2021 Big Ten Wrestling Tournament: Pre-Seeds + Preview

This has been a thoroughly weird and dissatisfying wrestling season -- but at least we've had a season. And now it's time for the Big Ten Tournament. 

Here are the final brackets for the tournament -- almost no changes from the pre-seeds. Seeding these tournaments is always a challenge, but never more than this year, when guys wrestled 7-8 matches at the most and many wrestled less than that. Not to mention all the guys who didn't face each other at their respective weights for various reasons. So far that reason I have a hard time getting too worked up about the seeds this year -- in many cases, you could have drawn numbers out of a hat and probably done just as well. And, of course, it doesn't hurt that the seeding committee smiled favorably upon Iowa -- they have top-two seeds at seven weights -- and they have the #3 seed at two of the remaining three weights. 

The good news is that we'll get to see more of the tournament than ever before on the Big Ten Network. 

BTN will have coverage of the quarterfinals on Saturday morning, cutting between several different matches, RedZone Channel-style. If you want to see the full match you should be able to do so on BTN+. (All consolation mat action should also be on BTN+.) The semifinals will be aired live on BTN for the first time ever on Saturday night and, as usual, the full Sunday finals session will be aired on BTN. 

125 lbs

SEED	WRESTLER	SCHOOL	ELIG	RECORD
1	Spencer Lee	Iowa	SR	4-0
2	Liam Cronin	Nebraska	SR	7-1
3	Malik Heinselman	Ohio State	JR	7-1
4	Patrick McKee	Minnesota	SO	6-3
5	Rayvon Foley	Michigan State	JR	4-3
6	Eric Barnett	Wisconsin	SO	5-2
7	Devin Schroeder	Purdue	SR	6-3
8	Michael DeAugustino	Northwestern	SO	3-1
9	Dylan Ragusin	Michigan	FR	4-1
10	Justin Cardani	Illinois	SO	2-6
11	Robert Howard	Penn State	FR	2-1
12	Jacob Moran	Indiana	FR	5-5
13	Dylan Shawver	Rutgers	FR	2-0
14	Zach Spence	Maryland	RS FR	0-5

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Spencer Lee, Iowa 
PROJECTED CHAMPION: Lee over Cronin
BIG TEN AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS: 8 
THOUGHTS: It's been a strange year at this weight, outside of the very top, where Spencer Lee remains a dominant and unstoppable force. Rayvon Foley entered the year ranked #2 in the nation; he's the #5 pre-seed. Devin Schroeder was the Big Ten runner-up last year; he's the #7 pre-seed this year. The questions for Lee aren't whether he'll win, but whether he'll pin everyone he faces and how much time he'll spend on the mat. My guesses are "yes" and "under seven minutes total." I think Lee's side of the bracket is more challenging than the other side, but it shouldn't really matter. 

133 lbs

SEED	WRESTLER	SCHOOL	ELIG	REC
1	Roman Bravo-Young	Penn State	JR	6-0
2	Austin DeSanto	Iowa	SR	5-0
3	Lucas Byrd	Illinois	FR	7-1
4	Chris Cannon	Northwestern	FR	5-0
5	Jack Medley	Michigan	JR	5-3
6	Boo Dyrden	Minnesota	SR	5-4
7	Jordan Decatur	Ohio State	SO	6-4
8	Jacob Rundell	Purdue	FR	3-4
9	Kyle Burwick	Wisconsin	RS FR	3-4
10	Tucker Sjomeling	Nebraska	SR	3-4
11	Jordan Hamdan	Michigan State	RS FR	3-4
12	Kyle Luigs	Indiana	JR	1-6
13	Jackson Cockrell	Maryland	FR	0-8
14	Shane Metzler	Rutgers	JR	1-1

DEFENDING CHAMPION: n/a
PROJECTED CHAMPION:  Bravo-Young over DeSanto
BIG TEN AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS: 8
THOUGHTS: This was a brutally challenging weight class last year but it's eased up a bit this year with Michigan's Stevan Micic unable to compete due to injuries and Rutgers' Sebastian Rivera (formerly of Northwestern) up at 141 lbs. I don't see anyone here who can prevent another showdown between Bravo-Young and DeSanto. DeSanto and Bravo-Young are tied 2-2 in their career, with DeSanto winning the first two and Bravo-Young taking the most recent matches, one via injury default (he was leading at the time) and a narrow 3-2 win at Big Tens last year. This is a coin-flip match, but since RBY has had the upper hand lately, I'm picking him to win again here. 

