The Top 10 Teams With The Most Points Returning For 2019
The Top 10 Teams With The Most Points Returning For 2019
Which teams return the most points from this year's NCAA tournament?
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In most sports, it is typical that the teams with the most returning starters start off the next season as favorites. In wrestling, the equivalent is returning points from the NCAA tournament.
Over the course of the summer and fall, we will be doing lineup looks and factoring in other things, but today we are purely looking at guys with eligibility remaining from the 2018 tournament.
Penn State: 117 Points
Team | Wrestler | Grade | Points |
Penn State | Bo Nickal | JR | 23 |
Penn State | Jason Nolf | JR | 23 |
Penn State | Vincenzo Joseph | SO | 21 |
Penn State | Mark Hall | SO | 20.5 |
Penn State | Nick Lee | FR | 11.5 |
Penn State | Shakur Rasheed | JR | 9.5 |
Penn State | Nick Nevills | JR | 8.5 |
Even with the graduation of Zain Retherford, the Nittany Lions are unquestionably the runaway favorites as of now.
Iowa: 85 Points
Team | Wrestler | Grade | Points |
Iowa | Spencer Lee | FR | 27 |
Iowa | Sam Stoll | JR | 17 |
Iowa | Michael Kemerer | SO | 16.5 |
Iowa | Alex Marinelli | FR | 13 |
Iowa | Mitch Bowman | JR | 4 |
Iowa | Cash Wilcke | SO | 4 |
Iowa | Vince Turk | SO | 3.5 |
Brandon Sorensen was a four-time All-American and an NCAA finalist, but the Hawkeyes are hoping Pat Lugo can replace at least some of his points and put them in position to challenge PSU.
Ohio State: 77.5 Points
Team | Wrestler | Grade | Points |
Ohio State | Myles Martin | JR | 18.5 |
Ohio State | Joey McKenna | JR | 16.5 |
Ohio State | Kollin Moore | SO | 13.5 |
Ohio State | Micah Jordan | JR | 13 |
Ohio State | Luke Pletcher | SO | 12.5 |
Ohio State | Ke-Shawn Hayes | SO | 2 |
Ohio State | Te’Shan Campbell | JR | 1.5 |
Graduating the only set of three teammates to all be four-time All-Americans at the same time certainly hurts the Buckeyes, but they still bring back a team worthy of trophy contention.
Missouri: 57 Points
Team | Wrestler | Grade | Points |
Missouri | Jaydin Eierman | SO | 17.5 |
Missouri | Daniel Lewis | JR | 17.5 |
Missouri | Grant Leeth | JR | 9 |
Missouri | John Erneste | JR | 6.5 |
Missouri | Willie Miklus | JR | 5.5 |
Missouri | Connor Flynn | FR | 0.5 |
Missouri | Canten Marriott | FR | 0.5 |
The Tigers were hit pretty hard this year for underperforming their seeds, but they bring back several All-Americans and guys who could land on the podium next year.
Michigan: 51 Points
Team | Wrestler | Grade | Points |
Michigan | Stevan Micic | SO | 19 |
Michigan | Myles Amine | SO | 15 |
Michigan | Alec Pantaleo | JR | 11 |
Michigan | Drew Mattin | FR | 3.5 |
Michigan | Logan Massa | SO | 2 |
Michigan | Malik Amine | JR | 0.5 |
Even though Joe McFarland is retiring, few teams are set up as well for the next couple years as the Wolverines.
Cornell: 49 Points
Team | Wrestler | Grade | Points |
Cornell | Yianni Diakomihalis | FR | 22 |
Cornell | Ben Darmstadt | FR | 10 |
Cornell | Jon Jay Chavez | JR | 7.5 |
Cornell | Max Dean | FR | 6.5 |
Cornell | Jeramy Sweaney | JR | 2.5 |
Cornell | Chaz Tucker | JR | 0.5 |
Cornell's three big freshmen exceeded or lived up to the hype. The Big Red also pulled Jon Jay Chavez back into the fold, and Vito Arujau joins the lineup next year.
Nebraska: 49 Points
Team | Wrestler | Grade | Points |
Nebraska | Taylor Venz | FR | 17.5 |
Nebraska | Tyler Berger | JR | 15.5 |
Nebraska | Chad Red | FR | 10 |
Nebraska | Isaiah White | SO | 2 |
Nebraska | Eric Schultz | FR | 1 |
Man, was Taylor Venz a revelation this year or what?
NC State
NC State | Hayden Hidlay | FR | 18 |
NC State | Tariq Wilson | FR | 16.5 |
NC State | Daniel Bullard | FR | 2 |
NC State | Sean Fausz | JR | 1 |
While the Wolfpack lose quite a bit, they seem to be in better shape than the last time they lost an NCAA finalist.
Oklahoma State: 37.5 Points
Oklahoma State | Kaid Brock | SO | 12 |
Oklahoma State | Jacobe Smith | JR | 7.5 |
Oklahoma State | Chandler Rogers | JR | 6.5 |
Oklahoma State | Boo Lewallen | SO | 5.5 |
Oklahoma State | Nick Piccininni | SO | 4 |
Oklahoma State | Derek White | JR | 2 |
The Cowboys had quite a bit of dropoff from their five returning qualifiers. Those five guys scored 47 fewer points in Cleveland than they did in St. Louis.
Arizona State: 37.5 Points
Arizona State | Zahid Valencia | SO | 24 |
Arizona State | Josh Shields | SO | 6.5 |
Arizona State | Ryan Millhof | JR | 3 |
Arizona State | Anthony Valencia | SO | 2.5 |
Arizona State | Tanner Hall | JR | 1.5 |
Returning a national champ alone makes the Sun Devils a must-watch team next season.