Your All American picks

Wrestleknownothing

All-American
Oct 30, 2021
2,328
6,258
113
Using Flo rankings - the most favorable so far - I would put the over/under at 2.5 with Shawver having the best chance.



And Rutgers has about a 10.5% chance of 4 or more AAs if the seeds turn out like Flo's pre-season rankings (they won't).

 

SCNJ

All-American
Oct 12, 2019
4,565
5,943
48
I like Pinto the most, followed by Shawver and Olivieri. Clark doesn’t really have enough offense to do it but I feel like if the seeds broke in his favor then he has an outside chance.
 

Kiddagger311

Senior
Sep 17, 2025
862
509
93
Using Flo rankings - the most favorable so far - I would put the over/under at 2.5 with Shawver having the best chance.



And Rutgers has about a 10.5% chance of 4 or more AAs if the seeds turn out like Flo's pre-season rankings (they won't).

I like the charts and stats. RU will be very solid this year, a real chance to qualify all 10 weights.

Pleasantly surprised at how high Clark’s % chance to AA is.. RU got 7 weights that could, individually, become a AA.

Barbosa had a nice RS, think Harer will make a jump, Cotton got upside.. a really tough dual meet team hopefully RU can qualify for dual meet team tourney next year..

Looking forward to the season, optimistic just like every preseason but maybe this is the year building towards perennial top 10.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Loyal-Son

Kiddagger311

Senior
Sep 17, 2025
862
509
93
I would take the under on 2.5.
I agree, feels a lot more likely to get 2 AA, then 3.

Only RU fans would predict Joey O, Clark, SCW, or Catka to AA preseason.. so let’s say when we add up all their % chances that = 1 AA on avg

Pinto and Shawver each individually around a coin flip to AA. So just as likely both AA as both barely missing AA.. so let’s say 1 AA on avg.
 

Bobbynieds

All-American
Oct 19, 2012
4,764
5,825
113
I agree, feels a lot more likely to get 2 AA, then 3.

Only RU fans would predict Joey O, Clark, SCW, or Catka to AA preseason.. so let’s say when we add up all their % chances that = 1 AA on avg

Pinto and Shawver each individually around a coin flip to AA. So just as likely both AA as both barely missing AA.. so let’s say 1 AA on avg.
Wasnt catka a blood round wrestler? It is all about matchups during NCAA.....Anyone that has been to blood round has a chance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kiddagger311

Kiddagger311

Senior
Sep 17, 2025
862
509
93
Wasnt catka a blood round wrestler? It is all about matchups during NCAA.....Anyone that has been to blood round has a chance.
Yes, about a 12.8% chance, bc he’s ranked 15th preseason, according to wrestleknownothing’s charts.

RU technically has around 7 guys that could AA.. maybe even more..

Last preseason, I believe, we had 6 guys that it wouldn’t be crazy if they AA, and came away with 3 blood rounds.

So yeah the RU fan in me hopes we can get 6+ AA this year. But the rational realistic side of me thinks the line is actually closer to around o/u - 2.3 AA
 

FoxRU

All-Conference
Apr 7, 2012
942
1,265
58
Based on returning wrestlers would say:
174- Best Shot
I would take the under on 2.5.
Thanks for putting this together.
-174- Pinto is by far the most likely AA.
-165-Barbosa is going to surprise some folks. A lot of parity from #6 ranked wrestler on down. If he has matured enough physically he can hang with Bianchi, Downey, Brignola, etc…
-125-Let’s see how Ayden Smith has grown. Will be challenging if he is still undersized. If he can go 15-10 like Harer last year that will help the team tremendously.
-133-Shawver has a bunch of seasoned studs in his weight at 133. Every match 4-10 ranked guys is a coin flip. A lot will depend on his mindset and conditioning.
-141-Stanich, Echemendia, Nasir Bailey and Ragusin all moved into 141 this year. Olivieri will goes as far as his ability to finish takedowns and get out on bottom take him. He had no problem getting in on his single but his finish rate wasn’t good and he had trouble getting out from bottom especially late.
-149-Clark got in deep on shots against top competition and couldn’t finish either. Had some issues on bottom too. For both Clark and Olivieri improvement on bottom will give them the confidence to attack more, knowing they can get out if they get countered. Otherwise it’s going to be more close losses for both of them. Clark has the easier weight class by far. Like 165, 149 has a lot of parity from the 5 spot on down.
-157-1-10 are very tough. Fr. to Soph. is usually a big level jump year. Will be fun to watch Harer’s development on his feet and from bottom.
-184- Not betting against SCW. Great mindset & gas tank and keeps improving. Top 5 guys at 184 are studs and a lot of young talent in the weight but SCW has a good shot of making a run to the podium.
-197- Don’t know enough about Cotton. The weight class seems pretty wide open outside of Barr from PSU.
-HWT- Weight class is pretty wide open here again. Some talented guys Ferrari, Bastida, etc…Will have to see how Catka looks after mixed results last year. Bet the change of scenery really helps him.