141 lbs

SEED	WRESTLER	SCHOOL	ELIG	REC
1	Jaydin Eierman	Iowa	SR	5-0
2	Nick Lee	Penn State	SR	6-0
3	Sebastian Rivera	Northwestern	SR	4-0
4	Chad Red	Nebraska	SR	8-1
5	Dylan Duncan	Illinois	SR	4-2
6	Marcos Polanco	Minnesota	FR	5-4
7	Dylan D'Emilio	Ohio State	RS FR	4-4
8	Drew Mattin	Michigan	JR	3-3
9	Parker Filius	Purdue	JR	3-5
10	Danny Bertoni	Maryland	JR	2-6
11	Cayden Rooks	Indiana	SO	2-6
12	Matt Santos	Michigan State	SR	3-2
13	Colin Valdiviez	Northwestern	JR	2-5
14	Dominic Dentino	Wisconsin	SO	0-7

DEFENDING CHAMPION: n/a
PROJECTED CHAMPION: Eierman over Lee
BIG TEN AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS: 8
THOUGHTS: Like 133, 141 has Iowa and Penn State wrestlers atop the seeds here. Unlike 133, 141 is a bit deeper because Rivera and Red are 100% capable of winning this weight as well. The semifinals here should be absolute fireworks. I think Eierman and Lee will get through those bouts and face off in the finals. That's a tough one to call, but Eierman has been too good this year to pick against. 

149 lbs

SEED	WRESTLER	SCHOOL	ELIG	REC
1	Sammy Sasso	Ohio State	SO	9-0
2	Max Murin	Iowa	JR	4-1
3	Griffin Parriott	Purdue	SR	4-0
4	Yahya Thomas	Northwestern	JR	6-2
5	Kanen Storr	Michigan	SR	4-2
6	Michael Blockhus	Minnesota	SO	5-4
7	Ridge Lovett	Nebraska	SO	5-0
8	Mike VanBrill	Rutgers	SR	1-3
9	Graham Rooks	Indiana	SO	2-2
10	Peyton Omania	Michigan State	FR	3-4
11	Beau Bartlett	Penn State	FR	7-1
12	Drew Scharenbrock	Wisconsin	SO	2-5
13	Christian Kanzler	Illinois	SR	2-3
14	Michael North	Maryland	RS FR	0-3

DEFENDING CHAMPION: n/a
PROJECTED CHAMPION: Sasso over Murin
BIG TEN AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS: 7
THOUGHTS: I don't think there's much doubt that Sasso will be in the finals here. But will Murin be opposite him in that match? He has some interesting possible matchups with Lovett in the quarters and Parriott in the semis. While Iowa wrestled Nebraska and Purdue earlier in the season, Murin didn't face either guy. Murin was rock solid when we saw him on the mat, though, so I'll pick him to get to the finals. Sasso clearly had his number in their match earlier in the season, though, so he's the easy pick to win here. 

157 lbs

SEED	WRESTLER	SCHOOL	ELIG	REC
1	Ryan Deakin	Northwestern	SR	3-0
2	Kaleb Young	Iowa	SR	3-0
3	Brayton Lee	Minnesota	SO	7-2
4	Kendall Coleman	Purdue	SO	8-1
5	Brady Berge	Penn State	JR	5-0
6	Will Lewan	Michigan	SO	5-1
7	Chase Saldate	Michigan State	FR	4-3
8	Garrett Model	Wisconsin	JR	3-4
9	Elijah Cleary	Ohio State	SR	4-6
10	Caleb Licking	Nebraska	SR	3-4
11	Michael Doetsch	Maryland	SR	2-3
12	Johnny Mologousis	Illinois	JR	1-6
13	Luke Baughman	Indiana	RS FR	1-2

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Ryan Deakin, Northwestern
PROJECTED CHAMPION: Deakin over Lee
BIG TEN AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS: 8
THOUGHTS: Thank goodness for that 0 in the loss column for Young; without that, he might have fallen down into the 4/5 line -- and the Ryan Deakin side of the bracket. That would have been a very rough path for him to go. I like his current draw much better, though a potential semifinal with Brayton Lee could be another coin-flip match. I actually picked Lee to edge Young here, mainly because I didn't want to pick all Iowa wrestlers to win... can't be a complete homer. 

