The Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational has historically been one of the strongest in-season NCAA wrestling tournaments, but the 2024 edition may be the toughest ever!

30 D1 teams are scheduled to compete this Friday and Saturday, and though not every team's starter will weigh in, these brackets will be loaded nonetheless.

More 2024 CKLV Content

Pre-Seeds | Schedule | Lightweights Preview | Middleweights Preview 

Below we're breaking down the heaviest four weight classes we'll see at this year's CKLV. 

174 Pounds

Favorites

#3 Cade DeVos, South Dakota State

#4 Dean Hamiti, Oklahoma State

Cade DeVos is 2-0 in countable matches, both over nationally ranked wrestlers. DeVos did lose to Levi Haines at the All-Star Classic but that won't be factored into his seed at Nationals (outside of how it affects his position in the coaches' poll). DeVos is coming off a 5th place finish at last year's NCAAs and is projected to finish on the podium again in his final year of eligibility. 

Dean Hamiti is trying to get back on the podium next March. The fourth-year senior finished 6th at the 2022 and 2023 NCAAs but fell one match shy of All-American honors in 2024. Hamiti transferred from Wisconsin to Oklahoma State in the offseason and is 4-0 with four bonus wins while wrestling in Cowboy orange. 

DeVos and Hamiti alone would be worth the price of admission with the winner setting themselves up nicely for the postseason (where they'll likely see each other again at Big 12s, though do remember to include Keegan O'Toole in that mix). There are a few other wrestlers that I think could spoil their party. 

Carson Kharchla is unfortunately not in the preseeds, and so is not expected to be at the tournament, however, he and DeVos met in last year's CKLV semis. That win by DeVos put him in the NCAA contender conversation last season and he hasn't looked back since. 

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Contenders

#9 Lenny Pinto, Nebraska

#11 Simon Ruiz, Cornell 

#12 Lorenzo Norman, Stanford 

#13 Brevin Cassella, Binghamton 

#14 Jared Simma, Northern Iowa

#16 Danny Wask, Navy 

#17 Garrett Thompson, Ohio 

#18 Adam Kemp, Cal Poly

Eight more top 20 wrestlers fill out the contenders categories, and every one of them has the potential for a high placement in Vegas. 

Junior Lenny Pinto was on the cusp of All-American honors last season. He's down a weight class too, as he and several Husker teammates bumped down a division. 

Simon Ruiz and Lorenzo Norman are two freshmen at academically prestigious universities that graduated from prestigious high schools in New Jersey (Delbarton for Ruiz and Blair Academy for Norman).

Cassella, Simma, Wask, Thompson and Kemp all won matches at previous NCAAs and are not to be overlooked. 

Other Entries

#24 Matthew Singleton, NC State

#26 Brody Baumann, Purdue 

#28 Michael Wilson, Rider 

#29 Brody Conley, West Virginia

#32 Sean Harman, Oregon State

Lucas Uliano, Appalachian State

Carter Schmidt, Cal Baptist

Jack McGill, Columbia 

Aiden Riggins, Iowa State

Joseph Walker, Michigan 

Joseph Martin, Northwestern 

Aidan Zarrella, Sacred Heart

Mark Takara, Utah Valley

Quayin Short, Wyoming 

Hard to believe but there are five more nationally ranked 174-pounders that we could see in the bracket, with NC State's Matthew Singleton being the highest ranked of the remaining potential entries. 

Two other names to watch for are Gerrit Nijenhuis, who transferred from Oklahoma to CSUB in the offseason, and Aiden Riggins, who flipped from Iowa to Iowa State. 

Predictions

1) Dean Hamiti, Oklahoma State

2) Cade DeVos, South Dakota State

3) Simon Ruiz, Cornell

4) Lenny Pinto, Nebraska

A change of scenery might have been what Hamitii needed to get back on track, and he's looked great so far at Oklahoma State. I wouldn't be surprised if DeVos won the bracket but right now I'm leaning towards Hamiti. 

Simon Ruiz has looked also looked excellent this season. His only loss was at the beginning of the year to a currently undefeated Nick Incontrera. 

Pinto might have an opportunity to avenge an early season loss to Danny Wask at the Navy Classic in the consolation round, which I think he does if they meet. However, Wask, Casella and Norman are all guys that wouldn't shock me if they found the top four of the CKLV podium.  

