165-Pound Pre-Season NCAA Wrestling Preview & Predictions
165-Pound Pre-Season NCAA Wrestling Preview & Predictions
A preview with predictions for the 2024-25 season at 165-pound weight class in Division 1 college wrestling.
It’s almost time for the college wrestling season and we’re previewing every weight class before the season starts. In the below article, we preview 165-pounds by breaking down the favorite, contenders, and sleepers to watch out for to help you get prepared for the college season.
2024 NCAA All-Americans
- David Carr, Iowa State
- Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State
- Keegan O'Toole, Missouri
- Michael Caliendo, Iowa
- Izaak Olejnik, Oklahoma State
- Hunter Garvin, Stanford
- Peyton Hall, West Virginia
- Antrell Taylor, Nebraska
2024 Round of 12 Finishers
- Dean Hamiti, Wisconsin
- Giano Petrucelli, Air Force
- Cam Amine, Michigan
- Julian Ramirez, Cornell
The Last 10 165 Pound NCAA Champions
2024 - David Carr, Iowa State
2023 - Keegan O'Toole, Missouri
2022 - Keegan O'Toole, Missouri
2021 - Shane Griffith, Stanford
2019 - Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech
2018 - Vincenzo Joseph, Penn State
2017 - Vincenzo Joseph, Penn State
2016 - Alex Dieringer, Oklahoma State
2015 - Alex Dieringer, Oklahoma State
2014- David Taylor, Penn State
The Favorite
- Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State
Mitchell Mesenbrink is coming off his redshirt freshman season, finishing as the NCAA runner-up with an incredible 26-1 record. Beyond that, Mesenbrink was insanely dominant with an over 70% bonus rate accumulating 4 pins, 9 techs, and 4 majors. While only losing to David Carr in the NCAA finals, Mesenbrink’s hit list included victories over Michael Caliendo (three times), Cam Amine (twice), Dean Hamiti, Antrell Taylor, and several other ranked wrestlers. Mesenbrink is the far-and-away favorite to win the NCAA title at 165 this year and has the potential to contend for the Hodge trophy.
Highlights of Mesenbrink's win over Michael Caliendo in the 2023 NCAA Semis:
The Contenders
- Michael Caliendo, Iowa
- Hunter Garvin, Stanford
- Peyton Hall, West Virginia
- Cam Amine, Oklahoma State
- Julian Ramirez, Cornell
- Garrett Thompson, Ohio
The above six wrestlers are all a tier behind Mesenbrink but are the clear best contenders to earn All-American honors. Caliendo leads this list as a two-time All–American and is the highest-returning placer after Mesenbrink. Caliendo placed 7th at NCAAs in 2023 and moved up the podium to 4th last year losing only to Keegan O’Toole and Mitchell Mesenbrink at NCAAs but recording wins over Izzak Olejnik and Julian Ramirez. Considering his results last year, Caliendo might be the pre-season favorite to make the finals.
Highlights of Caliendo's win over Julian Ramirez in the quarterfinals at the 2023 NCAA Tournament:
Hunter Garvin had an up-and-down regular season last year but peaked at the NCAA Tournament where he finished in 6th place. Garvin defeated Peyton Hall, Cam Amine, Andrew Cerniglia, Nick Hamilton, and Joey Bianchi to earn his spot on the podium. Despite his incredible performance at NCAAs, Garvin suffered losses to 6 different non-All-Americans last year - Joey Bianchi, Tyler Lillard, Dom Baker, Connor Brady, Garrett Thompson, and Julian Ramirez. Those losses, in comparison to his NCAA Tournament, make it hard to predict how Garvin will perform this year. Will he establish himself as a legitimate title threat, or will he dip out of the top 10 like last year? Only time will tell but Garvin will be a wrestler to keep an eye on in this weight.
