2026 Crystal Ball

[HopkinsPoke]

Willie’s first Crystal Ball for next year came out. It’s always interesting to see what he thinks and then conjecture about how much of it is wild guess vs some level of inside knowledge.

125: Spratley 5th behind Provo, Robinson McGowan, LL. I think TS goes 2nd or 3rd next year and can beat LL.

133: Jax 1st, then Davino, Ono, Seidel. Interesting that Seidel is going 65kg for the Open.

141: Jordyn Raney 6th. Has Bassett 1st and Blaze 3rd

149: Vega 3rd behind Henson and SVN

157: Robideau 1st, Kasak 3rd

165: Dee 5th

174: Facundo BR

184: Bennet Berge BR

197: Merrill 3rd behind Barr and Ferrari

HWT: Has Coby Merrill 6th and no one from OSU in the to 16

 

[Air_Thurman]

Willie’s first Crystal Ball for next year came out. It’s always interesting to see what he thinks and then conjecture about how much of it is wild guess vs some level of inside knowledge.

125: Spratley 5th behind Provo, Robinson McGowan, LL. I think TS goes 2nd or 3rd next year and can beat LL.

133: Jax 1st, then Davino, Ono, Seidel. Interesting that Seidel is going 65kg for the Open.

141: Jordyn Raney 6th. Has Bassett 1st and Blaze 3rd

149: Vega 3rd behind Henson and SVN

157: Robideau 1st, Kasak 3rd

165: Dee 5th

174: Facundo BR

184: Bennet Berge BR

197: Merrill 3rd behind Barr and Ferrari

HWT: Has Coby Merrill 6th and no one from OSU in the to 16

Kind of surprised about Vega. I know its a new weight but if you can beat Mendez I'm not putting SVN ahead of you. Not a knock on SVN but what Vega did last year is simply a different level.

I would be absolutely floored if we don't have a heavy in the top 16 whether that be Ross or a fill in. The weight frankly doesn't look very good. We will find a point scorer somewhere. Rest seems fair.

 

[HopkinsPoke]

Agreed, until someone takes down Vega, there’s an argument to be made that it’s not physically possible I would be more worried about Bo Bassett in Vega’s weight than SVN.

Berge makes sense as a stop gap… Ryder may be on a medical and White is someone you’d traditionally want to redshirt. Berge gives you a year and if White is inescapably The Man, you can always roll w him later in the season.

HWT had to be an oversight unless it’s clear Ross is redshirting and there are too many ??? to put someone there right now.

 

[Btbw1968]

Bennet Berge as an OSU wrestler is news to my ears. He had a pretty rough year compared to previous years. No placers from 184 graduate this year. Bad blood round at 184 for seniors this year.

 

[osufanatic4life]

I could be wrong, but my eyes tell me that the new wave of wrestlers are just levels above most of the guys that were placing a few years ago.
Nothing against him, but Berge isn't placing again IMO. If he does end up in Stillwater, I'll root for him to prove me wrong, but I don't see it.

 

[Air_Thurman]

Berge is probably a floor raiser if you know Ryder is going to be out. I'm pumped about White but what if he isn't ready? We aren't exactly deep at 184 (again assuming Ryder is out).

 

[glorycowboy]

Love what Willie does for rankings and wrestling. But he has been under estimating OSU (He and whole of NCAA except OSU fans). He had OSU finishing 5th (After the big 12s, mind you). I wouldnt take his ranking serious. But I will take his inside info serious. Bennet Berge might be something that we need to keep eye on for 184. This makes sense, if Ryder is healthy, he will beat Berge for the spot, or if Mike is good enough, he should beat Berge too.

I dont see any OSU wrestlers finishing below BR. Raney will be in top 4, Any Hwt except Austin will be BR at worst. (Only because I havent seen Austin a lot) Vega is better than SVN. Facundo will AA.

 

[Cowboy1989]

Love what Willie does for rankings and wrestling. But he has been under estimating OSU (He and whole of NCAA except OSU fans). He had OSU finishing 5th (After the big 12s, mind you). I wouldnt take his ranking serious. But I will take his inside info serious. Bennet Berge might be something that we need to keep eye on for 184. This makes sense, if Ryder is healthy, he will beat Berge for the spot, or if Mike is good enough, he should beat Berge too.

I dont see any OSU wrestlers finishing below BR. Raney will be in top 4, Any Hwt except Austin will be BR at worst. (Only because I havent seen Austin a lot) Vega is better than SVN. Facundo will AA.

Facundo has not AA'd either year he's gone and this was his 4th year in college. Doesn't sound promising to me.

 

[glorycowboy]

Levi Haines, Carson Karchla, Patrick Kennedy all gone. He can def beat Steed, Gaitan, Wask. I would not be so fast to discount Facundo.
He was 1 second away from AA this year. He improved from 0-2 to 2-2 at OSU, he will keep improving.