184 Pounds

Favorites

#2 Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa

#3 Dustin Plott, Oklahoma State

Keckeisen and Plott are the clear number 1 and 2 seeds of the tournament at 184. If they meet in the CKLV finals it will be a rematch of the 2024 NCAA finals, won by Keckeisen, which you can watch in its entirety in the video below. 

Both Keckeisen and Plott are back for their final year of eligibility and have seven All-American honors between them. Although one shouldn't forget Carter Starocci, who just beat Keckeisen at the All-Star Classic and is looking to win this weight class to collect a fifth NCAA title, there is still a clear separation between Keckeisen, Plott and the rest of the 184-pound field. 

Plott made a considerable level jump before the 2023-24 season. The Oklahoma native lost just four times that season, and three of those losses were to Keckeisen (at a dual, at Big 12s, and in the NCAA finals). 

Keckeisen, meanwhile, had a Hodge Trophy finalist season, going unbeaten and racking up an insane 90% bonus rate. Keckeisen became the second national champion for the Panthers during the Doug Schwab era, joining fellow 184-pounder Drew Foster, who won an NCAA title in 2019. 

Contenders

#5 Bennett Berge, South Dakota State

#12 TJ Stewart, Virginia Tech

#17 Evan Bockman, Iowa State

#18 Jaden Bullock, Michigan 

Despite dropping his last two bouts (to Keckeisen and #4 Max McEnelly in tiebreakers), Bennett Berge is very much a contender to place highly in March, as evidenced by his 4th place finish last NCAAs as a redshirt freshman. Though he is not yet in the Keckeisen/Plott tier, expect him to compete for a title next season when the top three ranked wrestlers all exhaust their collegiate eligibility. 

TJ Stewart has started the season with two losses but he's got a high ceiling as evidenced by his 7th placement at last year's NCAAs as a redshirt freshman. Dylan Fishback finished in the round of 12 as a redshirt freshman and has a similarly lofty ceiling.

Bockman and Bullock round out the top 20 potential 184lb entries at at the CKLV. They both qualified for the NCAA tournament before, Bockman three times and Bullock once last season where he finished in the round of 16.  

Other Entries

#24 Will Ebert, Binghamton 

#25 Ross McFarland, Hofstra 

#28 James Rowley, Purdue 

#31 Isaac Dean, Rider 

#33 Nathan Haas, Cal Baptist

Logan Eller, Appalachian State

Daschle Lamer, Cal Poly

Gerrit Nijenhuis, CSU Bakersfield

Matthew Walsh, Harvard 

Daniel Williams, Navy 

Jon Halvorsen, Northwestern 

TJ McDonnell, Oregon State

Hunter Perez, Sacred Heart

Tye Monteiro, Stanford 

Caleb Uhlenhopp, Utah Valley

Ian Bush, West Virginia

Eddie Neitenbach, Wyoming 

We could see as many as 11 nationally ranked wrestlers in the 184lb bracket. Will Ebert and Ross McFarland are two names to watch. They're a combined 14-1 on the season and could see each other three more times this season, as Binghamton & Hofstra face off in a dual and both teams are in the EIWA. 

Also keep an eye on Gerrit "Nine House" Nijenhuis. The CSUB Roadrunner is a three-time national qualifier who will be wrestling at 184 for the first time in his career. 

One name we won't see, however, is Chris Foca, as he's only coming back for the second semester at Cornell due to Ivy League eligibility rules. 

Prediction

1) Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa

2) Dustin Plott, Oklahoma State

3) Bennett Berge, South Dakota State

4) TJ Stewart, Virginia Tech

I'm going chalk and feel pretty confident in the top two picks, as Keckeisen has established himself as the best 184-pounder outside of Starocci, and Plott as the next best 184-pounder after Keckeisen. 

I would not be shocked if Berge and Stewart switch places, and a deep run by Bockman or Bullock also wouldn't surprise me. 

197 Pounds

Favorites

#2 Jacob Cardenas, Michigan 

#4 AJ Ferrari, CSU Bakersfield

Though he's ranked fourth nationally by Flo, AJ Ferrari has the #1 preseed, and is certainly number one in generating headlines, at least as far as 197-pounders go. Mr Fast Twitch and Jacob Cardenas have both separated themselves from the rest of the field and thusly are alone in our list of favorites at 197 at the CKLV. 