Hunter Garvin's win over Brevin Cassella at the 2023 CKLV:
Peyton Hall earned his second All-American honors last year by placing 7th at 2024 NCAAs to add to his 8th place finish at the 2022 NCAA Tournament. If you’re looking for someone to challenge Mesenbrink, Peyton Hall might be the toughest match for Mesenbrink this year. Hall is one of the best scramblers in the weight class and he wrestled both David Carr and Keegan O’Toole to close matches last year - Carr beat Hall 5-1, and O’Toole beat Hall 8-7. Outside of the close losses, Hall also put together wins last year over Antrell Taylor, Julian Ramirez, and Izzak Olejnik. Hall has established himself as a top 165-pounder over the past four years and has the potential to make the NCAA finals.
Highlights of Peyton Hall's win over Antrell Taylor in the 7th place match at NCAAs:
Cam Amine is a three-time All-American and will end his career at Oklahoma State after spending five years at the University of Michigan. Amine failed to place at last year’s NCAA Tournament where he finished one match shy of AA honors but placed 7th in 2021 and 4th in 2023 and 2023. Amine has an incredible college hit list that includes wins over Peyton Robb, Carson Kharchla, Izzak Olejnik, Alex Marinelli, Dean Hamiti, Patrick Kennedy, Shane Griffith, and several others. Amine suffered two losses last year to Mesenbrink losing 11-1 in the dual but closed the gap to 6-1 at the NCAA Tournament. Amine’s strong defensive style, and the new environment in Stillwater, could see Amine close the gap even more on Mesenbrink this year.
Amine's win over Garrett Thompson at the 2023 CKLV:
Ohio's Garrett Thompson might be the least known of this bunch but Thompson had a fantastic year last season that might have gone under the radar because he finished off the podium at NCAAs. Last year, Thompson accumulated wins over Hunter Garvin, Peyton Hall, Matt Olguin, Noah Mulvaney, Maxx Mayfield, Caleb Fish, and several other ranked wrestlers. Thompson missed All-American honors by one match last year but he absolutely has the skills to finish in the top 8 this season.
Thompson's win over Hunter Garvin at the 2023 CKLV:
Julian Ramirez is the final wrestler in the contender list and although he’s not an All-American, Ramirez has some of the best wins of anyone in the country at 165 pounds. Over the past four years, Ramirez has accumulated wins over All-Americans David Carr, Shane Griffith, Cam Amine, Hunter Garvin, and Quincy Monday. Despite those wins, Ramirez has finished one match shy of All-American honors three times in his college career and has one final opportunity to reach the podium.
Julian Ramirez's win over David Carr at the 2023 CKLV:
Sleepers & Landmines
- Matt Olguin, Oregon State
- Terrell Barraclough, Utah Valley
- Cameron Steed, Missouri
- Beau Mantanona, Michigan
- Bubba Wilson, Nebraska
- Nicco Ruiz, Arizona State
The above group of five wrestlers has all had past results that suggest they could insert themselves into the contender category as the season progresses. Leading this list with the most experience and best wins of the bunch is Oregon State’s Matt Olguin. Olguin is a two-time national qualifier and has two past wins over national champion Shane Griffith. Olguin peaked in the rankings at #8 last year and if he wrestles to his potential, he’ll be right in the mix to reach the podium in March.
Olguin's win over Brevin Cassella in the 7th place match at the 2023 CKLV:
Penn State transfer Terrell Barraclough will start this year for Utah Valley and is an interesting addition to the 165-pound field. Last year, Barraclough only lost to Mesenbrink 8-5 and Shane Griffith 2-1. After those close losses, he recorded notable wins over Jackson Turley and Caleb Fish. Barraclough also had solid freestyle results over the past year with notable wins over Tyler Berger, Yahya Thomas, Paddy Gallagher, and Joey Lavallee. With those types of results in limited action, Barraclough should provide some disruption to 165 this year.
