2022 Big Board

[Ok_Longhorn]

Willie at Matscouts updated the 2022 big board. This is the final update for the 2022 big board and the recruiting class rankings will be next. Willie does a great job with the big boards and recruiting class rankings. Flo is no comparison.

OK State Guys
10-Jordan Williams-165
23-Anthony Ferrari-157
34-Zach Blankenship-133

3 in the top 35 is great. I was a little surprised with how high Zach Blankenship was ranked but I think that could be that he is going to be a 133/125 and in the previous big board rankings it was thought of that he would be a 141. Also I think Anthony dropped a little bit because he has been injured and hasn’t competed in a while. Top 25 is still great I would not be concerned at all.

 

[Wrassler17]

- Probably wasn't easy ranking Anthony because of all the time missed, but I will be stunned if 22 guys outscore him at Nationals during his career.

- Interesting that Jordan Williams is still listed as a 165. Saw that he's registered @ 70 KG for Junior Nationals.

- LaDarion Lockett just beat #62 Troczynski in FS this past weekend.

- Cameron Steed is the highest ranked uncommitted at #107. Someone needs to grab him.

 

[Ok_Longhorn]

I 100% agree with that but I don’t think that’s how Willie does the big board. On previous big board shows he said he just ranks the talent not how they fit into the lineup or how they will do at nationals. I think he’s still top 25 because he’s a top 10 talent but he doesn’t have the huge wins and yes I imagine it is hard to rank him because of time missed.

Also with Jordan Williams I definitely think he starts out at 157 but he’s been growing so Willie is probably thinking he’ll spend more time in his career at 165. Wittlake only has 2 years left so later in his career either him or Anthony Ferrari are going to be 165s

 

[Wrassler17]

I 100% agree with that but I don’t think that’s how Willie does the big board. On previous big board shows he said he just ranks the talent not how they fit into the lineup or how they will do at nationals. I think he’s still top 25 because he’s a top 10 talent but he doesn’t have the huge wins and yes I imagine it is hard to rank him because of time missed.

Also with Jordan Williams I definitely think he starts out at 157 but he’s been growing so Willie is probably thinking he’ll spend more time in his career at 165. Wittlake only has 2 years left so later in his career either him or Anthony Ferrari are going to be 165s

Certainly not slamming Willie, he does a great job. It's not easy doing Big Boards. They seem to be part ranking & part projection. Personally I would weigh projection more. And I would base it on projected NCAA career points - don't really care about duals.

I think Anthony is a 157 (some say 165/174) and I think Jordan could possibly be a 149. Might be way off that. We'll see.

 

[chasepollard]

Certainly not slamming Willie, he does a great job. It's not easy doing Big Boards. They seem to be part ranking & part projection. Personally I would weigh projection more. And I would base it on projected NCAA career points - don't really care about duals.

I think Anthony is a 157 (some say 165/174) and I think Jordan could possibly be a 149. Might be way off that. We'll see.

I agree on those projected weights early in their eligibility, but I honestly feel the weight cuts are part of the injury/burnout problem our Program faces.

I have no firsthand info of recent weight situations, but in the past...the expectation of making a certain weight harmed a few careers of some guys. I know you don't want to be undersized at a weight, but you don't want to have poor nutrition and be big for a weight.

 

[Ok_Longhorn]

Willie just did a show explaining his reasonings for the big board. He said he loves Blankenship at 125 but thinks he’ll be great at 133 or 125. Said he was very high on Jordan Williams which having him top 10 says a lot.

With talent we have right now I would say there is no reason for Jordan Williams to go 149 I think a Voinovich and Travis Mastro battle at 149 is what we need. I also think it would be good for 157 to have a Jordan Williams/Anthony Ferrari/Luke Mechler/any other 157s battle we have a lot of depth at 157. They can redshirt whoever losses the wrestle offs and then possibly move one up to 165 and shuffle the lineup a little bit.

 

[alex1fly]

I agree on those projected weights early in their eligibility, but I honestly feel the weight cuts are part of the injury/burnout problem our Program faces.

I have no firsthand info of recent weight situations, but in the past...the expectation of making a certain weight harmed a few careers of some guys. I know you don't want to be undersized at a weight, but you don't want to have poor nutrition and be big for a weight.

