2024-25 Missouri Wrestling Early Lineup Look
2024-25 Missouri Wrestling Early Lineup Look
A breakdown of the potential starting lineup for the 2024-25 Missouri wrestling team.
The Missouri wrestling team finished 11th at the 2024 NCAA Tournament and brings back a lineup hat has the potential to challenge for a team trophy next year. Check out a full preview in the article below of Missouri's potential starting lineup for the 2024-25 season.
Missouri’s Projected 2024-25 Starting Lineup
125: #20 Noah Surtin
133: Kade Moore
141: #9 Josh Edmond
149: #18 Logan Gioffre
157/165: #21 Cam Steed/James Conway
174: #1 Keegan O’Toole
184: #12 Colton Hawks
197: #4 Rocky Elam
285: Seth Nitzel
125: #20 Noah Surtin
Surtin will enter his final season for the Tigers as a 4-time national qualifier and round of 12 finisher in 2022. Despite going 0-2 at the National Tournament last season, Surtin was ranked as high as #3 last year after a 9-0 start to his season while defeating eventual All-American #4 Jore Volk. Surtin also recorded a major decision win over All-American #8 Tanner Jordan as well as several other ranked wins throughout the season. If Surtin is wrestling his best at the end of the year, he’ll be right in the mix to earn All-American honors.
Surtin's overtime win over All-American Jore Volk:
133: Kade Moore
Similar to Surtin, Kade Moore had his best results during the regular season but ended up going 0-2 at the NCAA Tournament. Moore showed how dangerous he can be when he pinned 2-time All-American Sam Latona and lost a wild, 10-9 bout to 2-time NCAA Champion Vito Arujau. Moore will have to be more consistent next season and if he is, we should expect to see him rise quickly in the rankings at 133 pounds.
Moore's win overt wo-time All-American Sam Latona:
141: #9 Josh Edmond
Josh Edmond finished one match shy of All-American honors at the NCAA Tournament last season after losing to #8 Vance Vombaur in overtime, 8-5. Despite that loss, Edmond recorded wins over Tom Crook, #18 CJ Composto, and #23 Wyatt Henson at NCAAs vaulting him up to #9 in the rankings. During the regular season, Edmond also recorded notable victories over #10 Tagen Jamison, #6 Cael Happel, #21 Danny Pucino, and Gavin Drexler. Edmond went 18-10 on the year last season with 7 of his 10 losses coming either in overtime or by 1 point. Edmond will once again be in contention to All-American, and if he can flip some of those close matches in his favor, he could have a breakout year and score big team points for Missouri at NCAAs.
149: #18 Logan Gioffre
Logan Gioffre had an up-and-down season as a first-year starter for the Tigers. Gioffre missed all of February with an injury but had notable wins over #16 Willie McDougald, #11 Jaden Abas, and #21 Alek Martin during the regular season and at Big 12s. Beyond that, Gioffre had competitive, close losses to #12 Kannon Webster (4-1 in overtime), All-American Casey Swiderski (4-2), and national champ #1 Caleb Henson (6-4). If Gioffre’s healthy and wrestling his best, he’s proven he can compete with the top guys at 149.
Logan Gioffre's overtime win against Willie McDougald:
157/165: #21 Cam Steed and James Conway
Cam Steed and James Conway will likely start at 157 and 165 pounds next year. Both Steed and Conway have wrestled at both weights over the past two years with both wrestling at 157 pounds last season. They’re Missouri’s best options at the two weights so we’ll either see Steed or Conway move up to 165 pounds for the 2024-25 season.
Missouri fans should be excited about the potential Steed brings to the mat. During his redshirt year in the 2022-2023 season, Steed put together a 16-5 record highlighted by a 4th place finish at the Southern Scuffle where he defeated All-American Hunter Garvin (11-2) and NCAA Qualifier Cael Carlson (by fall). Last season, Steed was kept out of the lineup after three-time All-American Brock Mauller moved up from 149 to 157 and then didn’t wrestle after December 2nd because of an injury. I expect Steed to rise in the rankings next season and could be one of the most exciting first-year starters in the country.
