Penn State Wrestling gears up for the 2024 Big Ten Championships hosted by Maryland on March 9th and 10th.
We are officially less than 10 days away from the 2024 Big Ten Wrestling Championships in College Park. And since the brackets don’t get released until much closer to the tournament, how about we take a crack at what they’re going to look like and predict each guy’s projected path?
For this first installment of “Projecting the Path”, we’re going to look at the Nittany Lions‘ grapplers from 125 to 157 pounds.
And away we go!
125
Braeden Davis (15-2)
Intermat rank: 9
RPI rank: 12
Coaches rank: 6
Projected Big Ten seed: 5
Projected matchups
1st Round – No. 5 Braeden Davis (PSU) vs. No. 12 Justin Cardani (Ill)
Quarterfinals – No. 5 Braeden Davis (PSU) vs. No. 4 Caleb Smith (NEB)
Semifinals – No. 5 Braeden Davis (PSU) vs. No. 1 Matt Ramos (PUR)
Finals – No. 5 Braeden Davis (PSU) vs. No. 2 Drake Ayala (IOWA)
Davis hasn’t exactly done himself any favors as he dropped two out of his last three Big Ten matches to close out the season. But hey, he’s a true freshman and that’s something that happens.
The 125 group has been complete chaos for the the entirety of the 2023-2024 wrestling season and it’s been no exception in the Big Ten. Last year’s NCAA Champion, Matt Ramos, looks like he’s hitting his stride going into the postseason. But it’s still not a certainty for him to grab the No. 1 seed as you can’t completely dismiss his underperformance early in the season.
If Braeden is going to make a deep run in the Big Tens then he will likely have to avenge an earlier loss to Nebraska’s Caleb Smith. Then he would be up against the No. 1 seed in the semifinals.
It’s going to be an uphill climb for sure, but don’t think for a second that he can’t plow his way into the finals.
With Penn State Wrestling anything is possible.
133
Aaron Nagao (10-4)
Intermat rank: 11
RPI rank: N/A
Coaches rank: 10
Projected Big Ten seed: 4
Projected matchups
1st Round – No. 4 Aaron Nagao (PSU) vs. No. 13 Andrew Hampton (MSU)
Quarterfinals – No. 4 Aaron Nagao (PSU) vs. No. 5 Tyler Wells (MINN)
Semifinals – No. 4 Aaron Nagao (PSU) vs. No. 1 Dylan Ragusin (MICH)
Finals – No. 4 Aaron Nagao (PSU) vs. No. 2 Dylan Shawver (RUT)
Just like Davis, Nagao also dropped two of his last three Big Ten matches. And with how this bracket is going to shake out, Aaron will face the No. 1 seed and a guy who pinned him back in January when they locked horns.
However Michigan’s Dylan Ragusin did show some cracks in his armor late in the year as he dropped a 3-2 decision to Nebraska’s Jacob Van Dee.
And if my predicted rankings come true then Nagao will have to get past the tag team of the “Dynamic Dylan Duo” to take home some Big Ten hardware.
141
Beau Bartlett (17-0)
Intermat rank: 1
RPI rank: 1
Coaches rank: 1
Projected Big Ten seed: 1
Projected matchups
1st Round – Bye
Quarterfinals – No. 1 Beau Bartlett (PSU) vs. No. 8 Mitch Moore (RUT)
Semifinals – No. 1 Beau Bartlett (PSU) vs. No. 4 Brock Hardy (NEB)
Finals – No. 1 Beau Bartlett (PSU) vs. No. 2 Jesse Mendez (OSU)
With the way Beau Bartlett wrestled this year and with how strong he was at the end of the regular season, he won’t be pushed until the finals. And seeing Round 2 of Bartlett/Mendez will be just as exciting as it was the first time.
Or maybe it will be Bartlett/Woods Round 2?
But in the end, Beau just needs to stay healthy and use the Big Ten’s as a tune up for the NCAA’s.
149
Tyler Kasak (11-2)
Intermat rank: 9
RPI rank: N/A
Coaches rank: 7
Projected Big Ten seed: 4
Projected matchups
1st Round – No. 4 Tyler Kasak (PSU) vs. No. 13 Aiden Vandenbush (NW)
Quarterfinals – No. 4 Tyler Kasak (PSU) vs. No. 5 Dylan D’Emilio (OSU)
Semifinals – No. 4 Tyler Kasak (PSU) vs. No. 1 Ridge Lovett (NEB)
Finals – No. 4 Tyler Kasak (PSU) vs. No. 2 Caleb Rathjen (IOWA)
Kasak is going to have to wrestle his tail off if he has any aspirations of winning a Big Ten title this year. However he is only a true freshman so there’s plenty of time down the road. Plus it’s the Big Ten’s and not the NCAA’s.
In any case, Tyler will face some sort of Ridge Lovett/Caleb Rathjen if he makes it to the semifinals and possibly the finals. And even though Ridge just dropped his first match of the season (4-3 decision against Kyle Parco), he’s still wrestling at a super high level.
I would love to see Kasak get matched up with Caleb Rathjen at some point though. Rathjen surprised Tyler a bit in their dual several weeks ago, but I think Kasak will be ready for him the second time.
157
Levi Haines (15-0)
Intermat rank: 1
RPI rank: 1
Coaches rank: 1
Projected Big Ten seed: 1
Projected matchups
1st Round – Bye
Quarterfinals – No. 1 Levi Haines (PSU) vs. No. 8 Joey Blaze (PUR)
Semifinals – No. 1 Levi Haines (PSU) vs. No. 4 Peyton Robb (NEB)
Finals – No. 1 Levi Haines (PSU) vs. No. 2 Michael Blockhus (MINN)
Just like with Bartlett, Levi Haines should be able to stroll his way into the finals. And if he does, the matchup I would be most intrigued to see is Haines against Blockhus.
Blochus has yet to drop fewer than eight matches in any of his previous four, full seasons. And yet something has clicked with him this year and he’s bull dozed his way to a 15-1 record. His only loss was a head scratching 4-2 loss to George Mason’s DJ McGee back in November.
But since then he’s gotten the better of Iowa’s Jared Franek (5-4), Nebraska’s Peyton Robb (12-6), Northwestern’s Trevor Chumbley (8-5), and Purdue’s Joey Blaze (6-3).
If Haines and Blockhus do end up squaring off in the final, then it could be fireworks from the opening whistle.
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Education: Penn State University
Location: State College, PA
Even though he had no prior journalism experience, Chris has now covered Penn State Wrestling and Penn State Football for the past three years, including as the Penn State Wrestling Beat Writer for VictoryBellRings.com, part of the FanSided network.
And it's clear he also likes constant torture as he's been a PSU Basketball fan for way too long.
Several years back, Chris made the seamless transition from PGA Professional to computer programmer and thoroughly enjoys following and writing about all things related to Penn State sports during his spare time.
