2018-19 Redshirt Report: 125 Pounds
2018-19 Redshirt Report: 125 Pounds
Examining the 125 pounders not in the lineup last year who are looking to impact Division 1 during the 2018-19 season.
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Are you wearing your best red colored shirt right now? If not, that's ok, but we'll still be pressing on with Redshirt Report season!
For the fourth year in a row, FloWrestling will be doing a weight-by-weight breakdown of the best guys who did not wrestle last season. The word "redshirt" is being used as a catch-all term for pretty much every good non-starter from a year ago. This includes actual redshirts, injuries, and a few who just couldn't crack the starting lineup.
Previous Redshirt Reports
Keep your eyes peeled for more NCAA content this summer in the leadup to what promises to be an excellent 2018-19 season. On to the monsters about to impact the Division 1 landscape this year at the lightest weight class.
Daton Fix, Oklahoma State
Commentary: Daton Fix, the kid who wrestles in every tournament he's legally allowed to enter, only competed in one folkstyle event last year. Luckily it was at Reno TOC and we have film of all the matches (including the last second win over Sean Fausz below), because his last relevant folk match prior to that was against Austin Gomez at Who's Number One in October of 2016. His last relevant tournament was Super 32 in 2015, when he lost to Luke Karam and Vito Arujau.
Now, we still don't know if we'll see Fix at 125 or 133, but he wrestled 125 last year so he's going in this redshirt report. We also don't know how Fix's top game holds up over a four-month D1 season, but it was good enough to beat Ronnie Bresser (who would go on to become an All-American) on riding time. Fix is an excellent scrambler, and there's no reason to believe he can't get takedowns on the likes of Sebastian Rivera, Zeke Moisey, Taylor LaMont, and Sean Russell.
The question everyone wants to know though: can he beat Spencer Lee and Nick Suriano? The last match he had with Suriano he lost, but that was the 45-minute WNO match back in 2015, and he's never faced Lee in folkstyle. Two things we know for sure though: the Cowboys wrestle both Iowa and Rutgers this season in duals.
Connor Schram, Lehigh
The only one in this article who has placed at NCAAs, Schram finished eighth as a sophomore in 2016. Schram falls under the "non-traditional" redshirt, as he received a sixth year of eligibility and will be spending it at Lehigh. His season was cut short after sustaining a serious injury at CKLV, going 9-4 overall.
In each of the three seasons he has finished, Schram has qualified for the national tournament, going 0-2 as a freshman and 1-2 as a junior. Both of the trips where he did not place featured Schram up at 133lbs.
The Stanford transfer will be battling Matty Parker for the starting job. Parker was a three-time Pennsylvania state placer for Pennridge who went 13-2 over the course of his redshirt year. He competed in four tournaments, winning the Princeton, East Stroudsburg, and Wilkes Opens. Both he and Schram have qualifier level potential, but Schram probably has a little bigger upside and more scoring potential for the upcoming season.
Shakur Laney, Ohio
The rising junior broke his hand before the beginning of last season and didn't wrestle any matches. Carrying a 52-21 record into this year, Laney could make a jump into All-American contention. But it would be a jump, as he has not registered any wins over guys who ended last year ranked in the Top-20.
After a year of not competing, Laney's body should be fresh for the 2018-19 season, and he has some very good training partners in the room. He doesn't bonus at a very high rate, approximately 25%, so him coming out firing and putting points on the board would only add fuel to the fire that he is able to make that leap onto the podium.
In two years, Laney has victories over 16 separate NCAA qualifiers. With career wins like that, adding a turn to his arsenal could make Laney a fixture in the Top-10 over the winter.
Brandon Courtney, Arizona State
Both of the next two guys factored heavily into our lightweight roster battles article from earlier this week. Courtney faced 13 guys that were on D1 rosters last year, picking up three pins, a tech, and a major, and averaging nearly 10 points per match in his six wins by decision. His losses were very reasonable, to #7 Ronnie Bresser and #16 Travis Piotrowski.
It's clear that Courtney has improved, as one would expect when in a room with a coaching staff the caliber of ASU's. That much is clear from the tape of him at the U.S. Open and Junior Trials this year. He scored on about a dozen different techniques, but may have less success attacking from space like he does in freestyle.
Courtney will have his work cut out for him to beat 2016 AA Ryan Millhof, but it certainly seems way more favorable now than this time a year ago. There will likely be wrestle-offs and an opportunity for them both to compete in a tournament together, so it will be clear if Courtney's speed and dynamic offense can translate into a starting job for the Sun Devils.
Austin Assad, Michigan
The junior is looking to finally finish a season and show the college world the kind of talent he displayed in winning Fargo crowns and state titles in Ohio. But he's only wrestled 33 matches in the time he's been in college, so health will once again be the key issue in Assad's success.
When his single leg is firing properly, he can take down just about anyone. What remains to be seen is if he can make high level defensive adjustments against the best athletes and turn counters into points. With Michigan coming off a trophy performance, the pressure will be on guys like Assad to come in and score points for the Wolverines, especially if Drew Mattin winds up redshirting.
Devin Schroder, Purdue
Although he redshirted the 2016-17 season, Schroder found himself between senior Luke Welch last year. Welch lost in the bloodround, with both losses at NCAAs coming to eventual All-Americans. Now that Welch is gone, Schroder is the Boilermakers' most experienced 125 and clear favorite to start.
His most impressive tournament of the year was Midlands, when he placed seventh and picked up a major over Millhof, as well as an 8-1 win over NCAA qualifier Michael McGee, avenging a a 5-1 loss to McGee earlier in the year. He also picked up wins of 8-0 over Ibrahim Bunduka, and 9-8 over Christian Moody, both of whom were qualifiers.
Now in his third season on campus, it will be Schroder's job to jumpstart duals and score points in tournaments. With the Big Ten looking at another double digit qualifier total at 125, Schroder could be the baseline representing last in or first out this season.
Sidney Flores, Air Force
There are many ways in which high school graduates do not compete straight away for their college of choice. For the military academies, the primary way is through their associated prep school (for example, Navy’s is “NAPS” or Naval Academy Preparatory School). This is a boon for their sports teams as their varsity athletes cannot redshirt, similar to the Ivy Leagues. During Flores’ time at Air Force Prep, he won the National Collegiate Open and also had a commendable fifth place finish at 57kg of the Junior U.S. Open.
Brent Fleetwood, North Dakota State
Fleetwood was one of a whole host of guys who left Central Michigan over the past two years. Now in his final year of eligibility, the two-time NCAA qualifier is joining the fray of Big 12 lightweights. The Bison have not yet finalized their schedule, so it's unclear as of yet if he'll see the likes of Nick Piccininni, Fix, Taylor LaMont, Moody, or Jay Schwarm in duals.
With Fleetwood missing last season due to injury, Paul Bianchi stepped in and qualified for NCAAs as a true freshman. Much like Laney, Fleetwood should look to increase his scoring output and bonus rate in his last year of college wrestling.
Some other names to look out for who will be trying to break into their starting lineups next year include but are not limited to:
- Dack Punke, Missouri
- Jon Tropea, Rider
- Will Bardezbain, Kent State
- Killian Cardinale, Old Dominion
- Brock Bergelin, Central Michigan