Should be a fun dual team.
 

LETSGORU91

All-American
Jan 29, 2017
7,147
7,897
113
I agree, feels a lot more likely to get 2 AA, then 3.

Only RU fans would predict Joey O, Clark, SCW, or Catka to AA preseason.. so let’s say when we add up all their % chances that = 1 AA on avg

Pinto and Shawver each individually around a coin flip to AA. So just as likely both AA as both barely missing AA.. so let’s say 1 AA on avg.
Catka intrigues me. Impressive high school resume, 2x ACC finalist, and made it to the blood round. Joey has the motor and defense..just needs a little better offense to get over the hump. Shawver needs the fire he had two seasons ago. Clark has continued to improve and I hope is even better than last year. Pinto very solid. The rest I cant wait to see. Depending on progression and injuries throughout the year, I'll say over 1.5 AAs is the floor.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kiddagger311
Jul 2, 2025
470
228
43
Catka intrigues me. Impressive high school resume, 2x ACC finalist, and made it to the blood round. Joey has the motor and defense..just needs a little better offense to get over the hump. Shawver needs the fire he had two seasons ago. Clark has continued to improve and I hope is even better than last year. Pinto very solid. The rest I cant wait to see. Depending on progression and injuries throughout the year, I'll say over 1.5 AAs is the floor.
I think Pinto is more than just "solid". He's definitely a solid podium threat. If he wrestles the way we know he can.He might even make a run to the finals
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bobbynieds
Feb 2, 2019
2,576
1,212
113
I think Pinto is more than just "solid". He's definitely a solid podium threat. If he wrestles the way we know he can.He might even make a run to the finals
Welcome back, Crackers. At some point I'd like to speak with you about what happened with the predictions. I don't think there's any chance that we'll see Pinto in the finals. If Labriola is able to help develop him further, he should be able to AA. He's the only one ranked preseason in the top 8. If you remember the ranking thread from last year, most went down in ranking from the preseason, some significantly. I'll start another one this year to follow progress.
 

Kiddagger311

Senior
Sep 17, 2025
862
509
93
Welcome back, Crackers. At some point I'd like to speak with you about what happened with the predictions. I don't think there's any chance that we'll see Pinto in the finals. If Labriola is able to help develop him further, he should be able to AA. He's the only one ranked preseason in the top 8. If you remember the ranking thread from last year, most went down in ranking from the preseason, some significantly. I'll start another one this year to follow progress.
Shawver is ranked 7th on flo. Something that stuck with me, for some reason,is when Shawver got upset in Ohio and Wng said he felt the pressure of wrestling in home crowd got to him.. I just thought what will happen when the pressures of nationals come.. I just hope he can get back to b10 champ mentality.

Pinto ranked 8th on flo and I feel he can beat anyone except maybe Haines.. he beat Kennedy last year, who’s ranked 2nd rn. Wont shock me if Pinto beats #3 Ruiz at the all star classic. A path to the finals is not crazy. Let’s c if u change ur mind after all star classics.