165 lbs

SEED	WRESTLER	SCHOOL	ELIG	REC
1	Alex Marinelli	Iowa	SR	2-0
2	Danny Braunagel	Illinois	SO	6-0
3	Ethan Smith	Ohio State	JR	8-1
4	Cameron Amine	Michigan	FR	5-1
5	Andrew Sparks	Minnesota	FR	8-1
6	Joe Lee	Penn State	FR	4-2
7	Peyton Robb	Nebraska	SO	6-3
8	Jake Tucker	Michigan State	SR	3-4
9	Gerrit Nijenhuis	Purdue	FR	5-3
10	Nick South	Indiana	RS FR	3-5
11	Jonathan Spadafora	Maryland	RS FR	1-7
12	David Ferrante	Northwestern	FR	1-6
13	Brett Donner	Rutgers	SR	0-3
14	Josh Otto	Wisconsin	RS FR	0-5

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Alex Marinelli, Iowa
PROJECTED CHAMPION: Marinelli over Smith
BIG TEN AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS: 8
THOUGHTS: Despite wrestling only two matches, The Bull is atop the seeds here. It's good to be undefeated -- and to be the two-time defending Big Ten champion. There's no Vincenzo Joseph to go through this time, though, and if Marinelli is healthy and ready to go, it's hard to see him not standing atop the field on Sunday again. He's undefeated in his career (2-0) against both Braunagel and Smith. 

174 lbs

SEED	WRESTLER	SCHOOL	ELIG	REC
1	Michael Kemerer	Iowa	SR	4-0
2	Mikey Labriola	Nebraska	JR	8-0
3	Carter Starocci	Penn State	FR	6-1
4	Logan Massa	Michigan	SR	5-1
5	Donnell Washington	Indiana	FR	6-2
6	Kaleb Romero	Ohio State	JR	5-2
7	Jackson Turley	Rutgers	SO	3-1
8	Jared Krattiger	Wisconsin	SO	3-3
9	Jake Allar	Minnesota	JR	5-4
10	Drew Hughes	Michigan State	SR	2-4
11	DJ Shannon	Illinois	RS FR	2-4
12	Emil Soehnlen	Purdue	FR	2-7
13	Troy Fisher	Northwestern	RS FR	1-7
14	Phillip Spadafora	Maryland	JR	1-7

DEFENDING CHAMPION: n/a
PROJECTED CHAMPION: Kemerer over Labriola
BIG TEN AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS: 8
THOUGHTS: Outside of 141, this might be the most loaded weight in the tournament. Kemerer is the favorite here, but Labriola, Starocci, and Massa are all very strong challengers too and should make for a dynamite semifinal round. Kemerer and Massa and Starocci and Labriola have never faced off before. I think Kemerer comes out on top of the field and finally claims his long-awaited first Big Ten championship. 

184 lbs

SEED	WRESTLER	SCHOOL	ELIG	REC
1	Aaron Brooks	Penn State	SO	6-0
2	Christopher Weiler	Wisconsin	SR	4-2
3	Layne Malczewski	Michigan State	SO	6-1
4	Owen Webster	Minnesota	SR	5-2
5	John Poznanski	Rutgers	FR	3-1
6	Taylor Venz	Nebraska	SR	4-2
7	Max Lyon	Purdue	SR	4-4
8	Zach Braunagel	Illinois	SO	4-4
9	Nelson Brands	Iowa	SO	3-2
10	Rocky Jordan	Ohio State	SO	4-5
11	Kyle Cochran	Maryland	JR	4-5
12	Jaden Bullock	Michigan	FR	2-3
13	Jon Halvorsen	Northwestern	RS FR	1-5
14	Santos Cantu III	Indiana	FR	0-1