Some athletes excel when they cut down. Others excel when they bulk up or compete at their daily weight. Hopefully these different options and the pros/cons are discussed with each individual. "Everybody cuts weight" is another Old Way that might be holding us back and like you said, cause a host of other problems like injury and burnout.

Two examples. Suriano looked emaciated at 125. No way that cut was healthy, but it worked for him and won a championship. On the flip side, Bo Nickal barely cut any weight and won several championships. I'm sure there's a lot of considerations with those decisions, but you can't argue with results. It should at least be a part of the conversations to let the athletes have some say in their weight class, along with the adjustments necessary to succeed.

 

[Harleycowboy]

- Probably wasn't easy ranking Anthony because of all the time missed, but I will be stunned if 22 guys outscore him at Nationals during his career.

- Interesting that Jordan Williams is still listed as a 165. Saw that he's registered @ 70 KG for Junior Nationals.

- LaDarion Lockett just beat #62 Troczynski in FS this past weekend.

- Cameron Steed is the highest ranked uncommitted at #107. Someone needs to grab him.

Wrassler, I don't get Willie's site so I didn't see the matches but Ladarion Lackett got pinned by sophomore Joe Seely and lost a close decision to senior Michael Kilic. Did you get a chance to see these matches? My big question would be the Seely match if Lockett just got caught in a close match or was he dominated before the pin. Thanks.

 

[Wrassler17]

Wrassler, I don't get Willie's site so I didn't see the matches but Ladarion Lackett got pinned by sophomore Joe Seely and lost a close decision to senior Michael Kilic. Did you get a chance to see these matches? My big question would be the Seely match if Lockett just got caught in a close match or was he dominated before the pin. Thanks.

I saw the Seely match, but missed the other one. I think he was losing 7-4 when he got countered for the fall. It was competitive, but it looked like he was having some issues with Seely's horsepower - guy wrestles a brawling style. I think this was Lockett's first time up at 152, he was at 145 a couple of months ago.

 

[turfpoke]

With the transfer portal nowadays, I don’t expect guys to hang around long if they don’t win the spot. Which then makes keeping guys healthy paramount.

 

[je55m00r3]

With the transfer portal nowadays, I don’t expect guys to hang around long if they don’t win the spot. Which then makes keeping guys healthy paramount.

Yeah, I don't see how programs are going to build/maintain depth if they recruit kids who are at the college just to wrestle. You will have to recruit kids with some other motivation to attend the school, no? Or, as other folks have pointed out, maybe recruiting will become completely irrelevant. Just wait until a kid AA's and then poach him. Or wait until another school poaches an AA to replace their potential AA and then pick up their leavings

 

[Wrassler17]

Interesting topic. Is depth really a good thing though? It helps with duals if someone goes down. But duals don't matter - we see that with the ducking and the forfeits.

To win Nationals, seems like you need 4-6 studs, ideally finalist caliber guys. The other starters are hopefully serious AA threats (maybe ranked in the top 10-15?) Having an AA caliber backup on the bench may not be the best use of scholly $. Sometimes it might be better if they did transfer.

A volunteer coach helps here. They are in the room every day training with the starters, just like the assistant coaches. Add a few RTC coaches/athletes and everyone has a good workout partner.

 

[alex1fly]

Interesting topic. Is depth really a good thing though? It helps with duals if someone goes down. But duals don't matter - we see that with the ducking and the forfeits.

Another thing that's changed recently. Forfeit matches to preserve your seed and then go to Nationals as fresh as possible. If you're chasing championships it does make some sense. I wonder if the NCAA is revisiting the ramifications of forfeits and/or the minimum matches required to compete in Nationals. And this isn't just sour grapes - it felt weird last year or the year before when Daton was ranked #2 all year long even though he wasn't wrestling, and then we hosted a tournament specifically to get Daton enough matches to go to NCAAs.