I feel ya on the rankings from preseason last year as the season went on, I noticed that too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LETSGORU91
Jul 2, 2025
470
228
43
Welcome back, Crackers. At some point I'd like to speak with you about what happened with the predictions. I don't think there's any chance that we'll see Pinto in the finals. If Labriola is able to help develop him further, he should be able to AA. He's the only one ranked preseason in the top 8. If you remember the ranking thread from last year, most went down in ranking from the preseason, some significantly. I'll start another one this year to follow progress.
Sure.Im in Jersey this week.Visiting friends and family till this Sunday. We can meet in person if that works for you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kiddagger311

LETSGORU91

All-American
Jan 29, 2017
7,147
7,897
113
I think Pinto is more than just "solid". He's definitely a solid podium threat. If he wrestles the way we know he can.He might even make a run to the finals
"Very solid" (my words) and "just solid" (your words) are two different things. Pinto is a three time qualifier, one time blood rounder and one time B1G runner up. He was 24-7 last year. Impressive resume but when AAs and Nattys are the goal, he has not achieved either. Pinto is my favorite to make the podium but we havent even seen him wrestle in a Rutgers singlet yet. Very solid stands.
 
Feb 2, 2019
2,576
1,212
113
Shawver is ranked 7th on flo. Something that stuck with me, for some reason,is when Shawver got upset in Ohio and Wng said he felt the pressure of wrestling in home crowd got to him.. I just thought what will happen when the pressures of nationals come.. I just hope he can get back to b10 champ mentality.

Pinto ranked 8th on flo and I feel he can beat anyone except maybe Haines.. he beat Kennedy last year, who’s ranked 2nd rn. Wont shock me if Pinto beats #3 Ruiz at the all star classic. A path to the finals is not crazy. Let’s c if u change ur mind after all star classics.

I feel ya on the rankings from preseason last year as the season went on, I noticed that too.
I use Intermat just because I've always used them. Pinto is 6th there and Shawver is 9th. I either didn't know or forgot Pinto had beaten Kennedy, but that's a great win. Shawver has a tough road ahead of him and will need to be better than he was two years ago. Can he regain the drive he had then? I think they both will have to show improvement over the past. Pinto, only from what I saw last season, has the best chance.

The ranking thread I started last season was for a purpose. I believe wrestlers should show improvement year over year and at a minimum, should not decline within a season. Some will and some will improve, but we don't want to see a downward trend.
 
Jul 2, 2025
470
228
43
"Very solid" (my words) and "just solid" (your words) are two different things. Pinto is a three time qualifier, one time blood rounder and one time B1G runner up. He was 24-7 last year. Impressive resume but when AAs and Nattys are the goal, he has not achieved either. Pinto is my favorite to make the podium but we havent even seen him wrestle in a Rutgers singlet yet. Very solid stands.
Ok. Tomato...Tomatoe. He has beaten Kennedy and other AA's so he is solid contender for the podium.I also think he is alot happier here at Rutgers, than he was at Nebraska, which also works in a wrestlers favor.
"Very solid" (my words) and "just solid" (your words) are two different things. Pinto is a three time qualifier, one time blood rounder and one time B1G runner up. He was 24-7 last year. Impressive resume but when AAs and Nattys are the goal, he has not achieved either. Pinto is my favorite to make the podium but we havent even seen him wrestle in a Rutgers singlet yet. Very solid stands.
 

BloodRound

Freshman
Aug 11, 2025
87
74
18
I'm going off of a lot of gut feeling here. I've seen RU guys rise and fall to the occasion in many instances in the last 11 years or so of following the team. So let's give this an honest inspection (note - I am using Intermat's rankings for this one):

