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.
- One Bold Prediction for Each Penn State Wrestler in The Olympics - August 2, 2024
- Penn State Wrestling Roster: Ranking Weight Classes by Strength - July 24, 2024
- Penn State Wrestling: How Past Nittany Lions Have Fared in The Olympics - July 12, 2024
Penn State Wrestling torched the nation with their lineup from last season, will the same be said for the 2024-2025 roster?
Cael Sanderson and his coaching staff have assembled a juggernaut in Happy Valley. On the way to winning their 11th team title in the last 13 years, the Nittany Lions also set the record for most points scored in the NCAA Championships (172.5) and the largest margin of victory (100).
And now that we’re turning the page to the 2024-2025 season, is it possible Penn State could actually build off their success and have an ever better season?
Hey, great question! Because in this article we’re going to breakdown the Nittany Lions’ roster and rate each weight class based on their individual depth and strength.
And away we go!
Ranking each weight class for the 2024-2025 Penn State Roster
125
Kurt McHenry (SR)
Marco Vespa (SR)
Gary Steen (JR)
Robert Howard (JR)
Brendan Wentzel (RSFR)
Cael Nasdeo (RSFR)
Luke Lilledahl (FR)
Depth: 
Strength:
Projected Starter: Luke Lilledahl
And right out of the gate, I’m making a rather large assumption.
Which is Braeden Davis is going to bump up to 133 this coming season.
His frame obviously has room to grow and any added strength is going to come at the expense of added weight. So this only makes sense. However, the move up to 133 may have more to do with an incoming true freshman than it does with Davis’ build.
Luke Lilledahl is simply too good of a wrestler to not start at 125 from day one.
In 2023 Lilledahl took home titles in the Super 32, the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, and the 2023 National Prep Championships. Oh, and he won the U20 freestyle title at 57 kg in the 2023 US Open Wrestling Championships.
Luke then followed that up by defending his U20 belt in the 2024 US Open. “Lightning” Luke Lilledahl completely blitzed the entire field and he earned the Outstanding Wrestler following a technical fall in the finals.
And between the rest of the Nittany Lions’ at 125, Lilledahl will certainly get his fill in the wrestling room. Training with three former starters (Howard, Steen, and Vespa) will go a long way in getting the youngster up to speed at the college level.
133
Aaron Nagao (JR)
Sean Wang (JR)
Karl Shindeldecker (SO)
Braeden Davis (SO)
Kyison Garcia (RSFR)
Depth:
Strength:
Projected Starter: Braeden Davis
Penn State will also be very deep at 133 going into this season. Three of the six guys (Nagao, Shindeldecker, and Davis) have starting experience and the top-end talent is still a bit unknown at this point.
Assuming my hunch is correct and Davis bumps up to 133, the starting spot will almost certainly come down to him and Aaron Nagao.
Nagao finished his redshirt freshman year at Minnesota on a high note as he finished fifth at the 2023 NCAA Championships. And after transferring to Penn State in the off-season, there were plenty of expectations placed on him for last year.
But it was a bit of an up-and-down year for Aaron and he ultimately finished in the round of 12 at the 2024 NCAA’s. Wrestlers are undeniably competitive so you have to know that not improving on his finish from the previous season is going to stoke a fire in Nagao.
On the flip side is Braeden Davis.
No one outside of Happy Valley even knew who this guy was at the end of December.
However, that quickly changed as Davis’ snagged the Big Ten title at 125 pounds and was then given the overall No. 1 seed at NCAA’s in his bracket.
Davis also went on to finish in the round of 12. But that was from a true freshman who wasn’t expected to even crack the starting lineup.
And this is where the “unknown” comes into play. Both guys now have huge expectations going into this season.
Will Nagao shake off some of the disappointments from last year and rise even higher? And can Braeden Davis continue to develop and perform under the bright lights when the target is now on his back?
Time will tell.
141
Beau Bartlett (SR)
Depth:
Strength:
Projected Starter: Beau Bartlett
So, yeah. The Nittany Lions’ entire roster at 141 begins and ends with Beau Bartlett. But that doesn’t matter. It’s still going to be one of the biggest strengths on the team.
Beau came back to help the team win more hardware and he came back to chase some individual titles. Period.
149
Timothy Levine (SR)
David Evans (SR)
Shayne Van Ness (JR)
Connor Pierce (SO)
Brock Weiss (FR)
Depth:
Strength:
Projected Starter: Shayne Van Ness
The group at 149 isn’t super deep but it’s chock full of experience and talent. Most of these guys have put in countless hours in the wrestling room and they’ve seen their fare share of battles on the mat.
Shayne Van Ness is the clear starter, however I only gave this group a four-trophy rating in the “Strength” department because there’s always uncertainty when coming back from an injury.
157
Tyler Kasak (SO)
Ty Watson (FR)
Depth:
Strength:
Projected Starter: Tyler Kasak
The 157 weight class for Penn State is also fairly thin.