Cardenas is a two-time All-American, having placed 8th and 4th at the last two NCAA Championships. Cardenas also medaled at the last three U23 World Championships, proving his proficiency in both folk and freestyle. 

Ferrari won an NCAA title as a true freshman in 2021, but has not wrestled in a collegiate postseason since then for various reasons. However, we have seen Ferrari on the mat twice already this season. AJ won bout bouts, including a 5-0 shutout over #15 Nick Stemmet. So while we haven't seen Ferrari wrestle someone of Cardenas' caliber since 2021, we have seen him knock the mat rust off. 

Contenders

#7 Trey Munoz, Oregon State

#9 Andy Smith, Virginia Tech

#11 Zach Glazier, South Dakota State

#12 Luke Surber, Oklahoma State

#13 Joey Novak, Wyoming 

#14 Christian Carroll, Iowa State

#15 Nick Stemmet, Stanford 

Two-time All-American Trey Munoz is the only other contender in the bracket to have climbed podium steps in March. He'll have plenty of company vying for a top-three placement in Vegas though. Munoz is also bumping up from 184 where he wrestled in three previous seasons for the Beavers. He also wrestled at 174 as a redshirt freshman for Arizona State. 

Munoz started the year dropping two of his first three matches, however, they were to Iowa's #1 Stephen Buchanan and Oklahoma State's #12 Luke Surber, so not exactly slouches in either intsance. 

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Munoz could get a shot at revenge against Surber, who is expected in the bracket. However, that earlier win by Surber over Munoz has many Cowboy fans very high on Luke's chances of having a breakout season and reaching All-American status for the first time in his collegiate career. 

Hokie fans have similarly been beating the Andy Smith drum for a while. Smith fell one match shy of a top eight finish last March. Joey Novak, Nick Stemmet and Zach Glazier, formerly of Iowa, now a South Dakota State Jackrabbit, have also all won matches at the Big Dance. 

Christian Carroll is one of the more intriguing entries in the bracket. The blue chip recruit transferred from Oklahoma State to Iowa State in the offseason and slimmed down to 197. Carroll is 2-1 in his burgeoning varsity career, with one of the wins coming over #15 Nick Stemmet (he has that in common with Ferrari). 

Other Entries

#19 Wyatt Voelker, Northern Iowa

#20 Luke Geog, Ohio State

#24 Evan Bates, Northwestern 

#32 Austin Cooley, West Virginia

#33 Camden McDanel, Nebraska 

Carson Floyd, Appalachian State

Max Acciardi, Arizona State

Cayden Bevis, Binghamton 

Jarad Priest, Cal Poly

Aiden Hanning, Cornell 

Andrew Machiavello, NC State

Austin Starr, Ohio 

Ben Vanadia, Purdue 

Jake Trovato, Sacred Heart

Kael Bennie, Utah Valley

The 197 bracket will be blessed with five nationally ranked entries. Wyatt Voelker, Luke Geog and Evan Bates are all projected to win a match at NCAAs if it were to be held tomorrow and ranks became seeds. 

We're a few months away from the postseason, however, so those three plus Austin Cooley and Camden McDanel have some time to improve both their rankings and potential NCAA seeds. 

McDanel is another intriguing entry. The true freshman is 5-2 on the season. Those losses were only to #7 Trey Munoz at the Navy Classic and then a medical forfeit in his next match, which now counts as a loss for NCAA qualification and seeding purposes. Coach Manning and the Cornhuskers are bullish on McDanel, as evidenced by Allred, Pinto and Taylor all dropping down a weight class to make room for McDanel at 197. 

Predictions

1) Jacob Cardenas, Michigan

2) AJ Ferrari, CSU-Bakersfield

3) Andy Smith, Virginia Tech

4) Luke Surber, Oklahoma State

Cardenas vs Ferrari is a toss up in my mind. So I think it's quite possible that Ferrari gets a statement win and moves up to (at least) number two in the rankings. Until I see that, though, I'm going with Cardenas, who has earned his ranking and this prediction over the last two seasons. 

Smith and Surber are more gut picks. I could see any number of wrestlers occupying those podium steps next Saturday. 