125 - no.
133 - Shawver reminds me a lot of Anthony Perrotti's story. Got that first podium finish out of the way, and then let nerves consume him the year after. Given, Dylan still grinded it all the way back to the blood round, but still. I wanna see him finish on the podium, damn it. I really like the kid. I say he gets it done with another 7/8th finish ala Perrotti.
141 - Olivieri needs to have the bracket shake out in his favor for a chance to podium. I don't think he beats anyone ranked higher than/including Anthony Echemendia. Maybe Composto. But I will not get ahead of myself! I see another blood round finish as a strong likelihood.
149 - Like Clark, but he needs to generate some offense to even live up to that #12 ranking. I do think that the chance to AA is there though, as this weight is not that strong outside the top 3.
157 - no. Harer will show improvement though!
165 - no... but I do look forward to us having a 165 that compete finally.
174 - The tradition of the RU transfer getting on the podium will continue with Lenny Pinto. He's always been a stud, but has never put it together when it counts. That ends this time. How high is the finish though? Hmm... undecided!
184 - Such a stacked weight. I think I can confidently say that SCW gave us the most pleasant surprise last year with how consistent and competitive he stayed for an entire season. He can beat a couple guys in that top 8 though! He made a silly mistake against Brenot in overtime last year. No fault there. I think we will see this man on the podium, but it might take another year. Think a blood round finish is the final result here.
197 - no.
285 - HWT finally clears out its stable of bigtime big men (Steveson, Hendrickson, Kerkvilet, Parris). In the wake of this mass exodus is no clear-cut favorite. Ferrari, Bastida and Trumble might make for a fun round robin, but at the same time, I could see a number of other wrestlers in the Top 16 beating any one of them. So what about the Hunter Catka of it all? Well... He is a blood round finisher, but he also lost his job to Mullen last year. I think the 4-8 slot are not all as solid, and yet, they all have some previous AA experience. Hmm... blood round I think. I think more is possible though. The RU tradition of transfers reaching podium is very real!

Long way of saying 2 AA's
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wrestleknownothing

Wrestleknownothing

All-American
Oct 30, 2021
2,328
6,258
113
Welcome back, Crackers. At some point I'd like to speak with you about what happened with the predictions. I don't think there's any chance that we'll see Pinto in the finals. If Labriola is able to help develop him further, he should be able to AA. He's the only one ranked preseason in the top 8. If you remember the ranking thread from last year, most went down in ranking from the preseason, some significantly. I'll start another one this year to follow progress.
The overall AA expectation (another way of saying ranking) was a bit of a rollercoaster, but peaked a month before the tournament. Then dropped to near the season low when seeds came out.

Below tracks the progress throughout the season using Intermat from Dec 3 - Mar 11, and seeds for Mar 12.

 

LETSGORU91

All-American
Jan 29, 2017
7,147
7,897
113
Ok. Tomato...Tomatoe. He has beaten Kennedy and other AA's so he is solid contender for the podium.I also think he is alot happier here at Rutgers, than he was at Nebraska, which also works in a wrestlers favor.
While not tomato..tomatoe, and irregardless of your future speculation, how would you classify Pinto as a wrestler based on his past performances? Keep in mind, you are the one who preaches the almighty AA status (which he has not achieved yet).
 
Jul 2, 2025
470
228
43
While not tomato..tomatoe, and irregardless of your future speculation, how would you classify Pinto as a wrestler based on his past performances? Keep in mind, you are the one who preaches the almighty AA status (which he has not achieved yet).
Yes being a ...not 1 time....but 2 time All American is a big deal my friend.I went through buzz saw brackets both years. Pinto just has the "it" factor as a wrestler.He' s calm and cool under pressure, excellent counter wrestler, very physical and has a great motor.I think he will be a top 5 guy come March.Maybe even a finalist.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kiddagger311

Bobbynieds

All-American
Oct 19, 2012
4,764
5,825
113


PINTO!
 

LETSGORU91

All-American
Jan 29, 2017
7,147
7,897
113
Yes being a ...not 1 time....but 2 time All American is a big deal my friend.I went through buzz saw brackets both years. Pinto just has the "it" factor as a wrestler.He' s calm and cool under pressure, excellent counter wrestler, very physical and has a great motor.I think he will be a top 5 guy come March.Maybe even a finalist.
Lol...thanks for the reminder pal, I forgot how big a deal it was to achieve it once, let alone two times. 🙄
As for Pinto, top 5 sounds great to me and I hope that will come to fruition.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dsl1228
The Knight Report

Latest

  1. 01 The Knight Report Rutgers Baseball Transfer Portal Profile: RHP Luke Billings
  2. 02 The Knight Report Join The Knight Report TODAY and get it for 60% off!
  3. 03 The Knight Report Football College Football 27 Sim - Rutgers Football versus Maryland Terrapins
  4. 04 The Knight Report Rutgers Football Wednesday Injury Report: Latest Updates ahead of the Maryland game
  5. 05 The Knight Report Rutgers Baseball Transfer Portal Profile: RHP Enger Paulino