Tyler Kasak filled in for an injured Shayne Van Ness last season and he was nothing short of spectacular. The true freshman had to bump up from 141 to 149 and all he did was finish third at the 2024 Big Tens and finish third at the 2024 NCAA Championships.
During his run at nationals, Kasak did what no other true freshman had ever done. And that was to lose his first-round match and then rip off seven straight wins to finish third and bring home his first All-American finish.
But Kasak is again being asked to move up a weight class. Similar to Braeden Davis, Kasak has the frame to add more weight. Additionally, he will also have a large target on his back next year every single time he takes to the mat.
165
Matt Lee (SR)
Mitchell Mesenbrink (SO)
Erik Gibson (RSFR)
Joseph Sealey (FR)
Depth:
Strength:
Projected Starter: Mitchell Mesenbrink
Mitchell Mesenbrink took the collegiate wrestling world by storm last year. The redshirt freshman was a points-producing machine and he displayed an never-ending motor on the mat. This led to a Big Ten title and a runner-up finish to David Carr in one of the best matches at the 2024 NCAA Championships.
The guys at 165 do have decent depth between Matt Lee, Erik Gibson, and the overall No. 6 recruit in the 2024 recruiting class, Joseph Sealey.
But when you have Mitchell Mesenbrink in your lineup, it doesn’t matter what spot he’s occupying. It’s going to be a strength plain and simple.
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174
Joe Lee (SR)
Brian Borden (SR)
Aurelius Dunbar (SR)
Levi Haines (JR)
Alex Facundo (RSSO)
Zack Ryder (FR)
Depth:
Strength:
Projected Starter: Levi Haines
The guys at 174 are a highly seasoned group as they currently have three seniors.
Add to that group the No. 5 overall recruit in the 2021 class and a super competitive collegiate grappler (Alex Facundo), the No. 6 guy in the 2024 class (Zack Ryder), and a two-time Big Ten Champion and the 2024 NCAA Champion (Levi Haines), and you have one of the deepest weights on the entire Nittany Lion squad.
And yes, this is based on the assumption that Levi will go up several weight classes from his previous 157 spot.
Either way, there’ll definitely be some incredible battles in the wrestling room with this group. And whoever distances themselves from the rest of the pack is going to immediately be a huge threat to the rest of the nation at 174 pounds.
184
Donovon Ball (SR)
Jack Kelly (JR)
Josh Barr (RSFR)
Depth:
Strength:
Projected Starter: Josh Barr
If there’s going to be one somewhat questionable weight class for the Nittany Lions going into the next season, I believe 184 is the one.
Both Donovon Ball and Jack Kelly have seen their fare share of time on the mat. Ball has 44 career matches and Kelly has 32 career bouts. And Donovon has been thrust into the starting lineup 13 times and holds a record of 10-3 in those matches.
The only reason I give this weight class a slightly lower rating in their “Strength” is because a redshirt freshman will most likely be the starter.
And yes, I do know that Josh Barr went a perfect 14-0 last season while winning titles at the Journeyman Classic, Black Knight Invitational, Mat-Town Open II, and Edinboro Open. I also know he completely wiped the floor with Indiana’s Roman Rogotzke in a 13-4 major decision in Barr’s only dual meet action.
But, I’m going to pump the breaks a bit on Josh Barr. Do I think he’s capable of taking down all comers in the Big Ten and finish an All-American next year? Of course I do. However I’m not going to expect those results from him right away. Wrestling is incredibly hard. Especially when going toe to toe with the best guys in the best conference in the country.
197
Carter Starocci (SR)
Lucas Cochran (JR)
AJ Fircchione (RSFR)
Connor Mirasola (FR)
Depth:
Strength:
Projected Starter: Carter Starocci
Carter Starocci is Penn State’s first-ever four-time NCAA Champion. Lucas Cochran beat two heavyweights, one of which went on to AA, last year while giving up close to 40+ pounds in each bout.
Add in the hard-working AJ Fricchione and the No. 9 recruit in the 2024 class (Connor Mirasola) and this group is going to be a fun one to watch.
Unleashing Starocci at 197 pounds is also going to be highly entertaining for the Nittany Lion faithful. Carter was always one of the strongest wrestlers pound-for-pound in the nation. And now that he’s going to be allowed to add even more muscle?
Watch the heck out …
285
Greg Kerkvliet (SR)
Cole Mirasola (FR)
Depth:
Strength:
Projected Starter: Greg Kerkvliet
Greg Kerkvliet is an absolute unit of a man. And he’s one of the most athletic big men you will ever see on a wrestling mat.
Just like Beau Bartlett, Kerk is coming back to help the team dominate the nation and he’s coming back to take down the 285 field once again at the 2025 NCAA Championships.
Waiting in the wings will be Penn State’s future big man in Cole Mirasola. And there’s nothing like learning from the very best.
Mirasola’s time will come soon enough. Just not next year.
MORE: Penn State Football Roaring Into 2024 Season at Key Position Group
