Takedown Report

Men’s College Notebook: Five Teams Looking To Rise Up This Season

Not only are these teams looking to make a push into the top 10 this upcoming year, but they could also vie for a team trophy by placing in the top four.
Here are five programs that finished outside the top 10 at the 2025 NCAA Championships but will now look to leap in the team standings come March in Cleveland.

Iowa State 
2025 NCAA finish: 27th place
Last top 10 NCAA finish: 2024 (4th place)
FloWrestling 2026 projected NCAA finish: 4th place

Two years ago, the Cyclones nabbed a team trophy by placing fourth at the 2024 NCAA Championships, but last year Iowa State suffered from lineup woes and underperformance at the NCAAs, dropping all the way down to 27th. If preseason indications hold, it will be a very different story in 2026.
At the lower weights all five of the projected starters in the first half of the lineup are all former All-Americans and start the season in the preseason top 10 in their respective weight classes: 2025 All-American, and a transfer from Northern Colorado, Stevo Poulin (#7 at 125 pounds), 2024 All-American Evan Frost (#9 at 133 pounds), 2024 All-American Anthony Echemendia (#7 at 141 pounds), 2025 All-American Jacob Frost (#6 at 149 pounds), and 2025 All-American, and another Northern Colorado transfer, Vinny Zerban (#6 at 157 pounds).
The upper weights will look very different this season and should be one of the best one-two-three punches in the nation. After being sidelined last year, Yonger Bastida returns at heavyweight and is an immediate national title contender. Four-time All-American Rocky Elam was brought in from Missouri to man 197 pounds, and 2025 MAC champion Isaac Dean comes from Rider and will go at 184 pounds. All three are in their final seasons.

Lehigh 
2025 NCAA finish: 15th place
Last top 10 NCAA finish: 2012 (8th place)
FloWrestling 2026 projected NCAA finish: 7th place

Lehigh has finished 15^th in back-to-back trips to the NCAA Championships and has nine top 20 finishes overall dating back to 2014. This season, expectations are high for the Mountain Hawks, as their lineup features multiple national title contenders and four wrestlers who were not in the lineup last year, all ranked in the top 10 in the preseason rankings.
Lehigh will look to dominate duals with three ranked wrestlers who all start the season in the top 5 in the lower weights. As the eighth seed last year at NCAAs at 125 pounds, Sheldon Seymour knocked off top-seeded Luke Lilledahl of Penn State and advanced to the semifinals before placing sixth. Ryan Crookham returns from injury and will look to improve upon his third-place finish in 2024. Last year, he was undefeated and ranked #1 at 133 pounds before suffering a season-ending injury after the fall semester. Luke Stanich deferred eligibility last year to move up from 125 to 141 for this year. He placed fifth in 2024 in his first trip to NCAAs.
There are also a pair of top-10 wrestlers in the back half of the lineup. Max Brignola (#7 at 165 pounds) also deferred eligibility last year. He is a two-time NCAA qualifier and went 15-0 last year, winning six tournament titles. Nathan Taylor (#8 at heavyweight) also lost during the season due to an injury last year. Also a two-time NCAA Qualifier, he won the 2024 EIWA title at heavyweight before falling one win shy of All-American honors.

Oklahoma 
2025 NCAA finish: 38th place
Last top 10 NCAA finish: 2014 (10th place) … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/october/27/men-s-college-notebook-five-teams-looking-to-rise-up-this-season

November 7, 2025 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | ncaa, sports