Barraclough's win over Caleb Fish at the 2023 Black Knight Invite:
Missouri’s Cam Steed will step into the lineup at 165 pounds for the Tigers with Keegan O’Toole moving up to 174 pounds. Steed had an impressive redshirt year two years ago tallying victories over All-American Hunter Garvin and national qualifiers Cael Carlson and Will Formato. Last year, Steed attempted to make the starting lineup at 157 pounds but was beaten out by All-American Brock Mauller and then had his season cut short with an injury. Despite the short season, Steed still took out national qualifiers Legend Lamer and Nathan Lukez. We have Steed ranked #15 in the country right now but I wouldn’t surprised if he moves up into the top 10 as the season unfolds.
Steed's win over Hunter Garvin at the 2023 Southern Scuffle:
Redshirt freshman Beau Mantanona is the likely starter for Michigan this season at 165 pounds and the Wolverines should have high expectations for Mantanona. During his redshirt year, Mantanona tallied wins over national qualifiers Tanner Cook, Caleb Fish, and Maxx Mayfield while losing to Michael Caliendo (9-4), Bryce Hepner (12-10), Dean Hamiti (by fall), Maxx Mayfield, and Dalton Harkins. Those results don’t place Mantanona in the top 24 just yet, but Mantanona has incredible potential. Most recently Mantanona made the U20 World Team Trials finals where he defeated Joe Sealey, Cam Steed, and Charlie Millard before losing a wild, three-match series to eventual U20 world silver Ladarion Lockett (Mantanona beat Lockett in 1 of 3 matches).
Mantanona's win over Ladarion Lockett in match 2 of the U20 WTT Finals:
Nebraska’s Bubba Wilson is another wrestler in this category who could insert himself as a contender. Wilson wrestled 174 last year for the Huskers and he surprisingly didn’t qualify for NCAAs. Now back at his true weight class, Wilson should have a much better year this season. Wilson qualified for NCAAs both in 2022 and 2023 at 165 and has notable career wins over Matt Olguin, Cam Amine, Caleb Fish, and Alex Facundo. Wilson should have a great senior season and has the potential to end his college career on the podium in March.
Bubba Wilson's win over Josh Ogunsanya at the 2022 CKLV:
Arizona State's Nicco Ruiz is the final wrestler to watch and maybe one of the most interesting redshirt freshmen in the country. Last year, Ruiz went 11-2 in his redshirt season with notable wins over Matt Olguin and Cael Carlson, only losing to David Carr (20-4) and Mitchell Mesenbrink (14-10). Though he lost, Ruiz was incredibly impressive in defeat and gave Mesenbrink one of his toughest matches of the year. In that match, Ruiz displayed a great scrambling ability and even put Mesenbrink on his back with a cradle. Ruiz is dangerous and I expect him to take out some established guys this year at 165.
Ruiz's loss against Mesenbrink:
Don’t Forget About Sammy Sasso
Sammy Sasso is making his return to college wrestling after missing all of last season recovering from getting shot last August. Sasso’s return to wrestling is remarkable in and of itself, but it’s also noteworthy that he’ll be wrestling two weights up from where he’s competed at the rest of his college career. Sasso is already a three-time All-American finishing runner-up in 2021 and 2023 along with a fifth place finish in 2022. If Sasso is back to 100%, I expect him to contend for a national title this year at 165 pounds.
Hear Sasso discuss the details of his recovery:
Who Wins The 2025 NCAA Tournament?
I don’t think anyone is a bigger favorite to win a title entering the season this year than Mitchell Mesenbrink. Mesenbrink’s pace, relentless attacks, creativity, and dominance have quickly made him one of the most entertaining wrestlers in college wrestling and he’s my pick to finish on the top of the podium in March. There is a solid group of wrestlers that could make it challenging for Mesenbrink but I don’t think any of them have what it takes to keep Mesenbrink from winning his first NCAA title this season.
Full 165-Pound 2025 NCAA All-American Predictions:
- Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State
- Michael Caliendo, Iowa
- Cam Amine, Ok State
- Sammy Sasso, Ohio State
- Peyton Hall, West Virginia
- Julian Ramirez, Cornell
- Beau Mantanona, Michigan
- Bubba Wilson, Nebraska