Arizona State brought a title to the desert for the first time since 1995. Although they took home a fourth-place team title, they captured it in the first Post-Zahid season. Despite losing Zahid and the former number one recruiting class, the young core surprised the country at the NCAA tournament.  

Even though the Sun Devils fell short of a national title, head coach Zeke Jones was satisfied his promise carried through.

“We're truly grateful for the opportunity to wrestle,” Jones said. “Like anything, you always want more, but when you look back on this amazing journey, it’s been seven years in the making. We've got to a position to be able to bring home a trophy, and it is certainly something we're proud of.”

When the season began, the wrestling community gave the inexperienced Sun Devils little expectations. People believed they must lean on A. Valencia, freshmen Trey Munoz and Cohlton Schultz, and transfer Michael McGee. However, ASU took the long shot as a chance to learn how good the team can be. In the first two rounds, the Devils were nearly flawless. The team racked up bonus points through multiple wins and major decisions.

However, the quarterfinals set the Sun Devils straight. After leading early in his match, Anthony pulled his hamstring, then later pulled out of the competition. A few moments later, three-seed Kordell Norfleet lost and struggled to bounce back in the blood rounds. Even though the Devils dropped in the standings, Jones took the opportunity to reset the team’s mindset.

“It was the first time we had that feeling of sinking,” Jones said. “We went back to the hotel, closed our eyes for 30 minutes, just took a breath, and came back.”

The Sun Devils came back stronger than ever, picking up five All-Americans. Despite having favorable seeds, some were not expected to reach the podium, including one wrestler who flew under-the-radar all season.

“I think no one got more disrespected than Jacori Teemer,” Jones said. “He ranked between 15th and 20th, and it was the greatest thing Flo ever did because people didn't respect him. Jacori had a chip on his shoulder and was able to show everybody that he could do it at the NCAA tournament.”

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The Sun Devils chip on the shoulder was not their only preparation before St. Louis. Z. Valencia and the former number one recruiting class helped create the powerful squad as much as the coaches. The former All-Americans competed with the current Devils and provided certainty in St. Louis.

“I feel like a lot of our younger guys know that they are good because they compete with those guys in the room,” McGee said. “We knew we were good, I don’t think we knew how good we were.”

After this season, the Sun Devils proved they have built a strong foundation in Arizona with and without the 2015 class. The team has top-tier coaches, alumni, upperclassmen, and an incoming recruiting class. With the strong foundation, Arizona State has built on one belief.

“We still got a young team, but the best version of us can compete with any team in the country,” McGee said.