 

[Ok_Longhorn]

Interesting I did a deep dive on the 2022 big board and I came up with some big 12 stuff that pretty interesting. The conference as a whole signed 72 guys according to the mat scouts D 1 commitment list. 45 were top 250, 27 were top 100, 12 were top 50 and 6 were top 25. That’s above 1/4 of the top 100 which is really good.
Also 11 of the 13 schools signed a wrestler in the top 100. I get the 13 schools from cal baptist which I think will be in the big 12 next year

 

[Ok_Longhorn]

Did a quick count on big 10 and they had 24 top 100 recruits and the big 12 had 27 that’s wild they also have 1 more team

 

[turfpoke]

Add a few RTC coaches/athletes and everyone has a good workout partner.

This is what we need. No nice way for me to put this, but some of the backups aren’t good enough to challenge the starters enough to get them to the next level.

 

[Wrassler17]

Flo had an interesting article after Nationals - they looked at champs/finalists/AAs based on their Big Board position coming out of HS.

Champs - average position was #21 PFP. Deakin was #97 in HS & Dean was #74. The other 8 champs were all top 12.

Finalists - average position was #19. Kizhan Clarke wasn't in the top 100.

AAs - 13 weren't in the top 100.

Something that jumped out to me - Northwestern had 3 guys drastically outperform their Big Board position. Deakin was #97 and won, DeAugustino was outside the top 100 and finished 4th, and Cannon was #91 and finished 7th.

 

[Wrassler17]

Forgot a couple of more Northwestern guys...

Davison was #49 PFP and took 6th. Sebastian Rivera transferred to Rutgers, but while at NW he finished 6th, 3rd & was the favorite to win in 2020 when Nationals was cancelled. He was ranked 78th coming out of HS. They are doing something right over there.

 

[Mr. Blonde]

Of those 5, no all encompassing theory that I can glean from just the bios on the Northwestern site, but I'd note: Deakin, Deaugustino and Davison aren't from particularly strong high school wrestling states. Might have done a good job of identifying guys who were somewhat limited by their competition in high school and the mental side to thrive when competition jumped a level. I think/hope this is a reason to have hopes for our guys coming that are multi-sport athletes.

 

[chasepollard]

Of those 5, no all encompassing theory that I can glean from just the bios on the Northwestern site, but I'd note: Deakin, Deaugustino and Davison aren't from particularly strong high school wrestling states. Might have done a good job of identifying guys who were somewhat limited by their competition in high school and the mental side to thrive when competition jumped a level. I think/hope this is a reason to have hopes for our guys coming that are multi-sport athletes.

Listening to Pendleton, I think the mental aspect is hugely responsible for the success he had this year. Can he duplicate it and create a yearly result?

He talked about giving his guys time off, how their bodies looked, their mental state...the overall health of the kids he has custody of. Watching those guys at NCAAs, they didn't look tired and whooped.

It has been an alarming trend in my eyes watching our guys appear to grind down at the end of the year. Some guys do well in the scenario, but some look to be Wrestling to done for the year. It takes a special mind to embrace the grind and believe it is the only way to a goal (Chris Perry.) Gfeller seemed to embrace it last season?

One surprise placement came completely unexpected and after some rest. Sheets AA'd after sitting out with an injury...but he most likely wasn't grinding away? I am sure there are more, but I think we have to do a better job with the mental side of this?

 

[OHkie]

If Oklahoma state built a fence around Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas they would be stacking trophies and hanging banners. Which seems weird to say but there’s a lot of dudes who have done big things, throw in New Mexico if you like symmetry and Real Woods.

 

[ionel]

If Oklahoma state built a fence around Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas they would be stacking trophies and hanging banners. Which seems weird to say but there’s a lot of dudes who have done big things, throw in New Mexico if you like symmetry and Real Woods.

nah

 

[Mr. Blonde]

If Oklahoma state built a fence around Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas they would be stacking trophies and hanging banners. Which seems weird to say but there’s a lot of dudes who have done big things, throw in New Mexico if you like symmetry and Real Woods.

This looks like what that team would be. Good for a trophy but not a banner without actually doing the math. Might get close if in this world we can also put a governor on AJ's car.

