Every year we see college athletes jump onto the senior level and have an impact both domestically and internationally. In this article, we take a look at some of the top wrestlers who are still in college that have the best chances to make the senior world team and medal at the world championships. 

College To Senior Level Success On The Rise

Since 2011, the United States has seen a large percentage of its world medalists come from wrestlers who either just graduated college or still have college eligibility left. In fact,  in the last 10 years, 25% of the medals won by Team USA’s men’s freestyle team have come from that group - 11 medals of 44 total. Take a look below at the wrestlers that fit in that category and the amount of medals they won while in college. 

• Jordan Burroughs - Gold year of graduation in 2011 
• James Green - Bronze year of graduation in 2015
• J’den Cox - 2 Bronze before graduation in 2017
• Thomas Gilman - Silver year of graduation in 2017
• Kyle Snyder - 3 golds, 1 silver before graduation in 2018
• Gable Steveson - Gold before graduation
• Daton Fix - Silver before Graduation

Who’s Next?

That leads us to this year. There are a number of college wrestlers who have the ability to make the world team for the United States and win a medal in September at the world championships. Take a look at some of the most likely ones below.

Nick Suriano, 57kg
Going into the Olympic trials last year, Nick Suriano was a favorite at 57kg but was kept from competing due to testing positive for Covid. However, you can’t ignore his results overseas when he won the Henri Deglane tournament in January 2021 with a bracket that had both Thomas Gilman and Vito Arujau. Suriano will have a tall task ahead of him in defending world champions Thomas Gilman, however, if he gets by that challenge, he will be a favorite to medal at worlds.

Suriano's win Azerbaijan's Makhir Amiraslanov at the 2021 Henri Deglane:

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Roman Bravo-Young, 61kg
Daton Fix stormed onto the senior world championships last year when he won a silver medal at 61kg, losing only to Russia’s Abasgadzhi Magomedov in the finals. And who has two wins over Fix in the last year? Roman Bravo-Young. The wins were in folkstyle, but RBY’s abilities should translate over to freestyle seamlessly and would present a dangerous matchup for anyone in the world at 61kg.

Highlights of RBY's win over Daton Fix at the 2022 NCAA Tournament:

Nick Lee, 65kg
Nick Lee surprised everyone at the Olympic Trials last year when he defeated James Green, Yianni Diakomihalis, and Zain Retherford to take third. While Lee has never wrestled in any international tournament on the senior level, his results during the college season and at last year's Olympic trials prove he’s ready to test himself against the best in the world. 

Nick Lee's win over Jaydin Eierman at 2019 Senior Nationals:

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Yianni Diakomihalis, 65kg
Yianni Diakomihalis might be the safest pick of any in this list. He made his first senior world team last year and already has wins over #4 Bajrang Punia, #5 Ismail Musukaev, and #14 Joey McKenna. Beyond that, Yianni has won 5 different senior-level international tournaments and was a two-time cadet world champion. All signs point to Yianni having a successful senior-level career with numerous world medals. 

Yianni's win over Joey McKenna to make the 2021 world team:

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Ryan Deakin, 70kg
Ryan Deakin finally got the job done at the NCAA tournament last month and could use that momentum to make his first world team this year. Deakin has been one of America’s best 70kg wrestlers for the past three years but has fallen short to James Green both in 2019 at Final X and in 2021 at the world team trials. Despite his losses to Green, Deakin is one of only 3 Americans to boast a win over Green at 70kg since 2015. Beyond that, a 2017 junior world silver medalist, Deakin has proven to possess the freestyle skills to win against international competition. 

Deakin's win over James Green at the 2019 US Open:

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Carter Starocci, 79kg
Starocci might be a top 10 wrestler in the world at 79kg. The problem - Starocci will have to get through world #1 Jordan Burroughs just to make the team. Along with his 2 NCAA titles, Starocci took third at last year's World Team Trials and proved he can contend with America’s best by defeating Evan Wick, Chance Marsteller, and Jason Nolf. Burroughs is absolutely another level from those wrestlers, but Starocci should be capable of presenting a unique challenge to Burroughs.

Starocci's win over Jason Nolf at the 2021 World Team Trials:

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Greg Kerkvliet, 125kg
With Gable Steveson likely out of the field at 125kg, Greg Kerkvliet not only has an opportunity to win the world team trials but also to win a medal at this year’s world championships. Kerkvliet was a cadet world champion in 2017, cadet world silver in 2018, and placed 5th at U23 worlds in 2019 (when he was only 18). Of note, Kerkvliet is the only wrestler in this list who is not currently qualified for the World Team Trials and would have to wrestle at the US Open or the Last Chance qualifier to participate at trials. 

Kerkvliet's win in the finals of the 2017 Cadet World Championships:

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Dark Horses

The young talent in the United States (beyond those listed above) is exciting and a great sign for the future of our men's freestyle team. Vito Arujau, Beau Bartlett, Bryce Andonian, David Carr, Keegan O'Toole, Mekhi Lewis, Trent Hidlay, Aaron Brooks, Rocky Elam, Lucas Davison, Braxton Amos, Zach Elam, and Mason Parris are all still in college, and have medaled at an age-level world championship. So why weren't they included in the above list? The answer to that question lies in the level of talent at the top of each weight class of Team USA. Most of the "second-tier" list of wrestlers are behind established senior-level wrestlers who have won numerous medals at the world championships/Olympics. So while they've had success at their age-level, they will likely be a few years before they can challenge the best in the world on the senior level.