 

[Cowboy1989]

Levi Haines, Carson Karchla, Patrick Kennedy all gone. He can def beat Steed, Gaitan, Wask. I would not be so fast to discount Facundo.
He was 1 second away from AA this year. He improved from 0-2 to 2-2 at OSU, he will keep improving.
[/QUOTE

Fucunda lost twice before he made it to the blood round this year, he was not one second away from being an all american. He got beat by Mantanona, who got 7th and he got beat by 18th ranked Kelly who didn't even place. These are bad losses.
This is my personal opinion - he was by far the worst performer on the team at nationals and he's no true freshman, he's been there before and he'sbeen training at the two best college programs in the country for 4 years. I listen to all the wrestlers interviews, the climb episodes etc... I like what all the other 9 are saying, their attitude, body language and swagger- they all sound like killers. Facundo does not. He sounds confused, hesitant, tentative, uncertain. There will be other studs coming in at 174 this year as well. I would say his chances to AA are 50/50.

 

[chasepollard]

Facundo has not AA'd either year he's gone and this was his 4th year in college. Doesn't sound promising to me.

He’s a 65, but fit the lineup at 74.

He also had a brutal draw.

 

[alephpoke]

He’s a 65, but fit the lineup at 74.

He also had a brutal draw.

Maybe he’s not at his optimal weight, but
his two losses were to the 9 seed / 7th place and 18 seed / NQ. That’s a far cry from a brutal draw

 

[Cowboy1989]

He’s a 65, but fit the lineup at 74.

He also had a brutal draw.

 

[Cowboy1989]

I don't know what his ideal weight is, but he absolutely did not have a brutal draw, actually it was a relatively easy draw. Y
The other guys on our team who had brutal draws, stepped up to the plate.

 

[chasepollard]

That’s fair. His front side draw was bad, his backside was actually favorable.

 

[WillieTheBrain]

appreciate you guys reading.

i have you guys with 114pts and in 2nd by far and that's without a HWT. whether it's Dreshaun or someone from the portal you'll definitely have someone scoring considerable points. i just didn't want to put someone in there and then readers think i'm certain that that will be 'the guy'. did the same with Josh Barr two years ago.

that's all to say, i don't think i'm lowballing the Cowboys, though some guys could certainly place higher.

+ how bout that Berge nugget.

 

[Howie_Fartz]

Listening to @WillieTheBrain on the pod this morning I feel better about Berge. We all know what Coach Taylor can do with guys and like Willie said after you get past the big 4 at 184 its not that tough. Looking at Willie's crystal ball I drew some personal conclusions:

174 is really tough regardless of who graduated. Minto, Steed, Henkel, Manta, Arnold, Larkin, Ruiz, Wask, Gaitan, and singleton are your top 10. I wonder if a 2nd semester (if fully healed and ready to go) Ryder could possibly do better here than Alex? Alex is soooo talented. Going to the big show this year could possibly have him ready to jump levels next season and finish really high but theres depth imo at 74 .

That being said I think Alex would do really well at 165. Blaze is ranked 2nd, Cannon 3rd, Garvin 4th and I think Alex could be right there w/ those guys. I'm fine if Dee is the guy here (Willie has him placing 5th) but we all know we need the NDI Dee in March and not the March Dee we saw this year. If you havent watched episode 5 of "the Climb" on youtube you really should. Coach Taylor gives a lot of personal thoughts about each wrestler including Dee.

149 went from a not great weight to possibly having 2 champs and two returning finalists in the mix.

157 is still ridiculous.

197 Willie projects AJ 2nd and Merrill 3rd. I get his reasoning but AJ just cant move like he used to at 197. I think Merrill will be in the finals again next year.

 

[glorycowboy]

I would like Merrill to improve on his offense. On defense he is right there with anyone on his bracket.

 

[tulsaaggie]

Listening to @WillieTheBrain on the pod this morning I feel better about Berge. We all know what Coach Taylor can do with guys and like Willie said after you get past the big 4 at 184 its not that tough. Looking at Willie's crystal ball I drew some personal conclusions:

174 is really tough regardless of who graduated. Minto, Steed, Henkel, Manta, Arnold, Larkin, Ruiz, Wask, Gaitan, and singleton are your top 10. I wonder if a 2nd semester (if fully healed and ready to go) Ryder could possibly do better here than Alex? Alex is soooo talented. Going to the big show this year could possibly have him ready to jump levels next season and finish really high but theres depth imo at 74 .

That being said I think Alex would do really well at 165. Blaze is ranked 2nd, Cannon 3rd, Garvin 4th and I think Alex could be right there w/ those guys. I'm fine if Dee is the guy here (Willie has him placing 5th) but we all know we need the NDI Dee in March and not the March Dee we saw this year. If you havent watched episode 5 of "the Climb" on youtube you really should. Coach Taylor gives a lot of personal thoughts about each wrestler including Dee.

149 went from a not great weight to possibly having 2 champs and two returning finalists in the mix.

157 is still ridiculous.

197 Willie projects AJ 2nd and Merrill 3rd. I get his reasoning but AJ just cant move like he used to at 197. I think Merrill will be in the finals again next year.

