2018-2019 Prospect Rankings

Prospect Rankings By Weight

Prospect rankings are back! Here we handicap the talent and rank them based on what we believe will be their future college weights.

Over the next couple weeks, we'll roll out Prospect Rankings at each of the ten college weights.

A little about these rankings:

The Prospect Rankings are markedly different from the weight class rankings (which are all grades with wrestlers at their current weights and based entirely on results) and the Big Board rankings (which are grade specific and opinion-based).

Prospect Rankings take wrestlers from all grades and project them to their college weights. We then rank them based on what we think (opinion/assessment) their potential is.

A good measure to understand what I'm assessing, is to find a valuation to a senior, and then to take all the other wrestlers and project what level they will be at when they are a senior.

It's certainly an inexact science - one that is ever evolving and full of factors (none more obvious than the difficult in projecting physical growth). But Prospect Rankings just might be the most important one to recruiters, who have to not only target each weight, but have to deliberate on signing that weight this year, or waiting a year or two on someone who might turn out to be better.

The Turnover at 165:

- Twelve of the previous Top 20 graduated

- Five of the previous Top 20 remained ranked at the same weight

- Six of the current Top 20 were ranked at other weights

- Nine of the current Top 20 are new to the Prospect Rankings

At The Top:

I could be referenced as the leader singer of the band 'he can make that weight!'. But even I am not sure if Patrick Kennedy can make 165 in college after, though small, wrestled 182 at his state tournament as a sophomore.

I think he can. But we'll watch closely. The fact of the matter though, is that whether he's a 165 or 174 in college, for Prospect Rankings purposes, Kennedy is in the conversation for the top spot. And he certainly gets it here at 165.

Rounding out the top are five others with clearly elite talents. I go with Amine at the #2 spot as his high school career has been excellent and I think he makes leaps with his style in college. Vasquez moves up just one spot, largely due to inactivity. Frankly I can't wait to see him in the preseason or regular season to gauge his development. 

Next I went with the youngsters Manville and Mastro ahead of Brady. If you think Brady deserves the #4, I won't argue much. But Manville and Mastro are so good, so young, and have multiple years to develop.

If you haven't heard of the freshmen Chittum and Niffenegger yet, you will soon. They had very solid showings in Fargo and before it's all said and done I believe they will be staples in the Top 5 of all rankings.

Ohio and PA prospects are numerous here. Five for Ohio, four for PA.