Losing a talent like All American Isaiah Luellen who was 3rd at last year's NAIA championships is always going to be felt, but on the same hand the Wildcats return five national qualifiers, three of which were one match shy of being All Americans last season. I look for this to be yet another good year for Baker wrestling.
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| 133 lbs Breyden Morrill |
Garnering a 20+ win season last year, look for Breyden Morrill to have made some improvements as he heads into his junior season. He was 5th in the Heart of America Conference last season & I would expect him to place higher this season.
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| 141 lbs Dallas Koelzer |
Junior Dallas Koelzer had a very nice showing at the Heart of American Conference tournament last season as he took a tough 4-3 quarterfinal loss to the eventual champion and turned it into three falls & a decisive 10-5 decision to finish in 3rd place. I highly expect him to contend for the Conference title this season.
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| 165 lbs Joey Hancock |
A tad bit on the inconsistent side, junior Joey Hancock had to rely on the grace of a wildcard to gain entry to the NAIA championships last season. When on, he's tough to beat. The key though, is figuring out a why to make the switch stay turned to on. Once that is figured out, he could open up a lot of eyes this season.
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| 184 lbs Brett Bober |
A Heart of American Conference runner-up last season, senior Brett Bober was once match shy of All American status at the NAIA championships. He will most certainly be a contender of a place within the top eight this season.
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| 184 lbs Joey Ewalt |
Junior Joey Ewalt was another Wildcat who showed tremendous tenacity at the Heart of American Conference tournament last season as he came back from a semi-final loss to take 3rd place. At the NAIA championships he lost a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to Williams Baptist's Niko Perovic in the round to place. I look for him to be very hungry this season & I think we'll be looking at an All American by season's end.
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| 197 Malachi Karibo & Angel Verduzco |
Sophomore Malachi Karibo is yet another Wildcat who after finishing as the Heart of America Conference runner-up was one match shy of All American honors at the NAIA championships. Ironically enough it is teammate Angel Verduzco, who was 3rd in the conference himself who will push him hardest this season. The NAIA as you know allows for a team under controlled conditions to send more than one wrestler at a weight class to the national tournament. That could very well be the case with Baker at 197 lbs this season.
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