285 Pound Pre-Season NCAA Wrestling Preview & Predictions
285 Pound Pre-Season NCAA Wrestling Preview & Predictions
An in-depth preview with predictions for the 2023-24 season at 285-pound weight class in Division 1 college wrestling.
It’s almost November and that means the 2023-24 college wrestling season is right around the corner! In order to help you prepare for the upcoming season, we’ve previewed all 10 Division 1 weight classes. Check out the article below for an in-depth look at 285 pounds.
Other weight class previews: 125, 133, 141, 157, 165, 174, 184, 197
Returning 2023 All-Americans
- Greg Kerkvliet - 2nd
- Wyatt Hendrickson - 3rd
- Tony Cassioppi - 4th
- Lucas Davison - 5th
- Zach Elam - 6th
- Cohlton Schultz - 7th
Other NCAA All-Americans
- Yonger Bastida - 5th at 197 in 2022
The Favorite
- Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State
With 2023 Hodge Trophy Award winner Mason Parris graduating, the logical new favorite is the other NCAA finalist from last season - Greg Kerkvliet. Kerkvliet has shown steady improvement throughout his career in State College, going from 7th to 4th to 2nd place last season. All three losses last season came to Parris while he defeated Cassioppi twice. Previously, Kerkvliet was 0-3 against Cassioppi.
In the NCAA semis last year, Kerkvliet defeated now #2 ranked Wyatt Hendrickson 4-2. Watch the match below.
The Contenders
- Wyatt Hendrickson, Air Force
- Tony Cassioppi, Iowa
- Lucas Davison, Michigan
- Cohlton Schultz, Arizona State
Wyatt Hendrickson is nicknamed “The American Hero” for a reason, an incredibly aggressive pinner, he’s become a fan favorite. Hendrickson is a combined 57-4 over the past two seasons with 34 pins. Last season he only lost to Parris and Kerkvliet. Last week he added World champion to his resume by winning the U23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania.
With gambling suspensions still looming at Iowa, and Tony Cassioppi’s involvement not fully known, hopefully, he will be suiting up in the black and gold for one last season. Now in his sixth year in Iowa City, Cassioppi is already a 3X All-American and 4X qualifier. He took 4th place last season but was pinned by Hendrickson in the third-place match.
Lucas Davison will have a new look this season. After five years at Northwestern, he joined teammates Chris Cannon and Michael DeAugustino and transferred to Michigan. A 2X All-American, he defeated Cohlton Schultz in the consi quarters last year. However, Schultz wasn’t himself last season. After going 22-1 and making the NCAA finals in 2022, Schultz went 24-4 and finished in 7th last season. With a 14-8 win over Kerkvliet in 2021, if he’s back to 100%, Schultz is absolutely a title threat.
The Next Tier
- Nick Feldman, Ohio State
- Zach Elam, Missouri
- Owen Trephan, NC State
- Dayton Pitzer, Pitt
- Yonger Bastida, Iowa State
- Lewis Fernandes, Cornell
- Yaraslau Slavikouski, Rutgers
The first guy on this list hasn’t proven himself yet but is absolutely worth mentioning. In fact, if Nick Feldman lives up to the hype, he might even make his way into the tier above. The #1 overall recruit in the class of 2022, Nick Feldman was part of that massive recruiting class for the Buckeyes that included Jesse Mendez, Nick Bouzakis, Luke Geog, Seth Shumate, and others. He’s a smaller heavyweight who moves well. If he can handle the physicality of the upperclassmen, he’s going to be a real threat.
Dayton Pitzer is another young guy to watch this season. While Feldman was redshirting and recovering from a major surgery, Pitzer was getting matches. The #45 overall recruit in 2022, Pitzer surprised a lot of people last season when he defeated Trent Hillger and Cohlton Schultz en route to making the Midlands finals. Ultimately, he stayed in redshirt, but hopefully Midlands was a sign of things to come.
Moving up from 197 will be Iowa State’s Yonger Bastida. Bastida placed 5th at 197 in 2022. Cyclones fans shouldn’t worry about Bastida’s size. He bumped up and beat Lewis Fernandes, who has made the round of 12, in a dual last season. Having to cut so much weight is something Bastida has said caused his struggles late in the season as well.
Sleepers & Dark Horses
- Nathan Taylor, Lehigh
- Ben Kueter, Iowa
Nathan Taylor had a decent freshman year last season going 17-12 including 1-2 at NCAAs. He appeared to be peaking at the right time, making the EIWA finals with a 5-1 win over Yaraslau Slavikouski. However, he lost to Navy’s Grady Griess in the finals and then to Slavikouski at NCAAs. If he can follow the guidance of his coach Zach Rey, he could surprise some people this season.
Nathan Taylor's big EIWA semifinal win over Slavikouski:
Another name worth mentioning is Ben Kueter. Again, if Cassiopppi is involved in the Iowa gambling investigation, and the suspensions remain harsh, we’ll likely be seeing Kueter go for the Hawks this year. Now, Brands did say that he has told Kueter to focus on football through the Hawkeye’s bowl game, which will likely be in December. 3 months isn’t a lot of time to prepare to do be the best D1 wrestler in the country. However, Kueter is a special human being.
Pre-Season 285-Pound Predictions
Nothing too crazy in my predictions. I think Schultz gets back to his 2022 form, but Hendrickson and Kerkvliet have jumped levels. I also felt conflicted about leaving Dayton Pitzer off the podium. Maybe I'm getting a little carried away with putting Feldman on the podium before Pitzer when we've seen Pitzer already show flashes of excellence at the D1 level, but I'm buying into the Feldman hype.
- Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State
- Wyatt Hendrickson, Air Force
- Cohlton Schultz, Arizona State
- Tony Cassioppi, Iowa
- Lucas Davison, Michigan
- Zach Elam, Missouri
- Nick Feldman, Ohio State
- Yonger Bastida, Iowa State