Malik Heinselman	Ohio St.	Big Ten	Automatic	125​	Castle View	Colorado
Daton Fix	Oklahoma St.	Big 12	Automatic	133​	Charles Page	Oklahoma
Grant Willits	Oregon St.	Pac 12	Automatic	141​	Pueblo County	Colorado
Kaden Gfeller	Oklahoma St.	Big 12	Automatic	149​	Heritage Hall	Oklahoma
Ryan Deakin	Northwestern	Big Ten	Automatic	157​	Legacy	Colorado
Clayton Wilson	Nebraska	Big Ten	Automatic	165​	Manhattan	Kansas
Dustin Plott	Oklahoma St.	Big 12	Automatic	174​	Tuttle	Oklahoma
Tate Samuelson	Wyoming	Big 12	At-Large	184​	Castle View	Colorado
Alan Clothier	Northern Colo.	Big 12	At-Large	197​	Lawrence	Kansas
Cohlton Schultz	Arizona St.	Pac 12	Automatic	285​	Ponderosa	Colorado

 

[TheJimReaper]

This looks like what that team would be. Good for a trophy but not a banner without actually doing the math. Might get close if in this world we can also put a governor on AJ's car.

Malik Heinselman	Ohio St.	Big Ten	Automatic	125​	Castle View	Colorado
Daton Fix	Oklahoma St.	Big 12	Automatic	133​	Charles Page	Oklahoma
Grant Willits	Oregon St.	Pac 12	Automatic	141​	Pueblo County	Colorado
Kaden Gfeller	Oklahoma St.	Big 12	Automatic	149​	Heritage Hall	Oklahoma
Ryan Deakin	Northwestern	Big Ten	Automatic	157​	Legacy	Colorado
Clayton Wilson	Nebraska	Big Ten	Automatic	165​	Manhattan	Kansas
Dustin Plott	Oklahoma St.	Big 12	Automatic	174​	Tuttle	Oklahoma
Tate Samuelson	Wyoming	Big 12	At-Large	184​	Castle View	Colorado
Alan Clothier	Northern Colo.	Big 12	At-Large	197​	Lawrence	Kansas
Cohlton Schultz	Arizona St.	Pac 12	Automatic	285​	Ponderosa	Colorado

I never realized that there were that many wrestlers from Colorado. If CU still had a team they might be pretty good.

 

[Wrassler17]

Of those 5, no all encompassing theory that I can glean from just the bios on the Northwestern site, but I'd note: Deakin, Deaugustino and Davison aren't from particularly strong high school wrestling states. Might have done a good job of identifying guys who were somewhat limited by their competition in high school and the mental side to thrive when competition jumped a level. I think/hope this is a reason to have hopes for our guys coming that are multi-sport athletes.

Max Dean (#74) was also a football player in HS, Gabe Dean as well. I was hoping Daniel Jezik developed like them, but he went back to football (D3).

Besides Blankenship & Robb, I'm curious about Skidgel. He was not on the national radar and could be another sleeper.

 

[leecothran]

Max Dean (#74) was also a football player in HS, Gabe Dean as well. I was hoping Daniel Jezik developed like them, but he went back to football (D3).

Besides Blankenship & Robb, I'm curious about Skidgel. He was not on the national radar and could be another sleeper.

Mechler and Birdwell as well...

 

[JAY45]

If Oklahoma state built a fence around Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas they would be stacking trophies and hanging banners. Which seems weird to say but there’s a lot of dudes who have done big things, throw in New Mexico if you like symmetry and Real Woods.

Go ahead and build that fence so it includes everything west of the Mississippi 😊

 

[leecothran]

Go ahead and build that fence so it includes everything west of the Mississippi 😊

Iowa and Missouri? I mean I'm for it. It's bold.

 

[alex1fly]

Listening to Pendleton, I think the mental aspect is hugely responsible for the success he had this year. Can he duplicate it and create a yearly result?

He talked about giving his guys time off, how their bodies looked, their mental state...the overall health of the kids he has custody of. Watching those guys at NCAAs, they didn't look tired and whooped.

It has been an alarming trend in my eyes watching our guys appear to grind down at the end of the year. Some guys do well in the scenario, but some look to be Wrestling to done for the year. It takes a special mind to embrace the grind and believe it is the only way to a goal (Chris Perry.) Gfeller seemed to embrace it last season?

One surprise placement came completely unexpected and after some rest. Sheets AA'd after sitting out with an injury...but he most likely wasn't grinding away? I am sure there are more, but I think we have to do a better job with the mental side of this?