 here

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Aaron Brooks, Penn State
PROJECTED CHAMPION: Brooks over Venz
BIG TEN AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS: 8
THOUGHTS: Aaron Brooks came out on top of a seemingly wide-open field last year and given that there hasn't been an influx of top challengers to the weight this year, it's hard not to predict him to pick up another title. As far as Iowa goes, this is the only weight where Iowa doesn't have a top-3 seed. In fact, based on seeds, this is the only weight where Iowa isn't projected to land an automatic qualifying slot. He'd need to improve on his seed by one to earn one of those qualifying slots. He didn't get an easy road to do that, though. He'll get Braunagel in his first match, who beat him 3-1 in overtime earlier this season. If he avenges that loss here, his reward would be a matchup with Brooks in the quarters. Barring a big upset, he's probably going to need to do work in the consolation bracket to lock up a spot in the NCAA Tournament field. 

197 lbs

SEED	WRESTLER	SCHOOL	ELIG	REC
1	Eric Schultz	Nebraska	SR	8-0
2	Myles Amine	Michigan	SR	3-0
3	Jacob Warner	Iowa	JR	4-1
4	Cam Caffey	Michigan State	JR	5-2
5	Lucas Davison	Northwestern	SO	3-1
6	Thomas Penola	Purdue	SO	7-2
7	Michael Beard	Penn State	FR	3-1
8	Matt Wroblewski	Illinois	JR	5-3
9	Gavin Hoffman	Ohio State	SO	4-5
10	Billy Janzer	Rutgers	SO	2-2
11	Garrett Joles	Minnesota	SO	3-6
12	Jaron Smith	Maryland	SR	1-6
13	Nick Willham	Indiana	SO	2-6
14	Andrew Salemme	Wisconsin	JR	0-7

DEFENDING CHAMPION: n/a
PROJECTED CHAMPION: Schultz over Warner
BIG TEN AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS: 6
THOUGHTS: This weight looked like a two-man race between Warner and Schultz, but new faces from other weights could throw a wrench into things. Amine was a top guy at 174 lbs and Caffey was a top contender at 184 lbs, so they could certainly make some noise at 197 lbs. Warner might need to get past Amine in the semis and Schultz in the final to win it all here. Schultz has had the better of Warner lately, so I'd favor him slightly here. 

285 lbs

SEED	WRESTLER	SCHOOL	ELIG	REC
1	Gable Steveson	Minnesota	JR	9-0
2	Mason Parris	Michigan	JR	6-0
3	Tony Cassioppi	Iowa	SO	4-1
4	Luke Luffman	Illinois	SO	6-2
5	Christian Lance	Nebraska	SR	6-3
6	Trent Hillger	Wisconsin	JR	3-2
7	Greg Kerkvliet	Penn State	FR	2-0
8	Tate Orndorff	Ohio State	JR	4-5
9	Christian Rebottaro	Michigan State	SR	1-4
10	Jack Heyob	Northwestern	SO	1-4
11	Christian Colucci	Rutgers	SR	0-2
12	Dorian Keys	Purdue	FR	2-4
13	Rudy Streck	Indiana	JR	1-5
14	Garrett Kappes	Maryland	FR	0-5

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Gable Steveson, Minnesota
PROJECTED CHAMPION: Steveson over Parris
BIG TEN AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING SPOTS: 7
THOUGHTS: Steveson and Parris are the clear class of the field here, although Kerkvliet was a major recruit and a potential quarterfinal matchup between him and Parris could be very interesting. Steveson should win it all again here, but there may be some intrigue on the podium behind him. As far as Iowa goes, I'm curious to see if Cassioppi has maintained his gap ahead of Hillger -- and if he's been able to improve enough to narrow the gap between himself and Parris. Hopefully we get to find that out in the quarterfinals and semifinals. 

As far as the team title... it's obviously Iowa's to lose. 

FINISH	TEAM	POINTS
1	Iowa	147.0
2	Penn State	93.5
3	Michigan	83.5
4	Ohio State	69.5

Iowa has a pretty big margin of error by virtue of having so many top-seeded guys. If all (or most) of Iowa's wrestlers perform to expectations, this tournament should be a coronation for Iowa. Tomorrow we get to see how it all starts to go down.