 

[tulsaaggie]

Will AJ be out of eligibility if new age guidelines take affect ?

 

[okokzach]

Will AJ be out of eligibility if new age guidelines take affect ?

If it passes, I'm sure current wrestlers will all be grandfathered into the old rule, hopefully with the ability to take advantage of the new rule if they meet the criteria

 

[chasepollard]

If it passes, I'm sure current wrestlers will all be grandfathered into the old rule, hopefully with the ability to take advantage of the new rule if they meet the criteria

I hate this rule.

It literally takes moving lineups around into an area that will generate more transfers and more opportunities for foul play regarding NIL.

 

[WillieTheBrain]

how so? why would it produce that?

 

[chasepollard]

how so? why would it produce that?

If there is no ability to salvage eligibility with a RS, MS or OS, people will portal away and tampering would seem to get more aggressive.

Guys aren’t going to sit and waste eligibility when they can just transfer and compete.

 

[WillieTheBrain]

i don't follow. how is it materially different from now?

Consider that guys like Zepeda and Eise (two FR) just hit the portal b/c they can't start. so it's already a problem.

i'd rather move to 5 for 5. the games played w/ redshirts and medicals are a joke.

you have to go no further to see that than Doucet potentially getting another year (which i hope he does b/c i love him)

but it's absurd. Instead of having a lineup issue, they (hypothetically) would get both the year of Surber and a 7th year of Konner.

moral of the story.....you have a roster battle....just don't wrestle much and claim a medical.

the games and loopholes are a joke.

 

[chasepollard]

i don't follow. how is it materially different from now?

Consider that guys like Zepeda and Eise (two FR) just hit the portal b/c they can't start. so it's already a problem.

i'd rather move to 5 for 5. the games played w/ redshirts and medicals are a joke.

you have to go no further to see that than Doucet potentially getting another year (which i hope he does b/c i love him)

but it's absurd. Instead of having a lineup issue, they (hypothetically) would get both the year of Surber and a 7th year of Konner.

moral of the story.....you have a roster battle....just don't wrestle much and claim a medical.

the games and loopholes are a joke.

I dont necessarily disagree about the loopholes.

Id be good with a 4 out of 5, maybe even a 5 out of 6 and only have an OS to keep USA Wrestling improving.

But, the Raney bros aren’t going to sit behind Jax and Vega, or vice versa. Dee isn’t going to sit behind Facundo…when they’ll lose a year.

It’s different than not starting when you can retain eligibility and not starting and losing eligibility. It is definitely materially different.

The discussion and change needs to revolve around removing the joke, not a wholesale change to the entire process.

This new proposal promotes Mormonism, illegitimate children and (which I like) military service to retain eligibility. Talk about jokes of loopholes. *seriously joking in part here

 

[Anon1751751898]

If there is no ability to salvage eligibility with a RS, MS or OS, people will portal away and tampering would seem to get more aggressive.

Guys aren’t going to sit and waste eligibility when they can just transfer and compete.

We better use our possible redshirts in a smart manner, or we will lose wrestlers that we will regret losing. The weights that concern me right now are 133, 141 and 149.

 

[Howie_Fartz]

I dont necessarily disagree about the loopholes.

Id be good with a 4 out of 5, maybe even a 5 out of 6 and only have an OS to keep USA Wrestling improving.

But, the Raney bros aren’t going to sit behind Jax and Vega, or vice versa. Dee isn’t going to sit behind Facundo…when they’ll lose a year.

It’s different than not starting when you can retain eligibility and not starting and losing eligibility. It is definitely materially different.

The discussion and change needs to revolve around removing the joke, not a wholesale change to the entire process.

This new proposal promotes Mormonism, illegitimate children and (which I like) military service to retain eligibility. Talk about jokes of loopholes. *seriously joking in part here

I agree Chase. To sit a year and shirt is one thing, but to sit a year and lose a year of eligibility is another. I 100% think that rule change would make the portal worse. Trying to recruit and slot guys in w/o a shirt for future line ups would be tough as hell. Recruits may give up their first college choice or even the first 2-3 if they want all 5 of their years. This could possibly create more parity across the wrestling landscape but the top schools will try like hell figure out a way around it where incoming recruits are concerned imo (suddenly everyones religious and doing missions in the town they want to wrestle in).

 

[Howie_Fartz]

We better use our possible redshirts in a smart manner, or we will lose wrestlers that we will regret losing. The weights that concern me right now are 133, 141 and 149.

Just think about how much you want the Cowboys to win it all and then multiply that by 100 because thats where Coach Taylor is at. Hes an obsessed genius who's just an awesome human as well and loves his guys.

 

[Cowboy1989]

Willie said Shapiro might want to take a redshirt, wherever he goes.

 

[newguy123]

Just think about how much you want the Cowboys to win it all and then multiply that by 100 because thats where Coach Taylor is at. Hes an obsessed genius who's just an awesome human as well and loves his guys.

I love this and it seems to come across in his interviews, Stilly boys footage, etc.