Cam Steed's win over Hunter Garvin at the 2023 Southern Scuffle:
James Conway wrestled all but two of his matches last season at 157 pounds but wrestled every match of the 2022-23 season at 165 pounds. Conway doesn’t have many notable wins to suggest he’ll be a major factor at either 157 or 165. However, he did put together 20-9 record last season suggesting he’d be capable of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
174: #1 Keegan O’Toole
Two-time 165-pound NCAA Champion Keegan O’Toole will likely move up to 174 pounds to close out his college career and the Tigers will once again rely on O’Toole for 20 or more team points at the NCAA Tournament. O’Toole will be the favorite to win an NCAA title at the heavier weight but the move could create several fascinating matchups for O’Toole. Penn State’s Carter Starocci will likely move out of 174 pounds and that means O’Toole could face 157-pound NCAA Champion Levi Haines or U20 world bronze medalist Alex Facundo.
Beyond the Penn State wrestlers, Ohio State’s NCAA runner-up #3 Rocco Welsh returns to the weight next year along with All-Americans #4 Cade DeVos, #7 Lennox Wolak, and #5 Dean Hamiti. On top of that, Iowa will likely have a strong contender in either #6 Gabe Arnold or All-American Nelson Brands. All of that makes it clear there will be a host of challengers welcoming O’Toole into his new weight class.
Keegan O'Toole's reflection on his 2024 NCAA Tournament:
184: #12 Colton Hawks
Hawks qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year last season and finished just one match shy of All-American honors. Despite falling short at NCAAs, Hawks defeated All-American Isaiah Salazar during the regular season along with ranked wins over #15 Aaron Ayzerov, Will Feldkamp, Gavin Kane, and Caleb Hopkins. Hawks is an All-American contender and the Tigers will need him to wrestle his best if they hope to secure a team trophy at the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
197: #4 Rocky Elam
Rocky Elam has been a stalwart in Missouri’s lineup over the past four years earning All-American honors four times for the Tigers - 5th in 2021, 4th in 2022, 3rd in 2023, and 6th in 2024. Elam has beaten practically every 197-pounder in the country in his collegiate career and is one of the clear NCAA Title contenders heading into next season. Elam has all of the skills to win a title, he just needs to wrestle his best at NCAAs.
Highlights of Rocky Elam's quarterfinal win over Michael Beard at the 2024 NCAA Tournament:
285: Seth Nitzel
Nitzel will likely man the heavyweight starting spot for Missouri after spending the past 4 years behind All-American Zach Elam. Nitzel has accumulated a 29-15 record as a backup and has notable wins over Bradley Hill, Christian Carroll, Dorian Crosby, and Coltan McKiernan. I expect Nitzel to be solid in his first year starting for the Tigers and qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Heavyweight isn’t incredibly deep after the top 20 so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Nitzel climb the rankings and win a few matches at NCAAs.
How High Can Missouri Finish At The 2025 NCAA Tournament?
Keegan O'Toole and Rocky Elam will carry the torch this year for the Tigers and should score at least 40 points collectively for Missouri at the 2025 NCAA Tournament. How high Missouri will climb will be determined by how well the other 8 wrestlers perform. For the Tigers to finish in the top 3 at NCAAs, they'll likely need at least 5 total All-Americans. That means they'll need All-American contenders Noah Surtin, Josh Edmond, and Colton Hawks to all wrestle their best at the NCAA Tournament. Kade Moore, Cam Steed, and Logan Gioffre are the next tier for Missouri and if they can all insert themselves into the All-American contenders category, the Tigers could boast a dangerous tournament lineup. Missouri has a ton of potential heading into next season and will be fantastic to watch as the year unfolds.