agree, excited to see what Block can do in his future. Also think that you're right that a 11lb weight cut is different for him because he's taller than most at his weight. He also just might not be a 'good' weight cutter and could very well be 10lb over a couple days out of competition. I got a kick in one of the interviews I saw with Ayala saying that he and Block woke up Saturday morning in the hotel and looked at each other and both said they didn't want to go workout, but they knew they had to anyway. The tournament is brutal, especially for those who make it to day 3 - no sport like it.
Click to expand...
 
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Ken58

Redshirt
Jul 2, 2025
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40
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CatCoach said:
What makes it tough is Deluca wrestled one match this year before he sustained a significant injury. So we still don't know how he is doing and he certainly didn't get any better while not wrestling. Was he even practicing toward the end of the year?
Same could be said for Estrada. He did not wrestle a single match this year.
I feel like they could both help us next year, especially Deluca, but we have no body of work to base that on.
I would like us to spend a little more $$ on a "quality/proven" 165 and maybe go with Peterson & Estrada, rather then split our spending between 2/3 transfers at 133, 157, & 165.
If we could get Blaze, who seems like a finalist next year, or 20 pts, I would rather do that, than get 3 blood round guys who accumulate 6 points between the 3 of them.
Dean Peterson = 3 pts, Bailey = 3pts, Williams = 0, & Endene = 0 scored 6 total points in this years NCAA tourney.
Seems like we might be better served going for 1 big fish, rather than 2/3 smaller fish. Maybe offer Blaze $300,000 instead of spreading $300,000 on 3 portals.
Transfer portal is such a role of the dice with no guarantees.
Click to expand...
Estrada wrestled at a late season tournament. Did lose a match there. Can't remember who to
 
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