285 Pounds

Favorites

#3 Wyatt Hendrickson, Oklahoma State

#5 Isaac Trumble, NC State

#8 Nick Feldman, Ohio State

#9 Cohlton Schultz, Arizona State

There will be plenty of talent in the heavyweight division in Vegas. The most credentialed wrestler in the bracket will be Cohlton Schultz, who's already a four-time NCAA All-American and a past finalist. Schultz has already wrestled two of the top contenders that are also registered for the CKLV. Schultz pinned Isaac Trumble in a little over a minute at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic and fell to Wyatt Hendrickson 11-5 in a dual meet a couple of weeks later. 

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Trumble qualified for two NCAA tournaments at 197 before redshirting and bumping up to heavyweight. That likely helped spur a transfer of former teammate Owen Trephan who will start for Lehigh in the second semester in his final year of eligibility, filling in for an injured Nathan Taylor. Trumble, a redshirt junior and 2023 U23 World gold medalist at 97kg is a two-time NCAA qualifier at 197lbs.

Nick Feldman was one of the top recruits in his high school class of 2022. After a redshirt season, Feldman showed why he was so highly touted by placing fifth at NCAAs as a freshman. Feldman lost his bout with Taye Ghadiali at the NWCA All-Star Classic but has otherwise been perfect on the year, going 5-0 with four tech-falls. 

Hendrickson will have the number one seed, which he earned by placing third at the last two NCAA tournaments. The win over Schultz a couple of weeks ago also doesn't hurt his case. 

Contenders

#14 Cory Day, Binghamton 

#16 Jim Mullen, Virginia Tech

#18 Lance Runyon, Northern Iowa

#23 Jordan Greer, Ohio 

You can expect to see four other top 24 nationally ranked heavies in the CKLV 285lb bracket. Cory Day is a two-time NCAA qualifier who recently won the Big Red Invitational. He's part of a tough Binghamton squad that has three ranked wrestlers entered with top 8 preseeds at the CKLV. 

Jim Mullen is a highly regarded redshirt freshman who was also recruited by the Hokie football team (though thankfully he's fully focused on wrestling right now). 

Lance Runyon started his collegiate career at 165 and is now 7-0 as a heavyweight in his final year of eligibility. And Jordan Greer is one of three ranked Bobcats looking to bolster their credentials for March in Vegas this weekend. 

Other Entries

#26 Luke Rasmussen, South Dakota State

#27 Jake Andrews, CSU Bakersfield

#28 Trevor Tinker, Cal Poly

#31 Harley Andrews, Nebraska 

#33 Jack Forbes, Utah Valley

Vincent Mueller, Columbia 

Aiden Compton, Cornell 

Logan Marrisal, Harvard 

Danny Church, Hofstra 

Daniel Herrera, Iowa St

Dzhabrail Khurshidov,  Michigan

Dirk Morley, Northwestern 

Brett Mower, Oregon State

Hayden Filipovich, Purdue 

Brendan Gilchrist, Sacred Heart

Jackson Mankowski, Stanford 

Michael Wolfgram, West Virginia

Kevin Zimmer, Wyoming 

If Harley Andrews can place at CKLV it will go a long way to helping the Huskers win another team title. Nebraska will be one of the top team contenders along with Ohio State and Oklahoma State. 

Luke Rasmussen, Jake Andrews, Trevor Tinker and Jack Forbes round out the nationally ranked entries at 285. I would also keep an eye on Michael Wolgram, a sixth-year senior and two-time national qualifier for West Virginia. 

Predictions

1) Wyatt Hendrickson, Oklahoma State

2) Cohlton Schultz, Arizona State

3) Nick Feldman, Ohio State

4) Isaac Trumble, NC State

I'm mostly picking chalk, and feel pretty confident about Hendrickson taking home the Vegas title. I think Schultz will continue his return to form and make the finals. Schultz would have to go through Trumble to make the finals if the preseeds hold, and I think they will if they do. 

I'm less confident about Feldman beating Trumble for third, and could see that one going either way. But for now I'm giving the edge to Feldman because I think he is most dangerous against lighter heavyweights. I also wouldn't be shocked in the slightest if Cory Day or Jim Mullen finds their way into the top four.