Pendleton has a fresher perspective. There's something to be said for meeting people where they're at instead of trying to force them into a certain mold.

 

[JAY45]

Iowa and Missouri? I mean I'm for it. It's bold.

Was mostly TIC; it we are getting specific, it needs to be (and IS) a larger footprint than simply the regional States surrounding OK.

 

[chasepollard]

Pendleton has a fresher perspective. There's something to be said for meeting people where they're at instead of trying to force them into a certain mold.

Well, he kicked our tails with lesser ranked talent.

 

[alex1fly]

Well, he kicked our tails with lesser ranked talent.

Exactly. He's not the one forcing a certain mold in my metaphor

 

[Wrassler17]

Pendleton said he gave the team 10 days off in October because he thought they were over worked. He seems to have a more modern take on training & recovery. Maybe closer to what PSU is doing.

I listened to a Chris Chionuma interview last year. He said Cal Poly used to run hard practices every day, averaging around 2 - 2 1/2 hours. He said the guys were getting worn down and/or injured, so they changed it up 2 years ago. They went to 75 minute practices and things really improved. He mentioned Bernie Truax as an example, said Truax really took off once he focused on improving rather than getting through the grind.

 

[Ok_Longhorn]

Flowrestling came out with there 2024 big board which is the sophomores I’ll list the Oklahoma kids.
#2-Angelo Ferrari - Stillwater
#36-Kael Voinovich - Stillwater
#53-JJ McComas - Stillwater
#54- Cannon Acklin - Collinsville
#59- Christopher Kiser - Ponca City
#66- Clayton Giddens - Bixby
#68- Oscar Williams - Edmond North
#75- Jace Roller - Bixby
#80- Talon McCollum - Edmond North
#97 - Layton Schneider- Edmond North


I think they are spot on with Ferrari, a little low on the other Stillwater kids, way way low on the Bixby kids(i think there both too 35). Also I like where Christopher Kiser and Canon Acklin are placed. One of them would be a great get if there career 125s. Career 125s are invaluable. That’s a big list for it only being top 100

 

[Wrassler17]

Willie did his HS awards article...said Angelo Ferrari may be the toughest wrestler in HS, regardless of age or class.

 

[Air_Thurman]

Deleted

 

[GantryZ]

That would be huge he’s at 13 on the big board and he’s listed as a 106 so probably a 125 in college. I wonder if he has any relation to BO Jordan and rocky jordan

Despite the name and school, he's originally from Arizona and I don't think related.

 

[Harleycowboy]

Despite the name and school, he's originally from Arizona and I don't think related.

I read an article that he said he wasn't related to the Ohio Jordan's. Also watched him wrestle at 113 at super 32 where he could not get away on bottom in 2 matches and seemed smaller and not as strong. He did wrestle at 106 and won State in Ohio so he was smaller than those 113's. He will be a junior next year and he will need to get bigger and stronger of course to be a 125 in college.

 

[turfpoke]

Flowrestling came out with there 2024 big board which is the sophomores I’ll list the Oklahoma kids.
#2-Angelo Ferrari - Stillwater
#36-Kael Voinovich - Stillwater
#53-JJ McComas - Stillwater
#54- Cannon Acklin - Collinsville
#59- Christopher Kiser - Ponca City
#66- Clayton Giddens - Bixby
#68- Oscar Williams - Edmond North
#75- Jace Roller - Bixby
#80- Talon McCollum - Edmond North
#97 - Layton Schneider- Edmond North


I think they are spot on with Ferrari, a little low on the other Stillwater kids, way way low on the Bixby kids(i think there both too 35). Also I like where Christopher Kiser and Canon Acklin are placed. One of them would be a great get if there career 125s. Career 125s are invaluable. That’s a big list for it only being top 100

I like how Oklahoma HS wrestling is trending. Need to keep the studs in orange.

 

[Wrassler17]

Flo released their updated 2025 Big Board, 3 guys from OK are listed...

LaDarion Lockett #4
Kody Routledge #62
Beau Hickman #82

I think we'll see several more break into the rankings eventually. Some I can think of are...

Kruz Goff
Gunner Wilson
Aydan Thomas
Gerald Harris
Ethan Teague